Another week at camp!

From camp in PA to camp in the UP!  I truly am living the dream.  And this time it was even better to be able to give back and share my experiences with some up and coming rippers!

Jr. Mtb Camp at Michigan Tech University is now in its 4th year.  This year we had 21 JR's from 4 states!  I am so happy that the camp is growing and more and more young riders get to experience mountain biking and the amazing trails the UP has to offer.  We had a great camp.  2 rides per day, lectures from NCAA coaches, Professional Cyclists, Physiology Dr's, Trek Demo Day, and even a race.

Yes we were non stop action.  A normal day was breakfast in the cafeteria at 8am then riding at 9am.  Lunch at 12:00. Lecture at 1:30 - 3:00 and then PM ride from 3:30 - 5:30 dinner at 6:00 back in the cafeteria and then another evening activity depending on the day.  I think all the JR's had a blast and I'm hoping to see them all back next year!




Yes I did mention a race.  The Keewenaw Chain Drive also takes place the same weekend as camp giving the riders an opportunity to test out their new knowledge and skills.  We had tons of our athletes on the podium!  Luckily for me the coaches got to race too.

Pete and I post race!  Pete attended Camp the first year and now he is battling it out for the podium!

The Chain Drive is a deceptively hard race.  Lots and lots of techie singletrack and a point to point style that features a mostly uphill race course.  With a little weather the night before the race the trails were a little heavy on race day.  Making it harder than the norm.


I was able to take another W in front of all the campers....an awesome feeling.  I scoped out the river crossing with 3 miles to go on our pre-ride and told the campers this was a pivotal spot....it turned out I was right and thats where I made my winning move!


Now its time to get back to some training...I feel like I haven't done a training ride in a month!

Transylvania Recap

When I finished the TSE I definitely felt like this. 

Probably thinking to myself I want to be home and not really even being able to comprehend the world of pain I was in....

Now that I have had some time to recover, get healthy and start riding again I wanted to share my final thoughts. 

I wanted to do TSE this year for the experience.  I wanted a change and wanted to do something different.  I wanted to break out of the norm, go somewhere new, and challenge my limits.

All in all TSE was the place to do all of the above.  The experience was amazing.  I learned a ton about what my body can handle even after 20 years of racing.  The old school mtb feel w/ start lines drawn in the dirt and great atmosphere was just what the Dr. ordered.



The trails were tough, the countryside was beautiful and the memories will last a lifetime.    If you are up for a healthy challenge I highly recommend looking into the TSE.  Tons of new friends, great food, campfires....and plenty of beer if you are into that sort of thing!

Now its on to the next adventure and one of my favorite weeks of the year.  Jr. Mtb Camp at Michigan Tech University in the UP! 

After about 8 days of chilling post TSE I finally hopped back on the bike Monday and Tuesday.  For some reason I wanted to do a power test....it hurt, but at least the blood is flowing again.  About 5% less than my test last year in July.  One month to get really fit!  Hopefully it shocked me back into shape at least a little so these kids don't beat me up too bad!  Feeling Old!

SICK WHAT?

I wish I could be talking 'Sick What' like Anthony Clark, but this was more like what....I've got to puke again.  After dinner Friday night I knew something was wrong.  My stomach was hurting.  I went to bed early only to wake up around 10 in more pain.  I went for a little walk to try to help things out a bit, but to no avail.  At about 2:00 am the party started.  I puked 6 times about every 40 minutes.  When morning finally arrived it was also coming out the other end.  Not good before the final stage.  I barely was able to get out of bed.

I hobbled down to the mess hall and found Drew Edsall and he helped me find the Doc who was on staff volunteering at the camp.  Luckily for me he was there otherwise there was no way in the world. I would have been able to race.  He gave me some anti nausea meds so I could start getting some fluids down without barfing them back up.  He also gave me a couple of Liters of IV fluids.  I've had an IV in the past for dehydration and normally I bounce back and almost feel better than before...this time the doc asked if I felt any better and I had to answer no.  I was still in a world of pain.  I had barfed out all of the previous nights dinner and all the fluids I needed to rehydrate from a hard Stage 6 and the necessary preparations for a final Stage 7.  I was completely totally empty.

After getting the IV I could at least stand up without feeling like passing out and take a sip of water to wet my whistle.  The IV took a while to push through, so I only had a short time to prepare to race.  45 minutes later I was on the start line getting ready to rock my own world.  Any other normal day and I would have been in bed all day long.

Supposedly Stage 7 was an easier day w/ only 3,300 feet of climbing and 26 miles + more dirt roads than last year.    With no food in the system, no desire to eat or drink, and the fear of crapping my pants the entire ride I knew it was going to be hard.  I wanted to have a good start and maybe make it with the lead group to the first enduro segment, but no way...they were gone on the first climb and I was lumped into the group between 20th and 30th position.

I was OK in the singletrack besides the rocks that made me want to barf/crap from all the jostling, but it was the climbing that was really killing me.  I had zero power...I was getting dropped on nearly every climb and suffering at 110% effort,.   I was hoping to ride tempo all day and feel pretty comfy but right away I realized that I needed to go harder because todays tempo pace wouldn't have got the job done.

I was in a group w/ the DUO Team leaders from Canada  and a couple of U-25 riders.  The stronger of the two Canadian riders is a Semi-Pro Hockey player...he used to weigh 220, but now is down 20 or 30 lbs....he was stronger than his partner so on some of the climbs his buddy would grab on the back of his jersey and take a little bit of a ride.  So here I am sick as can be getting dropped on the climbs by a 190 lb Canadian beast with a his buddy dragging him down like a lead weight by holding his jersey.  It was not only physically tough, but it was mentally tough.

Luckily I finished.  With lots of experience I knew when I had to go hard and what group I needed to latch onto to make it to the finish.  I maintained my 3rd place overall by finishing 10th on the day.  After the race I was pretty much asleep all day and all night.  Totally spent.  Full TSE Recap to come soon.

Watch more video of 2013 Trans-Sylvania Epic Stage Race on cyclingdirt.org

I initially thought I must have had some sort of food poisoning, but now I'm not so sure.  I had some deli meat from the grocery store after Stage 6 which was the last food I ate before puking up dinner...I blamed that deli meat initally, but now I am still having some fever like symptoms waking up in the middle of the nights completely soaked in sweat.  So maybe it was a little stomach flu virus not food poisoning.  I guess I'll never know.

All In

Early in the race pushing the pace.

Today I went for it...on the first climb I attacked and got a 40 -45 second gap on Sam.  I went hard and now I am hurting.  Sam bridged up after I went off course ever so slightly and then Justin crashed...it was just enough to get us back in sight. Sam and I throttled each other all day long.  It was 90 degrees with a feels like temp of 97.  By the end of 42 miles I was smoked and still trying to recover now.  I finished the stage 3rd after losing the leaders after swiping for the enduros again.  Time for some podium legs and bed.

Late in the race pushing the pace.

Flat

Sam Koerber and I are in a Transylvania Epic battle.   I flatted today and lost 5 minutes.  Now I am 2 minutes back on GC.  2 stages to go...should be hot.

I lost my laptop...so just a short update tonight.  Amazing trails, amazing camaraderie.   Will be back fo sure!

Watch more video of 2013 Trans-Sylvania Epic Stage Race on cyclingdirt.org

TSE Stage 4 = Enduro = More Fun

Yesterdays Stage 3 more like a cross race battling it out w/ Honey Badger Lindine

Anybody recognize this SS Tucson icon...he kept us entertained on the transfers today.

Watch more video of 2013 Trans-Sylvania Epic Stage Race on cyclingdirt.org

So far I have been having a blast at Transylvania Epic...but today was off the charts.  It was still a long day in the saddle with 4000 feet of climbing, but what goes up must come down.  I busted out the Trek Fuel EX 9....and wow....Just like I remembered it from Tucson...the green machine can rip!  Besides a plush plush ride, the Reverb dropper post and the pure power of the Shimano XT brake give me a ton of confidence on the bike.

Spent the day with the Singlespeeders!  They know how to party!

Sector 4 was pretty crazy and I was really pumped to clear it with all the photogs looking for the classic OTB shot....not from this flat lander!

Tonight I am upgrading to a hotel room to get a good nights sleep now that we are half way thru the race.  Time to go do some laundry...back to the pain train tomorrow.

and on day 3 it rained

Yee haw...60 degrees, rain, mud, wet, slippery...just how I like it!  I don't really like the energy required for clean up afterwards, but the race conditions were pretty good!

It was more like a midwest style.  Long dirt road lead out, to some slippery single track, to another dirt road, to a gnarly singletrack hike a bike, to paved road in the middle, to more dirt road climbing, to a killer double track climb and one last downhill to the finished.

I started the day 3rd in GC, but first in the Enduro points competition.  Early in the race Sam Koerber apparently dropped his chain and never caught back on.  After a while it was just Justin and myself.  Justin had no reason to crush it during the first enduro segment so he waited as I swiped in and out....we then started to work together on the paved and dirt roads in the middle of the race.

3/4 of the way through there was a long never ending pave climb to dirt road climb that Justin was pushing forward on...the next killer 2 track climb I sensed some weakness and I pushed the pace, but couldn't shake him.  It's hard to really crush it when you don't know what is over the top of the hill...or even where the top of the hill is...

On the last descent I stopped for the Enduro segment and Justin rolled through and got a 10 second gap, but he was out of sight....I swapped out of the Enduro segment and proceeded to crush it, but with the final Enduro so close to the finish there was no way to close the gap.  I finished 2nd on the stage and hopefully had some solid enduro times.  More importantly I think I moved up to 2nd place in the GC.  Justin has a comfy lead.


So far the bikes have been dialed.  Superfly 100 with 29inch wheels is definitely the ticket in these parts.  Huge rock gardens along with super high speed sections...can't go wrong.  Rock Shox with dual hydraulic lockouts give me plenty of platform for the climbs.  A little ProGold after each race and the bikes are shining in no time.  Extreme lube for todays stage had the Shimano drive working flawlessly!  Stoked.

Tomorrow is the Enduro stage where all riders have to swipe in and out....can't wait!  FUEL EX Time!

Watch more video of 2013 Trans-Sylvania Epic Stage Race on cyclingdirt.org