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.

Southern Cross This Weekend!!

I will be traveling to GA to race SoCx this weekend.  Heading there on Friday morning with Greg Rittler and Tom Blanks, staying there over night on Friday, racingggg on Saturday and then returning home right after the race is over!

I am really looking forward to this one.  It is a 50ish mile ultra distance cyclocross race over mostly gravel roads and big climbs.  There will be over 6k in elevation and 2 major climbs that are about 10 miles each.  The course suites me well.

I ended base training (long slow mileage) a few weeks ago and my speed is just coming back.  I am hoping to be in decent form for this race, not great form but decent...  If I can just manage to ride hard the whole time and not have any mechanicals or flats that will be a victory!  My last Ultra Cross race was Iron Cross last October where I got a flat that took me out of contention.  This time I am riding Schwalbe Marathon Mondial tires that are basically overkill/bullet proof.  They might be a bit heavy but I will sacrifice that weight if it means no flats!  

Some of the fast guys, that I know, who are registered to race: 

• Gerry Pflug - Riding in the SS class but having only 1 gear won't slow him down that's for sure.
• Garth Prosser - 40+ overall winner from last year's Ultra Cross series
• Mike Simonson - Super fast dude who can crank out the wattage
• Paco Mancebo - Actually he is a pro level race who has crushed the Tour De France... I don't expect to be even close to this guy.
• Thomas Turner - Winner from 2012 Southern Cross in a time just over 3hrs!
• Brian Toone - This guy puts in massive mileage
• Brian Patton - Ultra CX expert!
• Jordan Kahlenberg - Training buddy and x-AFC team member

I hope I can keep up!

Snotcycle!!!

Snotcycle!!! presented by Go Time Racing is today!  I can't wait for this first race of 2013.  I am traveling to the race with Adam, Lance, and Danny Atkins.  We are all racing in the Cat 1 race although Adam, Lance and I will be on our SS racing rigs... SS is just better.

Coming off 12 weeks of base has made me slow for racing but I have a huge endurance base and I am very happy with where I am right now.

So excited to race again!  After this race I have Southern Cross and Monster Cross on the horizon.

Dirt Wire!!

I am so happy to see Thom Parsons starting up his own thing at http://dirtwire.tv/

If you are into cyclocross or mountain biking you gotta check out his site.  He is super passionate about his work and it shows.  This site is going to take off!!

Winter Setup

Posting this for people who were asking about the strap on my bike and the Barmitts.  These are just things that winter riders need to know!!!!  If you are training outside in the winter here are 2 awesome things that will make your training even more fun!

The guys at Backcountry Research have some awesome stuff going on!  It is so awesome that I can now strap a handpump to my road and mountain bikes so that I don't have to waste CO2 on training rides.  Seriously... you gotta get one of these things!

If you don't believe that a 'little strap' could hold all of that stuff without things falling out then check out this video:

 

My Barmitts enable me to ride in the coldest temps that MD has to offer without ever getting my hands cold.  I wear 2 pair of gloves and then the Barmitts and I have NEVER had an issue with cold hands.  The Hub in Catonsville is now selling them... seriously get a pair..

CX Bike used for Road Training with attached Barmitts and the Mutherload strap to hold a hand pump, tube, multitool, and tire levers.

Single Speed Superfly with the Race II strap to hold hand pump, tube, and tire levers