2010 BT Epic

This past Friday Molly and I loaded up and headed South to Steelville, Mo for the Berryman Epic. This isn't just a great race but a time to hang out with great friends and ride bikes, I was missing some of my other friends that weren't able to make the trip though. We arrived shortly after Lyle and Cathy and I decided to go on a short ride with them on a section of trail that was not on the race course, it had some gradual climbing and some fast flowing sections that eventually popped out at an outlook point that had an awesome vantage point of the valley below. We rode very casual and had a good time riding and talking and oh sucking down the dust from the leaves as the rider in front was kicking it up on the downhills. The rest of the day was spent relaxing, prepping gear, and eating!!!

Our cabin was basic but pretty nice although you could hear an ant fart echoing off the walls during the night, or maybe it was the raccoon that was whacked out of his mind after it got into Denny's GU and Clif Shot Bloks. I was up early and was trying to decide what to wear for the race, there had been rain in the forecast and the year before it was wet and cold. It was pretty warm that morning but I was concerned about rain and the temps dropping later in the day so the only extra clothes I wore was a sleeveless base layer that later in the day I wish I had not put on. I did send multiple options of layers to the checkpoint with Molly just in case.

We all gathered around for the riders meeting and during the middle of this the start line began to form and I was not in a very good position. The line formed way up ahead and I was toward the back and there were several people off to the side ahead of me and I could tell that it might be an ugly start. I knew that the first gravel climb would separate things but I didn't want to be buried and having to switch back and forth thru the gravel. The said a firecracker would be the start but I think it was a freaking stick of dynamite or something...holy cow that was loud. After I nearly crapped my pants I took off, we started on paved with a 90 degree left turn onto another paved road. Right at the corner an inside line opened and many riders were going very casual so I turned on the jets and was able to hit that line and it slingshot me past several riders and to my amazement the outside line stayed open and I was able to clear many more riders early. Denny had warned me that when we hit the gravel it was going to be deep and loose and he was not kidding, I did my best to let my bike float across it and tried to keep some speed. Soon we were at the base of the gravel climb and I had forgotten just how much of a climb it was...then we turned the corner up the hill and it was staring me right in the face. I wasn't sure how the day would go so I wanted to go out hard and not get caught behind slower riders once we hit the single track so I really turned it loose on the gravel and passed a lot of people. I played leapfrog with some of the riders as we would pass each other back and forth and eventually the 3.1 miles of gravel ended and we were into the single track. The group I was riding with backed off a tad once we hit the single track but we recovered very quickly and the pace was soon high again. I found some opportunities to make some passes so I did when I could and would try to make a gap between that rider. About 6 miles in I caught up to Zach Brace and he actually said "Do you want around Dude?", I couldn't believe I was able to keep up with him told him I was fine on his wheel for now. I am not the strongest downhill rider but I was doing a great job so far in this race, Zach had pulled away from me a bit on one downhill and I was letting my Epic eat up the trail to try and catch him when I went into a downhill left hand turn at a screaming fast speed. In an instant my bike washed out from underneath me and I found myself about to bounce off the forest floor. Without even thinking my reflexes threw my handlebars out and away from me (I would have landed on them) and then threw my arms up to avoid impact with my left shoulder. I really watch that shoulder since I dislocated it and instead sacrificed my chest and chin to the ground. I couldn't feel any blood but it seemed like my lip should be bleeding and my right thigh landed on my bike and that didn't feel much better!!! I jumped up and jumped back on the bike and realized I had dropped my chain so it was back off the bike and put the chain on, at this point I had three riders go past me but I was back on course within a few seconds.

I have to say that I was rattled from this spill, it wasn't an awful wreck but I lost a lot of confidence in the loose downhill sections. I was running Specialized Armadillo Fast Traks, I was glad I had Armadillo's on but I really wish I had Captains because I feel like they are a more aggressive tire with a stronger outside knob to help control those loose turns but guess what...I didn't have them so I did with what I had (which is still a great tire). I felt pretty good once I got to the second check station but I could feel myself slowing the pace a bit. A few miles in I was having a lot of pain in my right thigh from where I had landed on my bike, I wasn't able to lift and lunge without extreme pain and doing risers on short power climbs was out for sure. And then the real pain set in, I started to cramp in my hamstrings on a long climb but I was able to push through on that hill. I popped some Endurolytes and kept grinding along but soon found myself in some of the worst pain when both hamstrings locked up and I was all but screaming in agony out on the course. It hurt like hell and I did my best to walk straight legged to continue on the course, the pain eased a bit but it was still very painful and I got back on and just started to peddle. I was able to get the pain to a manageable state but my climbing was limited the rest of the day, I was able to do it but I could not get aggressive at all. Soon I was on the gravel and then a section of paved road. I caught and dropped a rider on the paved section and about a mile later I looked back and saw a rider in the distance getting closer, I remember thinking that surely that guy didn't get a second wind because he was hurting when I went around him. I turned up the long paved climb to the last checkpoint and when I was about 50 yds up the hill I looked back and her comes Denny charging for me like I stole his beer (It's not just for breakfast anymore). He quickly caught up to me and we talked a minute about the cramping we both had experienced I told him about my wreck and he told me about his as we continued up the hill. He powered on ahead and I did my best to just keep pedaling and soon I was at the checkpoint.

The last section of the race is the most technical and it isn't that it is really tough but when you are tired and there are a lot of leaves on the trail it can be a little hairy. Denny said it best, that if the trail was clear of leaves and we were just going there to ride and we were fresh then that would be an awesome section to bomb down on our bikes. About 1/3 of the way through the last leg I was going very slowly and I remember thinking that I just wanted to be finished but like several times in the past I caught a second wind. I was able to carry good speed through some sections and did my best to climb without blowing up. Coming through the last section of single track I caught another rider and when we popped out to a grassy section he went the wrong way and I thought about letting him continue but I just couldn't do it. He pulled well ahead of me on the long service road climb out of the valley but I caught and passed him on the gravel but I was loosing steam. He caught me back and gapped me, I surged and started to reel him in a few times but he stayed on the gas and I was unable to pull him in. Coming into the finish line (into the wind) I was so ready for the race to be over. I had a great race and took 45 minutes off my time from last year and finished in 5 hr 34 min, I can honestly say I left everything I had on the course. I had enough salt on my forehead to cure a ham for Christmas!!!

I was really sore the rest of the day and on Sunday, of course all of us had to sit in a vehicle on the ride home which didn't help our stiff muscles. We went to a church hayride on Sunday evening after we got home and I had Jonas on my lap and Brady under my left arm and I was sitting kind of weird on a hay bale and it was causing my left hamstring to get really tight. I thought it was going to lock up on my again, I'm glad it didn't because I didn't want the pain and I figured that a church hayride wasn't the place for me to jump up screaming "Mother F#$%#$%"!!! Today at work I think I can say that this is the tightest my hamstrings have ever been, I was not enjoying walking around today. I did about 30 minutes around town today on my road bike at a very easy pace just trying to flush some of the acid out of my legs, I have to say it felt pretty good but my legs are still pretty tight...it only hurts until the pain goes away.

No Whammy

After yesterdays BT Epic I had a dream that I was on a game show and had to pick a prize from 1 of 3 doors. Behind one door was a race pace mountain bike ride, behind another was a gallon of pickle juice I had to drink and keep down, and behind the last door was a kick in the nuts. The producers told me I was the only person that they have ever seen saying "Come on kick in the nuts"!!!

More updates to come from the 2010 BT Epic.

BT Epic This Weekend

I guess we will see if I can remember how to race my bike, I am not worried about the distance but just concerned that I might not have the deep inner desire to rip someones legs off. It is hard to stay competitive all year long and I have had some great races this year so maybe getting out on the bike and having fun will be enough?.?.?.

Anyway it is a tough course with a lot of climbing so my legs better be ready for it. I don't plan to really preride this year, I will probably just ride a couple miles to stretch my legs after the long drive down. Last years 25 mile preride was not good for me and the race the next day, but it is what it is and I still had a pretty good race. Last year I told Doug that Epic stood for "Everyone Paddling In Canoes" because the area was FLOODED and I have never crossed so many water crossings in a race. Denny and I were riding together in the race when Mike Clausen tried to ride a man made bridge (we were told not to ride them) and ended up taking a bath in the creek....I hate to say it but it was pretty entertaining.

What Is It Thinking?

I have spent a lot of time in the woods and I have spooked a lot of deer and of course they run off but I have also spooked some deer while out mountain biking. Obviously I am not gaining on them as they run away but they are not creating quite the gap they would if I was walking and it makes me wonder what exactly is going thru their head if it seems they can't get away fast enough.

Yep, I didn't have anything else better to think about!!!

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Do You Feel Fast?

Ever since the 24 hour race it seems all I do is eat and not ride my bike very fast, it's pretty depressing. I have had a rough stretch at work and it seems it isn't going to get any better, I'm not sure I'll have a job at the end of the month (I only have been there 16 years) so let's just say I have some anger issues right now. I am trying to use those emotions in cycling but I haven't found a way to harness them yet, instead I seem to stare at the wall. I did buy a new handgun and after 100+ rounds the other night I was feeling pretty good, those pieces of paper didn't have a chance!!!

As you can probably tell I haven't been feeling very fast lately, in fact I'm concerned that Berryman might be a let down after the season I have had. I feel a little extra pudge around the mid section and just don't have much time to ride with a new work schedule. I looked in the mirror and realized I don't look fast either, I have let myself go and was looking pretty shaggy so I got out the clippers and got to work.



That's a pic of what I got done so far and that was just from my ASS!!! I was concerned that my chamois might feel different so I put on a pair of bibs and I a taint tell a difference.