24 Hours of Seven Oaks

Labor day weekend brought about the 7th installment of the 24 Hours of Seven Oaks. I had been thinking about this event for a couple of years after seeing other people's race reports. A gracious Jacob Naumann had invited me, Mike Lebeda, and Ken Tague to form a 4 man team for the event. The shop's light, fast guys had decided to form a team with enough horsepower to keep the 4 man trophy in our possession for another year, so we decided to just go up, ride ourselves silly and have a good time.

I could give a detailed report of what happened. Instead I'm going to give you this summary paragraph. If you love mountain biking, you owe it to yourself to make it to this event next year. Camping is free, you're surrounded by like minded riders, families and friends, and the atmosphere for the weekend is party-like. If you've never ridden a 24 hour event before, a 4 man team is, in my opinion, the best way to take part in your first 24 hour event. Find three other people that want to ride their bikes and form a team. Ride as many, or as few, laps as you want and have a great time. I rode 6 laps during the race, more than all of my previous laps combined on the course, and I had a ton of fun. Yes, you'll get dirty, you'll get tired, and you'll maybe get a few scrapes. You will also be able to challenge your body, your mind, spend a lot of peaceful time in the outdoors, and make some new friends along the way.

Thanks to the race organizers, volunteers, trail workers and everyone else that made this event possible. A special congratulations to The Rasmussen 4 man team of Alread, Anderson, Blackford and Cline for their 4 man 24 hour win (30 laps) and the two man team of Logan and Sherman for their 2 man 12-hour win. I was also privileged to see and ride with both my good friend Paul Jacobson as he scored a second place in the 12 hour solo and TransIowa finisher Charlie Farrow as he scored a second place finish in the always tough 24 hour solo race.

Although I came back beat up after riding almost 50 miles on my full rigid Karate Monkey, I plan on making the trek to Boone again next year for the weekend, riding more laps, and having more fun.

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.

Trailwork ++

Met Squirrel, Kent and Justin at the exit of Denman's on Friday evening for some rework on the exit and a bit of mowing. A couple of hours later we had a good portion of the back half of Denman's mowed and a new exit cut and test ridden. Pete Basso and one other person whose name I didn't catch also showed up to lend a hand. Afterwards, some tasty adult beverages and a trip to Squirrel's place to sharpen up the tools, finish off the bevvy's and head for home. Quick stop at Panchero's for a burrito and I was set for the night.

Went to Banner this morning to help out with the trail work down there. The plan was to move dirt, build derms and cleanup any trees that had fallen over during the winter. We managed to get nice berms built for two high speed corners in the space of about 3.5 hours. We also cleared out a number of trees that were clogging up the works as well. Not a bad bit of work for the size of crew that showed up. Next work day is the 24th at 8:00 AM. We can use a lot more people to help get things finished up.

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.

Mojo JoJo

A old rider once mentioned that you cannot chose your mojo, your mojo chooses you. I found this little dromedary camel in the street riding around this morning. I initially passed him up, but something told me to turn around and pick him up. Looking up some facts about camels I'm finding a lot of reasons to believe that this is an appropriate mojo. My height (6'1") is about the same height as a camel at the shoulder. Dromedaries are warmer climate camels, and I'm definitely more a fan of the heat than the cold. I tend to be able to ride quite a while without drinking a lot. Dromedaries are able to maintain speeds of 8-9 mph for hours at a time. As I tend to like endurance riding events, I also tend to maintain a steady speed for hours at a time as well. Taking all of this into account, this small camel is now my mojo. His name is JoJo.

Snuck one in

Met up with Lou, Pete, and about 8 other people for a couple of hours out at the Center Trails this morning. Lou sent me a text message at 6:00 AM. I didn't wake up to look at it until 6:45 and the ride started at 7:30. Threw some clothes on after looking at the temp, grabbed a water bottle, choked down a clif bar and left about 7:05. No coffee and not meeting for pre-ride breakfast banter sucked. Rick Blackford mistimed a curb hop and took a hard endo into the concrete with his head and shoulder before we even hit any dirt. Cracked the top of his helmet pretty good. He decided to keep riding with us rather than head home. He's pretty stiff and sore as of this evening. Hopefully nothing too serious comes up when he sees the doc tomorrow. Interesting trail conditions today for sure. They were either covered in ice, or they were in a semi-frozen sponge state. You could feel the dirt sucking at your rear wheel, but when you looked back, you were hardly leaving any marks in the trail. We made a pass through Denmans, Rhythm, Squirrels Nest, Hilliside and about 1/2 of J11. I'm going to have to go back and hit up hillside consistantly over the next few weeks before the IORCA series starts. The first climb up the hill and I was gasping for breath. I'm sure the 32 degree temps had something to do with it, but I also know my cardio needs a better workout than I've been giving it lately on these metric and standard centuries. Need to get in better shape for sure.

My USAC license showed up in the mail this weekend too. I guess I'm all official now. Time to go out, race and have some fun.

Speaking of fun, The GRAID is still on for the end of the month. Not sure where we're leaving from, but there's at least five of us taking this on. I still need to figure out if I'm going to try and go light, or if I'm going to throw a rack and some panniers on the back so I have spare clothes and stuff in case we run into issues. I don't want to be carrying too much weight with me, but I also don't want to be stuck without something in time of need. A lot can change over a couple of days, especially in spring, and especially in Iowa. Better safe than sorry when it comes to the weather. I can't wait to meet the other guys in person. I also can't wait to take on the challenge. This would be potentially easier later in the year, but some people are using this as a Trans-Iowa warm up, and others are doing this instead of Trans-Iowa. Some of us are doing it just for the challenge and to say we did it.