Here's some cool video from our DH weekend in Mammoth.
Riders: Rob, Al, Cy, Chris, Gerry and Danny
Special thanks to Chris for making a bunch of bad downhill riders look somewhat decent.
AL
www.donsbikesraceteam.com
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Monday, September 14, 2009
Rim Nordic - On a Tandem
(posted by Jeff Stanners)
Lisa and I headed up to Rim Nordic on Sunday for their last race of the summer. It was a first for both of us....racing on our tandem. Months ago we toyed around the idea of buying a tandem and racing it. Most companies don't currently make a mountain bike tandem and the few that do charge a small fortune for them. A decent front suspension tandem costs at least $4000 while the higher end full suspension tandems are upwards of $7000. We decided to go cheap and test out a junker first.
About 3 months ago we found one on ebay. We got it for $150 plus $30 to have it delivered. The stoker bars were bent so we replaced them with some pink ones. We added chunky grips to both the front and back and they've helped tremendously (well...a little) to make up for a lack of suspension. The biggest and most important upgrade we made was switching from cantilever brakes to U brakes. With the cantilevers the best we could hope for on a downhill was to slow down. Now with the U brakes we can actually come to a stop if I squeeze hard enough. We also replaced the shifters and one of the cables.
The bike weighs in at just a tad under 50 pounds. Our first ride we took it up to Crafton and rode on the fireroad a little. Next ride was again at Crafton but we pushed it a little more and had a slight test of our technical skills on it. Then ride #3 took us to the wash in Mentone. The wash is not at all steep, but it is singletrack and can get a little technical. That was the first real test for us and the first time we sort of beat the bike up.
Our plan all along was to race it at the State Championship race in Big Bear, but with the date change it doesn't look like we'll be able to make it. So with not much going on this past weekend we decided to try racing it at Rim Nordic.
They start the tandems with the cat 3's at 9:00am. We had no qualms about just doing 1 lap. Seemed like the perfect place for our first race, except that this is real mountain biking at Rim Nordic....with bridges, steep climbs, switchbacks, sandy turns, and lots of singletrack. Mostly things that make mountain biking great, but all things that make it tough on a tandem.
The race ended up being incredibly fun. The only close call we had was on our warm-up lap and we attempted to cross the first bridge. Our day was literally an inch or so away from being over. After that we decided we'd walk all the bridges on the course. We did, however, manage to make all the climbs except the couple that came immediately after switchbacks. Most satisfying was making it up the top sandy climb just before the Explosives Shed.
We finished in a satisfying 44:53. Certainly not blazing fast, but for that course it felt great. We both had a blast racing it. After over 20 races this year it was very fun to actually race together. Not sure when the next tandem race will be, but there's bound to be some more on occasion for us. We were the only tandem at Rim Nordic. It seems Sea Otter draws the biggest tandem fields so we have that penciled in for next season.
Our Race on Garmin Connect
Our Results
Rim Nordic Racing
Lisa and I headed up to Rim Nordic on Sunday for their last race of the summer. It was a first for both of us....racing on our tandem. Months ago we toyed around the idea of buying a tandem and racing it. Most companies don't currently make a mountain bike tandem and the few that do charge a small fortune for them. A decent front suspension tandem costs at least $4000 while the higher end full suspension tandems are upwards of $7000. We decided to go cheap and test out a junker first.
About 3 months ago we found one on ebay. We got it for $150 plus $30 to have it delivered. The stoker bars were bent so we replaced them with some pink ones. We added chunky grips to both the front and back and they've helped tremendously (well...a little) to make up for a lack of suspension. The biggest and most important upgrade we made was switching from cantilever brakes to U brakes. With the cantilevers the best we could hope for on a downhill was to slow down. Now with the U brakes we can actually come to a stop if I squeeze hard enough. We also replaced the shifters and one of the cables.
The bike weighs in at just a tad under 50 pounds. Our first ride we took it up to Crafton and rode on the fireroad a little. Next ride was again at Crafton but we pushed it a little more and had a slight test of our technical skills on it. Then ride #3 took us to the wash in Mentone. The wash is not at all steep, but it is singletrack and can get a little technical. That was the first real test for us and the first time we sort of beat the bike up.
Our plan all along was to race it at the State Championship race in Big Bear, but with the date change it doesn't look like we'll be able to make it. So with not much going on this past weekend we decided to try racing it at Rim Nordic.
They start the tandems with the cat 3's at 9:00am. We had no qualms about just doing 1 lap. Seemed like the perfect place for our first race, except that this is real mountain biking at Rim Nordic....with bridges, steep climbs, switchbacks, sandy turns, and lots of singletrack. Mostly things that make mountain biking great, but all things that make it tough on a tandem.
The race ended up being incredibly fun. The only close call we had was on our warm-up lap and we attempted to cross the first bridge. Our day was literally an inch or so away from being over. After that we decided we'd walk all the bridges on the course. We did, however, manage to make all the climbs except the couple that came immediately after switchbacks. Most satisfying was making it up the top sandy climb just before the Explosives Shed.
We finished in a satisfying 44:53. Certainly not blazing fast, but for that course it felt great. We both had a blast racing it. After over 20 races this year it was very fun to actually race together. Not sure when the next tandem race will be, but there's bound to be some more on occasion for us. We were the only tandem at Rim Nordic. It seems Sea Otter draws the biggest tandem fields so we have that penciled in for next season.
Our Race on Garmin Connect
Our Results
Rim Nordic Racing
Monday, September 7, 2009
New SoCal Mountain Bike Race: Over the Hump Series
Now that summer is winding down and we've all had some time off to take a vacation and enjoy the sunshine, it's time to start thinking about getting back in shape. What a better way than to start with a little mid-week racing!
Last week one of our team members, Jeff Stanners, participated in this new race in the OC called the Over the Hump Series. He had some great things to say about it and I think more of us will try to make it out to the next one.
Here's what he said:
(click on pictures to enlarge)
Another thing that looks interesting is the class structure. There are basically three classes (beginner, sport and expert) and the age brackets are wide e.g. 30-39. This should keep things competitive and should prove to be pretty interesting, especially in the Expert-Pro class.
Race Information
Over The Hump Series
Classes
Map, Directions and Parking
Results
More Resources
Mountain Bike Action article on the Race
OC Register article on the Race
Here's some actual video coverage of the whole race. Looks fun!
http://www.donsbikesraceteam.com/
Last week one of our team members, Jeff Stanners, participated in this new race in the OC called the Over the Hump Series. He had some great things to say about it and I think more of us will try to make it out to the next one.
Here's what he said:
Last week I did this race last week called Over the Hump Series. I thought I’d share this since it’s a new race and it was a lot of fun for a mid-week
race. It was on Wednesday evening at Irvine Lake in Orange County.
315 people showed up and raced on the 3.7 mile course. Expert’s did 4
laps, Sports did 3 laps. There were some good local pros there – Sid,
Manny, and Sean Donovan went 1-2-3. It’s about a 50 minute drive down
there from Redlands and best of all the race only cost $20. There next one
is on a Tuesday on September 15. They said they plan to have a summer
series of 6-8 races next year, all mid-week evening races.
It’s worth checking out if you’re looking for something fast to do during the
week.
(click on pictures to enlarge)
Another thing that looks interesting is the class structure. There are basically three classes (beginner, sport and expert) and the age brackets are wide e.g. 30-39. This should keep things competitive and should prove to be pretty interesting, especially in the Expert-Pro class.
Race Information
Over The Hump Series
Classes
Map, Directions and Parking
Results
More Resources
Mountain Bike Action article on the Race
OC Register article on the Race
Here's some actual video coverage of the whole race. Looks fun!
http://www.donsbikesraceteam.com/
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Mechanic's Corner: How to fix a broken front XTR derailleur
During my last race up in Canada, I managed to break my trusty XTR front derailleur. The front arm snapped off where the cage pivots. I still had two solid weeks of riding ahead of me, so I needed to do something. When I got back to my folks place, my dad and I went into the trusty garage and came up with a plan to fix it.
I was a little concerned about the rivet on the inside face because I thought it would affect the chain when moving up to the bigger rings. After a quick test ride however, I could tell the chain could still hop from ring to ring just fine.
Anyhow, this little fix proved to get me through two weeks of riding just fine, and I’m actually thinking about just racing it as is. It’s works perfectly and seems stronger now than it was before.
So before you throw down $250 to replace that broken derailleur, don’t be afraid to give this a try.
AL
http://www.donsbikesraceteam.com/
Here’s what we did.
1. Found a small ¼” x ½” 1/16 piece of flat metal.
2. Bent it into an “L” shape bracket and ground off the edges.
3. Clamped it into place on the inside of the broken derailleur.
4. Drilled two ¼” holes on each side of the derailleur and bracket.
5. Riveted the derailleur face and back-side.to stabilize the cage.
6. Ensured the bracket cleared the pivots and frame.
Voila!
I was a little concerned about the rivet on the inside face because I thought it would affect the chain when moving up to the bigger rings. After a quick test ride however, I could tell the chain could still hop from ring to ring just fine.Anyhow, this little fix proved to get me through two weeks of riding just fine, and I’m actually thinking about just racing it as is. It’s works perfectly and seems stronger now than it was before.So before you throw down $250 to replace that broken derailleur, don’t be afraid to give this a try.
AL
http://www.donsbikesraceteam.com/
Monday, August 17, 2009
A Random Epic Adventure: El Grande
The other day I heard that someone was organizing a ride from the very top of the mountains in Big Bear to the very bottom. The plan was to put together some of the best single track in SoCal to make one of the greatest descents around. In theory, it looked to be between 10,000-11,000 ft of descending.
So how could I resist, I'm always up for an adventure! Not knowing any of these guys, I sent an email out and asked if I could join in.
When I got in touch with the organizer Paul Romero, I knew I was in for something special. Paul edged me out at the last 12hr solo, so I knew he and I were on the same page when it came to "big" adventures.
He described the ride like this:
SART
We eventually made it down to Hwy 38 and turned left to climb up to the top of the SART - a section I had never ridden before, and now I know why. This was basically a horse-beaten, sandy section with quite a few climbs that was completely working us over.
After a little grumbling, we survived this section and refueled at South Fork.
From South Fork on, it was just a blast. Just miles of some of the best single track (SART) in SoCal. We were switching off positions leading and having the time of our lives. The only issues was I was having a ton of trouble with my bike because my free hub was locking up and by brakes were seizing badly. After a little surgery however, we managed to get bike semi-functional.
The last nasty section (for me anyways) was Middle Control Rd. I usually love this climb, but by this time, I was totally worked over. My big bike was killing me.
Anyhow, we made it to Angelus Oaks and rolled in for some food at "The Oaks" restaurant.
Decision Time
From there, we had two choices:
1) Finish off the last part of the SART by climbing to Thomas Hunting Grounds and then Morton's Peak; or
2) Blast down Old Hwy 38 (on dirt) and roll through the wash back to my place where there was cold beer and pool waiting.
We were all pretty wrecked so we unanimously picked option 2.
NOE: If you've never done the Old Hwy 38, it's actually a blast. You can ride down old Hwy 38 to the actual Hwy 38 and then catch a bunch of single track at the wash at the bottom, so that's what we did.
New Friends
We finally made it back to Redlands where my wife had cold beer waiting for us on ice and the pool was ready to go. We all jumped in and had a celebratory beverage. This was definitely one of the most "random epic adventures" I've ever done.
When you think about it, I didn't know any of these guys, but we all proved we could work together to overcome the elements including 5+ flat tires, siezing brakes and hubs, and the best of all, about 11,000ft of descending on some of the best single track in SoCal.
So how could I resist, I'm always up for an adventure! Not knowing any of these guys, I sent an email out and asked if I could join in.
When I got in touch with the organizer Paul Romero, I knew I was in for something special. Paul edged me out at the last 12hr solo, so I knew he and I were on the same page when it came to "big" adventures.
He described the ride like this:
We'll be parking on the North Side of Sugarloaf Mountain....(Greenspot,Here's a map and profile of the route.
it's called...), HWY 38, and Hatchery Road.....From there we'd all ride up to the Summit... (maybe 1.5-2 hour climb). Then Begin the 6-8 hours of descent down to Mountain Village. Mostly all singletrack.
NOTE: I started my GPS a little late off the top, so you can easily add a couple hundred more feet and some mileage to the profile. See GPS info here.
The Gang
When I arrived I was greeted by Paul (our fearless and slightly insane leader), Billy (a crazy trainer on a psycotic 29er), Casey (a 15yr old biking prodigy that's as good on as any of us), and Clay, another local crazy man.
Since the ride was going to be mostly descending, I decided to take my big bike (Nomad). Good move right? Wrong! Most of the crew had XC and/or slightly beefed-up XC bikes. Woops!
The Climb
It was just a few minutes into the ride and we started the brutal ascent up Sugarloaf trail. No warm-up or anything, just straight up. Some parts were climbable, but it took absolute full-out efforts to get up most parts the trail. This turned into a bike-push-bike section.
We basically fought through the rocks and got our bikes up to the intersection with Wildhorse Trail. From there it was more of push-ride-push to the top.
In the end, it was about 3400ft of climbing. See GPS info here.
So where was the decending I was thinking to myself? And man, did I have the wrong bike!
Top of the World
Once we were at the top the views were epic. We took a few snapshots and started our 11,000 ft decent to the bottom.
The "Descent"
One thing I've learned about the single tracks in the San Bernardino mountains; where there's down, there's also a lot of up. The descent off the very top was knarly! There were lots of fist-sized boulders and technical switchbacks the whole way. It was fun however as you could jump and hop off sections to clear the nasty stuff. Good times.
The descent down Wild Horse was absolutely "wild". Not knowing the trail, I was in tow most of the way but had a ton of fun. Most of it was downhill but there were a few 10 min climbing sections along the way; just enough to remind you that this wasn't a trail for a DH bike.
The crew were all equally skilled and we kept the show going the whole way; minus a few flat tires and seizing brakes. The "little man" Casey was killing it. This guy is going to be a super star someday!
SART
We eventually made it down to Hwy 38 and turned left to climb up to the top of the SART - a section I had never ridden before, and now I know why. This was basically a horse-beaten, sandy section with quite a few climbs that was completely working us over.
After a little grumbling, we survived this section and refueled at South Fork.
From South Fork on, it was just a blast. Just miles of some of the best single track (SART) in SoCal. We were switching off positions leading and having the time of our lives. The only issues was I was having a ton of trouble with my bike because my free hub was locking up and by brakes were seizing badly. After a little surgery however, we managed to get bike semi-functional.
The last nasty section (for me anyways) was Middle Control Rd. I usually love this climb, but by this time, I was totally worked over. My big bike was killing me.
Anyhow, we made it to Angelus Oaks and rolled in for some food at "The Oaks" restaurant.
Decision Time
From there, we had two choices:
1) Finish off the last part of the SART by climbing to Thomas Hunting Grounds and then Morton's Peak; or
2) Blast down Old Hwy 38 (on dirt) and roll through the wash back to my place where there was cold beer and pool waiting.
We were all pretty wrecked so we unanimously picked option 2.
NOE: If you've never done the Old Hwy 38, it's actually a blast. You can ride down old Hwy 38 to the actual Hwy 38 and then catch a bunch of single track at the wash at the bottom, so that's what we did.
New Friends
We finally made it back to Redlands where my wife had cold beer waiting for us on ice and the pool was ready to go. We all jumped in and had a celebratory beverage. This was definitely one of the most "random epic adventures" I've ever done.
When you think about it, I didn't know any of these guys, but we all proved we could work together to overcome the elements including 5+ flat tires, siezing brakes and hubs, and the best of all, about 11,000ft of descending on some of the best single track in SoCal.
El Grande Totals
Climbing: 6200+ ft
Descending: 11,000+ ft
Distance: 53+ miles
Time: ~9:00 hrs
So the next time you have a chance to hook up with any of these guys, you have my word that you'll be in for an epic adventure.
Thanks again for the experience!
AL
http://www.donsbikesraceteam.com/
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Part IV: The Finish - Lost in the Rocks and Trees
To learn more about this race or see more photos, go here. North Bay Camera Club reserves all rights to the photos. Please visit their site to purchase pictures and make a charity donation.
Part I: Getting There
Part II: Commitment
Part III: The Race
Part IV: The Finish
Final Miles
We dropped out of the forest on the far side of town so we had to cross the bridge and make our way back through the streets of downtown Mattawa. Mattawa is truely a beautiful town.
We were all covered with mud from head to toe. Once again, the people just looked at us like we were crazy. Just before the end was a pavement climb and then I came to a complete stop, waiting for the highway to clear.
When I came through the finish line I called out my number, raised my hands like they do at the Tour, and rolled across the finish line. There was barely anyone around and it was totally anti-climatic, but I was a pretty happy camper.
I had finished 1st in the 110km race. Mission accomplished I thought to myself.
The Frenchman was done the 62km race and he had finished 4th in his class. Ron came in a little while later and also placed 3rd in the 110km race as well. A great effort by both riders!
So what happened to my bike? Well, the front of the derailleur cage broke off on one side and that’s why it wouldn’t pull it off the big ring. Ah, it all made sense now!
Post-race Activities
By this time, the sun was finally peeking through the clouds and we just sat on our super-cool chairs all regrouped by car.
Afterwards, they had an area set up were we could wash off our bikes off, so we cleaned them up and even took showers in the arena. After that we just hung out by the car, cheered on the other finishers and had a few beers.
At this point we just sat around and exchanged stories, and trust me, we all had something to share.
Later on in the day, they had a huge barbeque buffet set up for all of the riders and staff. We were absolutely starved by this point and the food, beverages and deserts were just awesome. It took a while but it was well worth the wait.
Awards
The award ceremony afterward was 100% Canadian-style; right in the middle of a hockey rink arena in the center of town. Perfect I thought to myself!
Nick went through all of the formalities of thanking the town, volunteers that helped support the race, and the local stores and businesses that made numerous donations and prizes.
When it was my turn to go up, I also gave a little thanks to everyone out there and encouraged folks to tell their friends (and enemies) to come out next year.
My grand prize was an Garmin GPS system. My wife has been threatening to drive from California to Canada for years now, so this was an absolutely perfect gift for me, or should I say, for her. :)
They also had a ton of prizes for the other racers as well, so I think everyone walked away from this event with something. They had everything from bike computers to GPSs to free V02 fitness testing certificates (a $200+ value!) to t-shirts. You name it.
For a small town race it sure had some big time prizes!
So was this the toughest race in Ontario?
Well, all I can say is that I’ve done a few other 8hr and 24hr races in Ontario in the past, and this was definitely a lot harder than any of those ones. Nothing was quite as diverse and as demanding as this course.
To finish this race, there’s no doubt you needed to be tough, but you also needed to be smart. It helps to have a solid plan (nutrition, bike prep…) and it also helps to know how to ride in varying race conditions (sand, mud, water, rain).
And lastly, you have to know when to take it easy, get off and walk, shift gently etc... so you can get your bike back to the finish line in one piece.
Thanks to everyone, the promoters, sponsors, volunteers, mechanic support, and my friends, who helped get me there and make this happen.
I highly recommend putting this one on your calendar for next year!
AL (stuck in California, but still 100% Canadian)
PS - Oh ya, I'm also sooooooo happy we didn't end up throwing in the towel on this one. We all would have missed out on an epic adventure!
Part I: Getting There
Part II: Commitment
Part III: The Race
Part IV: The Finish
Final Miles
We dropped out of the forest on the far side of town so we had to cross the bridge and make our way back through the streets of downtown Mattawa. Mattawa is truely a beautiful town.
We were all covered with mud from head to toe. Once again, the people just looked at us like we were crazy. Just before the end was a pavement climb and then I came to a complete stop, waiting for the highway to clear.
When I came through the finish line I called out my number, raised my hands like they do at the Tour, and rolled across the finish line. There was barely anyone around and it was totally anti-climatic, but I was a pretty happy camper.
I had finished 1st in the 110km race. Mission accomplished I thought to myself.
The Frenchman was done the 62km race and he had finished 4th in his class. Ron came in a little while later and also placed 3rd in the 110km race as well. A great effort by both riders!
So what happened to my bike? Well, the front of the derailleur cage broke off on one side and that’s why it wouldn’t pull it off the big ring. Ah, it all made sense now!
Post-race ActivitiesBy this time, the sun was finally peeking through the clouds and we just sat on our super-cool chairs all regrouped by car.
Afterwards, they had an area set up were we could wash off our bikes off, so we cleaned them up and even took showers in the arena. After that we just hung out by the car, cheered on the other finishers and had a few beers.
At this point we just sat around and exchanged stories, and trust me, we all had something to share.
Later on in the day, they had a huge barbeque buffet set up for all of the riders and staff. We were absolutely starved by this point and the food, beverages and deserts were just awesome. It took a while but it was well worth the wait.
AwardsThe award ceremony afterward was 100% Canadian-style; right in the middle of a hockey rink arena in the center of town. Perfect I thought to myself!
Nick went through all of the formalities of thanking the town, volunteers that helped support the race, and the local stores and businesses that made numerous donations and prizes.
When it was my turn to go up, I also gave a little thanks to everyone out there and encouraged folks to tell their friends (and enemies) to come out next year.
My grand prize was an Garmin GPS system. My wife has been threatening to drive from California to Canada for years now, so this was an absolutely perfect gift for me, or should I say, for her. :)
They also had a ton of prizes for the other racers as well, so I think everyone walked away from this event with something. They had everything from bike computers to GPSs to free V02 fitness testing certificates (a $200+ value!) to t-shirts. You name it.For a small town race it sure had some big time prizes!
So was this the toughest race in Ontario?
Well, all I can say is that I’ve done a few other 8hr and 24hr races in Ontario in the past, and this was definitely a lot harder than any of those ones. Nothing was quite as diverse and as demanding as this course.To finish this race, there’s no doubt you needed to be tough, but you also needed to be smart. It helps to have a solid plan (nutrition, bike prep…) and it also helps to know how to ride in varying race conditions (sand, mud, water, rain).
And lastly, you have to know when to take it easy, get off and walk, shift gently etc... so you can get your bike back to the finish line in one piece.
Thanks to everyone, the promoters, sponsors, volunteers, mechanic support, and my friends, who helped get me there and make this happen.
I highly recommend putting this one on your calendar for next year!
AL (stuck in California, but still 100% Canadian)
PS - Oh ya, I'm also sooooooo happy we didn't end up throwing in the towel on this one. We all would have missed out on an epic adventure!
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Part III: The Race - Lost in the Rocks and Trees
To learn more about this race or see more photos, go here. North Bay Camera Club reserves all rights to the photos. Please visit their site to purchase pictures and make a charity donation.
Part I: Getting There
Part II: Commitment
Part III: The Race
Part IV: The Finish
Rules
On the starting line, things were pretty quite. I think we were all a little unsure of what was in store. It did stop raining, but you could tell it was going to rain again.
They went over the rules and told us what to do if we broke down out there and also reminded us that we were going to be on our own for long stretches of time; alone. They also went over what supplies would be at the checkpoints (water and some basic items) and told us about the mechanic’s station at Checkpoint #1 and #3 which many riders would end up taking advantage of.
I started to feel a little better at this point knowing at least someone was going to be out there.
Start
When the race started, two quads lead us through the heart of downtown Mattawa. We just paced ourselves and followed them through town. There weren’t many people around, but it’s was still cool to start the race off like this; it actually makes you feel like you are doing something super-important. The townsfolk that were out just looked at us strangely as we went by.
After town, the pace picked up significantly. I don’t think it was until then that I actually realized that I was in a race. Someone tried to break away off the front so I pushed hard to get on their wheel. The whole time I was still trying to shake the cobwebs off of my travel-legs. A few minutes later, the pack broke apart and left the two of us at the front.
When we got to the top of the first dirt road climb, one of the quads slammed on the brakes and waved us around hard to the left. When I looked back, I saw a giant porcupine in the middle of the road.
It was then when I finally realized I was back in Northern Ontario.
Go Time!
It was only a few minutes into the race and I had already broken the first rule: Don’t lead! I didn’t know the trail, what was coming up or where I was going, but my legs felt good on the first road climb, so I decided to get out front and lay down a solid pace. I also figured that any extra ground I could make on the “good” roads would quickly get swallowed up by the other sections that lay ahead.
Terrain
Early on, the trail took us through a difficult clear-cut area covered with 1-2 ft high moguls. It looked like they were left behind by a logging skidder that had come through. The ground was soft. It was covered with wood chips and really hard to pedal across. I just took my time and bobbed back and forth across the wheel-sucking bumps, trying not to get the sticks and wood chips stuck in my spokes. This was different I thought to myself.
Blazing the Trail
Once we hit the bush roads, I was able to pick the pace back up again.
Some of roads were covered with rough gravel in sections and wet sand in others. There were a few sandy sections that just sucked the life out of your legs and made your bike not want to roll any longer (you know what I’m talking about). Thankfully these sections were pretty short and linked back up to rolling hills.
Speaking of hills, on the downhills you could really catch some serious speed if you wanted to. I approached the first couple of puddles with caution, but I learned pretty quickly that I could wheelie across the big ones as long as I carried a lot of speed. Some of them were deeper than others so that kept me on my toes.
According to my GPS, I hit 33 mph a few times as I skimmed across the puddles. This was a little unnerving, but a ton of fun! The big issue was trying to keep the mud and dirt out of my face. The front fender was working well, but mud and sand was still flying everywhere.
Navigation
No matter what race you are in, it’s always hard to ride full-out and follow directional arrows at the same time. Although the course was well marked, I have to admit, there were a lot of trails out there, and there were a lot of different colored arrows pointing in a lot of different directions at times. I definitely went through some nervous moments when I didn’t see any arrows for 10-15 minutes and started wondering if I was going in the right direction.
There were long stretches out there where the bush was dead silent and you knew you were alone. All I could hear was the whizzing of the tires and the odd crash from an animal in the bush. The only tracks I could see in front of me were fresh moose and bear tracks between Checkpoint #1 and #2.
I’ve been in SoCal for a while now but I still know a fresh moose track when I see one!
First Stop
It didn’t take long to reach Checkpoint #1 and I just kept going until I hit Checkpoint #2. This whole section wasn’t too bad at all. It was just bush roads, light mud, soft sand, puddles and rolling hills.
When I came in to Checkpoint #2 I think I caught the crew a little off guard. I was covered with mud and sand from head to toe, so when they asked if I wanted water, all I wanted was some water to clean my glasses. At this point they were caked so bad that I couldn’t see a thing. My drive train was starting to make noise as well, but I didn’t want to mess with it yet.
Everyone at the check was awesome. They helped me clean my glasses and got me going in no time. On the way out I grabbed one of the drinks that the Frenchman dropped off earlier.
So far I was following my plan 100%; except for the leading part.
Rainforest
On my way out of Checkpoint #2, I was happy to see the long gravel road ahead because I knew I could knock out some serious miles here.
I actually thought the section between Checkpoint #2 and #3 was the best part of whole course. This part had fast flowing bush roads and quad trails, and reminded me of the rainforests in Costa Rica (which I had a chance to visit and ride last year).
The trails were like tunnels because the vegetation was so thick that it created a full canopy overhead. It was in this section when I came across a beautiful deer. He ran along side of trail for a few seconds and then darted off.
Not something you see every day in a mountain bike race!
Northern Exposure
About ¾ of the way through this section, the trail was starting to get really rough and I was slowing down a lot. The mud was getting deeper and the flies were getting bad.
The deer flies didn’t like the insect repellent on my arms and legs, but they had no problem biting through the top of my bike gloves. They also found their way into the holes in my helmet and I was trying to bat them out by knocking my helmet around my head.
Not fun.
The Hill
And then I came up to “the hill”. You the one I’m talking about. It was long, steep, wet, slippery and it was littered with fist-sized rocks. Somehow, I was able to sit in and just pick lines between the big rocks and get all the way to the top. I was totally spent but I knew I made good time on the hill, and possibly saved a few minutes on the next guys behind me.
More Problems
I knew the last section was going to be the toughest part of the whole race. I checked my bottle levels to make sure I could ride a solid hour and didn’t bother stopping at Checkpoint #3. The trails were getting really muddy by this point and my drive train was giving me a lot of trouble. Something was wrong with my front derailleur and I couldn’t shift out of my big ring any longer.
When I got to the beaver dam/log/bridge thing, I stopped and dipped my whole bike in the water. I spun the drive train around a few times to flush everything out. I was still fighting with gear changes and I didn’t know what was going on, but I finally got the chain to drop into the middle ring. I was just feathering every change from here on in.
Slip Sliding Away
This section was the toughest part of the whole course. I think the trail was a trail blazed for snowmobiles in the winter, but quads were obviously having a field day in there in the summer. It was full of 1-2 ft deep mud ruts that were filled with pockets of water. The mud was black and the clay was slippery like grease. Once you found a line (more like a rut), whether by choice or not, you had to commit to it 100%.
Tree roots and logs were exposed everywhere and I had quite a few near-death experiences. I swear my bike went sideways at least 10 times. I hit a few puddles as well and I completely lost my front end and almost endo-ed a few times as well.
I had new respect for anyone that could just get through this section.
Half-way
After fighting through the Vietnam jungle, they lead us back to some pretty fast bush roads and made my way back to Checkpoint #1. It was here where I started the whole loop all over again. There was only one hard climb and I was back on the main course before I knew it. “Half-way” I thought to myself. “…and I’m still alive!”
It was around here where I realized I had a serious problem with my front derailleur. It was making a ton of noise now and was permanently stuck in the big ring. At the time, I figured it was just a rock, so I didn’t worry about it too much. My plan was to look at it at Checkpoint #2 because I needed to stop to get water anyways.
Survival
By now I was I was coming across riders that were doing the 62km version of the 110km race. It was great seeing other people out on the trail at this point as I felt like I was riding alone for 2hrs before this.
Derailleured
When I rolled into Checkpoint #2, the volunteer staff were ready this time. They helped me clean my glasses while I leaned down and oiled my chain. I messed with the derailleur and I just adjusted the cable enough so that it cleared the chain, but it was still stuck on the big ring. I couldn’t figure out why, so I just decided to go on with it as it was.
Little Help
As I pedaled down the long gravel road, it started to rain pretty hard and the wind picked up significantly. This made things a lot harder this time. About half way down I stopped and give the rest of my energy drink to this gal that was obviously suffering from cramps. I said to mix it with water and to drink it down. She thanked me and then I was off again.
The rest of the course was just a repeat of the first loop, except a little harder this time because of my “perma big ring situation” and the fact the trail was chewed up because of the other bikes that came through. The rain wasn’t helping either. The course had taken many victims at this point and I came across a many riders just walking their bikes or should I say, pushing them through the mud.
At this point I was just struggling to get my pedals over one another and to keep my bike straight.
Lost
When I finally got back to Checkpoint #1, I looked down at my GPS and saw it was around 55 miles or so, and I knew I was almost done. I put it into high gear and hauled butt through the last section.
This part of the trail was actually really technical, hilly and super slippery. I’m not sure what happened, but somehow I took a hard right and went down a steep nasty hill. At the bottom, I didn’t see any tracks or anyone, so I knew I made a wrong turn.
The problem was that the hill was so steep I couldn’t pedal back up. I had to throw my bike on my back and climb the slippery hill. On my way up I recognized a few guys I passed earlier, so I regrouped, caught back up to them and put my head down to get to the finish.
I definitely ended up losing a few minutes here but I was still determined and I pushed all the way to the finish line.
Part I: Getting There
Part II: Commitment
Part III: The Race
Part IV: The Finish
RulesOn the starting line, things were pretty quite. I think we were all a little unsure of what was in store. It did stop raining, but you could tell it was going to rain again.
They went over the rules and told us what to do if we broke down out there and also reminded us that we were going to be on our own for long stretches of time; alone. They also went over what supplies would be at the checkpoints (water and some basic items) and told us about the mechanic’s station at Checkpoint #1 and #3 which many riders would end up taking advantage of.
I started to feel a little better at this point knowing at least someone was going to be out there.
Start
When the race started, two quads lead us through the heart of downtown Mattawa. We just paced ourselves and followed them through town. There weren’t many people around, but it’s was still cool to start the race off like this; it actually makes you feel like you are doing something super-important. The townsfolk that were out just looked at us strangely as we went by.
After town, the pace picked up significantly. I don’t think it was until then that I actually realized that I was in a race. Someone tried to break away off the front so I pushed hard to get on their wheel. The whole time I was still trying to shake the cobwebs off of my travel-legs. A few minutes later, the pack broke apart and left the two of us at the front.When we got to the top of the first dirt road climb, one of the quads slammed on the brakes and waved us around hard to the left. When I looked back, I saw a giant porcupine in the middle of the road.
It was then when I finally realized I was back in Northern Ontario.
Go Time!
It was only a few minutes into the race and I had already broken the first rule: Don’t lead! I didn’t know the trail, what was coming up or where I was going, but my legs felt good on the first road climb, so I decided to get out front and lay down a solid pace. I also figured that any extra ground I could make on the “good” roads would quickly get swallowed up by the other sections that lay ahead.
Terrain
Early on, the trail took us through a difficult clear-cut area covered with 1-2 ft high moguls. It looked like they were left behind by a logging skidder that had come through. The ground was soft. It was covered with wood chips and really hard to pedal across. I just took my time and bobbed back and forth across the wheel-sucking bumps, trying not to get the sticks and wood chips stuck in my spokes. This was different I thought to myself.
Blazing the Trail Once we hit the bush roads, I was able to pick the pace back up again.
Some of roads were covered with rough gravel in sections and wet sand in others. There were a few sandy sections that just sucked the life out of your legs and made your bike not want to roll any longer (you know what I’m talking about). Thankfully these sections were pretty short and linked back up to rolling hills.
Speaking of hills, on the downhills you could really catch some serious speed if you wanted to. I approached the first couple of puddles with caution, but I learned pretty quickly that I could wheelie across the big ones as long as I carried a lot of speed. Some of them were deeper than others so that kept me on my toes.
According to my GPS, I hit 33 mph a few times as I skimmed across the puddles. This was a little unnerving, but a ton of fun! The big issue was trying to keep the mud and dirt out of my face. The front fender was working well, but mud and sand was still flying everywhere.
Navigation
No matter what race you are in, it’s always hard to ride full-out and follow directional arrows at the same time. Although the course was well marked, I have to admit, there were a lot of trails out there, and there were a lot of different colored arrows pointing in a lot of different directions at times. I definitely went through some nervous moments when I didn’t see any arrows for 10-15 minutes and started wondering if I was going in the right direction.
There were long stretches out there where the bush was dead silent and you knew you were alone. All I could hear was the whizzing of the tires and the odd crash from an animal in the bush. The only tracks I could see in front of me were fresh moose and bear tracks between Checkpoint #1 and #2.
I’ve been in SoCal for a while now but I still know a fresh moose track when I see one!
First Stop
It didn’t take long to reach Checkpoint #1 and I just kept going until I hit Checkpoint #2. This whole section wasn’t too bad at all. It was just bush roads, light mud, soft sand, puddles and rolling hills.
When I came in to Checkpoint #2 I think I caught the crew a little off guard. I was covered with mud and sand from head to toe, so when they asked if I wanted water, all I wanted was some water to clean my glasses. At this point they were caked so bad that I couldn’t see a thing. My drive train was starting to make noise as well, but I didn’t want to mess with it yet.
Everyone at the check was awesome. They helped me clean my glasses and got me going in no time. On the way out I grabbed one of the drinks that the Frenchman dropped off earlier.
So far I was following my plan 100%; except for the leading part.
RainforestOn my way out of Checkpoint #2, I was happy to see the long gravel road ahead because I knew I could knock out some serious miles here.
I actually thought the section between Checkpoint #2 and #3 was the best part of whole course. This part had fast flowing bush roads and quad trails, and reminded me of the rainforests in Costa Rica (which I had a chance to visit and ride last year).
The trails were like tunnels because the vegetation was so thick that it created a full canopy overhead. It was in this section when I came across a beautiful deer. He ran along side of trail for a few seconds and then darted off.
Not something you see every day in a mountain bike race!
Northern Exposure
About ¾ of the way through this section, the trail was starting to get really rough and I was slowing down a lot. The mud was getting deeper and the flies were getting bad.
The deer flies didn’t like the insect repellent on my arms and legs, but they had no problem biting through the top of my bike gloves. They also found their way into the holes in my helmet and I was trying to bat them out by knocking my helmet around my head.
Not fun.
The Hill
And then I came up to “the hill”. You the one I’m talking about. It was long, steep, wet, slippery and it was littered with fist-sized rocks. Somehow, I was able to sit in and just pick lines between the big rocks and get all the way to the top. I was totally spent but I knew I made good time on the hill, and possibly saved a few minutes on the next guys behind me.
More Problems
I knew the last section was going to be the toughest part of the whole race. I checked my bottle levels to make sure I could ride a solid hour and didn’t bother stopping at Checkpoint #3. The trails were getting really muddy by this point and my drive train was giving me a lot of trouble. Something was wrong with my front derailleur and I couldn’t shift out of my big ring any longer.
When I got to the beaver dam/log/bridge thing, I stopped and dipped my whole bike in the water. I spun the drive train around a few times to flush everything out. I was still fighting with gear changes and I didn’t know what was going on, but I finally got the chain to drop into the middle ring. I was just feathering every change from here on in.
Slip Sliding Away
This section was the toughest part of the whole course. I think the trail was a trail blazed for snowmobiles in the winter, but quads were obviously having a field day in there in the summer. It was full of 1-2 ft deep mud ruts that were filled with pockets of water. The mud was black and the clay was slippery like grease. Once you found a line (more like a rut), whether by choice or not, you had to commit to it 100%.
Tree roots and logs were exposed everywhere and I had quite a few near-death experiences. I swear my bike went sideways at least 10 times. I hit a few puddles as well and I completely lost my front end and almost endo-ed a few times as well.
I had new respect for anyone that could just get through this section.
Half-way
After fighting through the Vietnam jungle, they lead us back to some pretty fast bush roads and made my way back to Checkpoint #1. It was here where I started the whole loop all over again. There was only one hard climb and I was back on the main course before I knew it. “Half-way” I thought to myself. “…and I’m still alive!”
It was around here where I realized I had a serious problem with my front derailleur. It was making a ton of noise now and was permanently stuck in the big ring. At the time, I figured it was just a rock, so I didn’t worry about it too much. My plan was to look at it at Checkpoint #2 because I needed to stop to get water anyways.
Survival
By now I was I was coming across riders that were doing the 62km version of the 110km race. It was great seeing other people out on the trail at this point as I felt like I was riding alone for 2hrs before this.
Derailleured
When I rolled into Checkpoint #2, the volunteer staff were ready this time. They helped me clean my glasses while I leaned down and oiled my chain. I messed with the derailleur and I just adjusted the cable enough so that it cleared the chain, but it was still stuck on the big ring. I couldn’t figure out why, so I just decided to go on with it as it was.
Little Help
As I pedaled down the long gravel road, it started to rain pretty hard and the wind picked up significantly. This made things a lot harder this time. About half way down I stopped and give the rest of my energy drink to this gal that was obviously suffering from cramps. I said to mix it with water and to drink it down. She thanked me and then I was off again.
The rest of the course was just a repeat of the first loop, except a little harder this time because of my “perma big ring situation” and the fact the trail was chewed up because of the other bikes that came through. The rain wasn’t helping either. The course had taken many victims at this point and I came across a many riders just walking their bikes or should I say, pushing them through the mud.
At this point I was just struggling to get my pedals over one another and to keep my bike straight.
LostWhen I finally got back to Checkpoint #1, I looked down at my GPS and saw it was around 55 miles or so, and I knew I was almost done. I put it into high gear and hauled butt through the last section.
This part of the trail was actually really technical, hilly and super slippery. I’m not sure what happened, but somehow I took a hard right and went down a steep nasty hill. At the bottom, I didn’t see any tracks or anyone, so I knew I made a wrong turn.
The problem was that the hill was so steep I couldn’t pedal back up. I had to throw my bike on my back and climb the slippery hill. On my way up I recognized a few guys I passed earlier, so I regrouped, caught back up to them and put my head down to get to the finish.
I definitely ended up losing a few minutes here but I was still determined and I pushed all the way to the finish line.
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