Michaux Maximus

1st place in Single Speed Category (4th fastest time of the day)

Strava Data

Results

I went to this race because it is one of the hardest (most technical) races in our area or maybe even in the entire country!  I went to this race to prove to myself that I can handle it, like a real mountain biker.  I went to this race to get better, because my technical abilities are my biggest weakness.

I had a great time!  This race was just crazy.  There were huge rocks, medium rocks, little rocks, roots, water crossings, cliffs, and some stuff that was just so crazy that I had to dismount and run but that I know some of the best guys were probably riding.  It was a true challenge and I loved every second of it.

I do not recommend this race to anyone who is new to the sport.  Practice for a year or two and then do this race to see what you are made of.  I almost never crash, because in general I err on the side of caution over going fast, but at this race I endo'd (went over the handlebars) 4x and crashed more times than I can count.  It was hard for me to type on the keyboard at work today because my right hand is swollen.  Oh man it was a fun race!  

Lance, who I train with, and I drove to the race together.  Both of us had aspirations of conquering this race that had (in previous years) conquered us.  We were equipped with Maxxis Ikon tires with extra Exo Protection.  They only weigh 570 grams and they are crazy durable.  Neither of us got a flat, which is an incredible feat at this race where flats are abundant!  

Maxxis Ikon with Exo Protection!

At the start there were about 15 or so SS racers.  The geared racers had a 1minute head start on us, it was my goal to catch as many of them as possible.  There was a long stretch of gravel road before we hit the trail.  Montana Miller took it out crazy fast on the gravel and separated myself, Topher, and Lance from the rest of the group instantly.  It was only the four of us when we hit the trails.  The first section of trail is a crazy rocky climb that is very long.  I was going too fast and I had to dismount / remount 2x on this trail but luckily the other guys were having as much trouble as I was.

Lance crushing the climb

sunglasses worked great!

 Eventually another racer from the group that started 1 minute behind us (geared 45+) passed us.  I thought he was a SS at the time so I was quick to get on his wheel and in doing so I got a sizeable gap on the rest of the SS racers, leaving Lance, Topher, and Montana to battle it out.  When I realized that the guy had gears I relaxed a bit and I was happy to have gotten away from the SS field.

From there I picked off a few of the geared guys who started ahead of me and was pretty much riding solo for most of the race.

I ended up finishing right behind the 4th place geared racer (Kevin Campbell) from the category that started 1 minute ahead of us, that means there were only 3 guys (Rob Spreng, Brandon Draugelis, and Keefer) who had a faster time on the course!  Oh man I have a lot of work to do.  Those guys are just so much better on the technical rocks than I am, I will get better and hopefully I will be closer to their times next time we race on a course like this!!

Lance finished 3rd in the SS not far behind Topher who placed 2nd!  So happy for him!  He crushed it!

Next race is Wild Cat 100 on Saturday.  My first NUE of the year... oh man!

Endurance MTB Racing Setup

For my endurance mountain bike races I always like to carry two tubes.  I do not want to get caught out in the middle of nowhere asking people for a spare tube because I already used my 1st one.  Usually if you have to resort to fixing your second flat you are pretty much out of the race at that point, but I always want to finish... DNFs are the worst!  So I carry a second tube just in case.

I just got the new Hypalon Series Straps from Backcountry Research!!  And they are incredible!  There is NOTHING that will be moving my tubes out of place... those things are basically glued to my bike.

My setup maximizes speed/ease/availability for getting to my tube and equipment for fixing my flats while at the same time keeping everything in order and secure while riding even over the rockiest/bumpiest terrain.

Setup is as follows:

1) If I get one flat I will grab the tube/CO2 that I have strapped, using the TUBE TOURNIQUET, to my top tube.  It is right there and it is super easy to access for a quick flat fix.

2) If I happen to get a second flat I probably won't be in quite as much of a hurry since my race will be pretty much lost at that point.  I will take the tube/CO2 that I have strapped, using the RACE II, under my seat.

3) I will be keeping my multi-tool, tire lever, tire inflator, and probably my car key in a TULBAG, that I will keep in my middle back jersey pocket for quick and easy access!

This is a winning setup!  :)

Greenbrier

2nd Place (racing on SS in the Geared Marathon Category)

Strava Data

Full Results

I really wanted to race in the Cat 1 Open category but it did not start until 2pm and I had to be home for a cookout with my family, so I opt'd for the Geared Marathon category starting at 9:30am and lasting for 4hours!  When I went to register I was SUPER HAPPY to find out that Kevin Carter was registering as a 'day-of' because he missed the online registration.  He STOMPED me at Bakers with his fancy gears on a super fast/flat 13hour course but with the epic climbing at Greenbrier I knew that I would be closer, I didn't expect that I could beat him but I knew I could at least make him work for it (hopefully).

At the start Kevin did his normal (albeit strange) start of waiting for the field to take off and leaving a few seconds later.  I need to ask him what his logic is behind that kind of start?  I took the hole shot (meaing I was the 1st into the woods coming off the start line / open field) into the woods.  From there I kept a steady pace up the 1st 1/2 of the course, which consists of 3 major climbs.  Nearing the top of the 3rd major climb I looked back the field was no where in sight... except for Kevin of course...

Thanks A.E.LANDES for the picture

At the top of the 3rd climb he caught me.  He took the lead on the downhill after that.

I was able to hold his wheel through the technical rocks at the bottom of the climb, near the end of the 1st lap.  He stopped just after the rocks, right before the start/finish, to adjust something on his bike.  I kept going, through the start/finish and hammering up the climbs again, hoping to stay away.  After all the climbs he was back on me and he lead the downhill again.

I stayed with him through the start/finish and he stopped for a water bottle just before we entered into the woods again.  I hammered the climb, but again he caught me towards the top.  This time when we hit the rock garden (3rd lap) I bobbled a little, he took full advantage of that and got a 30second gap immediately!  That was the last I saw of him.

For the rest of the 9 laps there was a ton of traffic from the Beginner and Sport races that started while we were on the course, so I always had company.  I enjoy cheering on teammates and other racers... it is so fun!  It was a really beautiful day.

In the end I lost to Kevin by about 6 minutes.. he was 3:57 I was 4:03.  My lap times were pretty consistent and I was able to keep a pretty fast pace without slowing up too much throughout the day.  The first few laps when lapped rider traffic was not an issue it was much easier to keep a fast pace.

Here are Kevin and my lap times:

	Kevin	Patrick
Lap 1	00:25:04.68	00:24:34.52
Lap 2	00:25:01.47	00:25:32.76
Lap 3	00:25:35.33	00:25:57.55
Lap 4	00:25:45.35	00:26:57.27
Lap 5	00:26:04.25	00:27:23.68
Lap 6	00:26:29.34	00:27:38.47
Lap 7	00:27:28.40	00:27:53.41
Lap 8	00:28:41.55	00:28:27.11
Lap 9	00:27:32.72	00:29:10.38

Baker's Dozen

1st place Single Speed (17laps 148miles)

Strava Data

Results

Pre race pic with a few of the 30+ AFC racers at the race

Switching my bike to fully rigid was a very very bad idea.  I was pretty much miserable immediately and it was a 13hour bike race!!!  UGGG....  I barely kept it together.  I am going back to my shock for sure.

I just kept pedaling and tried not to take breaks that were too long after every lap.  I definitely took wayyy too many breaks but I knew I was in 1st by a decent amount so I took the chance and had my breaks.  In general if you want to win these races you just gotta keep going and almost never stop, I broke that rule and I was lucky to still pull out a win.

So many times I just wanted to quit.. so many.

Myself, Lance Byrd, and Paul Tarter (right behind Lance but not visible in the pic)

The first 3 laps I was happy to be riding with teammates Lance Byrd (finished 2nd SS!!) and Paul Tarter (finished 3rd gears!! and right behind Lance and I).  After those laps I was pretty much by myself for the rest of the 17laps (148miles) of my race.

At most of the endurance races I only eat what I bring but since this race had laps and since I was taking long breaks between laps I was tempted to eat things that I normal don't... bad idea.  I made the mistake of eating some donut holes after lap 7ish and that was definitely a lesson learned from this race.  They wrecked me!  I need to be more disciplined and stick with the PROBARs and CeraSport that I started with and that I know my body will digest and use as fuel immediately, instead of giving me tummy aches and diarrhea like the donuts did... that almost ended my race.  

I hope I don't fall apart like this at my first Wild Cat 100, my first NUE race of 2013, because if I do I know I won't be so lucky as to squeak out the win.. there are a lot of heavy hitters going to that one and they will all be super hard to beat even if I have the perfect race
.

AFC's Sugar Hill

Full Results

2nd place in the Men's Elite race 
(Racing on Superfly Single Speed)

This year Adam and I had a huge help from Mike Caputi (as always), Jen Blandford, Bill Blandford, Matt O'Byrne, and Tom Schreck for race directing and everything.  It was so nice to have 50% less work to do than usual... still a lot of work but much much less!  I can't thank the whole team enough.  Our whole team seemed to be out volunteering and helping in some way.  AFC is truly something special, I am so lucky to be apart of it.

We were able to raise $6k or more (waiting for the final numbers) for the charity.  That money will go directly to DESTINY Diabetes and Kupenda For the Children.  Adventures For the Cure (AFC) is our nonprofit cycling team and we have 0 overhead costs.  100% of what we raise goes to our charity efforts.

Sweet setup with the AFC tent, Hub tent, and moon bounce

Race Report:  I was registered for the Expert (Pro/Cat1/Elite or whatever you want to call it) category, racing on my single speed as always because I tried riding on gears and I kinda really hated it a lot... SS is just so much freggin fun!!

I knew that from the start I would be at a disadvantage, compared to the guys racing with gears, on that first road section.  I was worried I might be last or mid-pack going up the huge waterbars hill and therefore almost immediately not where I wanted to be.  In years past when racing SS in the Elite field that is how it went down and it was very demoralizing.  

However!  Somehow I managed to spin my face off, or maybe the start was slower than usual?  On the road someone behind me gave me a motivating "Don't stop spinning" and I thought to myself  "Yea!  I can handle this!  I can hold this position and not fall back!"  Whatever happened I found that I was in a very very good position at the start of waterbars.  

At the very top of waterbars just before it gets ridiculously rocky I knew we were going slow and I used that as an opportunity to make a jump to get ahead of everyone I was with and slip into 2nd place behind Greg Capelle (who won the prime at the top of the hill).  I didn't want do bury myself to catch him and win the prime... he was really moving!

I felt strong so I really threw it down to try to establish a small gap on the field and/or catch Greg (who already had a small and growing gap).  It worked!  Somehow it worked!  I heard the bike noises / breathing / voices of my competition slowly diminish behind me.  I dared not turn around to look with all of the technical riding ahead of me, but I knew I was establishing a gap and I could also see that I was slowly gaining ground on Greg.... 2nd spot was more than I could hope for this early in the race...

Photo thanks to AFC Member Ty Long.  More of his photos from this race are here.

I was going a little harder than I should so I scaled it back a bit. 

I glanced behind me and saw Chris Beck was there, but didn't see anyone else.  On the flat open field of Morning Choice Beck passed me says "Nice gear choice" and zoomed ahead to catch Greg.  I kept my pace.

Once Beck caught Greg he just sat on him (using no energy at all and enjoying the free ride) while Greg was digging deep.  I wanted to yell at Greg... "don't let him sit on you like that" or "why don't u come back here and give me a break for a bit".  Eventually Beck left Greg, in commanding fashion so that Greg would not get a free ride, and I was able to slowly real Greg in and pass him on Ridge.  

Onto the 2nd lap I was about 15-30 seconds behind Beck with no one in sight behind me.  I kept digging deep but not so deep that I might make a mistake on a technical spot.  Always just riding on the limit, but never over.

On the 3rd lap Beck was out of sight, with a lead that extended to over 30 seconds.  At that point I did start making a few mistakes and I knew that I must be getting tired so I scaled it back just a bit more.  2nd was a fantastic finish and I did not want to loose that spot due to a flat or major crash!!!  2nd place would be a dream come true almost :)

In the end I was able to hold my position and finish 2nd and just over 1 minute ahead was Beck.  Behind me Capelle held his 3rd place and Ryan Fawley finish only seconds behind him rolling through the finish with a flat rear tire.  After Ryan was Jon Gdowik (also racing on a SS) and then Ron Harding (my 100 mile SS competition but opting for gears today), Jordan Kahlenberg (x-AFC team mate and all around mountain bike stud), and then Lance Byrd!!! (Team AFC and also on a SS!!!  SS4Life).

After the race I was crazy hungry.  I have no idea how I can get so hungry from riding my bike for only 1hr 45min.  I had 3 PROBARs, CeraSport, and some New Belgium beer (we had 2 kegs so I had to have some).

It was a great day :)  

Monster Cross

Lesson learned.... the Schwalbe Marathon Mondial tires are NOT winning!  At 570g and a design that is made for durability not speed, they are just sooo slow.  I was not aware how much of a disadvantage heavy/slow tires would be.  My idea was that the Mondials would be bullet proof and therefore no worries about flats, but they are such a huge disadvantage in a race that being flat resistant does not even matter.

not for racing... trust me :)

After the race was over I looked at what the winners were riding... haha... they were riding file tred tires!  Oh man I really made a mistake with my ultra cross setup.

Right from the gun I was getting dropped by the main pack of the Elite field and they were not even going that fast, I just could not go any faster.  I am positive I should have been able to keep pace with them easily. My fitness is there, but my tires were definitely holding me back.

Once I lost site of the main group I was riding with 3 others.  They advised me to take a wrong turn and we went off course for 2.5 miles.  I returned to the course where I left it 10 minutes later and just drilled it for the rest of the race.  On the bright side I got in a GREAT early season workout!!

At the end of the race I was able to help my team mate Auggie Plitt and another friend Brian Patton do well in their races by acting as their person domnestique... that was very fun!

With bad luck/results in the last 2 races I am just going to hope that I have gotten all of my bad races over with for the year.  There is so much more racing to be had still.  Can't wait!!

Lance won the Open Cyclocross Division and he was actually 1st amongst all non-pro racing divisions!  He had the race of his life.  Adam won the Single Speed Cyclocross division and was able to work with Lance the entire race.

Lance, myself, and Adam eating some post-race chili!

For my next Ultra Cross race I will NOT be riding on the Mondials... I need to reevaluate my setup that is for sure.

Southern Cross

Sometimes it is good to get your butt kicked... keeps things in perspective...

Greg Rittler, Tom Blanks, and I made the trek from Baltimore to Georgia on Friday before the race.  We made it there in a solid 10hr 15min of driving and we arrived just before packed pickup closed at 7pm.  Greg did all of the driving... while Tom and I prepared for the race :)

Sleeping while Greg does all the driving!

I was pretty excited to race this one and I was hoping for a top 5 finish.  I am still not super strong and coming off of base training but I still figured I could put in a decent effort and do decently well.

The morning before the race I had 2 bowls of oatmeal and 1 probar.  In the past I usually eat way more than that before any race but I felt like I didn't need any more food so I didn't eat anymore... this ended up being my #1 mistake of the day.

At the start Greg, myself, and Tom

The race started at a medium/fast pace.  I was not outside my limit but I had a bad start and the lead pack of about 7-8 guys got a gap on the group I was with.  By the time I was in a position to catch them they had already created a substantial distance between our groups.  Luckily I had some strong guys in my group and we were able to work together to catch back up before the start of the 1st climb.

The first major climb was a little over 5 miles and very steep at the top.  I had overdressed a little and I was really sweating about 1/2 way through... that was okay though I would rather be hot than cold.  As we were getting closer and closer to the top I was starting to get really hungry and feeling really weak.  I was only in zone 4 and I didn't feel very strong anymore.  I could not seem to push into zone 5 and I watched the 4-6 leaders slowly got away from me... I had nothing to respond with.  My heart rate slowly decreased and so did my power output.

Not doing so good... (photo by Donna Combs Garcia)

Lots of guys passed me for a very long time :)  It was not until the last aid station at about mile 33 that I finally was able to find enough food to eat to make a full recovery.  the last 10 or so miles I felt great!  I was back to myself but it was way too late to salvage my race at that point.

I have trouble traveling and racing well.  I think the traveling messes with my eating schedule.. I need to figure this out for my races this year because I am traveling to quite a few.  There are other races like Cohutta that are in TN that I really want to do well at and I can't make this mistake again.

Greg Rittler crushed it!  He rode strong the whole time and finished 10minutes faster than his goal.

Tom Blanks had pretty much the same issue that I had, we both struggled with our energy levels.

We all had a great time!  The course was super challenging, well marked, and very well run.  Maybe next year I can have a good race when I go back.