Dave's Mtb Blog

6^th place

Ohio Mountain Bike Championship Series #5 at East Fork State Park

Things started out well enough and I was leading the race during the second lap. That is until I came across a young rider who was off his bike standing on top of a jump in the middle of the trail. He quickly got out of the way, but with trees on either side, it was going to be a tight fit. At the last moment, his bike fell into my path and I hit it, sending me flying through the air like a frog. I was able to get back on the bike before the third place rider could pass me, but I was now making many dumb mistakes. One of which would lead to a flat tire in the middle of a stream crossing.

I ran and rode the flat about 2.5 miles back to the start/finish were I was able to put more air into the wheel. During the run, many riders passed me but I was able to pass about 10 pro/experts in the third lap to finish in the sixth spot.

1^st Place at the 13^th annual Appalachian Classic Mountain Bike Festival - WVMBA #5 in West Virginia

I barely made it to this race with only 7 minutes remaining before the start. We had used Google Maps to plot the course to this race, and in haste not checked them over before leaving. Consequently, we ended up driving on single car width back country roads for over 15 miles. The clock was really starting to tick down and our already aggressive drive turned into an all out rally race to the finish. I can remember miles of twisting road covered without ever having to come out of second gear.  My rev limiter kicks in at 7800 rpm, so I’m sure you can imagine “the hills were alive with the sound of music”. Luckily, I had a new set of sticky Nitto tires put on the car only days earlier.

1^st Place Groovy Series #3 at Vultures Knob

The race was held on June 13^th and as is usual for this series, it came with all the extras. Each of the Groovy series races starts at 5pm on Saturday instead of Sunday. All of the events come with with food and drinks, a DJ, a bonfire, tons of prizes, and most entertaining, events like the single speed bad ass MOFO competition.

The next and last race in the Groovy Series will be held on September 12. It will also be part of the Neo Power series, so it should be good.

Fotos from the race are here

I am now using a pair of custom carbon cycling insoles from SoupCanInsoles.com. They have a retail price of $340 and claim to increase power output 26 watts on average during maximum effort. They were hand crafted from molds of my feet by Dr. Suppan and designed to align my foot for increased power transfer.

After racing my fist race with the insoles, I can say that they have done a bunch of things that I was not expecting. For instance, I no longer slide or move inside the shoe at all. They feel like they are part of my foot. In addition, my feet no longer hit the crank arms or the frame, which I thought was just part of riding. As for power, I feel very good, but I have no way of measuring the output with any accuracy.

I had a great race at the Massanutten Hoo-Ha in VA. The competition at the race was top notch, as were the trails. The course was 12 miles long and included three good climbs, one of which lasted for several miles. On the up side, the downhill lasted for several miles, which gave me many opportunities to use my downhill skills before buckling back down for the climbs.

The GT Marathon ran surprisingly well on the course. Prior to the start, I heard nothing but horror stories about unridable rock gardens and climbs so rough that I would be forced off my bike. In actuality, I was able to ride unscathed over the rock gardens, never putting a foot down. And the huge step ups and rock piles on the climbs, they weren’t a problem either. The travel on the Marathon is very much suited for tracking confidently over fields of lunchbox-sized rocks.

1^st place Vultures Knob Groovy Series #2

I have always been carless about having bar plugs on my bike, but I am now converted. My front wheel became stuck in a rut and I crashed at my max speed for the course, 31.5 mph. In the fray, the bar punched me right in the throat. Thankfully, it just hurt. I can only imagine the gore of being core sampled like a potato when it’s been stabbed with a straw.

This also makes me think that I will try holding on to the bars for a little longer the next time that I have a big crash. In the past, I have always let go early to try escaping the fray. Depending on the situation, it might be a good idea to try riding out the crash. By hanging on to it a little better, I could probably put the bike between the ground and myself. This is something to consider if the bike is going down sideways, but I am still going to bail out in a front-end collision.

In other news, while at the race I won a pair of custom carbon fiber insoles that are supposed to increase my power transfer. I will let you know how they work when they arrive.

1^st place

The race was about 26 miles long and I had not seen anyone for the last 8 miles. When at the top of a short climb, I looked back and saw the second place rider coming through the trees only 15 seconds behind me. Panicking a bit, I immediately started riding harder and planning the rest of the race. My computer said we were 5 miles from the finish. This is the first time that I have raced the person in second place, but he already came with a reputation and a resume including one of the hardest races in PA.

At this point in the race, I had just finished consuming the last of my food and water making this the perfect time to take the pace to the next level. It was really the only option, because I sure as hell didn’t want to loose a sprint to the finish against a strong roadie. I started to ride as hard as I could from that point on. If I could at least keep the 15 second lead, that might be enough for me to win the sprint at the end. All of my gauges and sensors were firmly pegged in the red zone and my jaw ached a bit, which only happens when I ride hard.

At the end of the race, I watched my back as I climbed the final hill and covered the remaining yards to the finish line.  I thought for sure that he had been working just as hard as I had and that this was going to be an all out battle, but he wasn’t there. All of the paranoid scenarios that had played out in my head during the last miles could now go back into hiding. From that point in the race 5 miles earlier where I had seen him to the finish, I was able to put a 2-minute lead on him. What a relief.

The GT Marathon rode very nicely. This being the first time that I have had a chance to ride the bike off-road; I was very interested in having some alone time with it. Thanks to some excellent training, I was able to experiment with the bike from the middle of the race on. During each lap, I picked new lines, tried climbing seated vs. standing, and tested the limit of traction. Coming from a hard tail, I had much more grip than I've been accustomed to.

Most ambivalent moment: I had been riding all of the corners hard, drifting under power, really getting a feel for the bike, that sort of thing. Well, I end up throwing a bunch of rocks over the edge of the corner and down the hill, which intern shower a lapped rider and his bike. I finished first, about 5 minutes ahead of the next guy. Due entirely to this super smooth GT Marathon.

I capped that off with pizza from Angelo's "Bishop".