The Stagg Creek Shakedown

Ever since the lost the "flats" at Poor Farm, the trail conditions have been on the decline. The trails future looked bleak to say the least. But last Sunday the hope returned in the form of the Stagg Creek Shakedown presented by Richmond Velo Sport. The turnout was good with at least a hundred riders ready to suffer in hot hot heat. Ed Jones a.k.a Cycles Ed, a long time figure in the Ashland cycling scene, created one tough course. It was satanic to say the least, we went up all the wrong hills.  Easily the hardest cross country course in the central Virginia. This would be my first race of year that was shorter than 20 miles.  I had no clue if my ability to sustain high intensity power was there. What a better way to find out than on my home course. At the starting line I knew right away who the competition would be. Ethan Lindbloom, a guy who has been really good at this for a long time and Kevin Horvath,  who is always strong in the single speed class. Everyone else I didn't have a clue how strong they'd be. Right out of the gate Ethan took charge, leading into the singletrack, with Kevin, Sean Yeager and George Lowe with me right behind him. Before the first climb Ethan had already put 20 seconds into everyone. I got past George   on a climb he got off and walked while I rode it. Then I ran past Kevin on the climb right after the 180 degree turn on gravel and powered past Sean on the last little gravel pitch of that climb. After passing those guys I couldn't see Ethan and figured he was long gone. Then on a technical climb right after this sketchy descent, I saw Ethan grinding up the climb. We did some yo-yoing for a while, I attacked on this doubletrack climb and got a gap. It was coming apparent that I was climbing much stronger than Ethan and he knew it. So he made up the gaps on the descents. Dude was tearing up the downhills no doubt. My strong efforts were to no avail. Then on this sketchy long pile I endoed and got my brake cables all tangled up. Ethan went by me while I fixed that and I never came close again. I then rode pretty conservative to make sure to seal second place. On the second lap I could see Kevin coming on strong in the flats but once the trails kicked up again he was gone. I came in 2nd at 1:33 less than a minute behind Ethan.  Overall pretty happy with that result, finishing that close to a guy like Ethan gives me confidence  that I can hang with some of the best around. You can always ask the what if question but does it really matter? No doubt in mind I had enough gas in the tank for one more strong attack but it didn't happen. I crashed like always, so it is what it is. Although the DP squad didn't have a good showing, we still put forth strong results. Byron won Beginner men and Matt sorta of got third place in Sport Men under 35 but after going off course I guess he was DQ'ed? Also Mason got second in Beginner Juniors. Next year the DP squad needs to be out in full force for this one. Results

Oh for all you gear ratio nerds I ran a 36x20, felt perfect.

Check out this video made by Dan Gibson of DBGProductions

Middle Mountain Momma

May 6th has longed been marked on my calendar. Why? Because Middle Mountain Momma was going down then, which happens to be one of the best races on the East coast. I rolled out of town with Metro (who is still in brace type thing after his crash) and Leeger. After a stop in C-Ville to pick out Denelle, were off for 40 miles of goodness in Douthat State Park and The George Washington National Forest. We got there earlier enough so Leeger and I could stash some bottles at two different points in the race.

     After registration, everyone lined up in the field and listened to Kyle, the promoter, talk about the course for a bit. Then he  said "Go" and the sound of 70 cleats clipping in marked the start of the race. The very start was a little crazy with the trails being muddy and lots of people were dabbing. After maybe a quarter mile things thinned out and I began to settle in to my pace. The start of course begins with a 1800ft climb up to the top of the mountain known as Middle Mountain. I started to grind my way past numerous other riders some geared and some single. Once the switchbacks began, I got settled in behind Peter Kotes and we made good time up the climb. Peter dropped his chain and I went around. After maybe 5 minutes he caught back up to me on section I got off and walked. I finally made it to the top of ridge and began the sweet, sweet downhill towards Smith Creek Road. Right before you finish the downhill on Middle Mountain you have 6 or 7 tight switchbacks, that seem impossible to ride. I got around 3 but couldn't ride the one Metro was standing on taking pictures of people riding by. Fail!
   
     The lasso loop portion of the race, was very muddy due to the fire that swept through there, that created a lot of dust. The hill up to the fireroad climb after the deep creek crossing was virtually unrideable on the single. On the fireroad climb I road with a dude from the WV Nightclub, who was having a bad day, considering he finished fourth last year on a single. I got away from him on the fireroad climb and the hike-a-bike up to start on the downhill. Eventually he passed on the downhill on this stoopid tight and steep switch back, that I walked. That dude can ride a downhill like its nobodies business. After this dry rocky section, the downhill turns into less singletrack and more of a grassy fireroad, that's super fun and fast. At the bottom of the downhill, I waited up and rode with a dude on a 1x9 Karate Monkey who I think was named Jon. We paced each other on the climb back up the bottom half the first fireroad climb. At the very top I caught the Night Club dude again, who again passed me on the downhill. At the first aid station Metro told me I was rolling along good, was in the top 20 overall.

       I drank one of the PBR's Metro stashed for me, and rolled Smith Creek Road with Allen of Blackwater Bikes for a bit. Then I dropped him once the climb start to increase and caught back up to Jon. I talked  with Jon about different races and what not during the hellish hike a bike up the backside of Middle Mountain. Once on top we rejoined the regular xc course and start the fun downhill back towards the main park. Jon flatted halfway down Salt Stump, I slowed down to ask him if we was good, he said "yeah" and off I went. Finally made it to Ross Camp, which is the last major climb of the day. I picked up my stashed bottles and began the assault.

     Allen caught back up to me again but it wasn't for long. I was feeling good and was riding more of Ross Camp and Mountain  top then ever before. I got caught by three geared riders on a section they could granny gear up but I eventually caught all three on the downhill off mountain top. Half through the descent I was caught by the Pro men leaders. Bishop came whizzing by on the downhill like a Cruise missile, chasing hard. I rode all of the last climb up to brushy hollow. I've never had a no dab ride on that climb. I was only three miles or so away from the finish. Around the first switchback on the descent I heard the dreaded pish pish pish from my rear tire. I flatted. Damnit, "alright just stay calm and fix this thing". It only took me maybe three minutes or so to get tube in and boot the tire. Then not even 1 minute later, I f!@#ing flatted again, g@# damnit. Then I broke the presta valve off the tube, this sucks, I was riding so good. Out of tubes, I rode half of the downhill and the last climb on a flat. Riding the descent on the flat was some of the most fun I had all day though. Whatever, should have begged or carried three tubes. Leeger passed me right at the end just to add insult to injury. Son of a bitch! I rolled into the finish, drinking my second PBR, pissed and realizing I had a patch kit in my back pocket. Doh! I finished in 5:17 and 39th overall in XXC. Although I probably lost 30 minutes due to those flats.  I did have a great time though and lessons were learned. Maybe I can have a clean race this year and be happy with my end result for once.

Leeger came in at 5:10 for 35th overall in XXC. Jim Fisher won sport men XC 35+ in 2:32, nice work my man. Damon got 7th in Sport 35+ and also suffered from a flat and Jeff Farmer finished 9th in Sport 35+. Kylan rode well and got 4th in Sport men and Byron got 4th in Beginner. Not a bad showing for the DP squad.

Dragon's Tale: The Singlespeed Perspective

David, Jeff and I headed up to the 2012 4th annual Dragon's Tale in New Castle, VA, put on by Chris Scott of Shenandoah Mountain Touring. The day started with a 4 a.m wake up call, followed by meeting David and Jeff at the Rockville park n' ride. After a couple of pit stops, we rolled into the parking lot about an hour or so  before the start. We got our packets and did the usual pre race necessities. David and Jeff both rode their 29ers with their "fancy" suspension parts and gears. I opted to kick it old school and ride a rigid singlespeed. I rode a 34x21 gear ratio, which felt pretty good considering all the climbing that we had in store. The race started at 10 a.m with a neutral roll out through downtown New Castle. Once we hit the gravel the race began and the big boys hit hard. The first part of the race is about 9 miles of fire road with deep creek crossing and slight elevation changes. The second or third creek crossing was very deep, so I decided to walk it, not wanting to be that guy to fall completely into the creek, trying to ride it. Sure enough, another rider comes flying by, then comes to an abrubt stop and takes alittle swim. Being on a single speed, I can only go but so fast on the flat stuff without blowing up due to my lack of big gear inches. Geared riders came whizzing by left and right, while was I stuck spinning away. Once the road started to go up and down more often, I caught many of those geared riders who blow by me. Toward the end of the fireroad I caught Mike Boyes (Athens Bicycle, masters rider and usually rocks a singlespeed but today was riding gears) who accidently forced me into a rutted gully, I didn't crash, so no harm no foul. After catching him again he graciously apologized and we chatted for a bit. Finally we got to the Grouse trail, the start of the singletrack and big time climbing. Mike made the start official with a "Woooooohhhh it's f!@#ing on baby!" When riding a singlespeed on the road or gravel you spin really fast but as soon as you hit anything that points up your cadence slows to a minimum. Once I hit the first significant steep grade, I got off a walked to give the legs a rest from the  slow grinding. I watched my geared friends go by spinning like mad in their granny gear. Mike came by me once more yelling as he rode away "Aint a g@# damn thing wrong with walking, aint a g@# damn thing wrong with it." I got back on and grinded it up to the top of the ridge walking the tight switchbacks and the steeper sections. Towards the top I was caught by local Sue Haywood (Stan's Notubes), who almost fell right on top of me, by slipping on the gnarly swichbacks. At the top she took off on her four stroke dirt bike, never to be seen again. I rolled down the deer trail which is a super fast descent where I passed fellow Richmonder, beer drinker and good guy, Metro Williams (Bikeman). At  the base of the descent I hit aid station 1. I got some fig newtons, topped off my bottles and started to feel my grove coming back(thanks to everyone at the aid stations you guys rocked!). I began my second assault on the Grouse trail,  this time riding much more, thanks to the pacing of  a rider from the Potomac Velo club (sorry I forgot your name). Towards the top I ran into another singlespeeder, who was none other than Montana Miller. Montana is a super strong rider and when I caught him I knew something was wrong. I finally reached the ridge and rolled with Montana for a little bit longer. The ridge was  rocky and steep at points. Often I would ride maybe 50 to 75% of a hill then walk the rest. After about 30 minutes of riding the ridge Montana asked where the bailout option was, at that point I think he blew up. I told him he could go down the turkey trail, take a right on the fire road and run into Aid Station 2 .Turns out Montana didn't ride far enough down to Aid 2 and ended up riding almost as much, as in the actually race. Feel bad for the dude felt like him getting slightly lost was almost my fault. Sorry Man! Hope to run into you again, next time you'll crush me. 

Anyways, the ridge was very exposed at spots and I could feel the sun beating down on me. Not to mention I was getting cramps in my thighs and calfs. It was even getting hard to walk at times due to the steepness of the trail and my cramps. In the car ride down David told me "After the power lines, it gets tougher with three soul crushing climbs." I finally made it to the powerlines, which was a pretty small feat in its self. I was thinking David is full of it, no way anything can be harder than what I just did. Well go figure David was right and soul crushing was a nice way of putting those last three climbs. After the hike-a-bikes from hell, I finally made it into Aid 2. At that point I was cooked and wanted out. I sat in the shade for a couple of minutes and started to get my head together again and decided to press on  Out of Aid 2 I  began the first of the last two major climbs of the day. I walked all of it but did out hike 3 people. The top of the Ferrier trail is pretty rocky, with a fast descent, that leads into a  couple of dried out creek crossings. Finally I reached Licking Branch trail witch is the last climb of the day. Again I walked all of it but did manage to once again out hike 2 other people, that's something to be proud of I guess? The descent down Licking Branch is awesome, straight and super fast. At the bottom of the descent you pop out onto the pavement for the last 3 miles or so to the finish. Up ahead of me I saw a guy spinning like crazy, which could only mean one thing, SINGLESPEEDER! I spun as fast I could to catch and pass him about a mile before the finish. While the race doesn't have a singlespeed category, I still wanted to beat him, it's a race right? Finally I make it back to the parking lot and ride under the finishing banner. I look over at the time and I'm surprised to see 5:30 on the clock, which completely blows away my expectations. David and Jeff come by and tell me, that a boy. I was the 4th singlespeeder out  of about 8, not too shabby. All and all I've never been in so much pain but I've never had that much fun either. Awesome people, trails and race. 

Congrats to Cheryl Sornson (Team CF) for the women's win and to Jeremiah Bishop (Cannondale Factory Racing) for absolutely destroying the men division in 3:36, are you kidding me!? You are so fast it's scary man! Also to my Teammates David (4:22) and Jeff (4:40) who rode super strong out there, way to go guys. Thanks to Chris Scott and his supporters  for putting on the race, Honey Stinger for keeping me alive out there and Industry Nine for making bulletproof wheels.  

Check out the video with me and Metro.  

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=264419600314823