Warning there are biting flies!
This is one of the most scenic rides yet! My wife even enjoyed the video!!
The humidity of Kentucky and Tennessee was behind us, as was the flat lands of southern Kansas. We had almost given up hope of seeing anything else. That is until we turned north on 232 towards Wilson Lake.
The vista became much more aesthetically pleasing. Rolling hills that opened up to reveal the man made lake, that is ocean blue due to the high salt content from it's source river, aptly named Saline and flows towards Salina.
This trail epitomizes What an IMBA Epic should be. It has stacked loops, so that you can bail out and make virtually any length loop you want. There is a easy loop as well as a kids loop.
All are very well marked. All though it took me a while to figure out that the Lettered signs signified decision points. Dashed lined arrow pointed to the short cut and the solid lined arrow sent you along the full loop.
There are 3 main loops, Golden, Marina and Hell's Creek.
Day one it was very hot, near 100 degrees and I was trying to follow a GPS file from the race on May 5th. I missed a turn on the prologue and ended up missing some of the golden trail.
Every one I spoke too was there for the first time. While popular it is over 2 hours away from Kansas City.
One rider said he was not used to so many rocks. I thought to myself "What Rocks?" I must have missed something. I went back and did the Golden loop.
It was getting hot so I skipped the Hell's Creek section.
I came back the next day to overcast skies and steady degree temps. As I was driving the next day, I wanted to keep it short. But at just half an hour I needed more, so I banged out the whole course in 2 an a quarter hours. It was good to be on the Single Speed again, it had been a while.
Saturday, July 6, 2013
Friday, July 5, 2013
Bone Collector Screaming Beagle
This trail is just down the road form Buzzard's Roost and the trail building is just as good, maybe better, with the added flare of bovine skeletal remains displayed as if to say, "These could be your bones if you are not careful"!
Throw in some forest road climbs and rim trails and you get 20 plus of good solid riding to. I followed a GPS file from Strava (while you still could) and I am glad I did. You can not even see some of the trail markers until you are on the trail. I wish I was able to hook up with a local. I mostly know the system now, mostly. I have to come back to the Black hills when I have a month or a lifetime to ride them.
Thursday, July 4, 2013
Buzzards Roost
I rode this small (10 miles) trail system before riding the Bone collector down the road. It is a blast to ride and just four miles out of Rapid City South Dakota. It kinda reminded me of the rocks of northwest New Jersey, with a little of that sandstone I came across in in the Kansas Switchgrass, but with greater elevation changes. The Video should be good! A guy from Fargo, which is almost Minnesota, where I was born and raised, he thought some of the trails were so rocky that they impeded the flow. But my Ninja Jersey honed skills was loving it. After all New Jersey is the Rock Garden State, at least the northwest corner!
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Tatanka 100
Tammy asked me how finishing the Tatanka 100 made me feel. This is because I am "Sense of Accomplishment Challenged" (I am sure that it will become a diagnosis and treatable by pharmaceuticals in the very near future) :-)
Well, my answer was that everything else pales in comparison. The athletes that take on these events are my new heroes. Before the Tatanka, 100 was just a number. At this point, I am not sure if I will do another one, but maybe....
How did I feel? I felt AWE!
It transcends a sense of accomplishment.
The race started at 5am. Anybody that knows me, knows that I am not a Morning person. But recently being on the East coast and changing a couple time zones did help, albeit slightly. I slept well and got up ok.
Ryan Heerschap and I were the first ones at Woodle Field for the start. The shear wall of the cliff behind the stadium glowed ominously from the WoodleFfield stadium lights. The neutral roll out from Sturgis, South Dakota, famous for the motorcycle rally, had us pushing about 20 miles per hour. I spun my single gear and drifted back, while up front, Ryan felt like he was already on the rivet. We climbed Bulldog Canyon Road (see us coming back down from our pre-ride in the video below)
I was staying conservative and would ride up onto someone's wheel and many would just let me by, even before I asked..
There was walking involved, particularly the infamous vertical skree climb to switch valleys. I would catch people, only to be dropped later, and catch them again or not.
Endurance sports really are an equalizer between the sexes, six women came in front of me and I was not ashamed to take a draft from one of the ladies. I found out that I walk up hills slower that a lot of people and most gearies walked what I had to walk. And then there was the Mickelson, with my 34 chainring and 20 tooth cog, I could not wait for the incredibly shallow grade of the rail trail to end. I could only manage 10-11 miles an hour. Ryan said they were only doing 12-13, so I did not feel so bad. But I did draft that woman at 12-13 as long as I could; about half a mile total. Then a guy came by at 14 and I could only hold that for about a minute.
I took a little long at the Englewood aid station (last bag drop), almost leaving then deciding to leave my Camelbak and fidgeting with that way too long, a few gearies got in and out faster. I was pleasantly surprised that when the topography turn more jagged I could still climb and was immediately on two that made speedier stops than I. They split and I went right by one gearie and was closing on the next as he caught a third. One caught me back on the, not flat, but still too gradual descent, leading to the final aid station. As I could only coast around 13 mph and could not pedal faster, I ate my molasses cookies. So I only had to take on water. That gearie was trying to get an idea what next lay in store, I just went. Then another gearie, older than me even, pedals past me as I am coasting around 20 mph. He asked "Will this ever end?" I answer, "They tell me it does", then he exclaimed "What! another climb!" I just start pedaling up and past him. There was hill after hill with wicked fast descents after each one. I was making every climb and was in the zone on every descent. Just as I entered the culvert leading back to Woodle Field, I caught up to the woman that towed me for a bit, back on the Mickelson. She was with her SO or husband and teammate. None of us were in the same class and I could not break them up as they crossed the finish line holding hands.
Finishing in 11 hours and 19 minutes. 14th out of 17
So all said, a reasonable first 100 mile mountain bike showing. Particularly since I have hardly trained for even short races. I climbed more in the first 22 miles than I have done on some of my 30 to 40 mile rides this year and twice as much as in the 50 milers and almost exactly twice the duration, from last year. See the Bear Scat Strava Link below. Consider that my average training time has only been 6 hours and 45 minutes and my longest week was 16 hours.
I have done Hillier Than Thou with that much mileage and climbing but that was on the road!
Well, my answer was that everything else pales in comparison. The athletes that take on these events are my new heroes. Before the Tatanka, 100 was just a number. At this point, I am not sure if I will do another one, but maybe....
How did I feel? I felt AWE!
It transcends a sense of accomplishment.
The race started at 5am. Anybody that knows me, knows that I am not a Morning person. But recently being on the East coast and changing a couple time zones did help, albeit slightly. I slept well and got up ok.
Ryan Heerschap and I were the first ones at Woodle Field for the start. The shear wall of the cliff behind the stadium glowed ominously from the WoodleFfield stadium lights. The neutral roll out from Sturgis, South Dakota, famous for the motorcycle rally, had us pushing about 20 miles per hour. I spun my single gear and drifted back, while up front, Ryan felt like he was already on the rivet. We climbed Bulldog Canyon Road (see us coming back down from our pre-ride in the video below)
I was staying conservative and would ride up onto someone's wheel and many would just let me by, even before I asked..
There was walking involved, particularly the infamous vertical skree climb to switch valleys. I would catch people, only to be dropped later, and catch them again or not.
Endurance sports really are an equalizer between the sexes, six women came in front of me and I was not ashamed to take a draft from one of the ladies. I found out that I walk up hills slower that a lot of people and most gearies walked what I had to walk. And then there was the Mickelson, with my 34 chainring and 20 tooth cog, I could not wait for the incredibly shallow grade of the rail trail to end. I could only manage 10-11 miles an hour. Ryan said they were only doing 12-13, so I did not feel so bad. But I did draft that woman at 12-13 as long as I could; about half a mile total. Then a guy came by at 14 and I could only hold that for about a minute.
I took a little long at the Englewood aid station (last bag drop), almost leaving then deciding to leave my Camelbak and fidgeting with that way too long, a few gearies got in and out faster. I was pleasantly surprised that when the topography turn more jagged I could still climb and was immediately on two that made speedier stops than I. They split and I went right by one gearie and was closing on the next as he caught a third. One caught me back on the, not flat, but still too gradual descent, leading to the final aid station. As I could only coast around 13 mph and could not pedal faster, I ate my molasses cookies. So I only had to take on water. That gearie was trying to get an idea what next lay in store, I just went. Then another gearie, older than me even, pedals past me as I am coasting around 20 mph. He asked "Will this ever end?" I answer, "They tell me it does", then he exclaimed "What! another climb!" I just start pedaling up and past him. There was hill after hill with wicked fast descents after each one. I was making every climb and was in the zone on every descent. Just as I entered the culvert leading back to Woodle Field, I caught up to the woman that towed me for a bit, back on the Mickelson. She was with her SO or husband and teammate. None of us were in the same class and I could not break them up as they crossed the finish line holding hands.
Finishing in 11 hours and 19 minutes. 14th out of 17
So all said, a reasonable first 100 mile mountain bike showing. Particularly since I have hardly trained for even short races. I climbed more in the first 22 miles than I have done on some of my 30 to 40 mile rides this year and twice as much as in the 50 milers and almost exactly twice the duration, from last year. See the Bear Scat Strava Link below. Consider that my average training time has only been 6 hours and 45 minutes and my longest week was 16 hours.
I have done Hillier Than Thou with that much mileage and climbing but that was on the road!
Sunday, June 30, 2013
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Tatanka 100
I was going to say and that ain't no bull, but I am sure that cliche is as tired as I will be after the race in Saturday. 5 am start. Anybody that knows me knows that I am not a morning person.
There was one big happy coincidence. We cut our stay short at Wilson Lake, near Sylvan Grove Kansas, because it was forecast to be 100 degrees or more, most of the week. "So why not extend our stay near Mount Rushmore". That way we could do more site seeing and there has to be good riding in the area as well.
Well, one of my Bulldog teammates Ryan just happened to be coming out to do a 100 mile race that weekend. I managed to get a late entry.
Of course I was running low on my favorite calorie and electrolyte source Powerbar Perform.
Ryan had left before I could wrangle him into stopping by Cycle Craft to get me some more.
So Gatorade and rest stop fare will have to do!
On single speed, I have done the Bear Scat 50 a couple a times and a 4 hour race at Iron Hill Maryland (I think)
Years ago I did the Twelve O'Muchy, which ended up being mostly on a single speed, due to the mud. Not only was that my first time racing a single speed, but my first time riding more than around the block on one!
The Mickleson is what concerns me. It is 10 - 20 miles of barley up hill. It makes gear choice tough. High enough to rock this section and I may be walking a lot more of the other climbs. Hmmm
Here is the course profile;
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/course/embed/4002778 Here is My Race:
There was one big happy coincidence. We cut our stay short at Wilson Lake, near Sylvan Grove Kansas, because it was forecast to be 100 degrees or more, most of the week. "So why not extend our stay near Mount Rushmore". That way we could do more site seeing and there has to be good riding in the area as well.
Well, one of my Bulldog teammates Ryan just happened to be coming out to do a 100 mile race that weekend. I managed to get a late entry.
Of course I was running low on my favorite calorie and electrolyte source Powerbar Perform.
Ryan had left before I could wrangle him into stopping by Cycle Craft to get me some more.
So Gatorade and rest stop fare will have to do!
On single speed, I have done the Bear Scat 50 a couple a times and a 4 hour race at Iron Hill Maryland (I think)
Years ago I did the Twelve O'Muchy, which ended up being mostly on a single speed, due to the mud. Not only was that my first time racing a single speed, but my first time riding more than around the block on one!
The Mickleson is what concerns me. It is 10 - 20 miles of barley up hill. It makes gear choice tough. High enough to rock this section and I may be walking a lot more of the other climbs. Hmmm
Here is the course profile;
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/course/embed/4002778 Here is My Race:
Sunday, June 23, 2013
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