My 12 hour race in 1hour and 41 minutes.

This passed weekend I headed down south to Eleanor, WV for the first ever 12 Hours of Eleanor Mountain Bike Race. I was looking forward to just having some fun with the event sense it was a team relay race. Gina and I arrived early the day before just so we could hang out with some friends and give Larry Perkins any help he needed in setting up for the event. We have camped at events so many times that Gina and I have the routine pretty much down top a science. We got the tent up, made the beds, tended to the dogs and I also prepared for the following day. After all that was done we decided to head back out to the interstate to find some dinner. Most of the time races are in the middle of no where and there is not many options on food. The same could also be said for living in Davis, so when CHANGE pops up we like to eat something different. After stuffing myself full of pasta and rice we headed back to the park. As we were driving the heavens opened up and started to dump buckets of water. It was hard to see the road while driving cause it was coming down so hard. THE TENT!!!! The thought popped into my mind. Yes we had the pop-up tent over our sleeping tent but we didn't put the rain fly on. UGH! The last 2 or 3 miles of the drive I couldn't help but imagine what state are sleeping bags and blankets were in. We had just learned the weekend before after a large rain that the pop-up was starting to get worn out and was starting to leak.

As we pulled up to the tent if it was even possible it seemed as though it was raining even harder. I bolted over to the tent to check and noticed right away a large puddle had formed under the front of the tent. $@&*$^! Gina and I through the rain fly on top of the tent as fast as we could. Afterwards I opened up the tent to look inside. Minimal damage at the most. Thank goodness! We dodged a bullet on that one. The rain never let up so we decided to move our tent into the barn for the rest of the weekend. Note to anyone camping to at upcoming Creek to Peak points race. CAMP IN THE BARN! Besides all the bird poop is was pretty sweet.. Really! As we sat around drinking a brew or two watching the rain outside we were so happy to have moved the tent.

The next morning I was awoken way to early at 6:30am by the sound of yelling kids and pigs?! The night before there were no pigs or kids around so what the hell was going on. Well I came to learn that from the hours of 7am - noon the barn was going to be used to TAG the ears of livestock. As 7am drew nearer a line of pickup trucks and trailer form about 10 deep. Each 4x4 had at some kinda farm animal on board. It was like going to the petting zoo. I saw pigs, goats, cows, sheep and more mullets then I could count. Gunnar would have been in heaven. Lets say however the animals were not to happy to have a hole punched through their ear for there number tag. I said to myself, thank goodness the Shogrens are not hear. As registration started you would every once in a while hear a scream of a little piggy getting tagged. Very interested registration to say the least.

Notice the cow in the back, Photo by Theresa Svoboda

Lucky was not happy with the livestock

Finally all the drama was over and it was time to get down to some racing. I was headed out first on the course for my three man team and was super ready to get going. As the race began it was clear that all the rain for the last two week was going to make for a muddy race but things were not all that bad. My team mate Steve Thorne and I rode much of the first lap together. I struggled a little in the mud to keep up but I have never been the best in that type of conditions. 1 hour and forty one minutes later I completed my first lap. That was just a minute long then I had thought it would take so I was pretty happy. I handed off to my friend Darren Bennett who I had talked into doing the race the week before. I think Darren was pretty excited about doing the race as he headed out.

Steve and I, ready to race

I then started to eat and drink for the next lap that I would do, which I was gussing was going to be in 4 hours. Darren was fit but didn't race much XC so I figured 2 hours for his lap and the same for are third team mate Philip Poff. I ate and then I ate some more. The tank was full and I was ready to head out again but Darren had not returned yet. It had only been 2 hours so he should be hear anytime. At about 2 hours and 20 minutes his girl friend started to worry. I didn't show it much concern just figured Darren was having a little trouble with the conditions. Little did we know at the time the course was starting to turn into a peanut butter like consistence. At hours and thirty minutes Darren showed from the woods. He looked tired and was cover with mud. He handed of to Phil and Darren didn't say to much.. The look on his face said it all. He was tired.

Is a front chainring meant to look like this?

SO phil was on the course by 4:11 PM and that meant at around 6:00 I needed to be ready to go. I ate some more and drank some more. Got the bike all ready and was now just waiting. With some extra time I decided to take a few photos out on the course. The trails was really starting to fall apart. Even walking was becoming extremely hard. As riders made their way past me the before happy and excited racers looked tired and dejected. The course is 10% ridable one person said to me. UGH! I thought. At 6:00 I started to get ready. I paced around with excitement for my next lap. I knew it was going to be hard by the look of the other riders coming in. At 6:30 no Phil.. Ah, he will be here soon. At 7:00, no Phil. By this time riders were pushing what was left of there bike in from their laps. Broke derailors, one broke frame, and more mud the you could imagine. 7:15 and still no Phil. By this time the thought of heading out in that crap was not looking like fun and everyone around me was also questioning it. Also teams were quiting left and right. 7:30 and no Phil. At this point he had been out there for over 3 hours. I was feeling his pain and I had almost no excitement left about going back out. At 7:40 Philip came out of the woods. He was barely turning the pedals and just looked worked over. I waited for him back in hand at the transition area. As he came up he said,"Dude you don't want to go out there". He stated that it looked like a war zone out on the trails. He said people were laying against tree worn out and out of food.

Just a little mud out there
I was torn. I wanted to ride but that didn't sound like any fun at all. After a minute or two I said the hell with it and headed out on my bike. As I rolled out I people yelled at me that I was crazy. Phil was ride, the trails were a mess. I had to push a few hill and it was so muddy it locked up the back hill pulling the bike up hill. After about 2 miles I had enough and headed back. It was getting dark and I had not interest in pushing my bike at night. Best choice I made all day. The only bad thing was that I had spent all day eating to deep my energy up for the race. With only doing one 12 miles lap it was a waste. Feeling kinda fat today. Need to ride a lot this week. Lets hope Tour de Lake is going to be dry this weekend.

Morgantown Road Race revisited!

It sure seems like it went from being the cycling off season to the thick of things in the blink of an eye. In the last three weeks I have raced two more times and promoted one road race. Been busy to say the least, and that doesn't even take in consideration all the work to get WVMBA Series up and running for the year lol!

So where to start? Tonight I will start with the MRR and in the nights to follow maybe something about the races I did. Well, round number one of the West Virginia Road Race Series (WVRRS) was my event the Morgantown Road Race. I was pretty happy in the weeks leading up to the race because preregistration had been going very week and with a few days before the event 63 riders had already signed up. With just 10 more riders signing up the day of the race it would be bigger then any other road race held in the state the year before. I was excited!

The day before and the morning of the event it had been rain. Because I use spray chalk and not paint I was unable to mark the course before registration started. At first I was not very concerned because I just planned to headed out before the first riders to get it done. THEN THINGS GOT NUTS! Before I knew it the line at registration was 20 people deep. At first I was like cool, good turnout. Then an hour later the line was longer then when we started. I looked down at the computer and it said 120 registered so far. WTF! Thank goodness for Gunnar.

Gunnar and I controlling the masses!

He was able to take over the job of explaining to the race volunteers what they needed to do for the event. That made a huge difference. About 2 hours after opening registration we had a final total of 160 racers! I was beside myself, and getting more gray hair by the minute. Maybe it was because it was an early season race and everyone was just happy to be outside but everyone was super about waiting on the delayed start time and the long lines.

And they're off!


Look at all them folks! UGH!

After getting all 160 people to the start line it was time to get things under way. CRAP! The course still is not marked! I jumped in the car and drove 55 mph on the back roads of WV & PA to stay in front of the pack. I also dropped Gina off at one of the intersection to direct traffic. Some how I made it around the 50 mile course and got it all marked but it only took the first finisher about 15 minutes to cross the line after I pulled in the parking lot from marking the course. Damn that was a near miss!

We did have a little problem with results but some how we pulled it off. To this day I am still getting email about how great the race was.. Go figure.. There was however one HUGE problem! Gina got left out on the course for like three hours after the last rider passed hour. Ya it will be sometime before I live that one down. With all the craziness of trying to get the results done I total forgot about her. But beside that everything went well. Well enough in fact that it has helped the registration for the June 6th Tour of Tucker County Road Race. Many folks have already signed up for it as well. That night I went how and must have asked myself how that got pulled off. Thanks for all the help before and after the race BYBC! You guys & gals are the best.

People I want to thank!
Nars - License holding BYBC member
Bunny - License holding BYBC member
Chrissy - License holding BYBC member
Ruth "R.C." Cunningham - License holding BYBC member
Jacob Brown
Gina Desmond
Chris Nichols - Card carrying BYBC member
My mom & sister
Robbie's Dad
Photos by Dan C. Thanks!
Darren Bennet
Mandy Starr
Matt Marcus for picking up the lost Gina!
Maddisan Starr
Ashlon Smith
Carrie Hawkins
Mike Miller
Twilla Miller
Bonnie A.
Ryan Post
Mikey "sirianni's Cafe" Goss
WVU Healthcare Cycling Team
Blackwater Bikes
Hammer Gel
Pathfinder
Wamsley Cycles
Boston Beanary
Black Bear Burritos
Blue Moose Cafe
Mount Morris Volunteer Fire Dept.
Mason Dixon Park

If I forgot someone let me know! I am really sorry!

Kicking off a new season in Logan!

Ahha! You hear that? It is the sound of happy mountain bikers all of the state of West Virginia! This past weekend the season got kicked off at the Wilderness Challenge in Logan, WV. It was a pretty long haul for me from my sleepy little mountain town of Davis but that sure wasn't going to stop me from racing.

One of my teammates who hocked me up with a room at the brand new Chief Logan State Park lodge. The place was so new you could eat of the floor and the pool was pretty nice also. Thanks, you know who you are. The next morning I awoke from my king size bed ready to roll. The excitement of the first race of the year was killing me. I had worded so hard on my fitness over the winter and was really wanting to test it. After a quick breakfast at the lodge it was off to the race!

Car is packed to the roof
One of the things I like so much about racing is the people. It sure was nice to see my friends that I had not seen or talked to sense the fall. Everyone one seemed to be just as excited as I was about getting the season started. Like Gary Morefield, he could not even race do to a sore back but made the trip all the way to Logan to hangout.


My WVMBA Cycling Teammate Steve Thorne, up to no good

As always Gina and I were running registration for the event and it sure took a few minutes for us to remember how everything worked. I must have tried 20 different buttons on the computer before I figured out how to get the timer to work. The race turned out to have a smaller turn out sense it was not a points series event but I think the was perfect for us to get used to running all the equipment again.


Former DSK member Matt Marcus


Gary, James and Larry "the clydesdales"

Even with the lower then usually turnout it didn't stop a good number of clydesdales from showing up. That is what I wanted. I wanted to see were I was in the class. At noon we all gathered at the start line and I was just pretty calm about the whole thing. As always I was the last person to the starting area so I lined up at the very back. Go!


Feeling great 4 miles into it

As we took off it was a quarter of a mile or so of pavement before we hit the dirty. All the guys in front of my just took off like a rocket. I was a little shock but it took just a few seconds to jump on someones wheel. I knew in my head were everyone in my class was in the pack. I really didn't have much of a plan but Gunnar told me the night before to go HARD! SO as the course made a sharp left into the dirty I dove to the inside getting in front of all the other clydesdales.



Pacing with my teammate Steve

After the first climb I found myself right behind teammate Steve Thorne who told me his plan was to just pace himself until the BIG climb of the day. So I just settle in behind Steve and road the same pace as him. Right then I thought wow! Being in shape and is nice.. lol! Last year at this point I would have been just trying to survive.

The course took me about 1 hour and 38 minutes to finish and I felt great the entire race. I was extremely happy and surprised by how well I did. I would go into more detail but I am putting on the Morgantown Road Race this weekend and I am so busy it is crazy... I will have more for you soon!


Gina and I enjoyed the drive home together



Rewards of a job well done

Rides of the past month!

A Weekend Back Home!

The snow is still deep in Davis, but that was ok because Saturday and Sunday all the riding was going on in Morgantown. Most off you already know but us here at Team Bi-atch started are own USAC club. The Backyard Bike Club as it is known held it first ever group ride on Saturday. The ride was 50 mile mild pace ride around the up coming Morgantown Road Race course, which is being host by the BYBC.



The group of around 16 gathered at Mason-Dixon Park outside of Mount Morris and everyone was excited to get going. I have three road rides under my belt for 2009 but honestly it has been years sense I've done much on the roads. It's been all mountain biking for as long as I can remember. Drafting to stay out of the wind and save energy is something that brain is having trouble with after all this time. Gunnar has been in my ear about that but to this point it hasn't set in.



As we started out I was out front while the stonger rider tucked in behind me as we headed out Rt.7 towards Blacksville. DUMB DUMB DUMB... As we arrived in B-ville we did however make a quick stop to get a picture or two of the old fighter jet. While photos were taken someone noticed the stuffed dog in a window of a nearby park camper. Not stuffed like a toy, stuffed liked was once alive. I should have taken a photo but I was afraid of someone coming out and stuffing me.



So once we were back on the road I was out front again and Gunnar pulled up behind me. "Slow down boy", he said. Yup I was at it again going way about what I should be. I relaxed a little and let him take over at the front and finally started to chill out. Jeremy R & Josh C must have not felt like hanging out with us and took off up the road. After they already were 50 to 75 yards up the road I got up on the pedals and took off after them.. DUMB.. DUMB.. DUMB.. I put in a good effort for me for a few minutes but couldn't bridge the gap. Just as I turned off the gas Kean pulled up beside me and we road a while togeather because we had dropped the pack. About 2 or 3 miles the group all can back togeather again but not for long. Gunnar and Chris took off. Once again I wanted till they were 50 yards ahead to try and bridge up.. I guess I like doing things the hard way. I did however make it acrossed this time. The boys were pacelining and decided to show me the ropes.. For the next few miles up to Waynesburg we pacelined. DUMB.... DUMB... DUMB... My legs were on fire!!! I need to work on my technique cause I had to work really hard to get on the back after my turn at the front of the line.. Oh well..



At Waynesburg we regroup for the turn onto Sugar Run Road and the ride back. I was around 20 miles at this point and the ride had be pretty flat, but that was all about to change. The next 30 miles had 5 pretty mean climbs instore for us. Of course I am always a pretty poor climber because of my size but the fact that I wasted so much energy at the beginning of the ride didn't help. THE CLIMBS HURT AND HURT BAD! Thanks goodness Chris had gotten a flat on the second climb and it gave my legs a chance to recover..



The Morgantown Race course does have some big climbs but it does have some really nice long flats sections between the climbs which really made a difference for me. I must say I am a very popluar guy when we would come to the flat. I made a very effective hole in the wind with my sexy body.. lol!



The rest of the ride back was full of chit chat which made the ride a lot of fun. As we pulled buck into the parking lot we were just short of 50 miles. Here is the GPS info if ya want to see. The first BYBC ride was a huge success if you ask me. Thanks to everyone for showing up and to Nars for putting it togeather.

Sunday was a whole different story however. The weather had turned over night and dropped an inch or so of snow on the ground. That goodness it was a mountain bike ride and not a road ride on Sunday. For this ride it was at Bakers Ridge and the Dan Cas ride. It was a good 20 degress colder, windy and still snowing. I was super pumped to hit the trails after how well I rode the day before and even with the poo weather around 12 other showed up to ride.



The trails were really really muddy and the going was a little rough at first. I could fell some fatigue in my legs from the day before but it wasn't to bad. I settled in and was ride ok even though I am not the best mud rider in the world. I really think my weight makes it much harder for my then everyone else because I sink in more, but that is just me whining.



I was having fun and that was all that really matter until we drop down the mountain side. At the bottom the conditions we unreal! The warm weather the day before had made the ground soft but with it being 20 degress on Sunday the muddy soup would freeze to your frame. It was everything I could do to keep the pedals turning. The mud/ice mess packed in my frame and at times wouldn't turn at all. Matter because even worse when you tried to get back on the bike and clip in to your pedals. The ice had frozen to the bottom of your shoes and to your pedals and clipping in was impossible.



I must admit at that point the fun ended. I spent more time clean ice off and tring to get my feet in the pedals then I did riding. I did however not say anything cause I didn't want to be the big baby.. Once we got back on top of the mountain five or six people said they had enough and headed home. I really wanted to ride more even with the issues so I was staying. Things went back to "ok" for a while. At the very top of the ridge the ground was much harder and the issues were at a minium. However I think it must have started to get colder out cause it just seemed like everything started to stick to the bike and pedals all of a sudden.. Now irt really wasn't fun.. Betsy made me feel tens times better when she looked at me and said, "I am not having very much fun". THANKS BUNNY!







We rode for around 2 hour but only covered seven miles.. WOW! That was rough.. I hope things are better for next Sunday cause I am planing to make the trip back to Morgantown for Dan's ride.

Mother Nature Must Read My Blog.

Just two days ago I was saying in a post how much I wanted to get outside and ride. Well good ol' mother nature must have been reading my little blog 'cause the weather took a turn for better the past two days.

Sunday it was partly sunny and around 50F in Morgantown so I hopped in the car to take a scouting ride for the Morgantown Road Race course. Klara Hitchcock came over from Ohio to do the ride and some how I even talked Gunnar into going. I am guessing he wanted to make sure I didn't have some screwed up race course planned for the April event. I bet I am right. Anyways it sure was nice to be outside and have some friends along. Meanwhile in another part of Morgantown, around the same time, Gina was trying to get some wedding stuff done at the expo at Morgantown Mall. It's getting closer!





We started the ride at what we think is going to be the start/finish area up in Mount Morris. It was liberating to feel the wind and sun on my face. The first climb on Fort Martin road woke me real quick. Those hills just aren't that big when you are riding the trainer. Even though it was a little tough I could tell all the work the last few months had paid off. The rest of the ride went off with pretty much no issues. Gunnar and I talked about a hundred different options for the race and it's pretty settled at this point. For the people out there that want to know Gunnar's secret is frozen burritos. Most of get gels, power bars, etc. on rides but not the old man. He was literially eating a frozen burrito out on the ride. "It's thawed out now!", he said. Weird.. Betsy please come home..

Three hours later we found our selves back at the start with the sun still shining. Here is the GPS info from the ride.

The following day I had planned another road ride with Roger Lilly of Blackwater Bikes fame. I was super surprized that I had no sorness in my legs after my first real outside ride in 2009. Damn that sounds bad. Once again we headed off the mountain for warmer temps down in the valley. I have heard from others about these great farm country road rides towards Mount Storm, but had never gotten to experience them myself until now.

We parked next to a beautiful mountain trout stream with steep rock out cropings. KILLER! As we headed out the weather was once again perfect. 50 degrees and sunny is the best if you ask me. The first 12 miles of the ride was like one long hill repeat workout. Tall roller after tall roller.. The legs that didn't have any sorness in them really started to hurt towards the last few repeats.. Thank goodness the back to back to back rollers were over after the 12 miles.. After a lttle spinning my legs were back to normal and go to go..



Great ride, thanks Roger! In all it was a 2 1/2 hour ride at 37 miles. The roads were everything that I had heard about. No traffic, great surface and it was beautiful!! Anyone who wants to head out there and see for themselves just give me a shout. Here is the GPS info for this ride if ya want to peak.





Today it was back to the trainer and I really really missed the roads.. Tomorrow they are calling for 60F and rain.. I think I will deal with the rain and ride outside!