A New Direction

I've been off the blog for a while, over a year, so there is a bit of catching up to do.  I also decided to start blogging again following a new direction in my cycling.

NUE Series

My primary focus in the last few years has been racing in the National Ultra Endurance race series.  I typically do 2 to 4 of these races each year.  My results have been gradually improving as my conditioning improves.  And I've gotten to ride in some totally awesome venues. 

To date, I've done the following NUE venues:

1. Wilderness 101:  This is one of my favorite races.  It is on my home course of State College PA.  I am not normally a rock hound and this course has LOTS of rocks, but since I grew up here I am used to them and they don't bother me.  The course has good fire road climbs followed by harrowing steep rocky descents.  There is just enough variation to keep things from getting stale at any one point.  Plus I get to stay and eat at my parents' house so that takes off some of the logistical pressure.  I've done this race 6 times in the last few years, in addition to the 1993 effort (a totally different race experience).
2. Cohutta 100: I've done this twice.  It is not my favorite race.  Logistically it is hard for me since it comes early in the season (still cold here) and during the school year.  Plus it is a good drive distance.  Mostly it lacks variation.  There is a big singletrack section in the beginning, then just tons and tons of fireroads until the very end with a little more single track. 
3. Shenandoah Mountain 100: This is a good race.  I've done it twice, only completing the race once.  Both times suffered from wet weather, not my favorite conditions.  This course is probably the closest to the W101 in feel, but lacks the rocks and has a big hike-a-bike section that isn't fun.  It also comes during the school year, so logistically it is harder.
4. Hampshire 100:  My least favorite course.  It just isn't my style.  There is such a lack of single track so the course feels like a whole bunch of other stuff (roads, paths, bike rail trails, and lots of just bushwacking ) to piece together a 100 mile experience. 
5. Tatanka 100: I love this course, maybe my favorite venue.  It is really beautiful!  Challenging.  There is an impossible climb-a-bike part in the middle which is ridiculous, but otherwise I'd love to do this race more often it if weren't 19 hours of driving each way.
6. Breckenridge 100: This is the hardest venue hands down.  The altitude (9600 to 12600) makes it very hard.  It also has tons of climbing.  Very beautiful and typical of Colorado high country.
7. Mohican 100: This is my local course but I've only done it once.  It tends to be wet this time of the year.  It kind of feels like the Hampshire 100 course a bit, but not nearly as bad.  By far the easiest course for me to get to (45 min away), but just not my favorite race.
8. Lumberjack 100: I just did this race this year.   Nice course.  It is all single track (maybe a little double track).  Flowy, with some small climbs that add up to respectable climbing totals. 

I have gotten burned out on this race venue.  I've kind of plateaued in fitness and will need some serious training to get much better.  My race weapon (Superfly100) is showing a bit of age and I'm not eager to keep the expensive maintenance up or to replace it.  And I've gotten interested in some other kinds of riding.

This season I was supposed to do four races.  Starting in April, I skipped Cohutta since it was supposed to be raining during the race.  Sure enough, it rained.  Glad I skipped the expense and time.  Racing 100 miles in rain and mud is not for me. 

I then did the Dirty Kanza in late May.   More on that later.

Next up was Lumberjack 100.  This is a nice race course.  It reminds me of 6 Hours of Warrior Creek with a flowy trail that still has some rolling climbs.  Three loops of a 33 mile course. 

I did fine, but not terrific, finishing in 8:21.  This is my 100 mile PR, but it was the easiest course to do it on.  I was kind of hoping for sub 8-hour time, but I just didn't have the giddy up in the legs. 

Then I was supposed to do W101 this coming weekend.   Just didn't find the love for it and I wanted to take my cycling in a different direction (read below).   I was also thinking of Fools Gold in late September, but I almost certainly won't do that now. 

Dirty Kanza 200

I've raced the Dirty Kanza 200 in the last two years.  The first year was a learning experience.  Not enough fuel, probably not quite enough training/conditioning, probably just a bit too fast to start and too little confidence in the "tough middle section".   I raced in 16:01. 

This year I went back for a second try.  I felt a little fitter.  I took both the Fargo and the Warbird, not sure which I would ride.   DK had epic rains in the weeks leading up to the race including rain the day before.  So with muddy conditions expected I took the Fargo.  It is a very rough course so I think the Fargo (heavier but with mtn bike tires) is probably a better bike in general.

This year's race was VERY tough.  The course was super muddy with tons of slick deep mud puddles everywhere.  The race director had added more "track" and less gravel road, which didn't help with the poor conditions.  It is almost a mtn bike race.  The toughest part was a 3 mile section of clay-mud that created a hike-a-bike for an hour.  It took me nearly 3 hours longer than expected to complete the first leg (mile 75) because of the mud.  But I ate well, drank well, and felt super strong all through the race.  I went by tons of people in the second half.  My GPS died this year (not last year) so I had to slow at the end to wait for someone with a GPS.  I also stopped eating once it got dark which was a mistake as I ran out of gas just a bit in the end.

Overall the race gave me great confidence that I can ride hard for 200 miles under very difficult conditions and still not feel totally destroyed by the finish.   I can't wait to go back next year to earn my award for beating the sunset.  I would have easily made it this year under "normal" conditions. 

A New Direction

My riding and athletic life needed a new direction that wasn't so focused on the NUE format.  I made a list of the kinds of activities that I have most enjoyed recently, and mountain biking in general and specifically 100 mile mtn bike races weren't tops on that list.  Then I made a list of the things I still wanted to do -- a running/cycling bucket list -- and figured out that I am spending my time doing the wrong things.  I should be concentrating more on the things I want to do and not get stuck in the rut of competing in the NUE races.    So I have a bit of a cycling mid life crisis ... ok a mini-crisis or new direction.

My Quiver

I've made some changes to my bike quiver.  About two years ago, my wife made a reasonable suggestion that my new bike purchases be "bike neutral" and "budget neutral".  I had to sell a bike to get a bike and I had to do it in a way that didn't dent the family's discretionary spending budget. 

Two years ago, I sold my KLR650 dual sport motorcycle and bought a Salsa Fargo.  I was sad to see the motorcycle go, but I just wasn't riding it hardly any more.  And it was getting older and needed $ for upkeep.  And I just LOVE my Fargo.  It is perhaps the "best" bicycle I have ever owned.  By best, I mean the one that gives me the most overall enjoyment.  There is little this bike can't do. 

I sold my old Masi Cross bike and bought a Ti Warbird in return.  Ok, so this purchase wasn't exactly budget neutral, but my wife let me pick this one up.  It is one of the original brushed Ti models that was deeply discounted at Freeze Thaw after sitting in their showroom for a couple of years. 

I most recently sold three bikes: my old Cannondale cyclocross bike (that was on loan to my dad for 5 years), my carbon Masi Team Pro road bike (I just don't ride road much at all), and my Gary Fisher Superfly 100.  I was most sad to see the superfly go, but I just wasn't riding it much at all and I don't want to race mtn bikes any more.  And if I do, I'll ride the El Mariachi which has an old-school underdog vibe going. 

In exchange I just purchased a used Beargrease xx1.  I am expecting its arrival soon.  My wife has kind of taken over my Mukluk since it is way more ridable than her Pugsley.   And my daughter is riding that bike anyway.  Plus I really want to do some snow racing.  I love fatbiking and my gen 1 Mukluk -- a great bike -- is just behind the times in geometry, gearing, wheel options, etc. 

So my new quiver consists of:

• Fargo 2 (gen 2, steel)
• Ti Warbird
• Mukluk (gen 1, 1x9)
• El Mariachi (steel, 1x10)
• Beargrease xx1
• Karate Monkey SS (commuting duty)

 Too bad I don't have a sponsorship with Salsa!

Bucket List

Things I still want to do.  

I want to do more running again.  Not the marathon circuit I did for 10 years.  That was fun but that's not what I'm after.  I want to do more trail running.  I want to try some ultras.   I also want to be in better shape and not rely on cycling as exclusively.  It is easier for me to do intensity in running too, which is largely missing from my cycling training.  My kids are getting older (12 and 10) and just now becoming more serious about running.  Both kids look like they've got some talent.  I've been running with them during the summer XC training and my daughter has taken 2nd women overall in two medium sized races (she's 11).  She ran a 33:41 in the Granville Firecracker 5 miler on the 4th of July and 20:20 for a 5k at the Arts Fest race in State College.   

I want to do more gravel grinders.  For the past two years, I've done the Dirty Kanza 200 and have just loved this race.  Great spirit.  Great course.  Beautiful beyond belief.  The distance is a real challenge.  I want to try some others: Almanzo, Land Run, Black Hills Gold Rush (mother lode).  I want to do D2R2 and Rebecca's Private Idaho. 

I would like to try some snow races.  I have my eye on Birkenbeiner 47k in March.  My wife's friend is moving to MN and so I think I can convince her to fly there with me and she can visit her friend while I race.  Could I possibly do Arrowhead 135 some day?  Or maybe Jay P's backyard fatbike pursuit? 

I am thinking (still) of adventure races.  My distances are getting longer and I am getting more comfortable with longer distances.  Tour Divide is still the big carrot hanging out there.  The Allegheny Mountain Loop looks promising.  Arrowhead 135.  And just more touring on the Fargo and more bike packing.


I have also enjoyed riding with my family.  Dylan (my daughter) has really taken to cycling this last year.  We got her a mid-level hybrid bike for her birthday last year and she rides it like a banshee.  She also rides mountain bike like trails with Laura on the fatbikes.  Eli (my son) has ridden with me lots in previous years, but not so much this year.  I need to get him on the trail if it ever stops raining around here. 

GAP / C&O

One of the things I've been thinking about for 3 years is a trip on the Great Allegheny Passage and Chesapeake and Ohio tow path.   By cancelling my W101 trip, I've opened a window to give it a try.  It has also been raining here all summer (literally almost every single day) and I don't want my first bike packing trip to be in the rain.   But these next few days look perfect, if a bit warm.

My goal is to start in Pittsburgh and ride towards Washington DC.  It is 340 miles.  I am still not sure if I will try it all in one go or break it into two parts.  Probably decide as a I go and see how I feel at mile 150 at Cumberland.