Catch up post - Nov

I was going through my mailbox tonight and was reminded about the results from this year's IMBCS. I managed to ride my way to a first place showing in the Sport Men's 35+ division. This was not due to any particularly good showing in any event, but making the commitment to race and finish in as many events as possible (you can't kill a camel easily, even in the mountains it seems). I missed one race this year (the season closer at Manawa), and I failed to finish only one of the events that I entered (Seven Oaks).
In the meantime, I'm hoping to bring a better skill set to the line if I decide to enter the IMBCS again in 2009.

Gravel road ride tomorrow night (Tuesday, the 24th). Leaving from the pedestrian bridge in Waterworks park @ 5:30. Bring your lights and be ready for a couple of hours of gravel riding south of town.

The 9th Annual Turkey Day ride is leaving from the Ashworth Park pool at 8:00 AM on Thanksgiving Day. At least one loop of all of the Center Trails should be in order. Figure 1.5 - 2 hours of riding and post ride socializing.

IMBCS #9 - Sugarbottom Stampede

Met Kent at his place a little before 7 AM. Two hours of good conversation and a stop at Casey's landed us at Sugar Bottom for the penultimate race on the IMBCS calendar. We were surprised by the sight of Cam's Jeep sitting in the parking lot 3+ hours before his race start. A quick conversation determined that he showed up early to make sure that Julie could make the start of the beginner's race. Kent and I suited up in our finest black attire and headed out for a quick recon lap. This was (all together now) my first time riding at Sugar Bottom. I can see why it was rated as one of the 50 best trails in the nation. We cut our ride of the first half of the course short since the beginner race had started in the middle of our recon. Even with a short recon in, I could tell it was going to be a long day. I had been bouncing all over on the tree roots during our recon lap. Kent gave me some assist with the tire pressures and I immediately noticed an improvement in how the bike was handling. We hung around for what seemed like forever as there was a 2 hour gap between the start of the beginner race and the rest of the classes.

With 50+ people lined up for the start of the sport races, I decided to sit in back at the start. I've made a habit of this during the year. It's not good for me as I have to work to catch anyone, but for some reason I'm concerned about blocking people unnecessarily and having to let them by on the course. Next year, I'll probably change that strategy and try to be further up. They let us go and I could just feel that my legs and the rest of my system weren't really warmed up yet. With my heart in my throat and a lot of dust in my eyes, I reached the apex of a small hill and turned to enter the single track. I spent the first half of the first lap trying to stay in touch with people, while not getting held up by slower traffic. At one point the rider in front of me slowed in a section that I had just rolled right through during our recon lap. Unfortunately I tapped his rear tire when he slowed, but it also caused him to put a foot down. I yelled sorry as I continued to ride past. There were other riders that were good about letting faster traffic by, even towards the back of the pack. That allowed me to make up a few more spots early in the race. Reaching the second half of the course I knew that I was pushing harder than I was going to be able to maintain for the rest of the lap, let alone the rest of the race, so I backed off a bit and let my heart come back down into my throat. When I reached cyclocross hill, I had already planned on jumping off and running up as the climbing on the second half of the course had really cut into my energy levels. The second lap was more about conserving my position and finishing the race. Without gloves on, my hands were being rubbed and blistered by my grips rubbing against them, so every root and drop I rode over was painful. After 2 laps, and 2 hours and 20 minutes in the pain cave, the race was over. I rode through the start finish area, set my bike against the truck and put my hands in some ice water to help take away some of the pain. Only one small blister showed, but my hands were definitely not feeling well. I made a quick change in to street clothes, downed some gatorade and had a quick talk with Kent and Cam. After another hour or so for the awards and swag give away Kent and I packed everything up and headed for home.

I ended up a somewhat disappointing eight out of nine in my class and 39th out of the 50 starters. With the bike feeling as good as it did during the race, and riding obstacles that I wouldn't have thought I was able to ride, I was hoping for a higher placing than what I had, even with a bit of implosion on lap 2. I have a lot of room for improvement in the handling, momentum and smoothness departments which will only come with time. Stiil, I was amazed at how quickly a skilled rider can walk away from you when they pass you on course. Good riders can make the difficult look effortless.

Kent finished third in the single speed class, and second place for the state championship. Cam finished first over Brian Eppen in a close expert race (dead heat until the last lap). I can tell that the season is winding down as I caught a glimpse of Cam taking a swig from a post race Miller Lite tall boy. Never would have seen that before now. :)

IMBCS #8 - Science Center Time Trial

IMBCS #8 took place on September 7th at the Science Center Trails in Des Moines. I meet up with Lou, Basso and PIg at Hy-Vee on Grand for some breakfast and a piece of Denman's at 7 am. As we got ready to head out to ride I discovered that I had pulled a Basso and left my helmet at home. I called Kathy (unfortunately waking her up) and had her bring the helmet with her to the race. While I will ride on the streets without a helmet when I feel like it, I am definitely not comfortable mountain biking without one, especially when I'm working to keep up with Lou, Pete and Pig. I took it easy through Denman's, trying to keep the others in sight, but walking the log overs to avoid Murphy coming to bite me. After leaving Denman's through the new route along the creek we tried to ride through the path left by the equipment working to pave over where J11 used to be at. We were about 1/2 way in when the mud caked around my brakes and bottom bracket made it obvious that I wasn't going any further. I wasn't happy about having my bike completely caked with mud an hour before the race, so while the guys rode along Grand, I took a solitary trip on the railroad tracks to cool down. Pete wanted to race, but couldn't stick around due to other commitments. Race organizer Chris Maharry took pity on him and let him run the course while registration was going on. Lou and I make a quick trip to a car wash on 31st Street to clean our bikes off. A kind soul bought Lou's coffee for him at the Caribou drive thru as we headed to the car wash.

The race itself was pretty uneventful for me. We ran up the pavement and came down into some rarely used single track, along the rose garden and then took an unconventional line into roller coaster. In the midst of trying to catch the guy in front of me, I missed the turn by the pump house and had to back track, along with Paul Varnum of MOB Racing. I put a gap on Paul not too long after entering Rollercoaster proper, walked the switchback and proceeded to feel pretty good until I heard Cam Kirkpatrick coming up behind me (on his second run). We nudged a slight bit as he flew by me since I couldn't quite get completely out of his way. The price for the slow being in front of the quick I guess. The rest of my lap was spent working to to keep my heart out of my throat and my stomach contents down. I managed to successfully accomplish both (barely). I finished with a time of 26:12, which put me in 4th place in the 35+ Sport Men's group. Tom Anderson won our class handily with a 23:39. Overall winner was Cam Kirkpatrick with a 19:10. Kent Carlson handily won the single speed class with a time of 20:09. Oddly enough, my time would have been good enough for second in Sport Open. Looks like the old guys were faster for a change. :) Chris Maharry had plenty of swag on hand for prizes, including some bottles of wine, autographed photos of our own Oakley Rob, bike accessories and parts galore, and a number of pairs of sunglasses courtesy of Rob Versteegh and Oakley. After handing a good portion of the prizes, Chris opened up the rest of the "table" to anyone who didn't get anything and thought they deserved something for their efforts. After letting most of the others pick through stuff, I snagged a nice Aveda Shaving Kit filled with some cool stuff. Not your typical racing prize, but something more useful to me than a 26" mtb tire or a bottle of slime.

The course that Andy Lueck and Squirrel set up for us was a LOT of fun. I had ridden parts of Hillside that I typically don't ride, and they made the most of the mileage that was available on the trails. I think that if we were to cut off the run up the paved trail on subsequent laps, this would make for a great cross country race. I was a bit disappointed with the turnout for the race. With it being in town, I was sure that we would have a really good turnout from the local riders. There were a lot of people that I expected to be there that weren't. Hopefully next year.

After the event, Scott Sumpter and I rode over to Rasmussen's for a post race beer, pizza and bike party in the back of the shop. Good times as always. After an hour or two of pizza and beer, I rode back through Valley Junction and to Hy-Vee, loaded up and drove back home.

Beginning of the end

Next to last race of the 2008 IMBCS is tomorrow at Sugarbottom near North Liberty. I have the privilege of driving "Killer" Kent Carlson over there tomorrow morning. I'm sure Kent will continue his dominance of the single speed class tomorrow, as well as causing some expert class racers a few headaches as well. The weather is supposed to be perfect for tomorrow's race, with highs forecast to be in the mid to upper 70s. Racing starts at 10 for the beginners, noon for the expert and single speed classes, and a little after noon for the sport class.

IMBCS #5 - Mobbing the 'Quab

Drove back from Cedar Rapids this morning to take part in IMBCS race #5. Bruce Brown and the crew had set up a really nice course along the shores of and through the doubletrack around Lake Ahquabi. I arrived around 10, registered, got my bike ready and headed out for a recon lap. The course started out really fast, and I was feeling pretty good about my chances to do well. I was about halfway up the first climb when my bike stalled. I looked down and was greeted with the sight of my now bent rear derailer doing the tango with some of my spokes. I untangled the mess, moved the mech into the small cog and limped back to the starting line. Paul Varnum from MOB racing offered me a derailer to race with, but after a quick bit of fiddling, I had determined that my hanger was bent as well. A quick consult with fellow Rassy rider Kent Carlson and a few minutes later I was prepped to throw down on a single speed for the afternoon.

I sped out and got a quick recon lap in. Kent's gear recommendation was going to work well for most of the course. I'd have to walk the hills, but I could live with that. I got back to the start finish line with a few minutes to spare, and spent the rider meeting taking the wobble out of my rear wheel after cutting off the broken spoke that announce itself on my recon lap. We took off a few minutes after experts for the start of our 3 lap race. I spend the first half of the first lap passing a few people. Right as I left the forest to cross the earthen dam at the end of the course, I unknowingy allowed my hand to hit my front derailer trigger and drop my chain onto my granny gear. I spent the next minute putting my chain back on and watching most everyone that I had passed cruise on by. As I came through the start/finish area on the first lap and made the corner, I grabbed too much front brake and went down hard on the still damp grass. I checked my helmet for cracks, put it back on and went out for what was to be an uneventful lap two. I took it easier through the start finish area this time and went out for my final lap, still feeling pretty good. At the top of the first climb, I stopped quick to pick up the water bottle that bounced out on lap one and continued to cruise around the course, walking the climbs when I needed to.

As I crossed the lake for the last time and headed up "railroad tie hill" I spied Taylor Webb from Mercy Specialized walking his single speed up the hill. I picked up my pace and we went head to head for the rest of the lap, with Taylor and I trading the lead up the remaining hills. At the top of the hill I spun up and started pulling ahead of Taylor. Right as we hit the semi paved downhill, Taylor's front wheel washed out. At this point, I figured that Taylor would be satisfied with finishing, and I make the mistake of letting up slightly on the downhill. I heard Taylor coming behind me and I picked up the pace as we headed toward the line. We hit the line at what appeared to be the same time. Looking at the time sheets, it appeared that Taylor just nabbed me at the line. Lesson learned. You earn every spot.

My next race will be the Iowa Games Road Race on Sunday the 17th. Looking forward to racing with the road regulars and helping the effort where I can.

IMBCS #6 - The No Good Very Bad Day

Went to Seven Oaks for IMBCS #6 on Sunday. Took the family along as it seemed like it would be a good opportunity for them to get out and meet some of the people I've ridden with this year, along with some of the other "bike widows". Took a pre-ride with Bruce through what turned out to be the beginner loop. I came back shaking my head. Toughest course I've seen so far this year. Went out after the beginner race and rode our race course for a while and I was not having a lot of fun. Lots of falls and wrong gear choices really had me starting to question if I should be racing at all. Watched the experts go off at 11, and sport class went at 11:05. Came down into the course feeling OK, even if I was at the back. Rode past a couple of people with some flats and thought I was doing ok at that point. As soon as I crossed back over the bridges things just weren't working. No power on the climbs, I was falling over every time I took any speed off with the brakes, and I wasn't in any shape to barrel through the course. I made the decision to pull out before I feel the wrong way off a bridge or something else and hurt myself. I didn't particularly like DNF-ing, especially when I wasn't hurt or didn't have a mechanical, but something wasn't right on Sunday and I decided it was better to be safe than sorry.

It was good to see Tom Anderson finish strong, especially after his cramping issues on Wednesday night's Hundy. Also good to see Scott "Mr. BikeIowa" Sumpter out there mixing it up as well. Congrats to Rassmussen riders Cam Kirkpatrick for winning the expert class and Kent Carlson for winning single speed and taking 3rd overall in sport.

IMBCS #5 - A camel is not a mountain goat

Headed out early on Sunday with Kent Carlson to IMBCS #5 at Sunderbrunch Park in Davenport. The drive over to the park was uneventful, other than neither one of us bringing directions with us. A quick hit of the web with my phone and google maps and we were set. Kent and I arrived around 8:30, quickly registered and headed off for a recon lap of the course before the Novice race. I got a good taste for the course which had almost no flat sections at all. Andy Leuk said that the course reminded him of a cross between Boone and Sugarbottom. Not having been to either of those places, it's hard for me to say. Unfortunately, the course was set for the novice race, so I'd be in for some surprises once the race started. I spent some time riding around with Kent and Ben Shockey trying to keep the blood flowing. The sport, single speed, and women's open classes started the race together. The paved 1/4 mile climb help string people out a bit, but there were still some issues entering the single track. The course flowed really well and made excellent use of the terrain. I was really starting to feel bad about 2/3 of the way through the first lap. I happened to glance down at my HRM and saw 180 on the face. Knowing I couldn't keep that up for another eight miles, I backed off a bit and tried to recover. The second lap was better. I was getting a good feel for the course, but I was still trying to manage my heart rate so I could finish. I lost momentum a few times this lap and fell over. Unfortunately, I fell away from the bench cut in one spot and came down on a tree. I also managed to catch my bars on a tree on a short downhill section and throw myself ass over handlebars. By the time the third lap came around, I was in survival mode, wanting to make sure I finished the race. I stopped briefly to tie what was left of the shoelace on my right shoe, take a drink, and got back on the wagon. I finished with a time of 2:04, which was to the back of the finishers and 30 minutes behind the class winner. Not the result I was hoping for. However, I haven't been putting a lot of miles in on the mountain bike the last few months, and I certainly haven't been going out and riding that hard for any period of time recently. Too much camel in my training, not enough mountain goat. My results reflected that. I wanted to race the IMBCS series this year and get a taste of what it was like. I've learned that it's damn hard and you have to have some dedication and discipline if you are going to do well. I have a huge amount of respect for guys like Cam and Lou that can stay focused on their training and have the results to show for it. Riding in sport my first year may not have been the best choice, but it has been a good challenge, and I think that I am a better rider for doing so. The next race is August 3rd at Seven Oaks. Another course that I have not ridden, and it's supposed to be one of the tougher ones in the area as far as climbing is concerned. Should be a good time.

IMBCS #2 - Ingawanis' Revenge

(Actual number worn by the author)

IMBCS #2 was today at Camp Ingawanis south of Waverly. The Rasmussen Squad was well represented with at least 8 riders toeing the line at the start of the sport and expert races. I haven't ridden at Ingawanis before, and the recent rains meant that the course was moved to the "upper half". Upper half meant the part of the course that was built into the side of the hills, and had a ton of off rocky off camber areas. To say that the course was challenging would be an understatement. Kent Carlson and I left around 6:30 AM to make the trip up. We arrived around 8:45 AM, said hi to Cam and Bruce who came up together, and then went to check in. The photo at the top shows the number I happened to get, and omen of things to come. The expert, sport and single speed fields were on course at the same time, with the expert field getting a 5 minute head start. The sport field was large, and although we had plenty of room going up the road to the single track entrance, we quickly formed a very slow single line of bikes. The off camber climbs and descents worked to really slow things down for everyone. Unfortunately, the number 13 struck about 5 minutes into my race, as the quick link in my chain decided to self destruct right at the start of a small climb.

I grabbed the bike and chain and ran out of the course to get a replacement link (note to self, carry a quick link in my seat bag from now on). At the start finish line, I asked if I could still race for points if I fixed my bike and got off course. After checking with someone else, the start/finish people said I could still race for points. I headed to the truck and fought with some regular chain links until a kind soul two trucks down asked if I could use a quick link. I put the link back in and headed out on course, dutifully finishing my alotted three laps, slowing down and letting everyone else coming up behind me pass unhindered. The course itself was very challenging, with only one really flat part, and the rest of it consisting of either fast descents with roots or other treachery along the route and at the bottom, or various long or switch backed climbs with roots at various points along the way. One broken chain, one scraped ankle and a good hour and forty minutes later, I crossed the finish line. After the awards ceremony, I checked my time and it was listed as DNF. Appears that the start/finish people were misinformed about the legality of me completing the race. So $25 entry fee, a tank and a half of gas later, I'm home, with only a nice piece of road rash around my left ankle and goose egg on my right hip to show for the effort. I did have a good conversation with Kent on the way up and back, and saw Paul Jacobson and Paul Varnum from Ames, so the day was not a complete loss.

The Rassy riders placed well, with Cam Kirkpatrick taking the Expert win, Kent Carlson taking the Sport Single Speed win, and another Rasmussen rider taking the win in the women's Sport class. Congrats to everyone who won and finished. It was sweet seeing all of the black kit on the start line.

The new hand grips Donny Q suggested I use worked out well. My hands felt fine after the race and my shoulders and neck have much less stress now than they did after Sylvan Island. Over all the fit that I had Donny do for me seems to have cured the issues I've had with my hamstrings, so it was well worth the time and effort to have the fit done. 

I may need work a bit on adjusting the angle of the grips relative to my arms as I had some issues with burning sensation along the two tendons in the middle of my left wrist during the last lap. It was making it difficult to use the front brake, and hard to put any weight on the wrist on descents. Sitting here now, I'm feeling the same thing in my right wrist too.

I didn't bring a camera, so no photos from the day. If I find some, I'll link to them.

Update: Appears that the computer had it wrong. I actually was counted among the finishers of the race. I'm happy to report that I was not DFL either. :) Thanks to Mr Bidwell for getting to the bottom of things.

IMBCS #1 - Sylvan Stampede

Despite all of the rain that the area had received in the last 3 days, the 4th Annual Sylvan Stampede went off as scheduled yesterday. A large number of riders showed up from all over to participate in the event. I arrived at the event around 8 AM so that I could get my bike reassembled and get some laps in before the racing started. As I did this I was reminded of three common rules: Make a list. Pack well before the event. Double check your bike before you leave. Arriving at the race site, I realized that I had forgotten to pack a set of bike shorts in my bag. Not good. Thankfully, Rick from QFORC was willing to run home, and loan me a pair of shorts so that I could race. I owe him a drink or two if they are in town for our events later this year. Looking my bike over before heading on the course, I also realized that I was missing a chain ring bolt. The mechanic that was set up did not have any with him, so I tightened the other three the best that I could, and raced with them. I'l be picking up a proper tool and some loctite this week to make sure that doesn't happen again.

After all of the crap that Cam Kirkpatrick and Pete Basso fed me all winter, I decided to go ahead and race in the sport class. It seemed like a waste of time to enter a race and only ride for 7 miles. I had decided to start in the back and lay low so I wouldn't hold anyone up. However, adrenaline got the better of me at the start and I made a reasonably hard charge out of the starting area towards the funnel at the end. After the first lap, I could tell that I had gone out too hard and I backed down for the second lap so that I had a reasonable chance of finishing the race. Racing at the site of an old steel mill makes for some unique terrain. There were a large number of roots, hunks of concrete, and other things challenging you at every turn. I really started to feel my lack of conditioning around lap 4. I have been riding 60 and 100 mile gravel grinders a lot more than I have been 17 mile off road sprints. I'll have to start riding the center trails a lot more (and a lot harder) if I plan on getting any better. I also noticed that I was having issues keeping my speed and momentum up on the tighter sections of the course. I may have to check with some local 29er riders for some hints on how to improve my performance there.

I'm still trying to figure out where I finished in the pack. I know times of people behind me, and I know times of some people that were pulled. However, I can't find my name on the results page, nor can I remember what my chip number was so I could look my time up by that. Hopefully the folks at FORC can get it all straightened out. Overall, I'm happy with how my first race went. It's obvious that I'm not 23 any more, and that I have a lot of learning to do about how to race a mountain bike, but I finished the entire race, I only crashed once (damn tree), and I didn't get lapped by the winner. My family had a good time watching me race as well, and it was certainly nice hearing them cheer for me as I passed the spectator area. Unfortunately, our crack media crew left the camera in the car, so I don't have any photos to post. Hopefully I can track some down, as there were a number of still and digital cameras on the course during the race. Next race is Camp Inagawanis near Waverly on May 4th. I'm looking forward to it.