2015 Perry 101

2015 Perry 101

 

The Perry 101 is a 101 mile gravel road race containing a moderate amount of climbing and about one mile of “B” road.  There are a few age groups providing the opportunity to race against my peers.  There is very little hard surface and only two towns to replenish supplies.  New this year is the option to race 101 kilometers (63 miles).  Participants make the decision on the race distance at the 18 mile point.

My training leading up to the race involved a couple very hard one hour rides the week prior to the race.  The Perry 101 is not one of my “A” races, so my training schedule contained more duration and intensity in the week leading up to the race.  My goal was to break 7 hours since I had completed this race in 6:55 last year and had finished the Lutsen 99er just under 7 hours earlier this summer.  To meet this goal my average speed needed to be at least 14.4 mph.

I was waffling on which bike to ride.  My choices were either a heavy hardtail mountain bike or my lightweight full suspension cross country race mountain bike.  The hardtail bike has good tires and two water bottle cages.  The full suspension bike is much lighter but the B wheels have a tire with a bulge and only one bottle cage.  In the end, the night before the race, I decided to race the full suspension mountain bike.  The final decision was based on the weight of the bike, the heavier hardtail would have been a large disadvantage.

The racers from the Newton area included Jim, Shawna and Julie, all long time training partners.  They were planning to race the 101 K distance, I was committed to the 101 mile distance as the fifth 100 mile gravel ride in the Cup O Dirt Challenge.  I was planning to ride the initial section at a slightly slower pace because I tend to go out too hard in the first part of races.

The race day weather forecast was for the temp to be around 50 at the start and warm to the 70s by the middle of the afternoon.  The biggest factor regarding the weather was the wind.  It started out very mild out of the SW, but was predicted to become around 20 mph out of the SSW by mid-afternoon.  This is significant because the course travels mostly west for the first 35 miles, north for about 20 miles, east for about 35 miles and finishes with 10 miles to the south.  The various directions of travel are significant because of the wind direction.

The start was uneventful.  The first five miles were on fairly deep gravel.  I kept trying to find a well packed section of road, but there was none to be found.  The three Wrecked’em racers worked well together for the first 17 miles.  I noticed there was a group of five ahead of us, but we could not stay with them because their pace was just above ours.  I wanted to find a group to ride with to stay out of the wind, especially when riding into the headwind.

For the first hour I was averaging 16.34 mph which felt within my ability for 100 miles.  As we approached the 18 mile split I decided to try to hang on the back of the group of five containing Dee, the first place female finisher from last year.  Races are rarely won by holding back, so I decided I needed to push my pace for as long as I could to ride with this group.

In the second hour I could tell I was working harder and hoped my average speed had increased (it was actually 15.53 mph).  Again, it was slightly faster than I wanted to ride, but my legs were still feeling ok.  I justified the increased effort by telling myself I was not working as hard as I would have been if I was riding by myself and going 15 mph into the headwind (which was starting to pick up).  At about mile 35 the rest of the group stopped at a water stop at the entrance to the Whiterock Conservancy area.  I had not finished my first bottle of Perpetuem, so I pushed on knowing there was about 3 miles due south, a couple miles west followed by 5 miles north to Coon Rapids where I planned to stop.  I passed one lone rider who looked like he was in my Grand Master age group before Coon Rapids but was caught by the two strongest riders from the group of five.  I will call them black jersey and green jersey because I don’t know their names.

I pulled into a convenience store in Coon Rapids to purchase a piece of pizza and refilled my now empty bottle with water.  I really needed to use the restroom but there was someone taking their time in the Men’s.  Since they were one-holers I decided to use the women’s to take care of business before I wet my shorts.  The two faster riders departed before I made my pizza purchase.  The remaining three were ready to depart when I emerged from the c-store.  I knew it was important to eat some calories so I turned them loose so they could ride on.  Dee politely said something about me catching them soon.  I was thinking, how nice of her to say that, but no way.  I checked my numbers and noted I had ridden 45 miles in slightly over 3 hours at a 15.8 mph average.  This was above my goal pace, but I was feeling OK and looking forward to riding with a tail wind.

Within a few miles after leaving Coon Rapids there is approximately one mile of “B” road.  This road was muddy and forced us to walk last year which added quite a bit of time.  This year the “B” road was dry and very easily ridden.  I was able to average around 20 mph through this section because I was also going north with a significant tail wind.  Shortly after emerging from the “B” road I was able to spot a group about one mile ahead.  I assumed this was the three containing Dee.

Through the fourth hour I slowly closed the gap to the three ahead of me.  I was not sure if any of the racers were 50+ making them Grand Masters and racing in my age group.  I decided to maintain my pace when I overtook this group so I did not provide a draft to the finish for a competitor.  Riding a mountain bike put me at a disadvantage from weight and wind resistance standpoints, so it was not wise for me to pull other riders to the finish.

My strategy worked to perfection, a few minutes after I caught the Dee group I looked back and no one was willing to follow me off the front.  In roughly 5 miles I realized I was approaching the city of Jefferson.  As I was riding through town I saw a couple riders in front of me.  I wondered who it was; not dreaming it was green jersey and black jersey (fast guys).  Within a few miles after departing Jefferson I realized I was catching the two riders in front of me.  Much to my surprise it was in fact green jersey and black jersey.  I learned they were trying to rely on tattered cue cards and had been lost / taken wrong turns several times.  This explains why I was able to catch them.  I was their new best friend because I was able to navigate using the route on my bike computer (Joule GPS).  We rode together working to share the load.  I noticed green jersey was not as strong as black jersey at this point.

In hour 5 I decided to get to know my new friends.  I began to market and promote the Buffalo 105 (the gravel race I organize taking place on Oct. 24), thinking I had a captive audience.  I learned black jersey lived in St. Louis and had driven up for the race.  I needed to know if these guys were in my age group (Grand Master 50+).  I could not think of a tactful way of asking this, so I said something about agreeing to help if neither of them were Grand Masters.  It turned out black jersey was my exact same age (54) and a Grand Master.

We were riding along at a good pace and came to a blacktop road to cross.  As I was crossing the road one of my water bottles bounced out and fell onto the road.  I told black jersey to go on thinking I would not see him again.  Just as I was turning back to retrieve my bottle a semi came along.  I realized he was slowing and about to turn onto the gravel road.  This was fine except my bottle was in his direct path.  Being the nice person he was, he stopped on the blacktop and motioned for me to get my bottle.  There are very nice people in this world.  It turned out; black jersey did roll on, but was soft pedaling allowing me to catch back on.  I decided if he was nice enough to slow for me I should help him for as long as I could.

I was trying to play out the finish and every scenario I ran seemed to favor black jersey.  He was on a 17 lb. bike with racing handlebars (making his position more aero.).  I remembered the finish involved several miles into the headwind.  I was just not sure how many miles we would struggle into the now strong headwind.  I was glad I had made a couple friends so we could share the work.

We came to the now unmanned second air station.  For some reason I filled only one bottle, moving the half full bottle of water to the holder behind my seat.  I ate only one small Clif Mojo bar.  Not long after leaving the aid station we made the dreaded turn into the south wind.  We all put our heads down and started working into the wind taking equal turns on the front.  I realized we had about 10 miles to get to the finish.  Within a few miles I realized I was fading and having a hard time holding onto the group.  I had also nearly finished the bottle I filled at the aid station.  I redoubled my efforts and was able to hold onto the wheel in front of me.

With about 5 miles to go, I could no longer hold onto the wheel in front of me.  I mentally said goodbye to my new friends.  I also now had a good picture of how the finish would play out with black jersey.  I was starting to bonk and wondered how bad it would be.  I started eating the last half of the second Clif bar I had brought.  I finished the bottle I filled at the aid station and began rationing my way through the half bottle of water.  As I was taking stock of myself I realized I was quite thirsty and somewhat hungry.  I think my largest issue was dehydration (I should have filled both bottles for the last 10 miles of the race).  I started watching for riders behind me like a nervous crack head.

The finish was much like stepping on a grape, not much of an event.  There was no one in front of me I could catch, and no one I could see behind me.  I rolled across the finish line in 6:48:17.  My mouth was so dry I could hardly speak.  Within a few minutes the Dee group of three finished.  It turned out, there was a Grand Master riding with Dee to the finish.  My moving average speed was 15.3 mph and overall average 14.8 mph, just slightly above my goal.

I was happy to learn Jim and Shawna had good races as well.  Jim was first place overall in the 101 K distance and Shawna was first female and fourth overall.  They represented the Wrecked’ems well!

Looking back I consumed two bottles of Perpetuem (135 calories each) and two full Clif bars (250 calories each), a piece of pizza (~300 calories) and one Clif Mojo bar (90 Calories).  This is a total of 1160 calories which is really close to my goal of 175 calories per hour (1225 total calories).  I also consumed only four large bottles of liquid which is a little over ½ bottle per hour.  This was likely my largest issue on the day.  As the temperature rose through the day and the dry fall wind increased I was caught off guard by not increasing my consumption of liquids.

The items in the preceding paragraph are why I keep racing.  I want to right the items which limit my ability to push my legs to be their best.  This is such an interesting paradox, my poor choices (mental) were causing limiters for my muscles (physical).  The seemingly easiest item turns out to be the hardest part while in the heat of the battle of a race.

Please learn from my mistakes and make good decisions while riding, and throughout life, my friends.

Wrecked'ems riding together last year (photo credit to Dave Mable).

My 2nd place trophy.

 

2015 Chequamegon 40

2015 Chequamegon 40

Prologue

I have focused on the 40 mile Chequamegon point to point race through the rolling hills of northern Wisconsin since 2001.  I have been racing either the 16 mile race or the 40 mile race since 1994.  I arrived in Cable, WI on Friday in time for the customary pre-ride of the final 4 miles of the 40 mile race course.  It has not changed in over 20 years, but this is the section I always pre-ride.  I found the course in good shape, not too wet, but wet enough to knock down the dust. 

Anticipating a wetter than normal course, I lubed my chain with a wet conditions lube after the pre-ride.  I aired up my new tires before going to bed so I could tell if they were holding air.  I had been working with them the past week because they were new and not yet holding air well.  They are tubeless and require a bit of tinkering to get them dialed in.

Upon waking on Saturday I learned it had rained lightly in the night.  This does not normally cause an issue because the soil contains a large amount of sand and drains well.  The forecast was for clear, sunny skies with a high temperature of 68.  It was cool early (mid 40’s), but predicted to warm up to the mid 50’s by the 10:00 AM start.  Nearly perfect temperature conditions for a mountain bike race through the beautiful Northwoods of cheese-head land.

I placed my bike in corral number 3 (earned by my finish time on previous races) at 8:00.  We spent the next hour and a half topping off nutrition and hydration stores and in nervous conversation.  There were several trips to the bathroom as the caffeine and nerves worked their magic on our bladders.  We were with our bikes by 9:45 as required by the race director.

 

Race

At 10:00 the race started with a neutral roll-out behind several quads.  The pace for the first mile is “controlled” at 20 mph, but once the leaders have made the corner onto highway 77, the quads hit the gas and the racing starts.  At this point the pace cranks up to speeds in excess of 25 mph while riding in a tight pack.  This is the part of the course which makes everyone on edge to avoid a crash.  Just when we were starting to thin the pack, I noticed everyone ahead was gesturing about something in the road.  I was able to move left to the center and came upon a rider in the middle of the right lane adjusting his rear quick release.  This seemed like a very poor decision regarding where and when to make this adjustment.  If this rider is reading this post, please note, it would have been much safer for everyone if you had gotten off the road before stopping.  There, it will never happen again!

At about the three mile point the race course takes a hard left off the only paved road into a hay field called Rosie’s Field.  I quickly learned the rain in the night had left the grass wet and dirt soft.  I was able to successfully navigate the few soft wet patches through Rosie’s Field and enter the Birkie trail.

The Birkie trail (named after the famous Birkebeiner cross country ski race which takes place on the trail) is normally a wide grassy path through the woods with an 8 inch wide track worn bare from bike traffic.  This year the grass was wet, the dirt under the grass was soft and the dirt path was greasy and slick.  The dirt path is normally the best place to ride because it provides the least resistance.  After several two wheel slides I decided the grass may be safer.  I was sliding much less in the grass, but expending much more effort because of the soft earth.  I continued to pick my line carefully to find a balance between easier hard packed bare earth and grass, where I could pass and not slide in the greasy mud. 

In the first few miles of the Birkie trail I heard someone hit the ground hard and the telltale sounds of other riders getting involved in the issue.  I was concerned my friend Jeff would be involved because I knew he was close behind me.  I was happy to be ahead of the tangle and pushed on.  At some point someone buzzed my left calf with their front tire.  This was a close call, but in racing you can’t worry about the things you can’t control.

I had created a handlebar card containing goal split times for each 10 miles.  At the 10 mile point I was roughly 5 minutes behind my goal for the split.  I could tell it was not going to be a fast year and told myself to relax and ride as fast as I safely could.

In about an hour I arrived at the crossing of the OO blacktop.  There is a ski hut (normally used for the Birkie) and the only official mid-race time check.  I normally meet my wife (Jenni) once we turn onto the gravel road about ½ mile after we cross the highway.  I was able to get another bottle (filled with Hammer Perpetuem – 135 calories) and she poked one of my home made granola hockey pucks (roughly 100 calories) into my cake hole.  I was off in about 15 seconds.

I was able to get onto the back of 20 rider pace lines through most of the race.  This allows me to conserve energy while maintaining a good pace.  As usual, the group would always pull away from me on the downhill sections, but I was normally able to catch back on once the course turned uphill.

The Chequamegon course is famous for wide water puddles.  The puddles are normally not more than six inches deep, but there is the potential for all sorts of bad things if you don’t ride the dryer route around the side.  There were a couple puddles I was unable to avoid because I was either going too fast to navigate around the side or there were riders beside me so I could not pick the dry line.  My chain took a bath of sandy water with each puddle.  I was happy I put on extra wet conditions lube so it would continue to shift.

I decided to try something new this year (totally out of character for me) and sucked in a caffeinated gel at mile 26.  I was having no stomach issues and figured the caffeine could not hurt me over the last hour of racing.

I have perfected a strategy for how to ride the Sealy Fire Tower climb after 12 years of racing the 40.  My strategy is to pick someone to follow who is steady and has a low chance of doing something stupid (i.e. spinning out) on the climb.  I will follow them at about 20 feet to give myself time to react if they did have an issue.  I executed this strategy to perfection and was able to ride all three tiers of the climb.  The Fire Tower climb comes at about mile 30.  After cresting the climb I quickly took stock of my situation.  My legs were tired, but showing no signs of cramping.  I decided it was time to leave nothing on the racecourse and ratchet my exertion up a notch for the last 10 miles.

I was pushing hard and passing some fatigued riders in the last 10 miles.  About one mile from the finish there are a couple short steep hills where there is not much of an opportunity to gain speed as you approach.  On the second climb I spun on a rock and had to clip out and run up the final 10 feet of the climb.  How embarrassing!  I continued to push hard and somehow found myself all alone for the final ½ mile.  This section contains two long rough grassy descents followed by off-camber turns.  Being alone I felt comfortable and let it roll (meaning I was not cautiously riding the brakes).  The last 100 yards contain a grassy uphill which seems to suck all your speed.  I gave it all I had and powered through this section to finish in 2:40, 10 minutes off my goal finish time.

Epilogue

I talked to several of my friends and everyone reported slower finish times than their norm.  I attribute this to the rain Friday night which made the Birkie trail greasy for the first 5 miles, made the earth soft and expanded the water puddles.  I was off the pace for each 10 mile section (however I was off pace by 7+ minutes in the first half of the race indicating the greasy mud was drying through the race).  My average power and heart rate were nearly identical to the numbers from last year, however my average speed was slower indicating I was working at the same rate but going slower because the bike was not rolling in the soft earth.

I have finished analyzing my numbers (a process which takes quite a bit of time, much to the dismay of my wife).  I am working to improve my weaknesses so I can go faster next year.  If I can’t go faster I sure don’t want to be slower.  I will also age into a new age group next year.  This is a bittersweet event.  I will be at the youngest age in my group, but the age group advancement will also mean I will naturally be losing top end capacity.  No one has found a way to stop aging (short of death).  The best I can do is be the best I can be.  This is true in life as well.

 

Ride on friends

Jeff and me at the start line.  You can feel the nervous tension in the air.

Me out on the course (Photo credit to Athlinks)

 

The finish line.  Notice the pain on my face. (Photo credit to Athlinks).

Julie finished the 40 for the first time.  Very proud of her.