Return to PA and Looking for Redemption

I had a bad race at the Wilderness 101 last year due to illness. I woke up not feeling well and never really got over it. I was looking for some redemption on my return trip this season.

Joe and I rode up to Coburn and arrived in plenty of time for a nice pre-ride to spin the tight legs and generally stretch out. Arriving early also meant we had our choice of camping spots. Having a hammock this is always a concern since there are only but so many trees available. We luckily ended up in the same exact spot as last year with a good view of the entire park, not too far away from the port-o-potties in case you had to go in the middle of the night, but far enough away to avoid the stench. The night was uneventful with an early bedtime as usual. The park was fairly quiet which is always nice. 

Before long, Chris was ringing the gong signifying it was time to wake up. The normal routine of trying to get down as much breakfast as possible and checking to make sure everything on your bike is perfect was underway. Soon, we were toeing the line and waiting for the rolling start. I couldn’t help but appreciate the calm of this start, exactly the opposite of the XC races that have composed most of my schedule so far this season.

The first climb is always a big sort out and this year was no different. The climb is on some nice, wide fire roads and lasts about 20 minutes. I got dropped from the lead group but was able to catch back on with the help of the small chase group on the fast decent that followed. The first 50 miles of this course is mainly gravel with some climbs, mostly on the shorter side. I got into a good group and we seemed to be making quick work of the fire roads. I found myself feeling great after the first 50 miles as the course suited me with mainly big ring climbing.

The second 50 is where the race really starts. I dropped at mile 40 last year so the rest of the course was all new to me. I completed much of the final 50 miles solo which made it just a touch more difficult. The tough climb out of Aid 3 was just too much and the small group I had been riding with split up. The second half of the course contained the vast majority of the singletrack. The rocks of PA start to show their teeth a bit with the accumulation of singletrack descents really starting to hurt. The rocky singletrack featured in this race is really nice, State College is lucky to have such awesome trails. I was glad to be rolling on my Industry Nine wheels, the 96 points of engagement really help to get through technical rock gardens. The final descent, known as Panther Run, at around mile 95 is brutal. My Scott Spark performed very well through these rocky descents by my hands were still killing me by this point in the race and it was hard to squeeze the brakes. After this descent comes the “Fisherman’s Path”, which is really more of a hiking path through a small boulder field. I was ready to get back on the bike and really push it to the finish after this hike-a-bike. 

Overall I’m pretty happy with my results. After a disappointment last weekend, I’m glad to have finally pulled it together. With the focus of my season thus far being on shorter, XC races, I wasn’t sure how my body would react to an effort lasting 8+ hours. A huge thanks to Michael Harlow and Endorphin Fitness for providing the plan that helped me during this race. I’m very glad I went back to seek some redemption on this course. 

It was a good time with great friends Joe, Jeff, and Tom. The entire team finished within the top 50, pretty impressive considering this was Tom’s first 100 miler. Joe had some mechanical issues but still managed to finish 16th, I was 23rd, and Jeff posted a huge improvement over last year with his 24th place finish. Tom just made the top 50 with a 48th place. Great job guys, now keep it up as the SM is only a few short weeks away.

Check out Jeff's race recap:
http://plassmido.blogspot.com/2013/07/2013-wilderness-101.html

Link to a cool video from DirtwireTV:

http://dirtwire.tv/2013/08/wilderness-101-the-documentary-2/

Photos courtesy of Bob Popovich and Jeff Plassman. 

2013 National Championship at Bear Creek Resort

The thought of going to The National Championship was thrown around in the late fall of last year during the CX National Championship.  It sounded like a cool idea, and maybe I could qualify and participate which sounded like an even better idea.  Problem was that I hadn’t completed a Cat 1 race since upgrading a few years ago, so there was work to do for sure.  Either way, this race (along with several qualifiers) made it to my race calendar for this season.  I was even able to coax Joe in to believing this was a good idea.

Over the last several months I have heard how technically difficult the course at Bear Creek was.  In fact, I bought my Scott Spark, my first full suspension mountain bike, with this race in mind.  The insane number of engadgement points of the Industry Nine wheels helped quite a bit as well.  I had planned to make a trip to pre-ride the course, it never worked out.  Joe and I got to the resort on Friday early enough to make a loop before dinner.  All the reports were correct, this course was very difficult.  Rock gardens connected by short climbs left few areas to recover.   The resort had all the amenities and turned out to be a perfect place to stay.   Bear Creek would be an awesome place to come and trail ride on, still uncertain how great the trails are to race on.

On race morning, Joe decided he wasn’t feeling it and would be sitting this one out.  Can’t say I didn’t envy his decision a bit as I knew the tough task that lay ahead.  The race started like all other XC races, fast.   My field was deep with 43 racers, far more then I’m used to.  With the top 15 getting called up to the line, the rest of us were left to fight for the back of the line.  This meant some hard efforts to pass the slower riders up the first climb so we were not hindered too much on the descents that lay ahead.  My goal was to take it easy on the first lap hoping I would be able to make it up on the final lap when the traffic on the trail would be less.  I found myself not able to hang with the faster riders on the last mile or so of the laps which contained the most technical rocks.  I would gain several places at the beginning of the lap that contained climbs and dryer rock gardens only to be passed right back on these technical rock features.  Something I need to work on for sure. 

The race did not go as planned for me.  I could feel myself getting weaker at the end of the second lap.  I feel I missed my nutrition as I needed more water and something to eat as I entered the third and final lap.  I paused at the top of the climb on the last lap to grab some extra water from the aid station, but it was too late.  I have never cramped during a race as I’m always particular about my nutrition.  I pulled off the trail nearing the end of my final lap for a minute to stretch as I got some cramps in my hamstring.  After some easy spinning, the cramps subsided and I was back to riding.  I went down near the end of the final lap pretty hard just to add further insult from the trail.  I was concerned I had broken my collar bone or shoulder after the fall; turned out to be just some scrapes and bruises luckily.  I was completely spent at the end of the race.  Dehydration set in and I was having trouble seeing straight.  Hardest XC race I have ever had, no doubt about it.

Even with a bad race, the experience of Nationals was worth the trip.  After the Cat 1 races, we had time to eat lunch and climb back into the woods to watch the pro women and men’s races.  The crowds were electrifying! 

Huge thanks to Eric Schofield (who rocked a 3^rd in his field!).  He helped both Joe and I with accommodations.  Also hope that Levi Thornton (from Fredricksburg) heals quickly.  I watched him crash right into a tree during the beginning of the first lap.  I stopped with him after seeing this till emergency personnel came, but it certainly changed my race into a less aggressive effort.

The Dirty Dawg 2012

Most of the DP stayed local and did Junkerman's race at Camp Hilbert on Saturday. With work on Saturday I opted to travel out to Blacksburg and race the Dirty Dawg. A few things had me worried about the race, one that I had to race expert men on my Singlespeed and two I had no idea what to expect about the course. The location for the course is at Mountain Lake (Yes, where the filmed Dirty Dancing!) high up on a mountain, right on the West Virginia border. The expert men field was pretty big with 35 riders. With such a big field I knew the start was going to critical. We started on a gravel road and sprinted through the field with the barn and timing table. I go outside on the first turn and lose about 12 positions and head into the singletrack about 30th. The first bit of singletrack is a ripping downhill but not to ripping when you're behind half the field. Half way down I pass Gordon Wadsworth who has already flatted a mile into the race. Finally we hit hill and all of the geared riders shift into granny gear, I just jump off and run by 5 or 6 riders, almost taking out Laura Hamm in the process. Sorry! After  traffic thinned out and I was able to catch others riders on the fireroad climbs. Also for a first time I was making up time on the downhills (Thanks for the schooling Plassman). Finally I reached the intersection of the extra expert loop and the regular course. Now this is where things get weird, expert riders have to do the loop once but can choose which lap they complete it on. I opted to get it out of the way on the first lap. It started with a fairly long steep gravel climb after this things got hairy. After turning off the gravel load there was fast descent with loose shale rock gardens. Then there was steep rocky doubletrack climb that I walked good share off. Finally we hit the last trail Moonstomper. The trail was rocky, really rocky. Some of the nastiest stuff I've ever ridden. The rocks were numerous, slick and jagged. Also it didn't help that somebody in front of me keep dabbing causing me to lose a bit of my flow every 200ft. Then the last bit of trail shot straight down and was rocky as hell. I just held on and tired not to die. I finally came to one section with a big drop with sketchy entrance, that I just said "Nope that's it, there is my limit." Still an awesome bit of trail. Finally I rejoined the list bit of the regular loop. For my next two laps I just stay on top of it and rode hard. I didn't see anymore expert riders for my last two laps. I came into the finish expecting about 20th or so. Then I looked over at the board and what.... I got 10th. Kirby the promoter came over said "good job dude 10th overall 3rd single". All I could think "are you serious man!?" My best result of the year, hopefully this will carry over to next weekend for the Chimney Chase at Walnut Creek. Everybody should check out the trails at Mountain Lake and Kirby's other race at Pandapas Pond in october, right up the road. Hope to see everyone next weekend!

Results

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

Ohio is Not Flat: The Wayne Ultra Report

The journey began Saturday after work with a 4 and half hour drive to Morgantown. I got lost only a couple times trying to find Logan's place. I sleep really bad/sweaty on his leather couch but it beat the hell out of sleeping on the ground in a tent. The ride Sunday from Morgantown to Marietta, OH was pretty scenic and I made good time, getting there an 1 hour and half early.

Rolling into the parking lot, right away is was apparent this was a perfect place for a race, big green hills, right on the beautiful Ohio River. Went through registration said hey to Andrew Forron from New River Bikes and Andy from Pro Bike Outfitters. While looking my bike over I noticed the bearings in bottom bracket were shot, resulting in lots of play in the crank. The pedals still moved and the wheel still rolled, so nothing too major. Finally got the bike right, loaded up the camelbak with nutrition, repair tools and I was ready to roll.

The race starts with a neutral roll out down towards the first climb of the race. The promoter honked his horn and off we went. The first climb starts out fairly gradual on asphalt. Then you take a tight right hand turn and it shoots straight up on to gravel. After 4 miles or so I finally made into the singletrack and heading into bonk land already. The first bit of singletrack was straight up and down with flat sections in between that were littered with rocks. At this point I had to just sit back and recover or I'd blow up. On this super sketchy downhill, I crashed sending my bike partially down a dropoff. Once I got my bike back onto the trail I noticed that the hydraulic lockout on my fork had broken off, so I was riding the last 25 miles with no squishy up front.

After the first bit of singletrack there is a short 2 mile road connector to first Aid Station, which allowed my geared comrades time to catch bike up to me. I rode the next 10 miles or so with Mandi Riddle (Joey's Bike Shop) and two other dudes. Eventually I passed Mandi and the two other dudes after the getting tired of their granny gear madness. At this point I'd say I was the seventh singlespeeder. 

The second batch of singletrack then leads towards another section of pavement and gravel climbs, maybe 4 miles. The gravel climb in this section, sucked to the max. It was steep and the gravel was thick and loose. At the crest of this climb was the second aid station which unfortunately had no beer. The descent out of the aid station was straight and fast. Also there was some country looking fellas on the side of the trail hooting and hollering. My kind of guys, I bet they had all the beer. Then there was this rock garden, that I saw some dude eat poo poo on. I asked if he was alright but all he said in pain was "ahhhhh ahhhh yeah." I said "alrighty then" and keep moving. Then I caught my new West Virginia and singlespeed friend Andy who was cramping. On the climb up into the last aid station I passed two other singlespeeders. Putting me into fifth.

The last four miles, were a breeze with nothing but fast flowy singletrack, the perfect way to end a race. The course then passed through a tunnel, that was under the road we started on. Finally I was home free with a half mile of singletrack that was slightly downhill. At the very end I caught up to an Athens Bicycle rider who I out sprinted to finish.

I'd finished in 4:58 33rd out 72 overall and the fifth singlespeed. I can't say more about how awesome the course was. It had everything, fast and flowy singletrack, tough rock gardens, steep and gradual ups. Sketchy steep downs, and good gravel and paved connectors. River Valley Mountain Bike Association also did an awesome job of setting up the race. Well marked with stocked aid stations. They paid out well too. 1st-5th in Masters, Women and Singlespeed all got paid and 1st-15th in the Overall got paid. Seriously these trails are a hidden gem. Also I hear Mountwood (Parkersburg), North Bend (Harrisville) and Lake Hope (Athens) are also sweet trail systems with awesome races that are near by to the Wayne National Forest. Check out any these systems or races that's put on by RVMBA and WVMBA.

results

Singlespeed Podium

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.

Industry Nine Visit

As soon as Jeff told me we were spending the night in Ashville on the way to Cohutta, I knew we had to work out a trip to Industry Nine.  We were pushed for time as we wanted to pre-ride the course a bit later in the day, but the stop was well worth it.  I expected to see a bunch of bling wheels all over the place (and was not disappointed), but I didn't expect to see the machine shop that makes these hubs possible. Also, the positive vibe that only comes from a group of cyclist was evident.  There is no doubt that all of the employees of I9 are hard core cyclist from the minute you enter the parking lot.

David was kind enough to show us around the facility.  The anodizing process is pretty cool to see, very complex in ways that you wouldn't even think about.  It is done in house as consinstancy is tough to achieve with anodizing.  All the components of a single wheel build are all anodized at the same time due to these inconsistancies.

Each little box along the wall represents another customers wheel build. 

Our gracious host David was kind enough to re-tention Joe's wheel before our tour of the facility.

The machine shop was very busy on the day of our visit, so no pics from that.  Huge thanks to I9 for inviting us into their shop for the morning and for sponsoring our team this season.  I also want to thank David for showing us around and recommending that killer place for breakfast!!

Hilbert #1

Hilbert is always an interesting race, and this past weekends event was no exception.  One thing that is always nice is to see all the Design Physics jerseys.  Seemed like everywhere I turned I ran into them, both before and during the race.  I won't even try to list all the members of the team that attended as I'm sure I would miss many of you.  Several podium spots were filled by DP racers which is always a nice bonus.

My race was alright, finishing second on a tough race day.  My stomach started to turn sour after 3 hours and no doubt my lap times dropped drastically at that point.  I think I need to dial in my nutrition a bit more before Cohutta at the end of the month.  The heavy pollen left me coughing for much of the later laps as well, not sure my body is used to the heat this early in the season either.

My first lap was quite the adventure.  My seat moved quite a bit on my seatpost about half-way through the lap. I didn't want to stop to fix it mid lap hoping there would be a team mate close by in the pit area. Fortunately there was, and Jim quickly lended me the tool I needed to tighten my saddle.  Unfortunately, I also wrecked on some pine needles nearing the end of that lap resulting in a bent rear derailleur which I hadn't realized till after I fixed my saddle.  I could only get to half of the rear cassette, so I laid the Giant down for the race and picked up my back up bike.  Luckily I had taken Friday off from work and built up the old Stijl with my new Industry Nine wheels and Schwalbe Racing Ralphs.  Turns out the Racing Ralph were actually a better tire choice for the trail conditions and I managed to remain upright for the remainder of the day.  Huge thanks to Jason and Paul for giving me bottles through the pit area all day.  After my first lap, I only set my foot down once thanks to their help.

Also wanted to thank RunRideRace for putting on another great event.  Not sure who added all those extra roots at Hilbert over the winter.

Alright, enough of my ramblings how about some pictures from the event.  As you can see, DP was everywhere!!

Erik Bleecher, Jeff Farmer, Matt Juaneza, Jeff Plassman, Paul Leeger, Joe Fish

Kate Fisher

Shannon Bush

Erik Bleecher, Jason Broussard, Jeff Plassman, Jeff Farmer

Byron Gonzalez taking 3rd

Joe Fish taking 2nd

We all feel you Jeff

Tom Richeson

David Reid

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

2012 Southern Cross

It is hard to believe that it had been a year since we made our last trip down to Georgia when we (me & Mason) were introduced to Southern Cross.  Mason was super excited to be making the return trip and try her hand at the 50 mile course.  We loaded up the bikes and left the snow covered ground of Richmond.    

The girls played in the snow until 10pm knowing we were booking out first thing in the morning.

We did make one pit stop on the way down at Industry Nine, one of our new sponsors for 2012.  I got some new wheels for my 29er and Mason got some i25SL's for her cross bike.  Being that Mason is only 12, we left the cross bike at home and opted for her mountain bike, the Giant Anthem Advanced instead - well aware of the climbing that awaited us.

We are going to make it on time t his year!

This year we actually arrived on time and did not get turned around heading to the winery.  It was cool because at registration Namrita remembered Mason from last year.  Once we registered, we drove down to park the car and pulled up next to the default tandem winners.  They were gracious enough to take our picture and we returned the favor.

Where are your sleeves little girl???

Then we headed for the start line.  Maybe next year we will get there early enough to actually get a decent spot on the line.  We must have, once again, been one of the last five people to ride up...

End of the line for you KID!

But wait...  who do we see straight out of RVA....  METRO!  Stopped and chatted with him, never left that spot, which was good for a mid-pack start.  He was also turned into Kegman at the last run up late in the day.

Metro is a favorite at all our cross races.

Then the start was on, we were all funneled through the start chute which was like 10 feet wide.  I wanted to ride around it since I was not officially registered, just making sure Mason made her way around the course safely.  I chose not to since I figured it might freak some people out - like I was skipping the start.  We found ourselves winding through the winery in similar fashion to the previous year.  This year there was a tree down which would have been easy enough to hop over, but it would have been downright treacherous with all the people around.  As we made our way to the first run up, the hill looked crowded and I told Mason to slow a bit and create a small gap so she could shoot the bottom hill before settling in to climb rather than push.  She almost made it, put a foot down at the top of the bank and two half pedal strokes later she was riding up the hill.

This has to be my favorite picture of Mason on a bike to date.  Awesome shot Weldon!

She ended up making it around half way up before being stopped by the tufted pasture grass.  I almost ran over the camera guy on the right as I blazed a trail up the hill passing quite a few people and getting a few cheers along the way.  Unlike last year, we were not DFL by the time Mason made it to the top of the run/ride up.  We even got to ride with people on the road and take advantage of some drafting!  Then the road turned up and Mason's day started to go downhill...

So far so good...

A whole lotta climbing left...

Mason was having one of those days where she just could not get it going.  She kept saying that she knew she was going slow but there was nothing she could do about it.  Sometimes that is just how it goes.   Mason being the billy goat that she is, did ride all the way up to the aid station, though.  That was a goal set last year after she walked about 300 yards of the steepest pitch.  This year she got bucked off once, but got back on and kept riding all the way to the top.  I could not tell if it was the physical or emotional challenge that was getting to her.  I suspect it was more mental as that girl is very strong.  

Just another beautiful day riding.

Wow, I do not remember it being this difficult and by the way 'dad' stop taking pictures of me all the time...

Well we finally did make it up to the aid station, got some refills, ate a little food and went on our way.  We were immediately met by a few riders coming at us.  I was not sure if they were dropping out of the race or what.  It was a bit unnerving though.  So this is now the best part of the day for us.  We are just about to top out the climb when Mason is letting me know over and over again how cold she is.  She also informs me that she left her armwarmers in the car.  Yeah, when she aid she had her arm warmers and I said 'well then you only need your vest' it was taken as all you need is your vest so leave the arm warmers in the car.  Will not make that mistake again...  So I proceeded to give Mason my long sleeve jersey (because that is what dads do) and she gave me her vest.  Awesome trade!  So now she is nice and warm and I am riding around like Juan Luis Pedro Felipo de Juevos Epstein (yeah, sweathog Epstein) with the full on sleeveless look for the rest of the ride.  If I did not have the Verge base layer that my good friend Greg Wittwer had given me the week before, I would have really froze.  As it was, the rest of the day was pretty darn cold.  Once we had a chance to hit the descent, the day started to turn around for Mason.  We were railing it all the way down to the pavement.  It was a blast and we hit the road in the big ring and were finally nailing it trying to make up some time.  Then we started going up again, up to the aid station we had just left.  The climb was not nearly as difficult as the first climb and we knew we were home free once we hit the aid station since we covered that portion last year.  A few rollers, a couple decent pitches and some really fast downhills before hitting the pavement back to the winery.  Ahhhhhhhhhh, but I am getting ahead of myself.  About a mile from the aid station, we were greeted by the dredded sweeper car!  After a minute or two, it was decided that we would finish the climb and decide what to do at the top.  Once we got to the top, the car was already packed with no room for us so we decided to keep riding until they could come back and get us.  This worked out good since we got to go full tilt down the mountain again.  One of Mason's highlights was passing an SUV on the way down the mountain - we were screaming.  Best I can tell, we got picked up right around the 40 mile mark.  It was never a question about whether we could finish, we just did not have the legs to keep pace with the aggressive cut-off times.  At least we got to ride more while they took some other people back.  While Mason technically did not finish ahead of anyone, she did ride farther than some.  All in all it was another great day on the bike and Mason was all smiles when it was over.

How can you be happy sitting in the back of the sweeper car... really doubting whether she is my daughter... hahaha

Chillin post race at the winery.

I am still amazed at the people Mason knows through cycling.  We were hanging out waiting for food when Chris Merriam walks up and starts talking to Mason.  Seems they hung out in the pits up at Charm City Cross while Mason was with Fred Wittwer pitting for Greg.  Come to find out he also parked next to us at DCCX.  Small world when people recognize you from mid atlantic racing down in Georgia.  Of course there was Metro (aka kegman) and a couple other people who remembered Mason from last year.  It really makes her feel welcome even though she is so young.  We are already planning our trip back next year and being 13 equals not being a kid anymore.  So we will be working on our Southern Cross fitness in order to make sure we are far ahead of the sweeper car...

Thanks again to Namrita & Eddie for putting on a great event.

Special thanks to River City Womens Racing for their support of Mason as well.

Industry Nine

Last week I had the opportunity to stop by a little piece of heaven otherwise known as Industry Nine in Asheville NC.  We were on our way down to Southern Cross and it seemed like a perfect detour.  Stop by, introduce myself to one of our newest and certainly most high profile sponsor pick ups of 2012.  Shout out to Jesse Leadbetter for hooking us up with those guys!  You cannot miss the place with the Wheel Tree.

Best business sign ever.

We snuck in a back door which just might have been the front door.  The instant I opened the door, I knew we were in the right place.  Pure BLING everywhere!  A few guys chillin, making up the best wheels around.  I took a quick tour and met a few guys before making my way back to the Pot-O-Gold to take a look at my wheels.  I spied a special order getting ready to ship out...sweet!

Special delivery for Mr. Plassman!

My wheels were even sweeter than I thought they were going to be, I was super stoked.

Awesome

DOUBLE order of awesome.

Mason got a set of i25SL wheels and they are super bling, of course.  Blue hub, green nipples and they are sick light!  1200 grams of pure goodness.  It was like Christmas morning for her, smile from ear to ear.  Her cross bike is ridiculously light anyway, but now it is just plain silly.

Like Christmas morning!

Yeah - Joni took this picture...

Look up man, look up!

Bling

... and more Bling

We followed up with an obligatory trip to the Biltmore House.  As an architect I really enjoy seeing the house and grounds.  The basement is still my favorite part, I love seeing the original model of the house and some of the original drawings.  Super cool.  Plus the pool totally reminds me of the one on the Queen Mary.

A handful of days later we would be toeing the line at Southern Cross, but that is for another post.

Thanks again to Jesse for hooking us up.

BTS #26, West Creek

Well what a beautiful night for a night ride, with a large Design Physics crowd.

It started off a little shaky- in the parking lot before the ride I was showing David my new Industry Nine i30 wheels. He astutely noticed the front wheel was flat as flat can be. He asked if I needed help and I said “I’ll try it”. (He was having flashbacks of that flat I had last winter in the same parking lot, where he changed my tire in 25 degree weather and froze his fingers off. ) So I struggled to get the tire over the rim for about 5 minutes then sheepishly asked him for help, again. He very nicely changed the tire. I think I owe him some cookies at this point?

So the group started off. There were:

Myself (Sonya)
David Reid
Jeff Plassman
Todd Green
Jason Broussard
Thom Flynn
Shannon Bush
Joe Fish
Jim Fisher

The group eventually settled into a single-file pace line, going at a good clip. I was struggling on the hills to keep up but was staying with them ok. Then at about 2.5 laps into the ride, an attack happened, then someone’s wheel overlapped. Todd and I backed off (well ok, maybe he did, I don’t think I could have kept up anyway). We eventually caught up to Shannon and Jim. Todd pulled off to take a phone call I think, then Jim, Shannon and I got into a nice rhythm doing a revolving paceline. That was going fine and then at the 180 degree turn after the start of lap 3, my front wheel flatted again, luckily I didn’t crash as my bike felt like it had a mind of its own. Everyone offered to help me change it which was nice, but at this point I thought I’d call it a night and look for the culprit of the flats at home in the light. Shannon nicely rode next to me as I walked back to the car.

So on the drive home it started sprinkling, I wondered if my teammates were getting wet and getting bonus points…