Tour de Tykes Race, April 17, 2011

So its another Mass series cross country weekend 4 hours or so from the house. Thanks to the Cofrancescos for getting me to the race. The weather gods were angry on Saturday my friends. The rain that never stopped left the course a tangle of mud, shiny rocks that glistened with moisture, and devilish roots that appeared to be the knotted hair of Medusa herself. As we approached the start line, I was filled with trepidation, not knowing if the next few hours would be the misery that I had felt the week before - no, I told myself. this week I had prepared well and was ready to have a good race. As it turned out, the race course was fun with a lot of climbing and steep rocky descents. Some parts of the trail was like a stream that was gushing water. At the start I could tell that there was competition - on the first climb one rider was out of my sight and had the fastest time in all of sport. The climbing was challenging and some of the descents felt as if one were in a free fall decent where brakes were laughed at - the only thing between you and getting plastered into a tree were your bike handling skills. My unicycle seat was wet and so my pants got wet to and then i had to where shorts after the race so my legs were cold. During the race kyle asked me for water and i would have gave it to him but I didn't hear him and I couldn't give any water so i think he was thirsty. Sorry Kyle. Your the best. As it turned out, I did have a good race, had some reserve energy at the end, and ended up third behind the really fast guy and my teammate Joe, who placed second and was also really fast. Thanks to Zach for supporting us during the race. All in all in was a good weekend.

Thanks for the set-up

The other weekend I was racing at the granogue double uci cross weekend. Yes, I know it's not mountain biking, but we are bike racers afterall and falling into only one clique is just silly. So I'm getting ready for day two, and my one friend rolls up and starts talking about how he think his electrolyte balance was all out of whack yesterday. I'm like," thanks for the set up, because I know exactly what you need. Endurolytes. Endurolytes are an electrolyte supplement made by one of our sponsors, Hammer Nutrition. I've been using endurolytes sinc elong before they were a sponsor and long after. In endurance racing, we call it the magic little pill." He was intrigued to say the least, and I let him use a couple of mine. It's no magic pill. It's science. Pretty simple body chemistry actually. To make a very long and detailed story short, your body uses electrolytes in vital body functions like energy metabolism, initiating chemical reactions, maintaining a constant environment, and other super important things. They help give your body the building blocks for keeping it running and up to speed. Note that it's not macronutrients, but the other things we neglect. Confusing stuff I know. But the endurolytes help me, and they can help anyone when used right. They helped him.

Massanutten Hoooooo Haaaaaaaa!

Ahhhhh the hoooo haaaaa. This past weekend the team headed down to Harrisonburg, Virginia for the last race in the Triple Crown series. The riding down south is awesome, and this race course was no exception. It had so much different terrain, from smooth and fast, to slow and technical with everything in between. The basic layout of the course is straight up the mountain then straight back down, with an amazing piece of trail going across the ridge at the top. I absolutely love this course I love the long sustained climb and the descent is awesome, mix in all the different terrain and it is up there with my favorite place to race all season. Most of the team got there friday night and set up camp. We had a little friend take the trip down from Delaware to Virginia with us, it was a spider about the size of my palm. I found out how much I hate spiders. We did a nice easy spin after we finished getting all set up. A awesome dinner consisting of steaks and potatoes followed, delicious. Saturday was filled with racing, super D at 1:00 and short track at 4:00. Scottie took a bit of a tumble on his way down the very long super D course, luckily he was fine. Gunnar absolutely killed it in the Open short track, yes he was racing with the likes of Sid Taberlay and Jeremiah Bishop. He was lapped just a few hundred feet from the finish line and had a front row seat to the crash that decided the race between Taberlay and Bishop. Right on the last berm/turn of the race there was some contact between them and Taberlay went down, Gunnar got to see the whole thing play out. Finally Sunday was the big XC race, lots of big names and with a very challenging course ahead of us with some very hot temperatures everyone was nervous. The gun went off and with the mass start of all Pros, Cat 1's & 2's it was chaos. The combination of a dust storm, lots of elbowing and all the jockeying for position made this one of the most intense starts I have ever been in. The course was in prime condition not to wet not to dry, and with a few hundred racers it made passing really hectic, thats if you could pass. The whole climb up for me was spent trying to get past people who had dabbed or gotten off on some rock gardens, or people whose pace was just too slow for me. It was tough to stay on the gas the whole time, people wouldn't let you by even when they were walking and even if you asked for the pass they never seemed to want to give up there spot. The descent was a little better with a less traffic. After it was all said and done, It was a fun day but I definitely didn't leave enough out there. Jake straight killed it and finished 3rd in Cat 1 19-29 and was super pumped on his result. Scottie finished 7th in Cat 2 U18. I finished up 4th in Cat 2 U18 as well. Awesome weekend of racing and I know everyone is really excited for the always fun Marysville stage race this weekend. Jake and Scottie will be taking on solo for the weekend. Jeff and I are racing duo together, and Zach will also be racing all weekend. Gunnar is off at the USAC camp down in North Carolina getting some information from Jeremiah Bishop and some other USAC coaches.


-Kyle

Transsylvania Epic, Part II

Continuing with the TSE stage updates... that race was so much fun.

Stage 4: Wednesday June 2, Raystown Lake


      Let me just start by saying this: the Allegrippis Trail system at Raystown Lake is the biggest ball of fun wrapped in perfect dirt in the most beautiful place on the planet, good old Pennsylvania.  My god that place was, actually is, awesome.  The start of the stage was a ripping-fast start up a "stiff" (Kuhn's word) climb for about half a mile, then a quick drop into the tight and twist goodness that is the singletrack at Raystown.  I rode with a few familiar faces for awhile, just to be popped off on the days relatively short but steep power climbs.  This place, while both super-fun is also extraordinarily hard to race.  There are many short steep rollers which require something like micro intervals where you are on the gas, out of the saddle, for 10 or 15 seconds, then spinning or coasting down the other side.  While it was so fast and over so quickly (I clocked a 2:54 for a 35-ish mile race), my legs were completely shelled after the race.  My early efforts in the race came back to bite me about halfway through when I start going backwards a bit.  Then I cased the third roller on Ray's Revenge.  I came out relatively unscathed with a few minor cuts and a little crack in my helmet.  After regaining my composure for a bit my legs started feeling better and I picked up speed  for the last few miles.  As soon as I started really feeling good, the sweet singletrack bliss was over and I rolled down the road and over the line.  It was a damn good day to be a bike racer.


Stage 5: Thursday June 3, Mini-XC's at R.B. Winter


      R.B. Winter is one of my favorite places to ride.  It is so amazingly rocky it is always fun.  The order of the day was a fun race type thing not meant to shake up the GC, but instead catered towards the back of the field; those who came to ride some sweet PA singletrack.  We rode about 25 miles, with four timed sections and four group transfers in between each timed section.  We would race a section, regroup, ride to the next section, race, and repeat.  It was a lot of fun.  It was all about getting to know all the racers, including the pros.  Stages like this, in my opinion, should be featured in all stage races.  Although, it was a little punishing on the legs to sprint for 15 min, then rest for a half an hour, but it actually ended up being a good recovery day for me.  My legs finished the stage feeling relatively fresh, and ready to conquer the final two stages.  Along the way we hit up some of the highlights of R.B. Winter: Rocky Corner, Black Gap, White Deer Creek, etc.  It was another in a series of good days.


Stage 6: Friday June 4, Rothrock Whipple Dam


      This was billed as the "Queen Stage" for the Transsylvania Epic.  It definitely lived up to that billing, featuring what is possibly the best trail on the East Coast, or in the world: Tussey Mountain Trail.  If you haven't ridden Tussey Mountain Trail you should.  Just take my word for it.  Really.  Tussey is the greatest thing this side of Sunday.  It was a short stage, clocking only 25 miles, and including one big climb.  The roll-out was rather neutral; I rode with the lead group until the trail start really pitching up.  Friday was the first day that I felt like I was climbing well, but I was riding technical stuff like I didn't know how to pedal.  Tussey was still a great though.  In case you haven't noticed, I'm having trouble writing (pretty wiped from the week), so I'll keep it short.  I rolled in sometime under 3 hours.


Stage 7: Saturday June 5, Bald Eagle Little Poe


      This stage was a short, but important one.  Before the stage the top six or seven in the GC was tight.  Alex Grant and my buddy Brandon Draugelis were tied.  TIED!!!!!!!  TIED!!!!!!!!!!!!  

After 6 days of racing they are tied.  It made for a shootout at the head of the race.  Watch the CyclingDirt Video if you want to see the shootout.  As for me, I had an ok start to the race, and a crappy middle.  I rode for a while with Ben Cruz, one of the WTB riders.  I burped a ton of air out of my Maxxis Aspen tires trying to follow him down the descents.  He can sure go downhill quick.  It's pretty cool to follow a legit downhiller through the singletrack.  But since it is a race, and I was racing him, I threw down a little attack when the road pitched up just before the finish to roll in at about 1:53.


So I finished my first stage race.  It was hard.  I came in 16th place.  Jeremiah Bishop won, followed by Alex Grant, and Brandon.  Good showing for him and all of PA.  I don't really have much more to say now, only that I'd like to thank all the sponsors who kept me running this week.  Especially Hammer Nutrition, who kept me hydrated and going forward for the whole week.  Maxxis's superb tires kept me absolutely glued to the trail, and Crank Brothers pedals kept me attached to my bike.  As always, Ergon grips kept my hands nice and comfy.  Thanks also to Cannondale, makers of the lightest, fastest, and strongest bikes in the world.  Also thanks to C-dale mechanic Ron who came through in a pinch with a spare dérailleur hanger.  Also thanks to all the people who made this week so great.  Mike and Ray, you put on a fantastic race.  If there is anyone I forgot to thank, than thanks.  All you guys rock.  I'll leave you with some pictures of the week.

Photos (c) A.E.Landes Photography. Used with permission.

-Jake

Transsylvania Epic, Part I

Since we're about halfway through the race now, I should probably give an update as to how my race is going.  So we'll go day by day...

Stage 1: Sunday May 30, Bald Eagle Prologue TT

      I suppose that it is traditional to start a stage race with a TT.  Normally these TT's are 6 - 10 km (4 - 6 mi for you English unit types), and meant just to set up the leaders jersey's for the next day.  Our TT was about 10 mi (about 16 km), contained a bunch of climbing, as well as some fun technical singletrack to get everyone introduced to good old PA riding.  I rolled a fairly respectable 44:29, about 10 minutes of the leaders pace.  Can you guess who the leader was?  If you haven't been following (shame on you) Jeremiah Bishop of Cannondale Factory Racing killed it, winning by about 3 or 4 min.  Post race, had some Hammer Soy recovery drink mix, and settled down for the night.

Stage 2: Monday May 31, Greenwood Furnace to Camp


      This stage was, if nothing else, a huge kick in the balls.  It was a tour of the classic Rothrock singletrack from the Wilderness 101 and the Stoopid 50.  Featuring classic trails such as Beautiful Trail (a.k.a Top Trail, Crabapple Trail), Telephone Trail, Pig Pile Trail, Deer Tick Trail, etc, this stage rewarded you if you could ride PA rocks, and punished you in the worst way if you couldn't.  40 mi of Rockrock singletrack is no walk in the park, and this stage left me all but begging for mercy.  I burned a few too many matches on the climb after Telephone, so once I hit Pig Pile Trail and the route kept climbing, my legs began to hurt.  So I suffered through Deer Trick (hate that trail), Beautiful Trail (love that trail).  I made it to the second checkpoint, refueled, and motored through the last mile of fun technical singletrack, the onto the 11 - 12 mile road slog home.  I hooked up with a small group on Crowfield Rd, and we pacelined it back to the camp.  I attacked up the last short, steep climb about 3/4 mi before the finish.  It was good.  I finished up in 4:30, so I felt fairly good about it.  Hit some more Hammer Soy, turkey sandwich, and some leftover pasta sauce and promptly fell asleep to the sound of rain.

Stage 3: Tuesday Jun 1, Bald Eagle/Coburn Loop


      Today's stage featured a break from the technical singletrack of Bald Eagle State Forest.  45 mi, mostly paved and dirt road and railroad grade, with little bits of singletrack thrown in for good measure.  I knew this stage would be fast because of the large flat sections in the middle.  Flat stages mean pacelines, and pacelines mean pain.  I rode with a bunch of different groups until my bottom bracket fell apart.  Not literally fell apart (it was still attached to my bike), but stopped working.  My cranks turned, but I had about a centimeter of lateral play in the crank arms.  No good for hammering climbs.  I had to soft pedal/walk/run/coast the last 4 or so miles of the race.  I probably lost about 45 minutes in the end.  No matter, there are 4 more stages to make up that time, and then some.

So... 3 days down. 4 to go.  Tomorrow is the super-fun, super-fast trails at Raystown Lake, followed by some mini-XC's at R.B. Winter State Park, my favorite place to punish myself.  I'd like to give a shout to all the stuff that's been working great on my bike.  First off is my bike.  My sweet Cannondale Flash Carbon 29er.  It's absolutely the best bike I've ever ridden.  Ergon grips are, as usual, keeping my hands, wrists, and arms comfortable and blister-free.  Crank Bothers pedals keep me attached, and Maxxis Aspen tires are keeping my sorry self on the trail.  They're light, and if you can rock them you should because they are dang fast and grippy.  Look for another update coming fairly soon, depending on how shelled I am after tomorrows stage.  And well you're waiting anxiously for my update, check out Abe Landes fantastic race photography.  This guy is an up-and-comer and takes some of the most amazing photos I've ever seen.

-Jake

Track Racing

Two of FFRP's juniors are beginning to race track and really enjoying it. Jeff Bahnson and Gunnar Bergey are making the weekly trips up to Trexlertown to compete in BRL an introduction to track racing. With nearly 3 weeks of two practices a week, the two are really starting to get a feel for the high speeds and lack of breaks. Here's what they have to say:

Gunnar-"I am really enjoying racing on the track. It it something different that is incredibly fun. I'm sure the speed and power you build from this will benefit all aspects of bike riding. It is really hard to spin that fast of a gear!!"

Jeff-"I am having so much fun at the Velodrom. I really like doing something different on teh bike that is unique. The lack of breaks is good for all kinds of bike racing because u get used to not being able to use them."

The two are enjoying it very much and will begin racing it in real races shortly. Possibly racing Nationals in June!!

~FFRP

Granogue, May 2, 2010

Saturday we all kitted up for the pre ride. It was going smoothly until I crashed now I have this big black blob on my leg. We were all thankful for the 200 yards of flat trail in the course. We got back from the pre ride got ready for the time trial it was AWESOME, even though I got stung by a bee in the first 100 yards, but it was still awesome. After the time trial we all went into the river to cool off. We got to ride in the back of my dads truck which was super fun.

On sunday we were all ready to race exept Jeff - he was throwing up an hour before the race. He started the race and was in first place and the he didn't feel good so he dropped out. Me and Kyle had start our race early which was the worst part of the whole thing. At the start of my race I crashed and my chain came off - I was in last place. I started reeling in the field one by one and ended up in second place. Kyle had some other junior competiters in his senior one field. He held on for fifth place. Kyle got to start first so he didn't have to pass all the traffic, but juniors had to start behind the vet 2s, which is the largest group of all the cat 2. Jake did very well in the crazy endurance race, placing 5th out of a huge field of endurance riders. Gunnar didn't race - he wasn't feeling well that morning, but he was there to support us and he helped out with the race sweep and trail cleanup. Emily did well in her race on a tough course. Also - congrats to Emily on her race last week at Greenbrier, placing first in the Cat 3 girls category. After the race when we were packing up all the stuff Tom let me drive across a field in his truck which was the best part of the whole weekend - then he put us all to work but it was still fun. Thanks to dennisbike.com for the awesome photos.