24 Hours of Cumming - It's not porn

24 Hours of Cumming Race

 

The 24 Hours of Cumming is really misnamed.  It should be called the 400k Cumming Killer.  However, I do like the given name because it provides a nearly endless opportunity for tacky jokes and innuendos.  Nevertheless, the format is simple; ride four unique 62 mile, gravel, self-supported, self-navigated loops as fast as you can.  You must complete this task within 24 hours to be considered a finisher.  Did I mention there are Iowa “B” roads (roads without gravel, also known as mud roads or Minimum Maintenance Roads - MMR)? 

 

I had raced this race as a 2 person team in the inaugural year (2014) and found it challenging.  My Newton besties put together the same two teams, Matt and Jim on one team and Shawna and myself on another.  The plan was to ride alternating laps.  At our pace this would provide one daylight lap and one lap in darkness for each racer.  We suspected, and confirmed before the start, we were the only 2 person teams.  It was billed by the race director as the Newton championship.  We all had about the same ability, so it was going to be about who paced their effort the best.

 

Loop 1:  The race rolled out at 11:00 AM, right on schedule.  Matt and Shawna were the first two racers for their respective teams.  It had rained earlier in the day, but the skies were clear and it was not too hot.  The rain had settled the dust, but may have made the B roads a mess.  There was a mile section and another ¼ mile section of B road on the first loop.

 

Matt and Shawna rolled in together in a very respectable time (4:36:36).  Jim and I had been expecting them and were ready.  They reported the B roads were 99% rideable, only needing to walk around a large puddle on each dirt road.  I was able to learn Shawna was not feeling great in the energy and tummy departments.  As I was going out she said something to the effect of: “Be ready, you may need to ride some or all of the next loop for me.”  I could see in her face she was not feeling well.  I thought there was a chance she would not want to start the next loop.  Was I capable of riding three full loops (186 miles)?

 

Loop 2:  Jim and I rolled out together and began navigating the turns together.  I was having difficulty because I had my GPS bike computer (Joule GPS) set in the map mode where the turn arrows are too small for my 54+ year old eyes.  Once I set it to the correct mode I had almost no further issue.  We were rolling along nicely and were approaching a turn when Jim indicated he needed to stop for something.  I coasted to a stop to watch Jim quickly determine his rear tire was going down.  We were roughly 40 minutes in and changing a flat.  Jim had only brought one tube (very common), so we did not have many options if he had another flat.

 

I could tell Jim was not attacking the hills as he normally would.  I was riding away from him which was very out of character.  As we talked Jim shared he was not feeling great, not that he was ill, but just not feeling his strong self.  At one point he indicated his stomach felt worse with each drink from his water bottle.  We came to a couple monster hills and I actually saw Jim walking.  When I saw this I knew he was in trouble and began working on a plan.  Since my teammate was not feeling great, and Jim was struggling, I wanted to let Matt know where we were so they would know when to expect us.  I was also formulating alternative plans in case neither Shawna nor Jim was able to ride another lap.  My worst case plan was to jumble the teams where Matt and I made up one team and Shawna and Jim were another team.  This would reduce the pressure on those who were not feeling well.

 

I did not want to leave Jim in case he started feeling much worse, but I was also thinking we would need some time to formulate our strategy.  I finally suggested to Jim with approximately 15 miles to go that I could drift up the road and get to the finish a few minutes early so we three could discuss strategy.  I was also thinking he may be pushing harder than he should trying to keep up (this is normally not an issue for Jim).  Jim embraced the suggestion so off I went.  I made one wrong turn, rode ½ mile off course and was able to get back on course.  This detour took long enough for Jim to get ahead of me again.  I passed him within a mile and sailed to the finish with a time of 4:47:59.  On one downhill I had to yell at a deer to get it to hurry off the road so I did not hit her.  I turned on a headlight for the last couple miles.

 

Loop 3:  Much to my pleasant surprise, Shawna was feeling much better and was ready to ride loop 3.  Apparently she simply needed to eat a bit to get her tummy turned around.  We fiddled with lights for way too long and finally switched out Shawna’s main light because we could not get it to work.  They rolled off with significant lightning on the horizon and thunderstorms in the forecast.

 

I was relaxing in my tent (code for: I was trying to sleep) at 11:45 PM when my phone started ringing.  It was Matt calling to tell me it was lightning and raining hard (think monsoon) and they had pulled into a farm house out building.  They were 29.6 miles into the loop and were wet, cold and needed a rescue.  Luckily I had encouraged Shawna to load an app on her phone which allowed her to text me a link to Google maps with their exact location (the app name is My GPS Coordinates).  I had not tried actually navigating to a GPS coordinate, but I was willing to give it a try.  I stopped to check in with the race director to see if there was any status information I could gain so we could discuss our options on the drive home.  There was nothing new, the race was not being called, paused or anything else.  I was able to confirm, if you stop riding a loop, you can restart at the same point without penalty.

 

Google Maps was telling us it would take 33 minutes to find our friends, but I was thinking they could not possibly be that far away.  We had not driven far when the skies opened up.  It was raining and hailing so hard I could not go over 35 mph with my wipers on high.  At this pace it was going to take longer than 33 minutes.  Eventually we drove out of the rain and Google Maps delivered us to the driveway of the farm house where Matt and Shawna were taking refuge.  They were a few miles north of Winterset.  As we talked about our plan on the way back we decided we needed to start driving back to the rescue point at 2:30 AM in order to finish within 24 hours.  We also decided we would not start riding if it was still raining.  I crawled in my tent and laid down around 12:30 in my race kit with my jersey pockets full of food.  I set my alarm for 5:30 AM so we could touch base.

 

At 5:30, Matt sent me a text telling me they were not sleeping and were planning to pack up and drive home.  I realized it was not raining and the radar showed the rain was moving away.  Since I had only ridden 62 miles (loop 2), I wanted more miles (to complete another 100 mile ride for the Cup-O-Dirt Challenge).  Since we were going to be disqualified for not finishing loop 3, I decided my challenge would be to ride loop 4 by the 11:00 AM cutoff.  While I was preparing for the ride by filling bottles, stuffing some calories in my mouth, taking off my lights and lubing my chain I felt the call of nature in my lower regions (some will call this the launch window).  I decided I should take care of this need before I set out on my bike for a 4+ hour ride.  I went into the bar to use the Men’s room and found it occupied.  Thinking quickly, I discovered the Women’s restroom was dark.  Time was wasting so I took the chance and took care of business.  While in the opposite gender room I was preparing for what I would do if I was interrupted by a female.  Luckily, I never needed to enact my plan.

 

Loop 4:  Before I started I told the race director my plan to finish by 11:00.  He wished me luck but reminded me of the mile of B road and how much longer it would take after so much rain.  He also shared a fellow Wrecked’em, Chuck, had started with Lee at 6:00 AM.  I rolled out at 6:26 and thought I would not see Chuck for a long time, if ever, since he was 26 minutes ahead of me.  The early dawn was beautiful on the breast of the new fallen snow – wait wrong story, bazinga.  The morning was beautiful, there was no dust on the roads, the sun was behind clouds and it was cool.  I was giving myself a strong lecture about not going out too fast so I could finish strong.  I needed to eat and drink the proper amount and pace myself through the 62 miles (62 miles @ 14 mph = 4:26).  Much to my surprise, I caught Chuck and Lee about 5 miles in.  I wanted to ride with them for comradery, but they were going slower than the realistic pace I had set.  I was about to pull away when Chuck shared a story from earlier in the race about passing gas and thinking he had “shat himself.”  Apparently he slid to a stop and yanked down his shorts along the course to discover – false alarm.  As I was processing this disturbing story I politely explained my goal and excused myself to ride at my pace.

 

I pushed my tired legs in solitude on the wet roads.  At some point I recognized I was crossing the 4 lane road between Des Moines and Indianola and still getting further away from Cumming.  I observed at about the 30 mile point my pace had fallen below 14 mph and realized the roads were soft, causing me to work harder than on hard packed gravel roads.  I knew the rest of my ride and the B road would need to be fast if I was going to make it in by the cutoff.  My spirits always start to improve once I ride past the halfway point, which I was approaching.  There was very little breeze, but I was riding into a slight head wind going east.  Once I started going west I was expecting faster and easier sailing.  However, I did not detect any tail wind once I was traveling west.

 

From my foggy early morning memory from 2014 I knew I was close, when I finally made the turn onto the dreaded mile of B road.  My spirits were OK at this point, but I was a little down thinking I was behind pace to make it in by the cut off (average speed now 13.8).  I knew better than to ride even one foot of the muddy B road because my tires would pick up mud to where my bike would be 20 pounds heavier.  I quickly dismounted and began carrying my bike.  My feet were sinking into the Iowa mud causing each to resemble a snowshoe.  In about ¼ mile I was too exhausted to carry my bike any further.  I stopped for a brief rest and realized my heart rate was high and I was out of breath.  I decided a better option was to push my bike in the weeds at the side of the road.  This allowed me to get my breathing under control and keep moving a bit faster while expending less energy.  In the last ¼ mile I noticed I could push my bike through the mowed ditch allowing my mud-laden feet to slowly clean themselves.  At the end of the mud section of the road I spotted a person skimming his pool (which was conveniently located in the front yard).  As I passed him he commented “I guess you took a wrong turn.”  I tried not to be insulting, but muttered something about “No, actually I am sure this was the route mapped out by the sadistic race director.”

 

Once on the only slightly wet roads I took stock of my situation.  I was still 14 miles from the finish and was averaging less than 14 mph.  Even in my depleted state, I knew I was more than an hour out.  I had a full bottle and plenty of food, but my legs were shot.  It was also starting to get fairly hot.   Significantly increasing my pace was not likely.  Since it was after 10:00, I knew I was not going to make the cut off.  I slowed down and called Jenni (my wife and support crew) to give her an update.  I hung up and put my head down and pushed as hard as I could to the finish.  Officially I crossed the line at 11:33.  We were credited with a finishing time, but we did not ride the entire distance.

 

Epilog: With a little time to reflect I have come to terms with the race.  There were only 4 individuals and one team to ride the entire distance under 24 hours out of 17 400k starters.  We were the fastest of the “non-finishers.”  Would I do things differently if I had the chance?  Yes, I should have taken my bike and started riding at the point where I picked up my teammate.  Would this have guaranteed we finished the race before the cut off?  There are no guarantees with the weather or in bike racing.  I may have been struck by lightning.  There is one thing I am sure of, no one knows what the human body can do when faced with a challenge, but you can learn a lot when you challenge yourself with a daunting goal.

Race Director Steve Cannon giving last minute instructions.

Shawna, Matt and Chuck (L-R) at the start line.

Brad, Shawna and Matt at the conclusion of loop 1.

  

Chuck after riding 400k.

2015 Lutsen 99er

This was my third year racing the Lutsen 99er.  I had raced in 2012 and 2014, but these were very wet years.  I was beginning to think this was simply a wet climate and I should expect this much wetness.  The weather leading up to the 2015 race was much dryer (only  1/2 inch rain the week of the race) and the course was in very good shape.  There was talk of having added a new purpose built section of single tack for the last few miles.  I had raced well in 2014, but I knew there was room for improvement in my performance. 

As is normally the case, the race starts by descending a large hill from the ski resort.  It is to be a neutral paced roll-out and passing the lead vehicle is grounds for disqualification.  The pace last year was a painful 10 mph.  Things were much different this year.  I was still coasting and cautiously watching for signs of trouble ahead, but the pace was much faster.  At one point I summoned the courage and glanced down to see I was traveling 43.4 mph.  Once at the bottom of the hill and on flat highway 61, the pace returned to a respectable 24 mph. 

After roughly 2.5 miles on level highway 61, we turned north and began the long climb on highway 4.  This climb is not long by mountain standards, but is long for the Midwest.  It took me 16 minutes to climb the 3 miles to the top (average speed of 11.25 mph) with elevation gain of 775 feet.  At the top, there are a couple rolling hills before you say good-bye to the hard surface and start getting dirty. 

I arrived at the first aid station roughly 10 minutes ahead of my 2014 time and was feeling good about my pace and my legs were not blown yet.  The course contains a 17.8 mile figure eight loop which is traveled twice.  There are two sections of wide mowed rough trail covering approximately 10 miles of each loop in total.  There is also a short section of very overgrown double track.  The rest of the loop is gravel.  Jenni was to meet me on this loop at the corner where the course turns back onto gravel by Devil Track Lake.  I was feeling good and still ahead of my 2014 pace each time I passed an aid station or Jen. 

The last aid station on the figure eight loop is aid station 3 at mile 59.3.  I was riding in a pace line and feeling strong.  In the past, the 10 mile section from aid station 3 to aid station 4 gets long, I have tended to lack focus and have fallen off pace.  This year I was determined to stay with the group and maintain a reasonable pace to aid station 4 (mile 69.6).  I was still with the group at aid station 4, but was not feeling nearly as strong.  I refilled my bottle and grabbed a couple Fig Newtons to eat.  As I was pulling away I noticed there was a bike repair stand, pump and a couple individuals who looked like they would help racers get their bikes through whatever mechanical they may be experiencing.  Within a mile after leaving aid station 4 I noticed something was apparently stuck to the tread of my front tire.  I could see it every time it rotated around.  I ran through a list of possibilities for the apparent issue and came up with: a leaf, a gel wrapper, an alien finger, and on and on…  Stopping to investigate would not allow me to continue on with the pace group.  I also reasoned, there would be very little I could do about the issue other than observe.  I decided to keep riding as long as I could.  I watched the issue and observed it was growing with each mile.  Eventually I heard the pop of a tire and started to prepare to get myself safely stopped with a flat front tire.  I began watching the point where the tire contacted the road and, to my utter surprise the tire was not losing air.  It should not as my mountain bike utilizes tubeless tires with sealant.  I have survived thorn type punctures which have sealed up, but normally any puncture larger than ¼ inch will not seal with sealant.  I continued riding and watching the front tire carefully, but nothing ever became of the issue. 

I was starting to fade and made the conscious decision to let the group go.  I dangled for a while, but I did not have the legs to stay with them.  By the time I reached the 5^th aid station at mile 80 I was feeling the effects of the faster pace.  I still was ahead of my 2014 time, but I could tell I was slowing.  I was also riding by myself at this point which is not ideal because it helps to have someone to draft with and to help maintain a steady pace.  I was looking for a magic elixir, one which would rejuvenate my tired muscles and get me the remaining 19 miles.  I was desperate, so I guzzled down about ½ of a Coke.  The sugar and caffeine were sure to give me some turbo power, or simply get me to the finish.  

I left the aid station all by myself.  As I turned onto the Sawbill Trail (very wide and hard packed gravel road) I could see another rider ½ mile ahead.  I was surprised at how quickly I caught and passed this rider.  He must have been more tired than me.  In another couple miles I caught and passed another rider.  At about 15 miles to go I sucked down a gel for another sugar fix to get me to the finish.  Before long, the first rider I passed was actually on my wheel.  He seemed slightly stronger than me, so I allowed him to pull me.  In about another 5 miles the second rider I passed joined our group to make three.  It was not long until we made the turn onto the 2 miles of gravel which lead to the single-track of Lutsen.   

At this point my legs were tired.  They had a feeling where, if I did not push above a certain ceiling I was fine and could ride for a long time at this pace.  However, if I pushed them above the ceiling for very long they would start to feel like a cramp was inevitable.  I was flirting with the ceiling on every hill.  I could push up the hill, but I was in need of a recovery period to recharge my tired legs after cresting each hill.  I was very deliberate and careful to not allow my new drafting friends to get a gap I could not bridge.  At this point in the day it was starting to feel hot.  I also noticed some ugly looking clouds which would cool things off, but make the single-track very slippery.

There is an aid station at mile 93 which I normally blow through thinking I can ride 6 miles without water if necessary.  I was on the edge flirting with cramps, and wanted to make sure I had enough water to allow me to drink freely (not conserve) to the end.  I made a quick stop to fill my bottle at least ½ full.  I knew there was some new single-track trail and was wishing I had pre-ridden this section so I would know when to hit the gas and when to conserve.

In the last few miles I passed a guy who was nursing a very low tire.  I said something to him and he told me he had several gel packages in the tire as a boot.  I wished him luck and pushed on.  I think I was passed by 3 racers but I was able to pass a couple (OK, one had a low tire, but a pass is a pass).  We finally descended a hill and crossed the stream.  I knew we were at the low point of the last ½ mile to the finish.  My legs were very tired and crampy, but I knew I would need to push hard for only a few more minutes.  There were suddenly several other racers around me on the fire road.  I also saw a guy trying to finish the race on a cyclo-cross bike.  He was walking the steep sections.  I was determined to ride, out of pride and, because I knew riding was the fastest way to the top.  There were many people cheering and the adrenaline started pumping.  In the last 100 yards I spotted a fat bike and decided I needed to pass it before the finish (not sure why my brain decided this was necessary).  I gave one last huge effort and was able to get to the finish before the fat bike.  I was exhausted and could hardly walk away from the finish line.  Jen quickly found me and helped me stagger to a place to sit down.  I drank a couple waters and ate some fresh fruit.  I had planned to drink a packet of recovery drink but was so tired I forgot all about it.

I am disappointed to finish with a slower time than in 2014.  However, the course was a few miles longer, so my average speed was faster than in 2014.  In retrospect, I am happy with my effort, but am already planning what I can do to be faster in 2016.  For us old guys, getting faster every year is not easy.  Speaking of old guys, the winner this year was Steve Tilford.  He is slightly older than me and he is a legend in the bike racing world.  You can read his blog here: http://stevetilford.com/

He finished the race in 5:36:44 for a 17.64 mph average.  He has my respect, I’m not worthy.

I have watched this race grow and mature since my first race in 2012.  I was not impressed with the organization of the first race, but Lifetime has fixed their issues and is offering a well-organized event.  There are enough competitors to make it challenging, but not so many to make the start crazy or trail passing difficult.  The course is mostly gravel road or fire road.  There is enough grassy trail and a bit of single-track to make it a mountain bike race.  I plan to go back next year to contest it on hopefully dry trails.

 

Thanks for reading,

Brad



Crossing the finish line.

Finish line on Friday.

This is one sample of the beauty of the North Shore area.

2015 Almanzo 100

My pre-race packing routine normally consists of collecting items I will need in a bag two nights before the race.  This time tested strategy allows me to add items I may have forgotten as I think of them through the next couple days.  I was following the same pattern for the 2015 Almanzo 100.  I had my helmet and pump laid out in the garage and smaller items placed in a duffle bag in a spare bedroom.  To complete my work week, I planned to finish a few items for “the man”  in the morning through a couple hours in the afternoon of the Friday we were to travel to the race.  Everything was going according to plan, except I was fielding several requests for work which were unexpected and in addition to what I planned to get done for my work day.  When it came time for us to start driving, I threw  things into the car in a rush.  I had the feeling I was forgetting something.  About an hour away from home I realized I had forgotten a PB and honey sandwich I planned to eat at mile 40.  Not a big deal to forget the sandwich, I can grab a doughnut at breakfast and put it in my jersey.  However, this set my brain on full paranoia mode and I began to worry I had forgotten my helmet, which lead to the fear I had forgotten my entire bike duffle bag.  My support crew (wife) was able to spot my helmet in the heap of bike items I had hastily placed in the trunk, however she could not see the bike duffle bag. 

We finally stopped driving at the two hour mark to take inventory of the trunk.  As I was getting out of the car I discovered I had dropped an M&M between my legs and was grinding it into my khaki shorts producing a nice dark brown smear.  To further brighten my day, I confirmed I had forgotten the sandwich and the bike duffle.  I had no kit, no shoes, no electronics, no eyewear, but I did have a bike, helmet and food (except the sandwich).  There was no bike shop in the area, so no opportunity to buy these items before the race.  I quickly contacted a friend who was driving up the morning of the race and asked her if she could break into my house and bring my bike duffle to the race.  She was concerned enough for my pre-race sleep that she dropped what she was doing to go search for the bag and sandwich.  She was successful in the mission, problem solved.  Now, despite looking like I had lost control of my bowels, I was able to relax a bit.

The forecast for the Spring Valley area indicated a high temperature of 78°, but there was a 40% chance of a stray thunderstorm after 2:00 PM (0% chance before 2:00 PM).  Since the race started at 9:00 AM, I calculated I should only be about two hours from the finish by 2:00.  In warm temperatures rain is more of a nuisance as there is little chance of hypothermia.  The wind was also predicted to be from the south, which was good news as the course direction of travel is mostly north the last 30 miles.  I checked the forecast again at breakfast and it had not changed.  We checked out of the hotel and drove the 15 minutes to Spring Valley to meet our friends and fellow racers from the Newton area.  As we were arriving in Spring Valley, I noticed a few drops of something on the windshield.  A quick check of the radar indicated there were showers in the area.  By 8:00 it was sprinkling heavily.

This picture was taken out the car windshield shortly after 8:00 AM.

As luck would have it, we arrived at the designated meeting location at the same time as the friend who was transporting my bike duffle.  I was able to get the bag and quickly kit up.  In 15 minutes the rain had ceased, but the damage was done to the gravel roads.  I knew there would be some slop on the surface, but not enough to affect my overall race speed.

For the rest of the story, please read the Power Tap entry here:

 

http://www.powertap.com/post/blog-15-almanzo-100-lessons-from-two-years-of-gravel-racing 

 

The finish line with myself, Matt, Shawna and Jim.

Best Laid Plans…

Best Laid Plans…

Most races I contest are high intensity, high stress events, but the Renegade Gent’s is low stress, in fact it is my most laid back race all year.  This race is a coming-out party from the hours of dreadful time spent on the trainer through the winter.  The rules are unique; a team of five must stay together from start to finish on the 63.5 miles of nearly flat gravel roads.  The race organizers attempt to start the fastest teams first, separating each team by 2 minutes.  This allows every team to finish on the same clock, regardless of when they started.  Our team started as the 42^nd slowest team (the first team to start is considered to be the slowest) out of 64 teams (320 total racers).

We always say we are going to have fun at this event; it is hardly even a race.  We are far from the fastest, but are not the slowest team.  Despite our declaration of non-race intent, our pace is always too fast at first.  Mentally we all tally every team we pass and which passes us.  Predictably, we do the same thing every year; it must be something in our DNA makeup.

When my phone rang at 6:53 AM on the Saturday morning of race day, I knew it could not be good news.  I was completing my last few tasks to get prepared for the race before we departed at 7:45 AM for the 1 hour drive to Slater.  It was Jim on the phone and he was telling me he had been riding the commode since 3:45 AM.  His words were carefully chosen to convince me he was not faking it and he may not be very fast on the bike.  Jim is one of the toughest guys I know, and I was sure he was not backing down because he had the sniffles.  It was clear to me, he was in no shape to be on a bike, so I assured him we did not expect him to race.  I am still amazed at the relief I could hear in his voice as he began to realize I was not going to ask him to race with “intestinal issues.”  Even before I hung up the wheels in my brain were turning to develop a backup plan.  Where would I find someone who could be ready to ride a bike on gravel for the next 5 hours?  I had about 30 minutes to convince someone how fun a 63.5 mile bike race on gravel would be in 40+ degree temps.  After two unsuccessful attempts, I gave up.  It was looking like we would be starting with four and thus be un-scored in the race.  We decided to go do the event rather than riding around Newton because at least we would see some new scenery.

It is difficult to spend quality time on the bike in the Spring in Iowa.  First it is too cold.  When the temperature finally climbs above freezing, the wind will not stop blowing.  We brave poor conditions to enjoy being off the trainer, but can’t spend enough time on the bike to get in the miles we need to be in top form until closer to the end of May.  None of us felt like we were fit enough to contest a race, but in early April in Iowa everyone is in the same shape.

Shawna had been having flat tire issues with her gravel bike (4 flats this season already).  The shop made some repairs and asked her to maintain the minimum air pressure in both tires (50 psi).  Within the first mile of the race she told us she could not stay on the road because she was bouncing so much from the high pressure in her tires.  We stopped to deflate her tires a bit so she would not feel every piece of gravel.  It was the only thing to do to get her through a day on the bike on gravel.  It was in the mid-40s at the start and because we had not warmed up yet from the exercise, our noses were running.  Luckily I was up-wind because the wind blew something out of Shawna’s nose while I was deflating her front tire.  Being the gentleman I am, I tried not to embarrass her by making a big deal of the incident (until now).

As usual the team was strong through the first 27 miles to the checkpoint.  We adjusted our pace a couple times to accommodate periods when teammates were having difficulty and stopped a couple times to make sure Shawna ingested calories.  Trevor made a comment about the pace being high as we were leaving the checkpoint.  We dialed back the pace but I could tell he was no longer having fun.  At about mile 40 he shared he was having stomach issues and his thighs were beginning to cramp.  By mile 43 he was cramping up on every hill.  It was obvious he was going to be in big time pain to finish the race because we were facing several miles of headwinds.  I didn’t want to suggest to Trevor he was not capable of finishing the race, but I didn’t want to see him suffer to the end.  Luckily, Trevor was happy to entertain the option of heading directly back to the start.  Using our phones, we were able to find a 7 mile route back to the start / finish.  Since we were already disqualified from only having 4 at the start; we could not get more disqualified by finishing with only 3.  We also observed several other teams riding with fewer than 5 racers.

The three of us took turns at the front and made our way to the finish over the last 20 miles.  The wind was out of the SW and the route seemed to include over 40 miles of either southerly or westerly direction.  Actually, there was a nice section of several miles near the end where we traveled east with the tailwind.  To make sure we were well aware of our sorry fitness, the last half mile to the finish was south into the headwind.

What was the main take-away from this race, you may be asking?  In bike racing, just like in life, you need to have a goal, create a plan for reaching the goal and work the plan to turn the goal into reality.  There is a high likelihood you will encounter things which require you to adjust your plan.  There is no shame in these adjustment(s) as long as you keep sight of the finish line.  We all made it to the finish line on Saturday.  I am sure Trevor will be stronger than me very soon.  When this happens, and I cramp, I hope he politely helps me adjust my plan so I can finish.

Happy riding, keep your eye on the goal.

The team of 4 at the start.  We miss Jim!

 

An action photo of our team on the road.

Humble Beginnings

I ask myself, who would enjoy reading my babble, what will I possibly say others will find interesting?  Will it be funny where I intend it to be funny or funny in an uncomfortable fashion?  Basically, why should I create a blog?  All great questions.

Who

I embark on this blog journey in the most humble spirit.  I am fairly certain most internet surfers are not interested in my musings.  My life is not extremely interesting.  Even my best stories tend to put people to sleep.  I have a day job helping companies manage Information Technology infrastructure projects.  I have a house and a couple cars to maintain.  I hold volunteer board-level positions in three different non-profit organizations.  I share these facts so you will understand, I don’t have a tremendous amount of free time to work out or ride my bike.  I am an average Joe (I also know some spectacular Joes) with, at best, average physiological talents.

What

I decided to go on the blog journey this year to share a few of my best stories.  I plan to post mostly race reports for the handful of races I contest this year.  Don’t expect to read about my battle in the front pack and how I was able to sprint free at the end to win the race.  My competition is myself.  At my age I am happy to finish the race without going into cardiac arrest.  I will however, battle to near death to contest a race or sprint against my riding partners.  Speaking of riding partners, I proudly call myself a member of the Wrecked'em Racing team.  Say it out loud.

Data

I have been training with a PowerTap hub since 2006.  After careful analysis of the data, and comparison to other athletes, I have determined I don’t really have a strength.  Please don’t conclude I am good at everything, quite the opposite.  I am somewhat analytical and receive considerable satisfaction from processing and analyzing the data from each ride and race (analytical is very different from anal, though some would say I am anal as well, I like to think I am prepared).  From the numbers I can usually determine the changes I need to make for the next attempt.  Often it is pace, many times it is nutrition and / or hydration.  I have made every mistake known to woman (men are still making up new mistakes).

Equipment

My race bike of choice is a Trek Fuel.  I race this bike in all off-road races as well as gravel grinders.  I have considered getting a gravel specific bike, but I have not found the right bike which is both light (lighter than my Fuel) and inexpensive.  I ride a Trek Madone on the road where I spend 90+% of my training time.

Races

I plan to contest the following races in 2015:

Date                      Race                                             Notes
                Apr. 4                    Renegade Gent’s Race              5 person team – 65 miles of fun

May 16                 Almanzo 100                               A - race

June 27                 Lutsen 99er                                 A - race

Aug. 8                   24 hrs of Cumming                     2 person team – defending 2^nd place in 2014

Sept. 19                Chequamegon 40                       A - race

Oct. 10                  Perry 101                                      B - race

Oct. 24                  Buffalo 105                                   I organize this race and ride for fun 

Cup O’ Dirt

I was reminded this year about another “interesting competition” called the Cup O’ Dirt challenge.  You can read the details here: http://cupodirtchallenge.com/  I wavered on paying $25.00 for a coffee mug, since I don’t drink coffee.  Ultimately, I decided $25.00 would buy a souvenir to add to my trophy case containing belt buckles, bottle openers, bun warmers, flimsy finisher medals, plastic trophies and one wooden shoe.  As you can see from my race schedule, I plan to complete five dirty hundies with the races I enter.  I will likely complete one additional 100 mile gravel grinder for training to get the six I need to complete the challenge.  One of the bonus items you receive from the challenge is a postcard type picture to use as a spoke card or to submit for your next snail mail race entry.  I looked at the picture on the card and quickly noticed it was the Wrecked’em team from the Perry 101.  I have included a picture of the extensive contents of my “welcome packet” below.

Big Thank You

I want to publically thank those who help me on my bike journeys.  First is my wonderful wife who has chased me across miles of countryside and stood at the side of a trail or road for countless hours to provide much needed nutrition and hydration.  I also am very grateful to the team at Iowa Bike and Fitness in Pella for the help with gear and advice.  I also need to thank the folks from PowerTap http://www.powertap.com/.  They have been gracious enough to include me on their grass roots team.  I am a believer in their great products and will be sharing tips on how I use them. 

So there you have it, initial thoughts on my bike racing for 2015.  I plan to post race reports for each race I enter to share some of the interesting or funny events along the way to the finish line (of life and bike racing).  If you are still reading at this point, thank you.  Until next post, keep riding.