Laurel Classic

Since both my dad and I did good here overall last year, we decided that it was probably a good decision to race expert. I had fun and I’m pretty sure he did too. The race started off well, and I realized that for the first time in a while, I needed to just let the leaders go. I knew that I would get burned out if I tried to keep up with TJ Mosher, Ray Adams, and the super fast rider from State College, Jean-Luc. So as people started to split apart, I ended up in a group with Julian, Rich Straub (another State College), and one other rider. I tried to avoid setting the pace, but eventually I had to. After the long road climb, there is a gradual downhill to the famous Stinger trail. Stinger is loose and steep, so there are a lot of people that come out to watch it. At the bottom, it turns onto a dirt road. There is a lot more people down there, just incase anyone gets hurt. But just my luck, I ended up hitting one of the cars that were parked on the course. Eventually I fought passed the pain in my wrist and caught back up to Julian. He was setting a really fast pace into the next downhill. Coming into the second downhill of the course, I thought I caught a stick in my wheel. I stopped to pull it out but couldn’t find it. Turns out that I had a broken spoke. Got it fixed and raced down the trail with the hope of catching Julian at the bottom. Right when I saw him, he was getting off his bike to fix a flat. I felt sorry for him since he always seems to have bad luck, but I also knew that I needed to ride strong to the finish. After the downhill is a fun little section of stream crossings, followed by a not-so-fun climb. And then across the top of the mountain, through some mud, and down the last downhill of the race. It’s about 3 1/2 miles long and is really fast. It’s hard to describe how fast it is for a singletrack trail…lets just say that 34 mph felt way too slow, and that another rider that we know had no problem reaching 45mph. On the long sprint down the road to the finish, I saw Julian walking back up the mountain. Turns out that he had another flat shortly afterward and decided to DNF. Again, I feel bad since he always breaks stuff in races. My goal for this race was to break 1:45. I got set back a bit with the bad crash and a broken spoke, but had a 1:46, so I’m happy. I didn’t think I’d do this well overall racing expert, but I guess that having to keep up with the riders around you makes you go faster. I can’t wait for expert next year, although I’m getting some thoughts of racing elite just for the fun of it. We’ll see…

My mom also came to the race. We told her that there was a lot of climbing in the Sport course, but she decided to do it anyway. She had fun, although it sounded like she hated it at first.

A Nice Intermission from Racing

Where to start…A few weeks ago was the Rattling Creek 50. As much as we wanted to go, we decided that morning that we didn’t want to ride in the rain. Of course, it didn’t turn out being that bad. But we had a great 3 hour ride here instead. My favorite riding conditions, with fog and a bit of light rain. Rode some rocky trails and some fun climbs and downhills. 

the view of Tussey Mountain Ski area and Bald Knob from our house

We did a good 55 mile road ride on Tuesday, and that was great. On Friday, we were planning on going to Bear Creek to pre-ride the course, but some more rain, and we decided that it wasn’t worth the 3.5 hour drive. So we had another good ride here instead. We ended up riding the first ridge of the Stoopid 50 in reverse. Once we were at the top of the first climb, it started to pour. A lot. It was really fun, but eventually the rain slowed. I ended up running about 15psi in the rear tire, but only really noticed it hitting the rim once or twice. At the top of the last downhill

(which was the first bit of singletrack in the Stoopid this year), it started raining harder than I remember ever riding in. It was really fun, and the rain actually helped grip the tight, loamy turns on the way down. Since we left from the house, and it would’ve been a really long ride back, we called my mom to come pick us up.

Today, we rode with a big group in RB Winter. It was a fun ride, and we rode the favorite trails like Stony Gap, Cowbell Hollow and Top Mountain Trail. It was my second time in RB Winter, and my first time on Top Mountain. After we convinced my dad to come along, the 6 of us (originally 28) had a blast on the trail. It’s a rocky jeep road, and from the stories that I had heard about it, I thought it was going to be a lot worse. So far, this is what fall is going to be like, and to be honest, I can’t wait.S

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So here’s some pictures from rides last winter. Hopefully it won’t be as icy so we can ride all year round.

Some pics from the Wilderness 101

Even though we've done recent races, both my dad and I went into Neshaminy feeling like it's been forever since a MASS race. After the W101, Bill Nagel invited us to stay at his house the night before the race. We drove down there, and ate dinner with Bill, Chad, Cameron, and Jay. It was lightly raining, and everyone knew that the race might get canceled because of the rain. In that case, they planned a ride in Wiss. Got a good night's sleep, but we awoke to pouring rain. Things slowed down a bit, and then Bill got a txt saying that the race was still on. So we loaded up the bikes and drove to the start. Still light rain, and the beginners were looking muddy when they came out onto the field. I was trying to be optimistic about things, but the course was as muddy as Granogue. The race started well, and as long as you were focused, the mud wasn't that slippery. But the race would get interesting as the mud messed with the bikes. Coming off of a downhill and into an uphill, Noah lost his chain and needed to get off his bike. It was still really early, but I knew that this was when I needed to break away. So I did, but right when I was starting to recover from the attack, I kept hearing my cassette pop. I backed off a bit, and it went away. When Jeremy passed me, I stopped and tried to get the mud out of my derrailleur. The cage was completely covered. I ended up getting passed by a bunch of other people, but finished the race. I had to walk most of the climbs because of the gears, but I felt good physically. I had fun even though I was a bit dissapointed. Everyone else had a good race, so I'm happy.

Later that week, my dad convinced me to get new bars for my road bike. I feel much better on shallow drop bars, and we had one of the best road rides we've had in a while. My mom wanted to do a sport race sometime this year, and she was able to go to French Creek, so she came along with us. The race was really hot and humid, but they cut the lap down to 10 miles, putting the race at around an hour. The course was full of rocks, climbs, and techy descents. So what it lacked in distance, it made up for in trails that you'll never see in a MASS race. Everything was a little slick, but sliding was predictable. It was a good race. I'm a little dissapointed that I didn't break an hour (only because I came so close with 1:00.14), but I was really happy with the race and nothing makes me happier than rocks. Both my dad and I came out with wins, and my mom had a good time.

Wilderness 101

Every year, one of the biggest challenges of the W101 is the weather. It is always hot and humid, but this year seemed to be different. We got a lot of rain the days before the race, and a little the morning of the race. It was a bit chilly, and very cloudy and foggy. But the fog burned off around 10:00, and everything cleared out to a hot and humid day. After watching the start, I made a quick stop by Three Bridges to watch a good section of trail. The trail gets it's name from the three skinny bridges that cross a stream about halfway through the trail. Usually a lot of people who don't know the trails walk this section when they are dry. But that day was really slippery, and almost everyone walked the bridges. Some people tried to ride their bikes through the stream, which is very hard since there isn't any trail. One person actually did it and got back on the course. After the bridges is a big rock garden. It is easier the direction that the 101 does it, but it's still hard, especially for people who have never seen it. I was able to see my dad and Stu Hess come through this section, and they were doing better than I thought they would be. After the trail is a climb up a dirt road. It's not one of the hardest in the race, but it still picks up a lot of elevation. This is where the Stoopid 50 finished, and right at the intersection of Three Bridges and the road is Old Laurel trail - the last downhill in the Stoopid. John Williams and some others accidentally turned up this trail, hiked to the top, and then rode back down. If you're familiar with the trail, you know that it's a big mistake. After watching Three Bridges, I went over to Aid Station 3 to help out. By that point, it was really hot. We had a lot of help at the station, but everything was really rushed to try to help people and get them on their way. My dad and Stu were together still, and they both were riding pretty good. Bill Gardner came by a few minutes later, and was also feeling good. After aid 3 is another nasty climb. This one is the only major singletrack climb in the race. One singlespeeder got to the top of the climb, but then his chain snapped. So he rode 3 miles back down to the aid station to get another chain...and then climbed back up. Around 4:30, it started getting cloudy as another storm rolled in. Just a little rain though. My dad finished under 10 hours, which seems to be the benchmark for the 101. Stu ended up pulling away from him at the last climb, but my dad kept it close and only lost about 4 minutes. Everyone had a good race, and my dad ended up getting 2nd in the Masters category, behind Bill Nagel from Guy's Racing, who stayed with us the night before the race. I took some pictures from the race, some are decent, but most are pretty bad, so I'll just give you a link to some professional ones taken before the race.

www.nycmtb.com/?p=764

Curse of Dark Hollow

For some reason, I always feel like I have an obligation to do well in any Michaux race. I don't know what it is, but I feel like I have something to defend, even though I don't. It's not like a kind of pressure that I get nervous about or anything too competitive, but it makes me ride faster and have more fun doing it. Sunday was the Curse, which turned out being a great race. While we were driving around to find a parking spot, we found Jay, Cameron, and the guys from Guy's racing...they saved us a spot next to their van. Thanks. That was good because we were able to get into the good parking lot and were close to everything. Got a short warm up in and rode off the the pre-race meeting. As with every Michaux race, you ride down a dirt road to where they tell you to stop, then turn around and ride back up to the trails. There was a bit of confusion as to where the juniors were going to stage, but we got it sorted out and I was luckily able to go with the Vets. I was really happy because that ment a lot less people to pass (usually we go close to last with the Masters). The start was really good. I was 3rd place, behind 2nd's wheel going up the road, but I jumped ahead to 2nd when the guy I was following backed off. Last time I did this race, I turned into the parking lot and slid out in all the loose gravel, getting passed by so many people. This year I didn't fall even though I felt it sliding out on me. Shifted into the big ring and followed a local from the Gettysburg Bike Shop team down the first downhill. That was good until he got out of my sight on a really short climb, but I caught back up on one of my favorite downhills in Michaux. After that, there is a really steep climb that switchbacks back up to the top of the mountain. He was out of my sight again, but I still pushed hard because I knew that I might be able to cath him on another downhill. Across a rocky ridge, and I was reminded of why I started racing. I started racing in Michaux, and ever since, I haven't been to any better races. After the ridge is another technical downhill, and I took some fun alternate lines for the fun of it. Eventually I passed the rider ahead of me, and really worked hard to get as far away from him as possible. Cleaned all the short technical climbs on that section, then dropped down to a lake. This is the same lake that is at Long Pine, and the course rides a fisherman's trail on the side of the lake, then takes a road around till it reaches the last short climb of the Long Pine course. Later was a steep climb full of loose rocks. It was faster to run most of it, but the Gettysburg rider was right on my wheel again. So I hopped on my bike as soon as possible and bombed another downhill. I was so scared because he was on my wheel, that I rode the downhill like the finish line was right at the bottom, and I was racing something much more important than a race in Michaux. At the long rode climb, he was out of my sight, so it looked like the downhill worked. But about 2 miles up the climb and on a gravel road, he was right there. He passed me with about 2 miles to go, and I was able to hold his wheel for a little bit, but he was a local and new the trail. It was a really soft and twisty trail, so it would be good to know it...anyway I ended up finishing a minute back, but still 2nd overall. It was a really good race and I'm happy I did so well because it is my last 25miler in Michaux...I'm racing the 40's (or if they ever go back to 50's) starting at Teaberry and going until I can't ride the distance anymore. Everyone had a good day - my dad and I got firsts, Bill Gardner got 2nd in the master class, and my mom got 3rd woman in the 10 mile race. Coming up is a bit of a break from racing, since I'm now going to the MASS race this weekend, and next is the Wilderness 101. I'll be there on the course. Next race is Neshaminy.

Today's Ride

So today, my dad and I got out on some of the lesser ridden roads of the Wilderness 101. Left from the house and rode out to where the W101 crosses 322, then took the route passed Penn Roosevelt and up Thickhead. Remember the killer climb from the Stoopid that was right after the 2nd aid station and baking in the sun? Today we had the fortune of riding it with the sun slowly setting behind the mountain. That was probably one of the best times I have ever ridden it. Then down the Detweiler trail from both the Stoopid and W101. Up a road climb to where the Stoopid turns off but continued to the top on the 101 course. Then we took a rocky trail that parallels the road to where the W101 later picks up the trail. Took the trail to the infamous 3 Bridges, and turned down to head back to the house. It was a good 36 mile ride that took about 3:15. Tomorrow we're going up to cut back a lot of the long grass on one of the trails for the Wilderness 101. It's a trail that would be wide enough to pass on, but with the grass, it is too narrow. It is the only trail here that isn't rocky or anything, just a little too narrow and hidden for a race to go through.

Fair Hill

Coming into this race, I knew that I probably wouldn't be able to get another win, but I wanted to try to keep the gap as small as possible. The race started off with a fast pace on the first dusty road and into the singletrack. I was 3rd into the singletrack, behind Noah's wheel. About 20-50 ft ahead of him was Manuel Caliz. On the second section of road, I think we caught Manuel, and then 2 others caught our slipstream. I drifted to the back of the group to minimize wind resistance, and I was going to get ahead for the next bit of singletrack. But on a tight turn, I slid out on some loose gravel. I was on the inside, and there were riders all around me, so I knew that I would hit someone if I stopped turning. I really hoped I didn't fall, but I did. I don't even know what happened, but I have cuts on my hip, back, hand, arm, and my finger and toe are black and blue. So I think I rolled a lot. Got up, and hopped on my bike, but the wheel wouldn't turn...my chain was stuck in the spokes. At first I thought it was broken, but I got it untangled and it was fine. Took me a while to get back up to speed, but I eventually passed a rider and ended up in 4th place. About 5 minutes back. I think I could have done better if I stayed with the group, because after the fall, I rode way to cautiously through the corners. But it's okay, because it wasn't a race that I was expecting to do well in anyway, and I did much better than in the spring race here. Next week is Michaux's Curse of Dark Hollow. I can't wait.

Long Pine

Everyone said it was going to be rocky. And the more people said that, the more pumped I got for this race. I was definitely going into this race for the win in senior 1, and although I didn't tell anyone, I had always been too close to first overall to not win that one too. So I came into this race with high expectations, but also knowing that anything could happen. We picked up my grandpa along the way down, so all 3 generations were at the race. He brought his bike to ride around a bit to different spots on the course. I let others set the pace up the first climb until Noah, me, and another rider broke away from the rest of the group. We were riding together for a bit, until I recognized trails from the Mash. It was then that I decided to break away. I knew how the other riders rode, and I thought that if I timed it right, I could take my chances and ride to the finish alone. I got it into my head that I just needed to go for it, and when the big boulder step up-step down came, I hopped it and off I went. I had a big gap at the bottom of that trail, but they were still within my sight up the big climb from the Mash. I just sucked it up and forgot about how much everything hurt, because I knew I needed to get out of their sight. That worked, and I had a reasonable gap again. But another road section and eventually 2nd place was right on my wheel. Worked hard to clean the steepest climb of the race, and dropped him at the top. At this point in the race, I had the biggest gap yet. I could still see 2nd place as a little dot far behind me, and that was too close. Accidentally turned into the expert course but I got back on track. I got confused on where to go at the powerline, and ran through grass and over rocks until I got back on the trail. I really didn't want to step on a snake. I knew that must be passed halfway, because I had already been passed the expert turnoff, so I kept in in the big chainring and cranked the flat, rocky, twisty singletrack. Gunnar warned me about the water bars at the end of the race, but I hit them too fast anyway. I didn't fall, but had a few close calls. Got to the road, saw I was 14 miles in, and started sprinting. Up the last climb to the top of the powerline, and the race was over. Top 3 spots were very close, and Noah ended up with 3rd overall. I never got a chance to talk much with the guy who got 2nd, but I don't think I've seen him at many races. After we got home, we got the bikes off the car and waited for my mom and sister to get back from picking up our new puppy. He's a rodesian ridgeback. When he first got here, he was a bit nervous but he's really playful now. So I'm looking forward to just getting through Fair Hill -- hopefully having a good race -- and racing Michaux's Curse of Dark Hollw, which is one of the best races I have ever raced. I missed out on it last year, and I really want to have a good time, because I barely finished in 2007.

12 Hours

Last weekend was the VisitPA festival weekend. I wasn't planning on going to it, but I was asked to be on the Cyclesports team with Gunnar and Jenny since they needed a 3rd person. I have my liscense now, so my dad let me drive to Marysville solo, and he rode his bike down with some other people. Their ride was about 110 miles. I'm really happy he came down, because there was no way I would have been able to drive back after the long day. Since I only showed up for Saturday, I was cornered into going first (everyone else did the NTT), and that ment running. I am really not that good at running, but I gave it my best so that I didn't have to pass that many people while I was riding. It was really hot and humid the whole day and the course was similar to last year's XC, with some of this year's 4-hour relay stuff thrown in. I'm really happy with my times because the only thing I really cared about was keeping them consistant the whole day. I ended up doing that well. 50, 48, 48, 48, 50 minutes. We were able to get another lap in with 10 minutes to spare, but at the last second, my light wouldn't turn on, and Gunnar and I had to flip helmets. The light was good and I was able to see everything, but the helmet was too big for me and so the light kept pointing too far down. We were worried that the batteries were going to die, so Sam met me on the course and I switched Gunnar's light for his. This, along with me being tired and not riding my fastest lap because I didn't really think I needed too, ate up a lot of time. Sam told me that the rider from the Mountainside team had gotten out on another lap. It took another 10 minutes after the light switch, but he eventually passed me. At this point, I knew that there was no way I could catch him, and we now had 2nd place either way. Later, I saw Jenny out on the course, and I asked her if the 3rd place team got another lap. She said that they didn't, so we just walked back to the finish. Coming through the pit area was a bit embarrassing, and the Mountainside racer flew by us again. I had a good day, although I felt that it was my fault that we lost. But then I realize that we all did our part to do so well in this race, and none of us expected to do this well. No mechanicals out on the course, and it was a really fun day of racing. Next weekend is Long Pine. It's a MASS race in Michaux, so that alone tells you that it'll be an amazing race. I don't think it'll get quite as many people as the other MASS races, but still go to it anyway.

Spring Edit

Just a little video that I threw together of some rides on some fun downhills earlier this year. The first is Lingle Valley trail. It is fast, flowing, and has been on the Stoopid 50 course all 3 years. 2nd is Bald Knob. It got its name from the top of the mountain, where there is a big boulder field without any trees. The trail follows the ridge, then descends down into the hollow on the far side of the mountain. The 3rd is Croyle. A steep, rocky, twisty trail that is on the W101 after the Greenlee climb.

Stoopid 50

This weekend was really good. On Saturday, Rob from Bikeline came to our house to stay before the Stoopid. We were able to ride from the house and show him some of the course, which was the last technical downhill to the finish. Got the bikes ready, ate dinner, and we all felt pretty good about tomorrow's race. Later that night, Jay and Cameron Dodge and some friends from Guy's arrived. Everyone was really excited for the race. We were able to tell them all the details about the course, and eventually got to sleep. It was really weird waking up so late, because our house is a 5 minute drive from the start. I was actually considering riding my bike to the start as part of a warmup. I didn't because I knew I wouldn't like the two hills on the way back. We got to the start and got feed bags set up and everything. It's a nice change seeing all the people that I know out there supporting the race and helping with the course.

The race started good. I knew that I needed to get out in front early to avoid a big pile-up on the rock gardens in the beginning of the race. So I started at just under XC race pace, and gradually settled into a rhythem from there. Across a rocky ridge and down a really fun downhill to the first major climb of the day - Thickhead Mountain. This is one of the toughest climbs in the forest, and for people who don't know the road, it always looks like your at the top. But it just keeps getting steeper and steeper. Down the backside to the first aid station, then on some familiar rocky trails from last year's Stoopid. The technical Brush Ridge trail will take a lot of energy out of you if you don't know the lines, because it is always slick and the rocks seem to never end. Up a really steep wall, and then another fun downhill through Lingle Valley. Then up the Bear Gap climb -- a short, but very steep and rocky climb that is covered with moss and leaves. After that, there are even more rocks as you cross the ridge on Beautiful and Chicken Peter trails. Retrace your tracks back down the steep wall out of Brush Ridge, then a technical trail out to the paved road, where there is about 2.5 miles of gradual uphill to the next aid station. I stopped and got some food from my feed bag, and then I was on my way back up the other side of Thickhead. Jake caught me, and we rode together for a while until he gradually got out of my sight. I wasn't going to chase him because I knew that the final 15 miles were very steep, jeep road climbs. I made it through the climbs and got a bit of a second wind. Coming into the last 5 miles, I knew exactly where I needed to pick up my pace. Because the last 2 miles is a downhill too steep and rocky to pass on, I needed to pass as many people as possible on the climb up. My finish sprint started on one of the switchbacks with 2 miles until that downhill. People were looking at me like I was crazy, but I knew that once I got to the top, there wouldn't be any more pedalling the whole race. I got past a lot of people that I wouldn't want to follow down that trail, and passed 3 more on the last downhill. This was because 2 were walking. The one rider that I had to pass was really hard. I finished strong and less than a minute behind Jake, although I thought he would have killed my time. I kept thinking that Cameron was ahead of me the whole race, but it turns out that he wasn't. He had a good time for his first 50 miler. I ended up with 43rd overall, and with a time of 5:13. The course is faster than last year, but it was also much harder because the trails were rockier and there was much more climbing.

Tour de Tykes

I'm happy. Not only did I have a good race both physically and luck, but it's been the first time that I've stood on top of the podium since what seems like forever. I knew I was gonna have a good race after Iron Hill, but I didn't expect to do nearly as well as I did. The race started off with a mass start, and I settled in behind the wheel of a senior 2. I followed him most of the way up the first long climb, where he gradually pulled away from me. But we went back and forth like that -- I'd catch up to him after the downhills and he'd drop me on the climbs. I eventually passed him, dropped him on a downhill, and then he was right back on my wheel at the top of the next climb. By this point I knew that if I rode steady and didn't have any mechanicals, I'd probably win senior 1. So that was kinda relaxing...until my wheel fell out of the dropouts. Go figure it was on a narrow bench cut where I couldn't get off the trail. So I had to move over a lot for some of the experts to pass me, but I got it back fairly fast, after 5 or 6 interuptions. Caught up to the people that passed and although I never saw the 1st place sport rider again, I was back to my position. Kept that steady to the finish. I think that if I had thought about falling on the downhills, I wouldn't have done nearly as well as I did, because that is where I thought I was able to stay away from everyone. I sprinted out the final paved road back to the finish and was really happy with 1st place senior 1, and only 19 seconds from being 1st overall. It was really nice to win this race, since I flatted here last year and I was born in Geisinger. I think the race will be good points for the overall. It always seems like no matter how well I do, there's always something I could have done to get back those extra seconds. I remember feeling really happy after some of my best preformances, but then kinda regretting some things and realizing that I could have rode a lot of sections faster. But then I forget about that and go on having a great day. Overall, everyone had a good day. My dad and I got firsts, and Bill Gardner ended up getting 2nd, so the MBR team had two spots on the master 2 podium.

Iron Hill

There isn't much I can say in this post, since I didn't really have much of a race. Last Monday, I noticed that the fork on my Rush was broken, so we drove down the mountain and met my dad. He switched me bikes and I was able to get a ride in on the 29er. This ride felt so good that I scrapped the idea of racing my Scalpel that weekend and really wanted to give the 29er a try. Warmed up and felt good...got to the start with a few minutes to spare and felt great. Once I got the bike up to speed, I easily passed everyone in the short field and was first into the singletrack. Sam was behind me, and I think we had a little gap over the rest of the class. That helped because there were a few sections that could have easily gotten backed up if it was crowded. I was able to keep good speed through all of the course, and there was only really one time when I worried about being passed. Coming into one of the downhills, I knew that I needed to ride it as fast as I could if I still wanted to be in the lead. So I did that, and really accelerated out of the corner at the bottom to try to get a bigger lead. As I shifted down to the middle chainring, I just thought I overshifted and the chain went off the rings. When Sam passed he let me know that I didn't have a chain. So I ran until I could fix it. Tried to get it fixed for a long time. I actually got lapped by Sam while I was trying to get the pin out. So I ran the rest of the way out. The 15 minutes that I actually rode, I felt amazing. The beginning of the year wasn't too good with training (I got sick a few times and started training really late), but I feel a lot faster than even in Granogue a few weeks ago. Sam might have dropped me at the end, but I know that I definitely would have gotten 2nd. That made me happy, because I realized that it is a lot easier to fix a bike before another race than it is to fix your preformance. I'm looking forward to Tour de Tykes. My dad took the bike into the shop yesterday, and it turns out that my crank was loose, which is probably what caused the chain to snap. So I'll be at Tour de Tykes next week, and I'm excited that it's only supposed to be like 60degrees. Much better than last year.

Montour75

Yesterday was the 75 Miles of Montour. A road race with 7,000 feet of climbing, with all the climbs in the last 40 miles. The beginning was a bit stressful, since a dog and 2 horses ran in front of our group. At the first climb, I made a break and caught the lead group. The pace was being set by Ray Adams and a few elite road racers. I was able to keep up with them on the climb, but they slowly dropped me a few miles afterward. Then I joined a chase group and we eventually caught them, but we got dropped again. Got a quick bottle switch at the aid station, then found another group with a very organized paceline that got us back up to the other group. People slowly dropped off the back, and it ended up being me and 2 others for the last 20 miles. That was good because I learned how the other riders rode, and I was able to plan my breakaway. That happened on the last switchback of the last climb, because I knew the other two riders eased off and rested when the grade got shallower. So I rode up beside the other rider, pretended like I wasn't breathing hard, and dropped him around the switchback. I knew he was a good downhiller though, so I really needed to work hard to make up for my light weight on the long downhill to the finish. I knew that I needed to take all the corners as fast as possible so that I didn't get caught in the straights where I wasn't able to go as fast as the other 2 riders. I almost slid out on the last turn (a 3-way intersection with a railroad crossing), but I finished the last miles of the race strong. I didn't have any cramps or difficulties until the last bit of my breakaway, where my calf siezed up because I was putting everything I had into the finish. Came away with 14th overall, and 2nd in the 2o and under division. I'm happy with that since I'm not a road racer. When I broke away, I remember coming to a slight uphill, and just praying that I didn't go too early, because I knew it would be all over if I blew up before the finish.

Today I did a 3 hour ride. I woke up early and rode over to a state park on the other side of the forest, that way I could get an hour ride in before I met up with a group ride. I didn't want to climb one of the forest's hardest dirtroads after yesterday's race(Seeger, for those of you who have done the W101), so I took another road out of the forest, around the mountain, then back in. The ride went good...we shuttled to the top of the mountain, did about 13 miles, and then got 2 people to drive the cars back while the rest of us bombed the 3 mile downhill back. That downhill was Lower Sassafrass - the tough trail climb that the Wilderness 101 hits at about mile 60, and that the Stoopid does at around 35. Grilled some burgers afterward and had a lot of fun.

By the way, Cadence is having and endurance camp in State College. Go to it. The trails are great, and the price includes entry to the W101. It's the weekend of the Stoopid though, but we're having some problems putting that on I guess. It will probably happen, but if it doesn't, definitely come up and do this....the trails are great. I wish I could ride but I still have school.
http://www.masuperseries.com/2009/files/MTB%20Endurance%20Camp%2009.pdf

Sometimes you just have to sit back and laugh at how stupid this sport can be...

Last weekend was great, cause when races go well, there's nothing else like it. Saturday was a bit rushed, but it's alright. I woke up, picked my bike up from the shop, went for a ride, packed for Granogue, then got ready for the school's spring dance. Danced with some girls and was pretty tired by the end of the night. My dad picked me up with the bikes on the car, and I rode down to some Hampon Inn in a suit. Got to bed around 1:30 that night, but I got a lot of sleep the night before so I wasn't too worried. Woke up 4:30 later and didn't want to get up. Finally got back on the road and finished the drive down. It was raining...yay. I was really stiff and didn't feel very good when we first got the bikes down, but a quick warm up fixed that I think.


Race started well. Got to the line with little time to spare but at least I was warm. I didn't have the best starting position but I worked my way up to 2nd by the singletrack. First lap went really well. Fell a few times but I kinda expected that. Turns out that out of all the riders who finished the race, I was in 2nd place after the first lap. I've ridden on ice that gripped better than that mud. Second lap was kind of a disaster, but I think it was for everyone. Had to walk way too much since my rear triangle was completely caked with mud. Finally got the bike up on to my back and pressed through the mud until the last pavement section. I can say that I was able to ride what might be the most technical rock drop on the course both times, but that's about all I rode of that area the 2nd lap. Found a gear that actually worked and finished the final climb strong. It was a good day, but I was shivering shortly after I crossed the line.

The Beginning of a New Era

The Bike Line Fair Hill race was the first race that I've done as a senior. No, I'm not 19 yet...I just left junior to get some experience racing a bigger group of tough competiton. It's completely different. Junior racing was just hammer to the finish and hope you don't burn out. These starts actually involve some strategy. I realized something was wrong when we climbed the first wall and I already had a big gap on everyone else - they were sitting back and let me set the pace, and they were drafting behind me on the long dirtroad downhill. It's a bit more crazy with more people...I almost got taken out when someone passed me and hit my bars, sending me almost off the road. The start of the race went good; I got passed by some people but eventually settled into a rythem and caught most of them. But then, on a kinda technical log crossing, the person in front of me hit a tree. I was following so close that they moved out of the way, and then I hit the tree. And then another rider came bombing down the trail and hit me, slamming me and my bike into an even bigger tree, and twisting my breaks and shifters so I couldn't reach them. But thankfully I didn't tighten them too much, and I eventually got them back to normal. After that, the race went really well. I was able to keep my speed through every section of trail, and was really happy except for the finish. Another senior snuck up behind me and rode my wheel to the finishing sprint. I didn't hear him behind me, and by the time I saw him, he had already passed and we were 5 feet from the line. The course was really fun. It was unlike anything I'm used to riding, and it was so fast. I'm just really happy to be racing again.

THE Open

Last weekend was the visitPA.com International Intergalactic Global Open Mountain Bike Team Relay Championship of the Universe Including the Anti-Matter One. (There, That Should About Cover It). Formerly the US Open Relay or Marysville Relay. It's a really fun event with handycap points so that you never know who will win. The point is to get as many laps as you can within 4 hours, and when those are added to the handycap points, the team with the most points wins. I was stuck with going first, so I had to do a long run and then hop on my bike for the lap. I never run, so you can imagine how that went. I was about middle of the pack during the run, but I was suffering to keep up. Half way through the lap the pain from the run started to go away, and I finally finished the lap. It felt like the longest one that I would do that day. Second lap went great - I was 30 seconds faster than my first. 3rd was also good, since I kept myself consistant and had almost the same time as my first lap. Going into the 4th(last) lap, I knew that to get a 3rd person on their 4th lap, we needed to keep the times consistant. So I rode hard and came out with a time that was within seconds of my 1st and 3rd lap. My dad finished his lap with 20 seconds left in the race, and we barely got 15 laps. Added in the points and that got us 2nd place for the day.

Finishing just in time (above)













Yeah...my heart was racing when I saw 1 minute to go...

Don't Let the Pictures Fool You...

So last week my dad, Bill Gardner, Stu Hess, and I headed down to Brevard, North Carolina for a Carmichael training camp. Left on Tuesday after school and drove down to Roanoke, Virginia. Woke up the next morning to continue the drive (Virginia, Tennessee, and NC) and show up in time for a short ride in the rain. Ate a very good lunch and dinner that day, and got to bed excited to go do a field test on a 2 mile climb the next day. I felt a little slow when I went hard in the Mash, but these efforts made me feel good about the upcoming races. Did 2 efforts, rode back, and ate lunch. It was still raining hard by the way. But I really like climbing in the rain. Then we got ready to go out for another 2 1/2 hours on the flatter areas. Worked on paceline skills (yeah in the rain) and got a good, hard 40 mile ride. Then it got interesting...

The next day (Friday) was a 4 hour endurance ride. Started off through the fields and stopped at a gas station for a re-fuel from the support car. Then it was off to the mountains. It wasn't all uphill, but there was no downhill on the 21 mile ascent up to the Blue Ridge Parkway. It was a climb that took an hour and 50 minutes. It got really steep at the top, and it was raining again. The summit was 5,667 feet, and I'm proud to say that I reached the highest elevation I have ever been to...and I did it on a bike. So that was 3,000something feet of climbing on that single climb. But it was almost 10 degrees cooler at the top, and I was shivering badly while waiting for the support car with all the gear. It got there, and no matter how many dry clothes I put on, I was still shivering. So I skipped the 20 mile descent back to the hotel and rode back in the car. After a long time driving around the town trying to find a decent place to eat, Bill stumbled upon Fall's Landing. An amazing seafood restaurant. I got blackened Mahi Mahi and it was really good. The next day was hill repeats. I can say that by this time, I've gotten used to really pushing myself again. So again, I'm feeling good for Marysville. 13 miles to the climb and 13 back, so the ride was about 45 miles. I got a chance to do some homework that night and we went back to Fall's Landing. The Mahi Mahi was really good, but I wanted to try something different on the menu. I decided to go with Orange Roughy. It was still really good fish, but I liked the Mahi Mahi better. Bill had a craving for pizza and beer while we watched the Villa-Nova/Pitt game, so he ordered Pizza Hut (which was next to the hotel). I had a few pieces, and it tasted good after a few days of hard rides. Next morning was the Carolina Crusher, and our final ride. After some rolling flats and a big descent into the valley, we stopped at a gas station in South Carolina and fueled up for a ride up George Hincapie's favorite training climb: Caeser's Head. The climb is a little over 7 miles long from the time it really starts to pick up elevation. It stays mostly in the 8-10% grade range, but at the switchbacks near the top, gets up to 15-18%. It's a really scenic climb with a lot of overlooks over Greenville county.

Michaux Mash

I really wasn't coming into this race expecting much. Sure, I knew I would ride well and probably have a decent time, but I wasn't racing it at all. It was more of a ride in Michaux with a lot of other people there.

So my Rush had been in the shop getting a new derrailleur and chain after it came in contact with a stick. Driving in to pick it up, my dad let me hear the bad news: I also tore my fork boot and that needed replaced, meaning that the bike I planned on riding in the Mash was still going to be at the shop for awhile. My Taurine is getting sold, and I picked up a Scalpel, which I plan on racing a lot this year. On Friday and Saturday, I was able to ride the Scalpel enough to get used to it and to wear the break pads in.

The morning of the race was really cool. It was the closest it's ever been to the weather of my first race (2006 Michaux Maximus), which was foggy, cold, and a big storm the night before. I was a little rushed to get my water bottles and everything set up and get to the line, but whatever. The beginning of the race was tight, Gunnar and I were trying to pass a lot of people in singletrack that wasn't very good for passing. And then we made a wrong turn. Actually our whole group made a wrong turn, and we bombed down a doubletrack to where it deadended. Then we had to turn around and climb back out, and pass all the people we had just passed. Some really nice singletrack to a road, and then a tough climb. Gunnar started to make a move on the climb, and I really didn't feel like chasing him since I was just out riding and I didn't have the motivation to punish myself that much. I already knew I was going to hate that climb later in the day...

The rest of the laps went well. 2nd lap was faster than the first by a minute or two, 3rd was just a bit slower. Then I came to that climb on my 4th lap. It killed me mentally more than physically, because I was feeling great up until then and I got a lot of my energy back after I crested the top. But on this climb, my dad passed me. It was a bit of a shock, and it didn't make me feel too good about how I was riding, but I realized that he is a very strong rider who is much better at a constant endurance pace than any kind of racing. So anyway, I got to the top and immediatly turned on the gas. I knew I didn't have too far to go and I was pretty happy since I liked the trail a lot. Came into the finish with a sprint that felt like I was racing XC, and after a little while to think over the day, I was pretty happy with how I had done. It was the longest ride of the year - only the 3rd one over 3 hours. First hard ride. I'm looking forward to the year, especially because I know that I'll be able to catch up on my training. I got sick 2 times this year when I could've been training, which set me back a lot. But I'm ready for the real races to start.

Update

So these last few weeks have been pretty good. Got to ride outside without much snow on the trails. Last weekend did two 3 hour rides on Saturday and Sunday; recovered pretty well and Sunday's ride was a lot better than Saturday's. Got to go for a ride outside again on Friday, and it was very nice. 60 degrees outside ment I could ride in just knee warmers and a short sleeved jersey. Today, a 3 1/2 hour ride was planned, and I got 3 hours of riding in, but it wasn't exactly how I wanted it to go. We met some people on the other side of the forest for a long ride on the Stoopid course. Rode the first trail of the race out, then came back the direction of the Stoopid. About an hour into the ride, a stick caught my derraileur and pulled it into the spokes, breaking it. We fiddled with a singulator for about an hour, but couldn't get it to work. Since I was riding the Rush, I wouldn't be able to singlespeed it without the singulator, because of the amount of suspention. So we took the chain off and I hiked up to where I could finally coast down the last bit of downhill to the car. We drove back to the house, got something to eat, slept for a bit, and then I got my 29er ready to go for the second ride. My dad and I left from the house, but just 30 minutes into the ride, my dad's chain snapped. This one wasn't so hard to fix, but it was really frustrating. We finally got on our way again, and headed up the road to Bald Knob; an extremely rocky ridgetop trail. Out of all the trails I've ridden on the 29er, this was by far the hardest. I was getting bounced around like crazy, and on those kinds of rocks, 29 inch wheels don't 'float' over the rocks like people claim they do. So that was about 2 hours of riding, putting my total ride/hike time to 3 1/2. We came back out of the forest in the dark, but the second ride was definitely worth it. And tomorrow we're leaving for Disney World. We haven't gone anywhere for spring break (our schools have it here because of Penn State) for 5 years, and this will be our last one. I was a little dissapointed because the weather here is so nice to ride, but it's supposed to get colder so I don't really mind. We're getting back Thursday night and I'll find a derrailleur for my Rush on Friday so I can ride it in the Michaux Mash.

Intense Ride...

Today we went for a ride, and it turned out a lot differently than I expected. Once we got up to a high elevation, the ice thickened and was really hard. It was difficult to walk up the side of the road, and if you tried to ride, you would probably fall within 10 or 15 feet. On the way up, we passed a car that slipped off the steep bench cut. It was very lucky because it was stopped by 2 trees. There's no telling how far it would've rolled without those trees...

It was at that point that we decided that we could not continue our route, and we tried to think of the best way back down to a lower elevation. That only gave us 3 options: go back down the road, ride up to the top and walk down a kinda steep trail to where the ice gets softer, or ride down a very steep trail that takes us almost the whole way to the bottom. We chose the 3rd. I don't know if it was a mistake, considering that the other trail could've been the same, but this one was too icy and steep to walk down. So we went off the bench cut and walked straight down to the road. It was very difficult but we finally made it to the road, not far from the bottom. At the bottom, we took the 3 Bridges trail, which actually wasn't icy at all, just a dusting of snow. From there we went up Longberger trail. That was kinda hard, because it was either snow or deep mud from the water runoff. Then onto Upper Longberger, which is rocky and completely different from the lower section. I have to admit that it wasn't one of the most fun rides at this point, but the rocks on Upper Longberger quicky changed that. Across a road and up Tuxedo, then we planned on taking the Tussey Ridge Trail back across the ridge, then Camp trail down to the gap, and ride the road back home. Maybe 20 or 30 feet into Tuxedo, I noticed that my bike seemed to be dragging more than it should. I guessed that it was my brakes, but the wheel spun perfectly. Right away, I knew it was my cranks. Turns out that the small chainring bolt had backed out and was scraping away at my bottom bracket. They're coated in aluminum so I think the frame will be okay. This is exactly what happened to my dad at Iron Hill. It was cold and we would've needed to take the whole crankset off to get to the bolt, so we called my mom to come and pick us up. It was good that I was by a road, because I couldn't pedal at all. Checking those bolts every once in a while is something that everyone should do to make sure this doesn't happen. Both times, this was on Cannondale's SI crank, but I'm sure it could happen to any crank, so check them often.

Went for a Hike Today

2 and 1/2 hours through 6-12 inches of snow (sometimes more) and rocks. A little over 5 miles and 1,000 feet of elevation gain.

Racing of a Different Kind

So, last week we had a ski race at our local mountain, Tussey Mountain. It wasn't the first this year but it was the first that I did. Tussey is different than a lot of other courses. When we do get enough snow to have a race, it is usually short in distance because our mountain isn't very big and doesn't have a high vertical drop. But we make up the shorter time when we set the course. For as long as anyone can remember, our coaches set some of the tightest, weirdest slalom courses in the area. Combine this with Tussey's steep start and serious ice, and you'll get a course that's length is close to the times at bigger mountains. Last year, I ejected out of my ski bindings every race, because of the vibrations from ruts in the course and the fact that my bindings were junior bindings. But this year I was able to pick up some adult bindings, and although my skis were chattering the whole way down the first steep pitch, I didn't "walk out" of my bindings. Walking out of bindings is something that happens a lot in races with a lot of ruts. It appears as the skier just steps out of the ski. I had a good race. The next day was the same, but I felt even better.



This past weekend was the first race of the PA Cup series, which are the qualifying races for racers ages 14-18, along with masters racers. It was held at Seven Springs. The course the first day was difficult, but it was different than what I was used to. The turns weren't as tight as what I thought they'd be, but the snow was icy the whole way down. I do better when it's icy, and it's hard to explain, but I find it's better when the snow is variable - icy in some spots, perfect snow in others, and deep and bumpy ruts in others. I like it when the snow is bad in any way it could be, but not horrible in any one way. Again, this race was a slalom, and I felt I did well. After the race, I was waiting around for my friend to finish his run, so that we could go get our twintips and go freeskiing. I heard the speaker announce Cameron Dodge's name. I was suprized, although I knew that he raced. I got to talk with him a bit after he finished. It took us a while to find it, but Seven Spring's terrain park was very nice. It's premier park wasn't open yet, but this was the next biggest thing. It was the first time I was able to take my twintips into an actual park, with jumps and rails. I was able to learn 2 new tricks, and was able to do different kinds of rails. All the rails I knew were within my ability, I just never had a chance to hit rails that were shaped like a rainbow, and also rails that were flat, and then went down like a stair rail. It was also nice to take the skis off some groomed jumps and see what they were built to do. That night we went out to dinner with the team and watched the X-Games big air competition. I was happy that Jon Olsson and Simon Dumont made it into the finals. The next morning, our coach set the course, so we all knew it was going to be a good day. The snow was variable, just how I liked it. The way my first run went, it would be safe to say that it was the best run I have ever had. The second run did not dissapoint and I ended up doing well overall. The first day, I was 30th overall, which is great for me. The second day, I think I did better, but they hadn't posted the results in order of time, so I do not know how I did. It was a fun weekend, and there are still a few more of these to come.

What's Been Going on Lately

Yesterday I started riding the rollers. They're actually not as boring as they were in the summer...probably because I'm not using to fork support and can ride it like a real bike.

For Christmas, I got a wok and a cookbook. I was able to put them to use last night and make a healthy meal of rice, chicken, egg, and a lot of veggies. Turned out pretty good but I'll get better as I go.

Ski racing practice has started, and we now have enough snow to set courses. Last Saturday was my first time skiing a course this year. So far it's going pretty good, and we have a race weekend at our home mountain in 2 weeks. My first race of the year. The helmet camera seems to work better for skiing than biking cause your head doesn't get many vibrations. I filmed one of the runs on Saturday.....