Three Peaks

Last weekend I made the trip to Beech Mountain to try my luck at the next round of the UltraCross series. I am not sure exactly what made me to decide to sign up for this race, but for some reason I did. it was a long trip and the plan was to head down and get in a ride on Saturday. The rain had a different plan. We had nothing but rain the whole way there and most of the night. It was nice to relax and after not riding a bike for two weeks, I am not sure how much good a ride would have done me.

It was foggy and cold Sunday morning. I was not sure what to wear. I thought I had it figured out and changed my mind last minute before heading up the hill. Once we got up there I second guessed my choices since it was so cold. I put on a little more than I planned, but didn't go too far overboard. As the day went on, I was very glad I didn't put on any more than I did, because I was too warm for most of the ride. There were some cool section, but overall I was plenty warm.

What can I say about the race? Well, that is hard. Overall I would say it was exactly what I should have expected. I knew there would be a lot of climbing and I knew how some climbs are in some areas around there. It just didn't sink in until I was climbing up the first road climb. I was way in the back of the pack, but I was not in a position to try and move up the pack. I was more worried about finishing the day.

The legs didn't feel too bad when I finally made it to the top and started to head back down. I would make up time on the down hills and trail sections. I would loose some time on the climbs if the people on CX bikes were riding. Once they had to walk, I would hold my own or make up some time since I had a smaller gear to keep me rolling. The road down hill was a little scary. I went as fast as I felt I could slow down enough to make the switchback corners. Eventually we hit a flatter section of road and I found a fast woman to help pull me along. We joined up with another guy and the three of us worked together for a while. We broke up when we hit the creek crossing and trail section.

The trail was pretty muddy with all the rain the day before. The 42's were rolling pretty good and keeping enough traction. I didn't worry about my shoes getting wet on the creek crossing and it is a good thing too. A few of the mud puddles were deep enough that my shoes got wet anyway. Once I hit the road again, it was time to climb. The road climb was pretty steep and went on for a while. I figured for sure that was the second peak and that would only leave the final climb to the resort for the third peak. Not long after this climb, I rolled in to the second rest area.

The next section I could see the leaders rolling back to hit the rest area again. That meant they had 10 miles on me. Not what I really wanted to know, but it really didn't shock me. There were a few good hills in the next section. I figured there would be, but what I didn't figure on was the gravel road climb that just went on and on. I could not believe how much climbing I was doing on this gravel road. Then to top it off, I hit the top and there was a trail section that climbed even more and more and more. I guess this was actually the second peak, but it felt like the third peak in my book. This hill hurt and I started to feel the effort. I just kept moving and soon enough I was back at the rest stop. From here it was a good down hill and then a 10 mile climb that was going to net out about 2400 feet of elevation.

The first part was wearing me out, but I managed to keep moving. I was going pretty slow at this point for most sections, but I was really starting to feel the efforts from the day. I was at the rest stop in just over 4 hours. I was pretty happy with this and thought that I might be able to get close to a 5 hour time. Not too much farther up the hill I began to hope that I could finish in a 7 hour time with my current pace. I was fighting off some cramps, but not too bad. I was hurting really back and not feeling good. I had to walk a lot of tough sections from here on out. Just about everyone who I had passed all day came riding by again. They all said they were hurting, but it looked a little different to me as they pulled away.

I had to walk way too much in this section, but I finally saw the wind mills at the top of the hill and I knew the finish was just around the corner. I was completely spent and had nothing left. But, I am happy that I finished and didn't try to pull out. I admit that if someone would have offered to give me a ride, I would have gladly took them up on it. It is a good thing that no one asked. That third peak was miserable. I have no idea how I continued to keep moving. It took me 2 1/2 hours to ride the last 12 miles. That is just pathetic.

Will I go back next year or at some other time? Right now I just don't know. I am sure I could do a lot better if I had been still riding the last month and a half. I would not be fast enough to keep up with the leaders, but I am sure I could take a lot of time off. But it was not all a lost. I did learn something. If I am going to ride 55 miles and be on a bike for over 4 hours, I really need to eat more. For the 6.5 hours I only ate two packages of gummy chews, two gels and a bottle of G2. Yea, that was probably not enough. I just hope I can learn from that mistake and do a better job eating for the Gravel Grovel.

Waverly Park KPS

Sorry this is so late. I hope this end of the season wind down does not continue. For months that I should be getting some of the most miles of the year, I am hardly getting any at all. I hate to waste all the miles I put in, just to let them fade away before some of the hardest races I am going of the year.

Waverly was the last race in the Kentucky Point Series. Before we even went, I think I had third place locked up for the season. Pretty good, but not as impressive to myself as it might sound. I would have been more impressed with a lot of other things that could have happened this year. But, never the less, I am still glad I raced the series. There were lots of good times had and lots of good people to spend time with. Not much more you could ask for.

The SS was rolling better than it had been. There were several SS racers in the mix. I was hoping to ride well and see what I could do. I had not been riding as much the weeks leading up to this race, but still getting out a little. With the racers I saw there, I knew a top 3 would be a miracle, but I still wanted to ride hard. It was obvious right off the start that a good finish was not going to be in the books unless a few guys completely blew up. The pace that everyone went up the hill was crazy. I felt like I was riding better than I normally would and I felt like I was sitting still. This is not a good thing with how long the climb is. That just means I am way back off of the pace before we even hit the woods.

I felt like I rode well for the race. I passed several people and didn't seem to get passed by too many. I kept hoping to find another SS racer to try and pass, but it didn't happen. So, I just was in my own little world riding my bike as fast as I could, but once again not fast enough. I ended up crossing the line in 7th place. I guess not too bad, but nothing I can get too excited about.

This brings up a thought that I continue to struggle with. Should I be racing in the SS class? I do love my SS and really want to participate to help keep the class alive. I know there are several other racers out there who could race in this class, but decide to not race at all. I just don't feel like I compete in this class for most of the races. There have been a couple races this year where I felt like there were other guys to actually race. Other than that, it is just full of guys that I don't have a chance to keep up with. Don't get me wrong. I am not looking for an easy win or anything. My problem is that I am currently a mid pack Cat 2 racer and most of the guys who race the SS class are Cat 1 racers or at the very least contenders for the win in Cat 2.

I have improved a lot this year and really hope I can step it up even more for next year. If I could get closer to the front of the Dino Cat 2 40-49 age group, I don't think I would have as much doubts about racing SS. Part of me thinks I should just race my SS in the Cat 2 class. The other part of me things if I am racing Cat 2 than I might as well race the bike that I can do the best on no matter if it is SS or geared. Most would tend to think I would be faster on the geared bike, but I have found out that I have done a lot better in some races on the SS than I did on the geared bike no matter how much faster I felt like I was going.

I guess this leaves me with a winter to get faster before I really have to decide what to do. It would be a lot easier if all you other SS'ers out there would just make the trip to the Kentucky races and help make the classes bigger. I just need to get in better shape and I will ride both bikes better than I did this year.

After the race was over and we moved on, Dean talked me in to doing something I have not done in a very long time. We made a trip to the Louisville Extreme Park. He even put a skateboard together for me to use. It really didn't take much are twisting to get me out there, but I was not sure what I was going to do. The more comfortable I got with the board, the more I did. I was rolling in on one of the bowls and trying to do some things on the coping. I eventually did a little and felt good about it, but shortly after that I didn't do as well and ended up falling to the bottom of the transition.  I did learn that concrete hurts like hell and I really should have put my pads on. I have too much to loose if I break something. The other bad thing that happened is that I am now completely ready to go back. It didn't take much to get that fire back in me. I just am not sure what I am willing to try. It had been at least 20 years since I had skated on a transition, but it sure was fun.

If anyone wants to give me the money to build a mini in my back yard, I would be all over it. I would not need anything huge. Just something to flow on and do a little grinding and stuff. Ahh.. the good old days. Once again I have to wonder why in the hell did I sell off all my old boards. I am sure I would have skated some more before now and I would not have been as rusty. If I could just go back in time.... I would still have my skateboards, freestyle bike, BMX bikes and drum set. Hard telling what I would be doing these days.