Berryman Epic Race Report

Schwag bag was also the drop bag.

Once again this year, I was able to escape Mother Nature's wrath.  The forecast was 70% chance of thunderstorms Friday night and on into race day.  I woke up to cloudy skies and a temperature of 60 degrees ... yes!

I managed to line up within the first few rows (250 racers in all) and patiently waited for someone to yell, "Go!"  Instead, I was momentarily stunned by a blast from a cannon, which I swear to God was right next to me, although I never saw it.  I will remember that next year.

The start was FAST and hectic.  I rubbed wheels with more than one racer.  How I managed to stay upright I don't know; perhaps it is my "cat-like" skills.  There were 3 gradual miles climbing on loose gravel before the single track so I settled into a slightly higher effort than I wanted, but knew that I could recover from.  Catharine passed me pretty quickly, but I managed to stay within sight of her and slowly reeled her back in.  As we entered the single track, I was a few racers behind her. 

Settling into "stealth" mode I took it easy and watched my competition for any signs of weakness.  I really knew nothing about her, other than she raced road and cross.  The first section of single track was wide, smooth, and rolling ... big ring territory! 

After about 10 minutes, I realized that although I was not as powerful as her, I had the upper hand in the technical stuff.  I made a pass when she bobbled on a sketchy climb, dug deep to open a gap, and settled into a 5 hour race pace after about 15 minutes.

All smiles on the pre--ride.

The race takes place on the Ozark and Berryman Trails.  These alternate between ridge tops and creek bottoms.  The topography is gently rolling; the longest climb was probably 0.2 miles and at a relatively easy grade.  This, combined with dry conditions, made for a superfast course.  I spent a lot of time in the big ring.  What made it technical in areas was the loose rocky soil, horse damage, and erosion on some of the climbs/descents.

On one of the side cut sections in the first 11 miles, my front tire washed out and down I went.  After a quick assessment of bike (o.k.) and body (few scrapes/bruises), I remounted and raced on.  After a few more miles of finding my rhythm in the loose terrain, I became one with the trail.

I rode most of the horsed-up switchbacks down to Brazil Creek and the first checkpoint.  11 miles in :58:47; on pace with the pain cave no where in sight.  I grabbed my first zip-tie and motored on.

The next 10 miles flew by on this sh!ts and giggles trail!  I love the Berryman; no hour long granny gear climbs followed by foreverish descents.  Just a constant up and down and carving through the "S-curves."  Momentum and brake feathering are your friends.  I rolled into the Berryman campground at the second checkpoint in 1:57.  Mia told me that I was 17 minutes off the leaders and roughly in the top 25.  I grabbed my second zip-tie, went over to where my drop bag was and grabbed another bottle and once again was off.

This next section of trail was perhaps the most difficult.  I encountered a 30 yard sand trap (which I ran through), a couple steep loose climbs, and a lot of  "horsed-up" sections of trail.  It was here that I slowly began reeling in guy after guy after guy.  Some jumped onto my wheel after I made the pass, to which I then asked if they wanted back on by.  They responded that they were just trying to hang on and within a few minutes, I heard them no more.

After popping out onto a jeep trail, grabbing my 3rd zip-tie, I then hauled a$$ back on 5 miles of fire road.  I felt great on the roads and was able to enter the pain cave with a smile on my face.  I made the 1.3 mile paved climb back up to the Berryman campground with ease and grabbed my final zip-tie.  I glanced down at my watch and it read 3:27:14!  Oh yeah, a sub-5 hour was on the horizon.  I had 16 miles to go, with 6.5 of that being a slightly rolling to mostly descending fire road back to the finish.  I refilled my Camelbak and was off on the final 10 miles of single track.

The single track from the Berryman campground where I pre-rode the day before.

 

 

The first couple miles was technical with ledgey drops and lots of roots.  I had ridden this the day before so I was able to fly through it today.

Nowhere where I live can you ride a one trail for 36.5 miles.  Gotta come back and go explorin'.

I had just made it through the rough section and was rolling along a creek bed (mile 41) when I heard the dreaded Psssssss! and saw Stan's spewing out my rear tire.  Noooooooo!  As calmly as I could, I changed my tire.  Checking for thorns and sidewall cuts, I found none, put the tube in and attached my CO2.  And nothing.  Grumble, grumble!  I then attached my hand pump and made the 300 strokes to get it up to an appropriate PSI.  I pinched the hell out of my palm with the pump!  (Later that evening after the race, I found out why my CO2 did not work -- a broken valve stem was jammed up into the head -- WTF?!?)

Several guys had passed me, but not Catharine.  Whew!  It took a couple miles to get my mojo back and get back up to speed.  But I did and soon began passing those that had passed me. Then at mile 46 my rear tire exploded!! Not again!  The Gods must have been angry.  I stopped and saw this:

From the tread almost to the bead!  The "white" is an empty hammer gel packet.

I had managed to lose my patch during the last tire change.  Fortunately a racer named Rock stopped and gave me one of his patches.  It barely covered the gaping hole.  This time I pumped 250 times as both the patch and tube began to bulge out.  Crap!  I got back on and rode like an exhausted beginner, fearing another flat and not having any more tubes.  At about mile 48, I found an empty Hammer gel packet.  Thank God for litterbugs!  I deflated my tube, popped the bead, and inserted the Hammer get packet.  For the third time I pumped 250 strokes!  Unfortunately for my upper body and mental soundness, I did not seat the patch perfectly and it poked through the hole.  I let the air out again, repositioned, and pumped 250 more times!  Can you believe not one swear word was uttered?

At some point during this fiasco, Catharine had passed me in stealth mode.  I kind of figured this was going to happen as now I was 45 minutes into screwing around with my rear tire.  Rock came by me once again and this time gave me his only tube; I had refused before as I did not want him without.  He did not give me the opportunity to refuse this time, saying as he rode by and dropping the tube at my feet, "I am tired of you passing me."  What a man!

Fearful that my tire would not hold up under a lot of pressure or speed, I limped on into the finish, taking nearly 30 minutes to cover the last road section.  The last thing I wanted to happen at this point was me taking a digger at 30 mph on the descent if my tire completely disintegrated or having to run the last 5 miles to the finish.  The last time I had a DNF was in 2003 at a SERC XC race where I double-flatted and I was NOT going to here.

Still smiling and taking $100 home for 2nd.

I rolled in at 5:33:04, 15 minutes behind Catharine, but still good enough for 2nd.  It was frustrating, but if I am going to lose, I would rather it be a bike mechanical as opposed to a body mechanical.  Knowing that I was on par to a sub 5 hour is empowering to me, my efforts in training, and my coach's ability.

This race was awesome.  Kudos to Scott and Ryan for a fun well-marked course, great venue, food, band, and raffle.  I am already planning on the 2011 edition!

A big thanks to Steve Mathews at Paceline Products for the support in getting to Missouri.  Perhaps if I had used the Chamois Butt'r on my tire as well as my behind, the outcome would have been different.

The Little Guy (or Gal)

I am very happy that my record of 286 days with out a saddle sore will have the chance to grow since Chamois Butt'r is going to continue to sponsor me in 2011.  It might actually be more than 286, but I only officially started keeping a tally on January 1, 2010.

I am only a team of one, but whenever I have called Paceline Products to request product or to give an update on my season, Steve Mathews has ALWAYS taken precious time out of his busy day to chat with me for a bit.  That is way too cool!  It tells you a lot about a business when the president will talk to the little guy rather than passing him/her down the line or sending them to a general voice mail.  I feel very honored to play a role, no matter how small, in his business.

So if you see me out riding or racing and want to try a product that I believe in 100%, let me know and I can hook you up with some samples.  Even if I wasn't sponsored, I would still be using Chamois Butt'r Eurostyle ... it does my butt good!

Rocky Raccoon's Revenge 8 Hour Race Report

I was told by Coach to put the governor on for this one.  So instead of being a sporty 6 cylinder, I was an efficient little 4 cylinder.  The course was 10.5 miles, with 3 sections of pavement, the longest being just under a mile.  I was happy to be on gears for this one, making sure that "Indy" was ready for the BTE.

The start was a super dusty bottleneck for about 1/2 lap.  Once I got through the masses, which included some carnage on the techy rocky sections, I was able to settle and just ride.  The first two laps were still a bit faster than I was told to ride, but I wanted to open a comfortable gap.

The next 5 laps were more consistent and "coach-approved."  I focused on maintaining a steady cadence and without too many power surges.  I was told not to race the guys, which was hard for me to do, especially when I could see "carrots" ahead.  But I just kept telling myself, "Just two more weeks and you can suffer your little heart out."

With a win secure as I completed my 7th lap, I was able to finish an hour early.  I felt a bit guilty, like I had not completed my homework assignment, but I was also tired of breathing dust and smoke (there was a forest fire on the other side of the river).

Thanks to Brad Cobb (Village Volkswagon) and Greenlife Grocery, I walked away with $500 and a nice clock from reCYCLE Jewelry.  And true to my word, I made a donation to the Raccoon Mountain trail fund.

I have always enjoyed Gone Riding's races.  They are kind of where I cut my teeth on MTB racing.  I look forward to racing the SERC series again in 2011.

Giving Back

This Saturday is the Rocky Raccoon 8 Hour race for which I signed up.  This is not a high priority race, but one that is fine tuning me for the Berryman Epic.  After I signed up, I started receiving quite a few e-mails from SORBA-Chattanooga about trail work days this same weekend. 

Guilt set in.  While I will be having fun, with a bit of suffering thrown in for good measure, a group of volunteers will be putting in hard hours laying the final stretches of trail at Enterprise South Nature Park.  I think the last time I did "official" trail work was several years ago at my local park.  None since then ...  Yeah, I have excuses:  work, family, training, but if everyone made excuses, there would be no trails.

I am now thinking I already know what my 2011 New Year's resolution will be.  But until then, I will continue to make donations to various groups.  I am committing now, that if I am blessed with a good race and am able to podium, I will donate a good portion of my winnings to the Raccoon Mountain trail building fund.

I know I am not the only racer in this boat, so if you are racing the Rocky Raccoon's Revenge 8 Hour, I challenge you to make the same commitment.

Pisgah Stage Race: Stage 5

Distance:  43 miles
Elevation:  9500 feet
Temperature:  62-84 degrees
Conditions:  dry
Time:  4:57:45

Anybody know which trail this one is?

I awoke this morning with mixed feelings.  I was tired so a part of me was glad that today was the last day.  On the other hand, the little bicycle demon inside of me was sad that this would be my last Pisgah adrenalin fix ... for a while. Today I was ready to empty the tank; there was more than just fumes, as opposed to last year.

The first 7 miles, which was pavement, was brutal, because I pretty much suck at it.  Or perhaps I am at a disadvantage with the little wheels.  I managed to hang on to the second group until the last mile and then popped.  On the Turkey Pen fireroad climb, I regrouped and weaved my way through several racers. 

Vineyard Gap was rippin' fast.  I would compare this trail to a roller coaster ride.  I thought I heard the "tick-tick-ticking" as I was approaching the top of the climb.  Then, the trail just dropped away from the bike and I.  And whoosh! down I went. 

I had gotten ahead of David on the final climb, so when the trail turned downward, I shot down it faster than I had intended because I did not want him to catch me and spoil his ride.  I got a bit to pogo'ey on one section and was just about jettisoned from the bike.  Somehow I managed to save it and reached the river unscathed.  The 7 river crossings somehow seemed quite tame as compared to last year when temps were in the 40's and the water was chamois deep.

After taking a beating from FS 5015, I descended down FS 1206 to Laurel Mountain.  Ah, what a beautiful trail and an awesome ride.  No freezing winds, no sleet to contend with, just a glorious blue bird day.  On the hike-a-bike section, I met several Army officers coming down the trail.  I asked them ever so politely if they could just form a line and shuttle my bike to the top.  No takers.

Pilot Rock was gnarly and ready to eat your tires and bones if you chose the wrong line.  I acquiesced on several of the switchback; really do need to work on swinging my ass end around on those tight ones.  One of my mini goals I wanted to accomplish was to ride the boulder section towards the bottome ... mission accomplised, other than the huge downed tree I had to crawl over.

The remainder of FS 1206 seemed like an eternity but my legs were happy.  One more time up Club Gap and then on to Avery Creek, another one of my favorites.  Everything was rideable for me, save for the downed trees that hovered off the ground.  Once back out on FS 477, I had to stop and wait as a caravan of horses passed by.  I was just happy that none of them spooked as their passengers were children.

I grabbed a PB&J at the last aid station, had my picture taken while stuffing my mouth with said PB&J, and pedaled up FS 5058 and FS 5022 for the final time.  Once again I set a blistering pace down Black Mountain, scrubbing off another minute.  My fastest time on that final section of it, including the climb, was 16 minutes.

I rolled through the Start/Finish, happy that the stage was over, but sorry that it was the end of such a wonderful week of riding.  Todd and Company really listened to the racers' feedback from last year and put on a great race this year.  The post-race festivities were awesome:  a never-ending supply of Poppies-catered food, a fun and well-attended kid's race, a pie-eating contest, and cash for all divisions.  Indeed, I think everyone went home with some money.

Watch out!  Those ladies next to me can hammer!

I know Todd had to have taken a big hit this year, what with the low attendance, but kudos to him for not canceling.  I must say that has been my favorite race of 2010.  I am not sure how to attract a bigger field for next year, but we MUST.  Todd has plans for 2011; I just hope they can come to fruition.

As for me, I increased my knowledge of Pisgah ... to a point that I am going to tackle this man's events next year!

Pisgah Stage Race: Stage 4

Distance:  40 miles
Elevation:  9000 feet
Temperature:  60-83 degrees
Conditions:  dry
Time:  5:29:58

By this time during a stage race, I usually wake up a little slow, stiff, and not as eager to begin.  This year was different, however.  I awoke feeling as good as I did on Day 1.  It was probably due to a combination of fitness and better recovery techniques.  Unfortunately, I missed the cool movies (Ride The Divide, Race Across The Sky, and Stars and Water Carriers) that Todd played during the evening festivities.

This stage was going to be the toughest as it had 90% single track.  And it started out by going up Thrift Cove to Black Mountain to Turkey Pen.  Anytime I mention Black Mountain, just think "hike-a-bike of death."  Once again, I was able to hang with Sue until the trail pitched so steeply I had to get off and push.  Sue managed to stay on two wheels longer and eventually gapped me.

There was a train of bike pushers up to Turkey Pen.  Then the fun commenced.  Turkey Pen is mostly downhill with a few short grunty steeps that required more hiking.  This trail was like riding through a tunnel of rhododendrons, sometimes so thick the price for speed was lashings ... across the arms, face, and neck.  I lost count of how many times my eyeballs were saved by my glasses.

Towards the end of Turkey Pen, one of the single speeders was about 20 yards ahead of me pushing up a climb when he grabbed his calf and yelled out.  I thought he was cramping, but then he grabbed his thigh, then his butt, still yelling.  He cried out that he was getting attacked by yellow jackets.  I slowed my pace down a bit, but pretty soon was where he was.  I expected an attack, but it never came.  Whew!  One advantage of being slow.  I guess those little buggers had their fill of vengeance on the first 20 or so racers that came through.

Riding Squirrel Gap backwards from Stage 2 was fun.  Just after coming off Mullinax, there was a climbing section that was short, steep, and rooty.  A couple volunteers had staged themselves midway along the climb with cowbells going wild.  I loved it!  A great motivator to push on when your quads and thighs are like tree trunks.  One fella even ran with me for about 0.1 mile.  Awesome!

I kept running into this Sycamore Cycles rider most of the day.  I would catch him at the tops of all the climbs; he was always stopped and refueling.  But then he would leave me on the descents; David is his name, me thinks.  I had fun following him down FS 5018.  The grasses along this double track turned single track made it difficult to look for obstacles, but with David in front, I was able to follow his lines and use less brake.  I eventually got in front of him after aid station 2 and did not see him again.  I suspect he was having cramping issues.

South Mills River and Buckhorn were not near as long as they seemed during Stage 1. Riding Black Mountain opposite of the day before was not as bad as I had expected = less hike-a-biking.  The volunteer that directed us at this turn up Black Mountain told me I was only 4 minutes behind the women's leaders.  I believed that for all of 2 seconds!  Sorry, but a volunteer's sense of time and distance is indeed warped.  Take La Ruta, for instance, where 2k is actually 5 miles.  Or during TransRockies, where the last hike-a-bike section was actually the 3rd to last one.  I learned my lesson long ago about heeding the time/distance advice of volunteers.

Buckwheat was mysterious.  Having not ridden it before, I wasn't too enthused about the thick undergrowth, but it finally opened up with some nice riding.  The descent down to FS 477 was harrowing, but the Magura SL's kept me from crashing my brains out.  Couple sketchy, ledgy drops where my butt was acting as the emergency brake for the rear wheel.  It was good seeing Kim at the bottom, all smiles and hoots/hollers.

FS 477 was not fun; I swear I have gone twice as fast down that fire road when conditions have been tackier.  Dry, loose gravel, powdery dirt, and I mix like olive oil and vinegar.

Mr. Rattlesnake decided to make an appearance on FS 5022.  I tried for a couple minutes to encourage him to move, but all he wanted to do was coil and rattle.  Finally I had no choice but to make a wide berth around him through the weeds and pray that his buddies weren't lying in ambush.  Safely around him, I continued up the climb.

For the third time  I made the short hike up Black Mountain and then bombed down the backside to the finish line.  Cut another minute off that "Super D."  It is like your favorite rollercoaster that you cannot get enough of.

One of the best "comfort" drinks that Todd and Co. had at the finish line as well as at each aid station was ice cold Cokes!  He also had PB&J sandwiches which I developed a taste for during this stage.  My stomach was nice enough to tolerate a 1/4 sandwich at a time.  I had gotten tired of the gels I had been carrying and by Stage 4, my HR was within the range of "sandwich acceptibility."

Pisgah Stage Race: Stage 3

Distance:  45 miles
Elevation:  9000ft
Temperature:  60-80 degrees F
Conditions:  dry
Time:  4:58:20


I awoke in good spirits and with happy legs.  I had plenty of time to think about how to go out on this stage.  Barring some sort of bike and/or body catastrophe from Amanda and Sue, I realized that I was not going to win this thing and that was o.k.  I want to win based on my performance and not because my competition ran into misfortune.  As long as I finished, I would earn back my entry fee.  So, with that in mind, today and subsequent stages were all about racing my shadow.

The start involved a shuttle to Kuykendall campground.  While waiting on the others to arrive I warmed up.  Thom P. interviewed me and below is my 90 seconds of fame ... ah, the life of a semi- pseudo mountain bike pro.

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The start involved more running along with 1 somersault between the orange cones.  I think I bruised my kidney with my tire pump that was in my jersey pocket.  I have not done a somersault since 3rd grade!  I am going to have to practice up for the Swank.  I was headed up to Farlow Gap, but to get there would involve  a 12 mile climb, 11 of that being on gravel.  The forest service was nice enough to have just graded and graveled 6 miles of it so instead of asphalt-fast, it was loose and soft.

Farlow was fun; I made it most of the way down the rock chute, but decided I liked my teeth more than my ability to negotiate the 26" holes that dared to swallow my front wheel.  Anyways, it was just about as fast skirting down some of that stuff.  It was pretty much ride a bit, walk a bit for the first half.  A couple sections were even difficult to walk down ... they were potential ankle-breakers.  Once I got past the short uphill hike-a-bike, the remainder was fast and fun, well, all but the steps and last creek crossing.

A short ride on Daniel's Ridge followed by a long haul on FS225, which I have named "Mystery Ridge."  So overgrown, I could not see more than 5-10 yards in front of me, so I kept it light on the front end and brakes.  Luckily there were no downed trees or large rocks to catapult me off into the briars.

Cove Creek was a flowy fast descent.  Hoo-whee! I was smiling so much I think I got a couple bugs in my teeth.  After that was the short but steep connector to Daniel Ridge ... ouch!  The Daniel Ridge descent was fun, but a bit tricky as it was overgrown.  There were a couple of deep washed out areas that were hidden by the weeds.  Rolling down to aid station 2, I refueled and headed over and made short work of the Davidson River Trail.


The climb up 475B was longer than expected.  Just when it leveled out and I thought I was at the top ... it pitched up again.  It tricked me this way several times.  I also expected a longer leg-resting descent, but was surprisingly disappointed that it was only about 3/4 mile long.  More climbing on Hwy 276 and some more gravel leading to Club Gap. 

Turning onto Club Gap, the volunteers at the aid station asked if I needed anything to which I replied, "Do you have any sherpas?"  Some chuckling ensued as I began the steep 1 mile climb up to Black Mountain.  Both the body and conditions were much better than last year and I was able to clean the climb, albeit at what seemed like a snail's pace.

This new to me section of Black Mountain was fun once I got passed the hiking/pushing portion.  Then I hit FS 5058 to FS 5022.  That last push up 5022 hurt.  Those false flats were misleading.  The 3 mile climb was about a mile longer than I expected.  No expletives, but I think there was one, "Ah, come on, where is the top!"

I was a minute faster down the last portion of Black Mountain.  Rolling through the finish line all smiles once again.  Even seeing Amanda in civies already did not sway my attitude.  I met my little mini-goals for the day, I was having a blast riding in the Forest, and I realized that I was in the best shape of my life.  What more could I ask for?

Climbing Black Mountain was a mix of riding/hiking.