Mtbnj's Short Track Adventure

This past Sunday was the first time I have raced on dirt this year. Well dirt is a loose term for the actual surface I would be racing on. There was probably 50 feet of actual dirt and another mile of ice, snow, and slop to get through before hitting the start/finish and doing it all over again. The race was supposed to be a 45 minute race and it ended up being just about that.

We took off from the start and I was in the third row of 24 people. The racers in front of me cleared out and gassed it and I jumped on their wheel. Up the pavement climb it went hot and not something my body was used to. I have done close to zero high end efforts this year and I felt it. My body was in shock. I ignored it and pressed on harder to pass a couple on the second lap but then my body was telling me to slow down. I had to. I had zero warmup and I was actually happy to go as hard as I did for that long. So at that point I settled in and tried to get the diesel going - which is the wrong type of motor but it's what I had. The worst part is that with each hard effort I could feel my worn cassete misshifting and not letting me use the gears I needed. Frustrating to say the least. Then my chain dropped. Ok - so it was a day to shake the bugs out.

In the end I kept the motor going but still finished pretty well. I was 8th of 24 and pretty happy with the result. A rider came up on me hard in the last lap but I rode steady and smooth to keep him from passing as I charged to the line just ahead of him. I know I could have done a lot better if a few more things came together but it reminds me that I still have the drive and legs to be competitive out there even in early season form.

Day #8 - Training Camp Weekend

Each year I try to get in a training camp to kickoff the season. I attempted to do this back on President's weekend in February but that was a flat out fail. #1 was that it was an absolute arctic weekend and would have made any riding very miserable, and #2 I was sick as a dog. Ok I don't get that cliche since my dog is happy even when she feels bad but I had zero energy and it was hard enough to leave my bed, never mind the house to go for a long bicycle ride. So I chose this weekend as it's a few weeks before my first hard test of the year - the Michaux Endurance race.

In previous years I've been part of a group that rallied together to go to some nicer weather regions and get some miles in as a collective and supportive unit. Blacksburg VA was one year, State College PA was another, and Flemington NJ was the last. Each year it seems to be ranging closer to home with more riders having family obligations and really not able to pull the trigger and get away. As I get older and more responsible I face the same dilemma, and it's really a good one to have. So I didn't get to go ride in AZ or FL and get a sunburn on my training camp weekend, but I'll make the best of what ever I can put together and help prep myself for a hard season ahead.

This weekend started out with a 2.5 hour ride Friday, a 7 hour century+ ride Saturday, a 4+ hour ride today and a 2 hour ride tomorrow. Each of the days searching out some nice steady hills to get the body ready for long days in the saddle and some tough consecutive days as well. Friday was a nice loop around my local area that included a few moderate hills. I felt pretty good but definitely reminded myself that there were a lot of miles to go this weekend. Saturday was the century ride so I aimed for the Tour de Lake race loop and then more. The TDL loop is 40 miles with some extensive climbing, and I know it pretty well. The day would prove to be warmer then Friday but only in theory it seemed. It was like the arctic tundra riding around Lake Hopatcong. It was frigid. The sun tried to fool you by looking warm, but the high winds coming off the lake said otherwise. It was great to get that loop over and then run for cover in some of the other areas that made better use of the sunshine. Today, Sunday, was another good few hours in the saddle and a test of how the legs felt after a 7 hour ride the previous day. They felt better than expected. A little tired here or there but when I needed them to punch of something steep they answered. Power was pretty steady and generally felt pretty good. The weather was more pleasant today too with warmer temps - warmer than any of the previous few days - but some mysterious rain showers that were not forecasted as well. They were just showers thankfully, so they just dissipated and moved on.

In general I'd call the weekend a success. I got to do a lot of great riding, and ride with a few teammates that I haven't seen in a while. Most of this winter I've been suffering alone, and it was great to torture - I mean ride with some others with similar goals. That alone was worth it. So even though I wasn't riding somewhere exotic, I got to do my riding and see my wife and dog which is great to come home too after putting so much physical stress on my body.

Also an update as today being day #8 of no crap in my diet. It's generally going well. I've been avoiding sugary drinks, and all the cookies and sweets that I normally consumed during the winter. It's been hard - but I can see the end goal. The winter is always hard as I think humans in general put on some extra pounds, but it's how you respond to it that makes the difference. I'm not putting up with this and by honing my diet it'll get me to where I want to be performance wise and weight wise. As of today I've lost 4 pounds or so and getting closer to the 160's again which I haven't seen since November. I'm dealing with the wonky feelings that come with kicking sugar and it can be rough but knowing that I'm cleansing my body and dropping the weight helps give me motivation to keep going. The biggest marker is hitting the scale each morning. That's what really keeps me in check when I have those hunger cravings.

Now don't get me wrong I'm not doing some anorexic diet, I'm substituting my normal cravings with smarter, healthier choices that serve more of a purpose than feeding my sugar cravings. The more I get away from sugar the easier it is. Hell yes do I want to make a batch of brownies or cookies and eat the whole thing. But that's not what is going to help me in the long run. Cleaner, more nutritious, and more variety is what I'm going for to make it a sustainable habit and I'll see where it goes from here. The goal would to be mid to low 160's by my first big race the 6 hours of Warrior Creek in April. We'll see...

I've Declared the Winter Officially Over...

As of March 1st the winter is over. I don't care what the calendar says or some stupid groundhog, it's done. It's probably more because of the face that I've been so busy this past winter that it's been really hard to stay on top of riding and preparing to race. December through February I've been preoccupied with coaching my high school ski team and it takes soooo much time and effort. I love it. It's something different and the kids really enjoy it. Plus I get to enjoy a lot of days on snow each winter. This was year 3 of coaching and I still can't seem to get the hang of riding and skiing through the winter. I've been left with the thought of consoling myself with the idea that I am still keeping in shape while skiing, even though it leaves less time to ride. That sounds good until I ride and can definitely feel my fitness lagging a bit - even if it's only a bit. But then, even if there was no ski team I think my riding would slow a bit just because of the whole daylight savings time. I think it effects more than most but it's just hard to stay motivated this time of year with less daylight and the cold temperatures. The best we can do is just endure and take advantage of the better condition when they come...any they are just about here.

I have a full schedule on the calendar and a few of the early season races to kick me into high gear so to speak. Once I feel the tension of race pace it usually helps to springboard me back into some fitness and better racing form. At least the good part, if there is a good part of gaining weight, is that even though I didn't watch my nutrition too closely, that it plateau'd and didn't really get ugly. With that being said - it's just not acceptable to be at my current weight and thinking of maintaining this AND having a great race season. Last season I raced in between 162-167 with pretty good results, although I knew they could be better. I had a few good race seasons racing at 155-157 and wondered what it would be like to get back to that. Well it's time. With the help of a buddy we talked a lot about March being the month to really focus on getting in shape and also testing our bodies out a bit.

So as of March 1st I've agreed to cut the crap out of my diet and aim for that 157 race weight. If I can maintain that this season, it would really help me get to the form I know I can have and hopefully piece together my season with some better finishes this year. I want all the pieces to come together. New coach, light weight, good training, and a desire to hurt myself could help put me in the place I want to be at some of my favorite races. I'm gonna give it my best shot.

Today it's day 2 of no crap. This means no chocolate that I love, no cookies, no refined sugars, just good natural foods. I've already gotten rid of soda - 2 months with none is a great start. So why not cut the rest of the junk. I've done this plenty of times before and it really does help once I get over the first couple wonky days. It's good to test the body and see how it reacts. When I sit down and really think of some of the foods that I eat, it's not horrible but it could definitely be better. That's the main point. I don't want to eat less, I just want to eat the right foods. So this means stocking up on the good stuff. Lots of chicken, fish, turkey, eggs, fruits and veggies. I'm also trying to limit the amount of cheese I eat too as that's always been a staple of my diet but that's got to go as well. I won't say I'll stop eating it altogether but limiting it will be a big plus. It's all part of the master plan.

The start of my race schedule will begin sooner than I can really fathom at this point. The next few weekends I'll probably jump in a few crits or short track races to feel out the legs and then use the 4 hour Michaux race to help prep me for the 6 Hours of Warrior Creek. All of this will be preceded by the big weekend that I am setting up for myself this coming weekend. I wasn't able to get my training camp weekend done in February since I was sick so now this is the next best thing. Plus the weather will be MUCH better. I can't wait. Time to catch up a bit and look forward to those longer days and lots more daylight.

Welcome to being Fat...

Feb 7th was Marty's Fat 50 race in Morristown NJ. Originally meant to be a 50 mile race, this course had to be shortened with the recent snowfall that buried the entire course. There were sections of the course that had 1-2 feet of fresh snow on it that left untouched would have made for an unrideable course. Thankfully for the riders, someone broke through with a snowmobile and packed down 80% of the now 50K course and made conditions MUCH nicer.

At this point I should probably mention that for this race, I had just received my fatbike a week prior. My Mukluk was picked up the previous Friday and with a few miles on it I thought it would be fun to see what happened for this 50K race. This was literally my 4th day on this bike and the setup seemed dialed and all I had to do was pedal and go right? ...right. I wasn't exactly sure what pressures to run since I had very little time on it and didn't even have a working gauge to set my pressure anyway. So I was running a bit blind but I'm ok with a little mystery now and then.

This off season has been crazy as usual with my ski team coaching, which leaves narrow windows for training. I always need a few early season kicks in the pants to get me motivated so I figure this was probably a good one. With no expectations except for finishing this race I set out with 44 others and hit the trails. The snow was packed but pocked full of holes from the hikers and dog walkers in the first few miles. This was fine and it kept things interesting until the first big road section. I was in the lead group of about 10 riders up to this point. On the road everyone was still in sight but the next loose climb was looming ahead. It was good and fairly rideable but a few sections were torn up and a quick hike had you jumping back on the bike to ride again. At one point I was having a hard time climbing and had to stop and adjust my tire pressure. It was just way too high and this let one rider pass through. The one section I was dreading was the railbed that was a mile or two before the half way - turnaround point. I descended to the railbed and started to make up some time on the rider that had passed me in the previous section of trails. I thought for sure I could put down some power and get back to him but to no avail. The previous tires had started to punch through the snowmobile tread making a 4" wide tire track that was like riding a balance beam. One wrong move and you were off, stopped, and had to start riding all over again. This was not pleasing.

So after 2 miles of this we reach the steep hike a bike and I see the rider that was in front of me crawling to the top as I start up the bottom. He wasn't too far ahead. Actually at this point the leaders should have been at the turnaround point so every minute I didn't see them was good as they would be coming right back past me. I got to the top and headed the last mile to the turnaround and saw the leaders coming back. They weren't too far ahead but definitely had a 5+ minute gap on me. I got to the turnaround and said hi and started on my way back. I was just over 2 hours in and the trail back to the start were more downhill than on the way out so it should be quicker. I headed out happy knowing this.

Then reality sunk in. That horrible rail trail was even more horrible now. The rut that the tires were creating was deeper, looser, and more tricky to ride. I was so frustrated that the course had deteriorated that I had to tell myself to relax and enjoy the ride. The meaning of this "race" was a good early season effort to help springboard training. That's all it was and that's how I had to treat it. The conditions were so bad that it crossed my mind many times that it would be so tempting to take the road back, but I couldn't. I will not let a race course beat me. I will do whatever it takes to get to the finish line. If that means carrying my bike the entire way so be it. So I kept on pedaling in misery and just wanting to get to the finish line. At least the rest of the trails would be even more packed down and the ride back should be quicker. It couldn't really be that bad could it???

Yep it could. The rest of the trails on the ride home were now not even packed down any more. They were all blown apart by the racers that couldn't ride the trails. The snow was so dry and powdery that if you stepped on the packed snow it didn't support the weight and broke apart the nice groove that was worn in. So that gave me the new fun part. Walking downhills...yup. That was killing me. At that point I knew it was just going to be a nice stroll in the woods walking my bike down the tranquil snowy path. I sure couldn't ride it so why bother. It was just futile. I was so frustrated that all I wanted to do was ride my bike and I couldn't. All I could do was keep walking with the bike - so that's what I did. I didn't care about the race, I didn't care about anything else but eeking my way to the finish so I could end the misery.

Finally back to the road section I was approaching patriots path towards the Lewis Morris section. That was well worn in and would be a nice section where I could actually pedal back to the finish and make some time. Well yes and no. Some parts were great and others had deteriorated again so that there was only that 4" wide tire print to ride in. I was so sick of seeing that rut that I'll probably be having nightmares of that for weeks. Through the last few road crossings I finally approached the river and knew that around the last bend would be the finish line. I crossed, threw my bike on the car, and was ready to get out of there. I was so done with this event. Frustrated to say the least but at the very least it was good training. Had this been an A race of mine I would have been REALLY upset. But it was training.

Looking back it was a well run event. Marty's did an amazing just setting up, supporting, marking trails, and having a killer vibe. It really was top notch from everything they had control over. Mother nature on the other hand decided to put her two cents in and really make it miserable for everyone out there. I give a lot of credit for those that perservered through the conditions and somehow found a way to enjoy the race. As for the rest of us out there suffering, it's just another day to either put in the memory bank or push it out and move on. Bike racing is a crazy thing. We all know that sometimes a given race won't be as advertised, but you need to make the best of it.

I found out later that 21 of the 44 starters finished. I was 7th overall and pretty happy with that given how much I pushed my bike that day.

Back again! Fall Updates

The last update was September...wow! I guess I've been busier or at least lazier the past few months. I was recently reminded that some people actually do enjoy reading this blog so that gave me the motivation to come back and do some more recapping and try to stay more current with the season behind and look ahead as well. Thanks Norm for the reminder and I hope I can entertain you with some of the madness that goes on or goes through my head. Anyway I have to see where I left off.

In a nutshell the fall was good and ok. When I last posted I was looking forward to the cross season ahead and I had a few longer MTB races up my sleeve as well. Crossnado, Cxmeur, SCCX, VT50, Grapes of Wrath, Wilkes 100k, and the 6 Hours of Cathedral Pines were all lined up for a good season end. The problem, like I mentioned earlier is that since I had surgery I felt like I was just behind in training. I put on a few pounds and I never really felt like I was riding well. This beat me up mentally as I just knew there was more in the tank but just couldn't put it all together. CX was good as I could still put together short hard efforts, but it's hard to mix that with my heart in the endurance game. Those two disciplines are just really hard to bounce back and forth between. My sights were set on the long MTB game and if the cx efforts suffered so be it.

Crossnado, CXmeur and SSCX all went reasonably well. Actually better than I thought they would go. Considering I had very little CX prep leading into the races I was pleasantly surprised with how I did. 9th of 14 at CXmeur, 7th of 10 at Crossnado, and 12th of 19 at SCCX. The first two I was putting down a good effort I just wasn't in cross form. The mindset was good as I tracked down people throughout the races, I was just too heavy and too out of practice to do much better. I knew I could have had much better placings if I actually focused on the CX game.

For the MTB game, I was much more focused but still not at the race weight I wanted which always left me wondering what if I was really in top form. The VT50 was going well and I had fun but that race just drains the energy out of you. Put that together with a bad decision...to run a single 36 tooth 1x10 setup was a total mistake. That gear was so rough, I had to walk a few of the uphills and really started to drain me towards the end of the race. That upsetted me as early on I knew that would play a major factor in the outcome of the race. I still finished well but not as well as I could have. 23rd of 65 in my age group and 60th overall.



The Grapes of Wrath race was a battle of attrition. Upon arriving at the venue it was already pouring for the last couple of days and I knew it would be horrendous conditions. I decided to give it a go anyway. It was a 6 lap race, with each lap consisting of 3 smaller loops. So by completing 18 loops you would finish the race. This was absolutely grueling. Each loop started with a steep climb that would just shred your legs apart all day long. Like I said before it was wet and greasy everywhere else. On a dry day this place would be pretty techy in spots, but then at the grease on top of it and it made for a super hard course to ride. Off the parade lap at the start I took off and put my head down to see who would chase and come with me. I could see a few others at the top of the first lap pretty close and I needed to keep the pressure on. I rode steady and consistent and didn't look back. Towards the end of the first lap I couldn't see anyone but I could still hear the clanging of bikes on rocks so whether it was myself playing games or someone not too far away, I didn't want to worry. I kept my head down and kept pushing myself harder and harder. 3+ hours later I came across the finish line and never saw another soul near me for the entire race. I had won it. It was a great feeling of accomplishment and a very proud moment as I sat on the finish line and it was a while until the next rider came through. I found out later that I was the only rider to have finished 6 laps. Everyone else either quit or had a mechanical. That blew my mind...and made me ever more proud of what I had just accomplished.

The Wilkes 100k was a great excursion as I traveled down to Wilkesboro NC with a teammate of mine - Tom Kruse - and we geared up for the event. It was on some of the trails that I know very well in the Warrior Creek section of Wilkesboro. It also traverses the nearby Dark Mountain trails and would prove to be a demanding day. The start was crazy cold. It was below freezing at the start but we knew it would be close to 60 by race end. That's not exactly the ideal situation that you want to race in but we made the best of it. From the neutral rollout it was clear that an early jump would be very beneficial to whoever got in the mix. Tom and I had a plan to go for the holeshot and get away clean. We wanted to make the winners pass us and earn it - really we just didn't want to have to wait in line if someone botched the narrow entrance to the trails. So into the final turn that was about a mile before the narrow entrance I punched it and attacked the front of the group. Tom came with me and so did 2 others. I pulled up the hill on the entrance to Bandit's Roost campground and then Tom pulled through. Just before the entrance one of the other guys jumped ahead so we hit the narrow entrance #2 and #3. That was just as it had been planned. I felt good going through the system but then started to feel a bit wonky going up Dark Mountain. It was steep and relentless. I didn't know what the issue was but my legs just didn't seem to have the juice to really lay down the pressure. At this point I was sitting 8th or so. So I dialed it back and just tried to keep the lead I had built up if any. I knew riders were close behind. Back through the OVT up the paved climb on the backside I tried not to die. It was steeeeeeep. I was on the verge on cramping but I made it work and headed down the backside only to cramp on the next steep singletrack up. Ouch. I still had another 15 miles to go and my legs were falling off. I pushed as hard as I could and enjoyed riding the WC loop backwards from all the other times I had ridden it. Finally I got to the finish line to cross in 6th place open men and 11th place overall. That was satisfying to finish that well but again knowing that if I was a bit stronger then I would have placed a few spots better.

The 6 Hours of Cathedral Pines is a great race. Plain and simple. The issue with this one is it's usually the last race in a loooooong season. So who knows how this one will end up. It started out super cold and it was hard to figure out just how to layer with the temps getting slightly warmer. The previous year that I did this race I finished well but had no power for the last 2 laps or so. I really suffered. For this race I concentrated on putting down a solid race and not falling flat the last 2 laps. I did pull a really dumb move but it worked in my favor for a bit. I was second into the singletrack after the long drag race to the woods and took advantage of an early mishap. The rider directly behind me tagged a tree and I heard some commotion behind me. I took this as a sign to attack and take advantage of a gap. The rider in front of me was a team rider and I just stuck to his wheel and we killed the first lap. He pulled away towards the end of the first lap and it was me leading the solos into the second lap. I kept is steady but heard the train of riders steadily approaching. 3rd lap early on I was passed by 2 riders that were moving fast and charging through. I knew I had no hope of keeping their pace for long but I rode the rest of that lap with them in my sights. The remainder of the laps I rode steady exchanging places with another rider. We were both riding the same pace and I knew that a mistake here or there would be the difference between us. On the last lap he bobbled behind and I lifted the pace and was able to stay just enough ahead of him so he couldn't sneak past me. I finished up satisfied with a hard workout and a race that was pretty consistent as the last laps didn't hurt as much as the previous attempt. All in all a fun race.

Recent Races and Updates

Ok so it's been a while for a new report. Let's see...


The last few races I did were the Stoopid 50, Summer Sizzler, Stewart Six Pack, High Cascades 100, and Nittany Lion CX. Some were good, some were not so good, some caused me to stay off the bike for a while. Here's how it went.

Stoopid 50 - Still an amazing race. Felt decent but not overly energetic racing so soon after the Mohican/Bearscat double. I rode hard and solid until the aid station at mile 32 or so and then fell apart. Lost a few positions riding to that line at the end and finished 8th place. I'll be back for more at this one.

Summer Sizzler - Fun MASS series race that I have never done in Sewell and after I got accustomed to riding the sandy corners I had a blast. I finished mid pack in the pro field and really enjoyed the xc format as opposed to the endurance stuff I'd been doing.

Stewart Six Pack - I had high hopes for this one as I've done well in the past but I also raced the Sizzler the week prior so I didn't know how I'd feel. I went out hard and was comfy in the lead group of 8 or so for the first few laps. It then dwindled to 5 and then after 5 laps it shattered apart. All I knew what that there were 3 guys ahead of me and I put down all I had to the end. I never felt super good but I was consistent and riding hard. I finished 3rd only 15 seconds or so behind my teammate in 2nd place. So all in all a great effort even though I wasn't feeling super fresh.


High Cascades 100 - Oregon is absolutely beautiful!!! What a great venue and just amazing scenery and beer everywhere. The downside...the dust! Holy hell was it bad. The first 10 miles of dirt was horrendously dry, dusty, and loose. I stuck with my brother for the first 40 miles or so into Aid 2 when I realized that he just wasn't keeping pace. Something was off with him. So I said gbye and kept on rolling to see if I could get into the finish in under 9 hours. I did well and put in some hard efforts when I could, especially up to the never ending snow fields...there had to be 40 of them. Some small, some not so small, and some bridging across rivers. Once my feet thawed out I kept moving noticing the 9 hour mark was approaching. I got to the road at the end and absolutely crushed myself trying to make sure I'd cross before 9. I did just that 8:46 was my finish time in 26th place. It hurt bad but I'd met my goal and got a medal for making it in under 9. Part of me wonders just how much extra time I could have cut off if I decided to leave my brother earlier but that was part of our agreement. Overall it was fun, well marked and some great trails but that moondust was horrible.

As a results of something going wrong at the HC 100, I had to have surgery. I think the issue was that my saddle had slipped backwards and canted up a bit. Causing me to severely irritate some tissue under my sitbone that needed to be removed. It was so sore after the race I couldn't even sit down. The couch hurt - nevermind a bike saddle. I still tried to do my recovery ride and that was severely painful. But I pushed on through it.

After the HC 100 I did stop by the MacKenzie River Trail and ride that - what a killer ride! That's definitely a must do if you are in the area. The only problem was my sit bone was so sore I had to ride the entire 30 miles of trail standing up. Good thing the majority of it was downhill.

So with 7 weeks of irritation and the effects of surgery I was forced to cut down my training hours and what I could do - I mostly had to stand. It was aggravating but who knows maybe it will be beneficial somehow. I'm still debating this.

So now being on the upside of surgery I raced the Nittany Lion CX in Trexlertown PA and tried that going fast in grass circles thing again. There were 80 something riders in the field and we had a hard, clean start for once. Towards the end of lap 2 I wanted to vomit but I stuck with it and hung in there forcing myself to go as hard as I could and just get the workout in. I did just that shedding riders and passing when I could and I think I had an ok race. No real mechanicals and I forced myself to go pretty hard. I know I definitely wasn't 100% but it's part of racing my way back into fitness.

Up next a few more endurance MTB races and some CX races. Oh yea and I'm fat so I'm working on that. Stay tuned.

Despicable Double - Part 2

On to day 2 was the Bearscat 50. With no sleep, lots of soreness from the previous day at the Mohican 100, and for some reason a lot of motivation I lined up for the start. There are a LOT of racers on the starting grid and I had 90% of them beating me this day. I figured that riding hard for 8 hours and the overall fatigue would leave me with nothing from the start and stay that way, or become worse as the day went on. I had visions of curling up into a ball and crying in the woods before even finishing the first lap. Who knows what would actually happen. So at the starting line they had signs for anticipated finish groups and what the hell, I put myself in the first group. If I was fresh I belonged there but I had no idea what the first hard pedal stroke had in store for me.

Off we went. The horn sounded and I put the pedals down hard and cleared the first couple tight turns clean and ramped it up. To the point where I was passing people, and more people, and a few more before the first tight singletrack. I actually had some legs - really?!?!?! Through the first trail I was probably sitting in the top 20 and happy just to be there and pedaling. The really rough stuff popped up and I rode it clean and was feeling good. Much better than cramping and vomiting like the day prior. I figured it wouldn't last so I'll keep on the gas and see when I completely crack. It had to be soon. I went back and forth with a couple of riders but hit each hill hard and drilled each somewhat flat section. What the hell I still had some energy... Finished lap 1 and then had the realization that I might actually finish this race. The first lap didn't hurt that bad but I figured the second lap would be much worse.

On to lap 2 I pedaled steady and rode some of the sections better with less traffic this time. All along still waiting for my legs to literally fall off. I was still riding well and feeling decent but the wall was dangling in front of me that I was supposed to hit. I just wanted to get to the end of this lap so I would be finished. Then I could eat, drink, and get off this stupid bike. 150 rough dirt miles in 2 days is a hard thing to agree to in theory, but it's even harder to actually get on your bike and complete. As I feared the legs were achey but every time I dug deep, they kept responding. Wow...I was really impressed. The last section I dreaded was a washed out, baby headed climb that was a couple of miles before the end. If I could clear that the race was pretty much done. It's not super tough but it required that you dig deep and punch through it. If I was going to cramp or crack this was it. I see the section just ahead and even better, I see a fading rider just starting it. He bobbled, I rode steadily past him and then punched it over the top and kept on it. I did NOT want to leave this to a sprint finish. My legs would definitely not have that in them.

The effort worked as I killed the last downhill and drilled the pavement to the finish line. The rider I passed was not in sight and I didn't have to sweat out a sprint. I pedaled as hard as I could to cross the finish line in 4:28 and end the hardest weekend of racing I'd ever done. 100 miles of dirt in 8:09 followed by 50 miles of bumpier dirt in 4:28 the following day. It was a feat that I didn't know was possible and am very proud that I completed and actually did pretty well. I was 17th in the Mohican 100 and 14th in the Bearscat 50. Two top 20's in these races back to back really reminded me that my body can perform pretty well in some pretty demanding circumstances. What a weekend and it would be more than a few weeks to recover from this one.