The Final Post

Members of Team Cycle Escape –

For the past sixteen years I have done business with Cycle Escape and have built a friendship with the past and present owners Phil Jones and Sid. The shop has sponsored our team and been part of us since the team’s inception, and I’ll always look back on these years with great memories. With hard work, we have taken a small team and accomplished great things in the local cycling community. We’ve helped spread this great sport of ours, and for that we should be proud.

As you may have heard, because of the hard economic times, Cycle Escape has decided to close. Due to that, it is with a sad heart that I have decided not to continue the team. I want to thank all the sponsors who have supported us over the years; without your generosity, we could not have had the great looking team kits or put on our great cyclocross race here in Montgomery, which many racers throughout the Southeast have said is the best race venue in the Bamacross series.

I also want to thank my fellow teammates. I have enjoyed traveling and racing with all of you over the years. I have always been proud of the way we have conducted ourselves and represented our sponsors on the road and at races. Not only are each of you my fellow teammate, you are also my friend. Even though I know some of us will take different paths, when we see each other at the races or on the road, we will always be teammates.

Jeff

In a cyclocross race a long-time ago

Blake Gill Race Report

I raced Sunday in the ADPi Rolling across the Plains race! Basically a fundraiser for one of Auburn's Sororities, this ride brings out all cyclists and everyone else with a bike for a 12 mile out and back through Auburn. I overheard the organizers say they had almost 160 riders competing in the "every man for himself" type race. I lined up on the start line with the Auburn Flyers and quite a few "Mellow Mushroom" team jerseys and we all took off. Being only 12 miles this immediately turned into one mass team time trial!! At the halfway turn around point It was just me, a mellow mushroom guy, and the Auburn Flyers coach. We averaged about 29mph for the last 6 miles and resulted in a 3 way sprint...Auburn's coach beat me by 10 feet, with Mellow Mushroom 20 or so behind me! I'll take a 2nd place any day (especially to this guy, whom after looking him up, is a nationally accomplished masters racer).

Blake Gill

Bamacross #2 Cooter's Revenge

As I have said before cyclocross is for me, the most fun type of racing I do! Last Sunday I raced the second race of the BamaCross series held at Cooters Pond and promoted by our friends at ICS Completive Velo, and It was a great event! As far as my racing goes about all I can say is I started out real strong (2^nd position in the 45+ category) and slowly worked my way back to a 5^th place finish..... yep, that about sums it up. No bike problems, no problems with the barriers, no nothing to really blame it on. But you know, to me, the great thing about cyclocross racing is even if your not having a stellar of a day, if you look real close at the pictures you can still see a smile. Two weeks till the next race in Tuscaloosa so I figure I can get in two more sessions of intervals and a couple of more efforts at race pace and maybe improve my fitness a notch, we’ll see.

Jeff Dorminey

A few Steve Timms Photographs of Jeff D. and Brooks G.

2008 Dead Dog 8

WELCOME TO OUR NEWEST TEAM MEMBER
STEVE TIMMS

This makes it official, Steve rode with us at the Sprott and Bull Gap Time Trial. Steve has been new competition at this past year's MBC time trials as well.

Dead Dog 8

Steve Timms

10.12.08

On an overcast and cool morning, my pit crew and I arrived in Trussville for Dead Dog 8. Though the rain threatened none ever materialized and the mild conditions were just right for racing. The 40-49 beginner flight was set to go off at 10:04 and the organizers were faithful to their word. Fortunately I had been able to scout the trail earlier in the week so I was prepared for the hilly, tight and technical trail, if not the exact route. A quick downhill led to the trail and I was second into the woods. Each lap on the 5 mile course was a test but by my count I was second through the first lap. I was pulling past riders from earlier flights but was not able to hold off two riders from my own group which put me into fourth. I was able to hold onto fourth place to the end and finish the 10 mile distance in 1 hour 4 minutes. Overall I was pleased with my performance and look forward to improving and trying again next year. Also on the scene were several friends from the Montgomery area who shared in the fun.

Bamacross #1 Avondale

The first race of the Bamacross season was on October 5th at Avondale Park in Birmingham. The BBC Team did a great job of setting-up and running all the races. The stairs up the amphitheater was a killer...over and over again. For those who did 2 races must have relished the pain in deed.

Well once again Jeff and Carl represented the Cycle Escape Team, with both of racing in the Master 45+ category. This was 45 minutes of extreme cycling fun that only comes with cyclocross. Neither one of us performed well enough to make the front page of the Montgomery Advertiser, lucky for me that my chain kept falling off to give me a ready-made excuse.

We did have the pleasure of socializing with many of our good buddies on the Chain Reaction Team, as well as running into a couple guys from Montgomery. Part of the fun of racing is socializing with the other racers from current and past years.

The West family shared some photos with us that Beverly took, so we give here the credit.

Chad Wins Georgia Cup race!!!!

Atlanta Criterium
Day 1 Friday Race 4:00 Eastern Standard Time Race #1
Had to work late that night before and that next morning so I did not get any proper nutrition before the race but even if I would have I still would have had the same outcome because I need some race training.
Race started 30 minutes late and there was only 8 guys and we started and I felt terrible my heart rate is way too high so after about 3 or 4 laps they were giving a $25 dollar preme and I wanted the $25 and I was gonna get it that was my plan. At that time I was sitting last at about 800 yards and a head wind I went after the preme 110% I flew around them and one guy had enough sprint to catch my draft and about 100 yards to the line for the preme I was going 36.9 mph in a head wind and heart rate 198 I blew up and lost the preme and that guy finished it all by himself and I had to ride all but the last lap by myself and got 5th and these guys were way back except the one that passed me I just could not believe someone stayed with the jump I had from 20 to 36.9 quick. So that race stinked but I did learn from it.


Day 2 Saturday 8:00 race #2
I did not eat 3 hours before race so I got up at 5:30 and20got a protein shake and banana and peanut butter. So at 8 I had warmed up and was ready and the race did not start till 8:30 12 to 14 guys so that was nice. Right before the start they said the 1st lap is a preme lap for a Hincapie jersey we took off and since the day before I knew a little more how to do it,do not jump 800 yards before the line and wait on the right time to jump and pick who to draft behind and it was crazy because the pack was going slow until 200 yards then they all jumped which was good for me because I could stay in the draft and I could see this Spanish guy 5'5 140lbs he went left and I went right and got him by a bike and got my $100 jersey then I settled back in and rode smart the pace was slow 23 in a draft thats slow but we rode a few laps and I was saving myself for the finish and another preme came up and they were going so slow I just got that one by 4 bikes or more. We still rode hard but not over 170 heart rate except on a few jumps 189 max and 34.2 mph and I got 2nd right behind the Spanish guy so I start to wonder if I would not have got that 1st or 2nd preme could I have one. Who cares I got the jersey.


Day 2 Saturday race #3
I did not eat 3 hours before the race again and had some hammer gel 30 minutes before and spike my glycogen level and my goal this tim e was to win and the guy that passed me on the first one was there so I knew stay behind him and get him back for taking my preme. After lap three I said lets go to him and took off and he didn't go so I settled back in and watched him one lap to go I stayed behind him 1 and 2 and one turn to go and a slight up hill 40 yards 6 people got in front somehow they blocked me in I was on the right so I cut across to the left and sprinted and passed them all on the hill and got behind the guy and as he turned right he looked back at me to see if anybody had stayed with his jump and he kicked it in again 800 yards to go I started to smile because I was in his draft and got him by ¾ of bike length my first win I turned around and said got you back. Power helps a lot on the sprint but placement and draft help 50% more. Top speed on that race 30.2 and that was at the finish a slow race me and this guy were by far a lot faster and he is faster than me I have to work on making my engine bigger by doing zone 2 training.
Day 3 Sunday race #4
Got there right on time fueled properly and ready to go did my warm up and ready to start they said it was going to be 8:15 and then 8:45 and then they said the Jrs were going first and cat5 would be at 9:45 and we had to be at the Atlanta aquarium at 11:00 . I didn't check the race bible is what they call it changed Wednesday of last week. So at 8:30 I rode my race by myself and this course was hard and a lot of climbing and one downhill 34.6 mph max heart rate 188. So that would have been a good race Me and that guy could have seen who was faster he was a lot lighter so it would have been hard to beat him. Praise God that I did not check the correct time because if we would have got to the aquarium after 12 it would have taken an hour or so to get in. So all in all I am happy with the outcome and the defeat on the first race which taught me how to better plan. Need you guys you would love it Fun Fun!!

Blake Gill Race Report

I raced this past weekend in the Peachtree City southeast triathlon club championship race, Peachtree City, GA. The weather was pretty exciting...light rain on and off all morning with very gusty winds up to 35mph. I went into the race without having spent a lot of time on my swim training, but ending up with a PR anyway. The lake we swam in was like a swamp with all the grass and weeds that were in it! I took a lot of risks on the hilly wet bike leg, but made up some ground. I felt like I had the best run of the year, but ended up being a god bit slower than what i would have liked my pace to be. I ended up getting 161st out of 1100. 19th in the 25-29 age group, which i'm pretty proud of. This was my second triathlon ever and i'm hooked. I'm already researching training plans to get me ready for a half-ironman sometime next year!

Suffering at Bull Gap and Beyond

Jeff Dorminey, Carl Viars, and Steve Timms made the trip to Sylacauga for the Bull Gap Time Trial sponsored by the Cyclists of Greater Sylacauga. We met up with Mike Herring, along with a few of the Chain Gang cyclist. This 22 mile time trial out State Highway 148 for 11 miles to the infamous Bull Gap is quite the workout. The results are posted on the event website; we'll leave it up to you to look if so inclined. This trio doesn’t want the suffering to continue any further by adding the poor showing to this site. On a positive note we're still faster than 99% of population of the tri-county area. Below are a few photos depicting our activities to include an unknown photographer who's work is available at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/diddlee/sets/72157606406876500/.

Race Report _ Bump N' Grind

Photo Credit to Beverly West, Vicki Hamilton, and David Hiott

I am pretty pleased to make the podium in my first Bump n' Grind, 3rd place in the beginner men 50+ (8 in that class). I do have to say my 8 mile race is pale in comparison to my team mates' 17 mile race. With that out of the way I have to reflect back on my pre-race jitters...this was the worst case of "I've got a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach." I tried to warm-up a little, but I was so nervous it lacked the structure of a good warm-up and only served to burn-off some of the anxiety. I tried to take advantage of my road fitness and hit the 1 mile of paved road (all up hill) at the start hard prior to entering the trial. When I entered the single-track I had a pretty big lead on all the others in my class. I pushed as hard as my single track trail skills would allow, but between the 2-3 mile point the guy who would take 1st place passed me and that was the last I saw of him. Not much longer and the 2nd place guy passed me, but I was able to pass him on the 2nd lap going up the paved road, but he managed to overtake me between the 2 and 3rd mile again. I was really pushing hard to catch-up with him during the last mile, but I could make-up the last 20 seconds or so. In the post race analysis I was able to assess my good points and my bad points and leave with a good feeling about the race. For me I want to improve my "trail skills" so I can take advantage of my road fitness. Thanks to Jeff Dorminey and the West family for making our pre-ride several days prior a real special event...so to speak.

Carl Viars

This past weekend was the one the two targeted races I’d been training for since the first of the year. The weekend of the Bump and Grind mountain bike race. As I drove up to B_ham Sunday morning, I was asking myself the usual race day questions, am I ready? Is my bike in good shape? Will that new tire hook up like I hope? And so on and so on. I guess the race day jitters were getting to me. After I had arrived and registered, I started my warm-up routine and as I was warming up I started answering those pre race jitter questions, am I ready? Yep, this is what I’d been training for, hadn’t done all those super hard hill repeats up bald knob till I felt as though I was going to puck for nothing, is my bike in good shape? Again yep, Sid had fine tuned it for me. Will that new tire hook up like I hope? You know it will, you used that tire here before. The more I warmed up the better I felt, I just hoped my luck would hold out. Finally they called the sport 50-59 class to the line. As we were on the line I noticed that the class was not as big as last year, it seemed as though ONLY THE FAST GUYS showed up this year. READY, GET SET, GO! We were off. When we got to the single track we were all still fairly close together. I was probably in about 7^th place, not wanting to blow myself up right from the start (there’d be plenty of time for that later). After about a mile or so I started to pass a couple of my competitors and worked up to the 4^th position with the 5^th place guy right on my wheel. The two of us were already passing riders in other age groups that had started before us. I was working pretty hard trying to drop this guy, with no such luck and finally asked if he wanted by, “no” he said “he was going as hard as he could”. After he told me that I decided to slow the pace down a little (had too) to try to save something for the 3 mile climb and if he wanted to pass me he was welcomed to. Things stayed about the same till we got to the climb, still passing other age group riders and him still on my wheel, but after we crossed the bridge half way up the hill, he attacked and started to open up a gap. I tried to follow his attack, but when I hit the highest heart rate I have EVER SEEN in a race I decided to back it off some (had too again!) and try to catch him later. After I reached to top of the climb, I shifted back into the big ring and keep a fast speed along the ridge road. Turned off the ridge road back into the single track heading down toward Blood Rock. Blood Rock is no problem for me, as I decided about 4 years ago to walk it. There is no decision to be made when I get there, a no brainer! As I was walking(actually half running) down blood rock I heard the spectators (people how want to see riders fall) saying “rider back” so I stepped over to give him room and as he passed I realized he was in my class, I had just gone from 5^th to 6^th place, but I did notice that as he was passing me a looked out of control (he crashed at the bottom of Blood Rock) As I was descending the bump trail( the rocky rough trail right after Blood Rock) I saw several riders off to the side with flats, and there he was, the guy in my class who had just passed me off to the side with a flat. Back in 5^th and still had Johnson Mountain and the last section to go. Still trying to catch the 4^th, place guy, I keep pushing hard, not letting up, I know he’s just ahead I keep telling myself. Still passing other riders along the way (just not in my age group). Finally crossed the line with a time of 1hr 26minutes 10seconds. The guy in 4^th finished 1minute 25” and the guy in 3^rd finished 1 minute 48 seconds ahead of me. Even though I could not catch them I was still pleased with my results and felt as though I rode the best race I could (I averaged a heart rate of 172 bpm and hit a max of 186 bpm). After I cooled down, I hung out with some of the other folks from our team and some from ICS Chain Reaction, talking and laughing about our races.

So in conclusion how do I rate the 1^st half of the year? I am pleased overall. I had two targeted races that I wanted to do well in (Attack on Swayback-2^nd and Bump and Grind-5^th). Going to chill a couple of weeks and than start my build up for the 2^nd half and my favorite season, cyclo-cross!

Jeff Dorminey

So this past weekend marked another road trip up to Birmingham for the Bump N Grind mountain bike race. This year I have been fighting off being sick and really wasn't all that excited about going. But I went ahead and registered knowing I would have fun when I got there. I think during my lack of excitement, I forgot to re-check the time that my race started. I left Montgomery about 8:30 thinking my race started at 10:30. This would give me about 45 minutes to warm up, or so I thought.

Got to Oak Mountain, found a parking spot, and headed over to registration. As they were getting my goodie bag together, I kept hearing over the loud speaker something about Sport class lining up. I figured it was another age group or something. But I thought I would ask what time my race started... she said, 10:00. WHATTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I looked down at my watch and it said 9:47 and this lady is asking for my driver's license to verify I was who I was saying I was. After providing DNA samples to verify identity, I raced back to my truck, threw my clothes on, pumped my tires up, grabbed my CamelBack and raced back to the starting line! I didn't have time to go all the way to the end of the parking lot so I had to cross the barrier fence since my group was starting in 30 seconds. I couldn't hop over the fence because it would not have held so I figured I could fit "through" it. WRONG! Luckily Dave Hiott and several other people (including the 40-44 class behind my group) got a kick out of watching me fight and wrestle my way through the fence which kept getting hung on my CamelBak. Luckily a guy was standing there and helped me through as the announcer did the 10 second countdown! This was the first race I have ever entered where they started the race and I was not even on my bike! Needless to say, I started in dead last.

The next few minutes I was at red line trying to pick off as many spots as possible before hitting the woods. Once in the woods, I settled down and focused on keeping a good pace but not blowing up too early. I knew the fire road climb would kick my butt later on. About 4 miles in, some guy said he was coming around and asked if he could pass. I told him to wait just a second cause this was not a good spot. Well, about the time I said that, I hear him barreling beside me through all the brush up on the embankment of the trail and he nails the tree that I had had my eyes on the whole time. The next few seconds went like this... he hits tree, he rams me into the other tree on the other side of the trail, we both go down in a cloud of dust at about 15 mph, his bike, my bike and all 185 lbs of me land on him. I have never been that close to a man before in my life! If he hadn't been so apologetic, I would have thrown his bike down the side of the mountain. After untangling the bikes and making sure all my body parts still worked, I got back on my bike to try and chase down the 5 or so spots I had lost. I am pretty sure the next time he thinks of passing a fellow racer, this little run-in will remind him to use a little caution.

For the next couple of miles, my body was sore from the crash. But the pain from the race soon helped me forget that. The singletrack section were fast. I was riding better than I had ever ridden before but I knew I still had to climb the fire road so I didn't push too hard. Once out on the gravel road, I knew the next couple of miles was going to hurt. The road turned upwards and my speed went down. The heat was killing me. I passed a few riders but got passed by several more. Even though my progress up the fire road was slower than molasses, it was steady. I could feel that I had improved over last year so that kept me going. Once over the top, I put it in the big ring and hammered it! I felt surprisingly good! I passed a couple of riders, and started seeing more and more people on the side of the trail with flats. I had never seen so many flats and I was just praying I would get through the race without on. This kept me motivated cause these were spots I was getting back.

I eventually turned off the dirt road and headed down to blood rock. Years ago, I used to ride down blood rock all the time. I have even ridden up it several times. But I guess with old age, family, responsibilities, or maybe it's just an increased wuss factor, I always end up walking it during the race. But seeing that the only times I have ridden Oak Mountain over the last 3-4 years has been at the Bump N Grind race, I think that is a smart decision. Not to mention, the ambulance I saw leaving as I was arriving that morning I think spooked me. :)

Anyway, as the rocks became larger, I hopped off the bike and ran my happy little tail down blood rock. Which looking back, I passed two people, one of which was laying on the ground (he should have walked). Once down, I hopped back on, and proceeded down the Bump Trail. Now the Bump Trail has always had bumps and rocks and what- not. That's why it has that name, I get it. But it seems like the last couple of years, it has gotten almost ridiculous. So much of your success in this race depends on whether or not you can get down the Bump Trail without getting a flat. It seemed like there was a person on the side of the trail every 20-30 feet fixing a flat!

After the Bump Trail, I crossed the gravel road and started in on Johnson's Mt. As I crossed over the covered bridge, I felt my rear tire rolling... A FLAT TIRE!!!!!! NOOOOOOOO! In all my years racing I had never gotten a flat tire before in a race! I pulled over after the bridge and take a look. The pressure was way down but it was still holding air so I hopped back on thinking I could make it. WRONG. It was rolling on the rim pretty bad so I pulled over again. I had already watched about 4-5 people come by me and I was about 3 miles to the finish. I did not want to lose any more spots. I didn't have time to change the tire so I pulled out my CO2 and pumped it as hard as it would go praying it would hold to the finish. Climbing Johnson's Mt. I had my sights on 2 riders. I saw one was hurting pretty bad and the other was not moving too fast. Jeff Dorminey had passed me while I was fixing my flat so I paced behind him as long as I could. I picked up the first rider and set my sights on the 2nd. I could tell my tire was losing air as I caught the send guy going into the last section of woods past the gravel pile. I stuck to his rear wheel like glue putting as much pressure as I could on him while trying to recover from my efforts. I figured we would probably have a sprint finish towards the end. Well, about a 3/4 mile from the finish, he lets me by and hops on my wheel. My back end was all over the place as I did my best to drop him before we came out of the woods. As I crossed the paved road out of the woods, I looked back and he was no where to be seen so I cruised in on a flat tire and a big smile on my face!

This was definitely the most fun I have had at the Bump N Grind. I ended up with 26th place out of 45 racers in my class. Nothing spectacular but I took 2 1/2 minutes off my time from last year and with all the problems I had, I am happy with the results. Congratulations to everyone who got out there and raced!!!

Brooks Gant


I went into this race without doing any extra preparation (unlike usual) before a big race. No extra hydrating, no carb loading days in advance, etc. (I also completely forgot my camelback, but happened to have a water bottle in my car!) This venue is my favorite by far so I went into it wanting to just go and have a good time. I lined up with what must have been 40 other 25-29 sport riders. I somehow exploded off the front, got the holeshot, and carried the lead for quite a while into the woods. I had two riders on my tail and new that with all of the fire road coming up it'd be better to try and get any draft as possible so I let them by. We traded places throughout the 3 mile climb, each one pushing the other to get up the mountain faster. My rear tire lost traction in the steepest part of the climb about a quarter of a mile from the summit causing me to dismount as I watched the other two slowly ride away from me. Soon after the trail started going down I somehow broke a front spoke. While my wheel didn't go out of true really at all, my spokes are titanium so there was a substantial amount of flex going on...enough to cause me to slow down on a couple of really fast rocky sections. I was caught close to the end by two other guys in my group, but really got into a good rhythm for the last third of the course. I ended up finishing in 5th, almost 5 minutes faster than my time last year (which got me 3rd). For some reason I felt better in this race than any other this year. Maybe I am getting TOO hydrated or eating too much food before races??? I guess that is an entire different beast to tackle on its own!



Blake Gill

Race Report - GSC #4

BLAKE GILL -- GSC # 4 Athens GA

While this past weekend was nothing to write home about, I thought i'd give an update anyway. The past two weeks have been pretty bad from a training standpoint because of a back injury (which occurred at work no less) so I was a bit pessimistic going into the GSC #4 race in Athens, GA Sunday. Being a part of the GSC and SERC racing series' we had the biggest sport 19-29 fields I had seen yet this year. I went into the woods in 6th feeling pretty good and starting to feel a bit more optimistic about my fitness when we hit the first mud hole. It all seemed to go downhill from there! The middle 3rd of the course consisted of mainly off-camber trail with roots going diagonally across the trail. WET roots. I went down for the first time and just laughed it off...taking it as my sacrifice to the trail I guess. But, then I went down HARD. There's nothing like have a back popping fall 5 miles into an 18 mile race and wanting to limp out of there and drive home. While I could never bring myself to drop out of a race without serious issues, I had pretty much become so paranoid about every single little root that I didn't have a fighting chance. My whole state of mind was shot. I ended up finishing out of the top ten...but as of today I am ranked 6th in the GSC series!

I look forward to the Bump and Grind this Sunday and then two more GSC races (and maybe the Sprott Time Trial) to round out the month of June.

Blake Gill

Chad Wiswald's Sunny King/Cheaha Report

Big Chad 4th Place Cat 5 in the Sunny King Crit

Woke up Saturday and it was raining really bad so I was thinking of passing since the last time I rode in the rain I fell.We got to the place and it looked really disorganized so that made me want to pass so I was going to at least get my shirt so I signed in and there was no shirt and when I walked out the rain had stopped but the streets still wet.So I warmed up for a few minutes and took to the races and they postponed it for thirty minutes so I got to do a proper warm up and 5 minutes to the race I lined up off we went.I started top 4 and one kid took off and one guy droped back so I was behind a guy making him work and we did a few laps at 185 to 192 heart rate and I heard on he intercom the kid in the front was 21 years old so after about 5 laps I thught he was going to hold it so I jumped up and sprinted to catch him and told him we got to work together and we hit fists and off we went. The best part was when I broke from the pack and passed you could hear and there goes Chad Wiswall from Montgomery he even said my name right. Each Time we went around you could hear how many seconds we were ahead by him talking.The 21 year old weighed around 130 so he would take the climb and I would take the downhill but on the last 4 laps they caught us and we got in the top 3 and then I let a guy pass thinking I would save some energy but it didn't work I could not sprint to the finish. But 4 th will do for now. Where did my power go????????????? I lost it

Cheaha 7000 feet of elevation> Richard and I left a little late from the hotel and I had to get in the back to change wheels and Richard was driving 95 in a 55 I thought I was going to die before we got there Richard had too much coffee. We got there with 5 min to spare.We started out 27 in a tail wind and I had a 120 heart rate it was great so I was drafting and trying to stay wih a group with same speed so I could cheat the whole ride but Richard got boxed in. So I went back and me and him rode the two of us so no drafting. The hills were long!!!!!!!!!! long! long!long!Itseemed like a 30 minute climb or longer going 5 miles an hour then you got to go 50 down a winding road and I passed a motor cycle like he was standing still. If you went down that would be some road rash.Once we started climbing 175 to 184 depending how long the climb was.And Richard heart rate was 145 to 160 what a machine. And as we hit 67 mile marker he got faster and I just had to watch his back the rest of the ride.I think I lost about 5 pounds of leg muscle on the top of the mountain. It was fun in a crazy kinda way very challenging especially when you would see people walking up the hill making these awful sounds as you passed them. One guy had a shirt that said what have you got me into you suck. I was behind him on this hill reading it and I made the comment i like your shirt but as I passed him he said hey You suck that was pretty funny as we were going 5 to 7 miles an hour. Overall the first 67 was ok the last 13 miles sucked and it as a flat road anda head wind. Tip of the month DON'T RIDE CHEAHA unless your CRAZY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That was my first 100 miles what was I thinking I must have got too much lactic acid in my brain doing that crit Saturday.
Chad

Brooks Gant Dirty Spokes Solo 6 Hour Race Report

Brooks Gant Goes Solo...Well, this past weekend marked the beginning of a new direction in my mountain bike racing, solo endurance racing. Ed Hamilton, from Team ICS-Chain Reaction, and I left out of Montgomery a little after lunch Friday afternoon headed to Fort Yargo State Park in Winder, GA, about 45 minutes east of Atlanta. This was where the second race of the Dirty Spokes 6/12 Hour Race Series was being held. I had spent all week getting ready for this both physically and mentally, but not really knowing what I was getting myself into. I did know one thing... it was going to hurt.

After fighting Atlanta traffic and swearing we would never, ever live there, EVER (don't get me started) we arrived at the State Park and headed straight to the race venue to put up my canopy. Ed had called a few of his buddies from the SORBA board who were already setup and they were nice enough to save us a prime piece of real estate to set up our pit for the race. Nicki from Columbus and Charles from Marietta were also showing up for the race and the 4 of us had the perfect spot to come through on each lap.

Friday night, Ed and I hung out at the campsite trying to come to grips with what we had to do in the morning. I don't think either one of us slept all that well. I had brought my pop-up camper thinking it would help, especially since there was a strong chance of thunderstorms. But my mind was racing most of the night. Ed learned that the LOW FAN setting in my camper can essentially turn the place into a meat freezer. He was a light shade of blue when he woke up the next morning. :)

Race day morning: luckily the race didn't start till 10 AM so we had plenty of time to grab a couple of bagels and PB, some fruit and relax a little before heading over to the race. Once we got there, it was on! I love race day mornings! People are running around everywhere, trying to find there stuff, getting registered. It is like organized chaos, or maybe just chaos. Dirty Spokes runs a tight race and everything ran perfectly smooth the whole day. Registration was a breeze and Tim who organized the event was extremely helpful and courteous to all the racers.

At 10 AM, Tim gave the soundoff and almost 400 riders did a mass start. The race started with a parade lap of about 1/2 mile that spread out the pack some. Maybe just a little. There was a train of bikers as far as I could see behind me for the first lap. I had no intention of getting in the mix from the beginning so I sat at the back with Ed and we entered the woods to work on setting a comfortable pace that would keep us from blowing up too quickly. The first lap I stayed on Ed's wheel and worked on keeping my heart rate down and finding a ryhthme. Each lap was about 12.5 miles long. This trail is one of my favorites cause the climbs are short and the singletrack is like heaven! Fast and flowing. After the first lap, I come in behind Ed, swap out my bottle, take a couple of endurolytes, and in less than a minute Ed and I are off again on our second lap.

The second lap went about the same. Ed was pushing the pace a little faster and i knew by the 3rd lap I was going to have to let him go and race my own race. I remember looking down at my computer at around 24 miles thinking everything was going super smooth and feeling great. That would soon change.

I came into the pit about 15 seconds after Ed on the second lap. Charles was there getting ready for his third lap. They wanted me to come on out with them on the 3rd lap but I told them to go ahead cause I needed to have a little "nature break." That pit took a little longer than the last one but I was all fueled up and ready for another 12.5 miles. I could tell about 30 miles in that my riding was getting a little sketchy. My upper body was getting tired and looking back, I didn't eat enough to counteract the number of calories I was burning. Toward the end of the 3rd lap, I felt the first signs of cramps and I knew I was in trouble. I had to hop off the bike a couple of times and when I did, I got extremely light headed and feeling sick. I had pushed myself to hard too quick and was now in a bad place, way too early in the race. To help with the cramping, I put it in granny gear and spun the rest of the hills knowing I had to get some food in me on the next pit stop.

Once at the pit, I was done. My computer only said around 38 miles and I was on the verge of quitting. My legs were killing me, my stomach was uneasy, I was light headed. All in all, I felt like crap. I guess I was a little confused cause I couldn't figure out how much time I had left in the race. My watch was on CST, but we were in EST zone. Luckily Nicki came through and we figured we had 2.5 hours left in the race, including the extra hour you get at the end. After hearing that, I knew I could get in another lap no matter how bad I felt. I also thought of Charles' jersey he was wearing that day. He had written names of men and women that were given to him from friends and family of people overseas fighting in the war as well as missionaries serving all over the world. He had worn it in the Cohutta 100 a couple of weeks ago and he said every time he wanted to quit, he just looked down on his chest and those names kept him going. Well, those names kept me going as well.

After an extended pit stop involving peanut and butter and bagels, endurolytes and Sports Legs, I was ready to push through my final lap. Overall it went a lot better than the previous lap. I toned my speed some trying to conserve energy and actually enjoyed the trail a little more concentrating on my lines. Once I pulled into the pits, the first I wanted to see was the milage... it read 49.99 miles! By the time I rolled it my truck it turned over 50 miles. Sweet. :) My goal was 5 laps, I ended up with 4 with 20th place out of 38 racers. I'll take it.

Endurance racing is a whole new animal. I have a lot to learn but I learned a lot during this race about nutrition. Ed told me on the way over that the 3 most important things about endurance racing are pacing yourself, nutrition and how strong you are mentally. This wa s great day of racing and I love pushing myself to see how far I can go. And this type of racing lets you do just that.

After my race, I went back to the campsite, got cleaned up, ate everything in sight, and headed back to the race to watch the 12 hour solo racers. What an amazing thing to watch! Talk about pushing yourself to the limit. Congratulations Ed on 9 laps, 110.00 miles exactly and a 6th place finish!

Next up in the Dirty Spokes Racing Series is Conyers, GA in October. I rode there one time and said I would never go back. To say it is brutal is an understatement and almost laughable. The thought of doing a 6 hour solo race there... I am just happy it is 5 months away. :) I think I will go ride now and not think about it.

Attack on Swayback Race Report

Jeff Dorminey 2nd Place Sport Class 50+
Brooks Gant 19th Place Sport Class 30-39
Carl Viars 2nd Place Beginner Class 50+ (4th 40+)



Photos by Ed Hamilton

Jeff Dorminey

Every now and then something happens that makes me think; maybe I have learned a little something about setting up my training plan after all. This past Sunday I raced in the sport 50 + age group. As I have mentioned in the past, this is one of the two targeted mountain bike races that I want to do especially well in (the other one being Bump and Grind). The funny thing about following a systematic training plan is that if you don’t have faith in what you’re doing, sometime you’ll think its not working. Example, after lifting heavy weights all winter your legs feel heavy and hurt, you go on a group ride and you have a hard time keeping up, the other guys seem to be flying and your not , you wonder am I that slow? Have faith, follow the plan and if it’s a good plan with the right amount of stress and recovery, BINGO your ready! Ok, back to the race. As I said I raced the sport class 50+ and as usual we were the last sport class to go. Riders ready GO!!! I had told myself this time get a good start, but started in a wrong gear and got smoked to the single track , nothing like making it hard on myself. I followed the other competitors for the first mile or so, letting things sort themselves out. Ok time to go, I told the other guys I needed to pass and thanked them as I went by (us old guys realize we have to go to work the next day, so not to much shoulder rubbing in our group) , and starting moving up through the field. By this time the group had strung out and I was able to really start pushing a big gear (thanks to my winter weight training) and keeping my pace right at my lactic threshold (due to me spending long, boring hours on my trainer doing lactic threshold rides). I was feeling good, having a great time. Nothing really happened unexpected; just keep trying to push as hard as I could, without blowing up. Although a couple of times I would go over my lactic threshold (LT), sometimes way over, but because I have also been doing anaerobic threshold work, I knew I would recover, so I was able to keep pushing. Somewhere near the end of my first lap I really stated catching and passing other riders in different age groups. This got to be fun! One of the things that made my day was that I caught up with a younger guy, I told him I needed to pass. He said “is that you Mr. Dorminey” yep “man I’m getting my butt kicked by an old guy” I still don’t know if that was a complement or not (old guy?) . I finished up the first lap with a time of 45 minutes. Sid, from CycleEscape handed me a fresh bottle and a Gu (thanks Sid) as I started my second lap. I knew I was running in second place and was hoping to catch the first place guy on the second lap. Again nothing really happened unexpected during the second lap, still passing younger age group riders, having a good time, but never seeing the guy in first place ( and after seeing his time, no wonder, that guy was gone, great ride Henrik) I finished out my second lap in 47 minutes for a total ride time of 1hour 32 minutes and finishing in second place in the sport 50+.

Am I happy with my results? Very much so. I feel as thought I could not have done a better race. I was able to push a big gear, averaged a 171 heart rate (right at my LT) go way over LT a couple of times per lap (max heart rate 181) and recover, and finished second in my class to boot!

Plan to take it easy this week, then start building up towards my next target event, Bump and Grind!

Carl Viars

One of my 2 goals for this year was to become a more competitive mountain biker...actually it was more like get out of the unofficial "novice" classification,which is more of a personal stigma than anything else. To do this I planned several MTB races prior to AOS hoping to have improved skills and know-how. All this almost came unglued with a couple crashes during a pre-race ride at Columbus last week. I didn't get to race last Sunday, but managed to heal enough to ride this Saturday and race AOS on Sunday. My race strategy was different than previous years...actually race in the race. Well I went pretty hard and but still couldn't beat the MS Bulldog Swim Coach on the old rigid Trek MTB, he has beaten me in the last 3 races, to include the 2007 AOS. I felt pretty good with the 4th place in the SCRCS Beginner 40+ group and 11 out of 25 beginner men. Maybe I am starting to shed that "novice" label. I have to give a big thanks to my personal coach and advisor Jeff Dorminey. The 9.8 average MPH was a personal best for me. In the post race analysis I have to say it was a tremendous amount of fun and a large satisfying challenge. For me MTB riding and racing is a big thrill, source of great peace, and enjoyment. But! The socializing with a the other cyclist is the icing on the cake.

Brooks Gant

I Love It When A Plan Comes Together...

Last Friday I spoke of a plan that I had meticulously put together for the 2008 Attack On Swayback that marveled the likes of Johan Bruyneel of Discovery Channel for it's tactical precision and absolute ingenuity. It went something like this...

Go as hard as you can from the start and see what happens. Forget about pacing yourself. Well, mission accomplished! But I paid for it dearly by the end.

My race started at 10:30 am so I arrived at the venue about 9:45 to give myself time to get ready and warm up a bit. Lined up and surveyed my competition. Thinking in the back of my head.. he looks fast, he IS fast, so is he and him and him and him and him... this is going to be interesting! This was only my third Sport class race but I was feeling good and ready to put myself through some serious pain. I was telling myself, when the whistle blows, go! Don't wait and see who goes where, just go. And I did. Entering into the woods, I was still about 10 spots back but that was a lot better than my usual starts where I am fighting my way back from second to last place.

Once in the woods I was able to hang on and keep with the group which really surprised me. My heart rate was looking good and I just stayed on the guy's wheel in front of me. We made our way about 2 miles in and some guy up front was holding everybody up. Everybody was nice the first 10 times they asked if they could pass. But after that, it started getting a little ugly. Patience was wearing thin but this guy wasn't budging. I guess he didn't get the memo that if you can't hang at the front, get to the back! After about a mile or so, he finally realized he was holding things up. Duh. But each time somebody passed him, he would scream at them! Not exactly sure what this guy's problem was but he was definitely not having a good day. When it was my turn to pass, I just put my head down (knowing he was going to scream at me to pass) and floored it. I am not a big of of crazy people! And that was the last I saw of him thank goodness.

The rest of the first lap went great. We eventually spread out but my first lap's time was the fastest I had ever ridden that trail, 47 minutes, averaging just over 11 mph. My plan was working out beautifully!!!! Or at least I thought.

Coming out of the woods to the fire road to finish out the first lap, I sucked down a hammer gel, rode past the parking lot and entered back into the woods to start my second lap. I was feeling my earlier efforts but still had some spunk left. I figured I was about mid pack and saw 2 guys up ahead that I eventually caught and passed. Everything was going smoothly till one of those 4 inch trees literally jumped right out of the ground and leveled me flat on the ground! Well, not really. I took a turn just a little too hot and caught one of the trees and went down like a load of bricks. I knocked my right ankle against the frame of my bike and for the rest of race I really enjoyed the sensations that was providing!

Anyway, a little slower and a lot sorer, I kept pushing it. Coming around the lake for that quick uphill that took us to the Zippa, I look up and there stands Ed, photog of the day, catching everybody coming up that climb. Luckily for me, I spin out on a root which literally almost sends me over my handlebars!!!! And Ed is there clicking away with that fancy new camera of his! (thanks Ed) :) Mark Vickers comes up behind and passes me as I am getting back on my bike and I hop on his wheel for about a mile. Not long after, he drops me and I feel my engine start to cough and hiccup and sputter and I am losing power fast. I eventually hit the wall and have nothing left. This was about 13-14 miles in so I knew I still had about 5 miles left and I had to figure out a way to recover. It took about 3 miles of easy pedaling to get my legs working again and by that time I had lost about 4-5 spots. Things were not looking good and I was feeling the hurt. Once I went back into the woods for that last mile of singletrack, I knew I could hammer through there and just try and not loose any more places. Once out on the fire road, I shifted into the big ring and turned it into a time trial back to the finish. I was very happy to be done with this race cause I was done.

Not sure of my place yet, but it was somewhere near the bottom I am sure. But I am very happy with my performance even though I bonked toward the end. This was the fastest I had ridden this trail and I know my results will improve as long as I continue training. Just have to work on my endurance. Looking at my Camelbak when I got home, I didn't drink nearly enough liquids as well. But I can honestly say I think it was because I was having so much fun. It just caught up with me at the end. Once I cooled down, I hung out with some of the guys after the race from Cycle Escape and Chain Reaction. It was good to see such a large number of locals coming out to support their local race. This is such a great race and they have really done a great job with it. Can't wait till next year!

Jeff's Money Worth List

For the past two years I have sent out this e-mail so again I thought it might be fun to list my favorite items and see if they match up with others. So here I go.

Road bike stuff:

1) Speed play pedals- if you have any kind of knee or hip problems, these are the way to go.

2) Over size carbon bar with oversize stem- I use to get numb hands after about 40 miles till I started using this, doesn’t happen any more, also the oversize stuff keeps the flex away.

3) Cork tape- nothing has the fill of cork tape.

4) 16 tooth rear cog- for me and a lot of others, the 16t is the perfect gear.

5) Seats with cut out- I don’t know if they really help, but it gives me peace of mind.

6) Light Wheel set- If you what to take weight off your bike, wheels are the best place. Replace heavy tires with lighter ones (230 grams or less) or if you can, a wheel set weighing less than 1500 grams.

7) Co2 air- to fix flats. Much faster than a pump.

Mtn bike stuff

I don’t really ride my mtn bike as much as I use to so I really don’t have that much.

1) Time pedals- have used them since 95 or 96 and really like the float and release. This past year I tried a pair of egg beaters and they work about the same as the Time but maybe a little lighter.

2) Hutchison python tires- there are newer tires out there, but these have always worked well for me in most conditions.

General everything else

1) Knee and arm warmers- if you want to still be riding when you 60, you need to take care of your knees when you 30. If its 63° or less I’m going to have them on.

2) The high end Giro helmets- First time I paid $150 for a helmet, I had second thoughts about my sanity, till I felt how light it was and the HUGE amount of air that got sucked through it.

3) Bibb shorts- I bought my first pair 10 years ago and have not had anything since (look at what the pros use).

4) Pro link chain lube- apply, wipe off repeat, presto clean chain.

5) ¾ length or full length zipper- I will not buy a jersey with anything less with the heat we have here.

6) Specialized water bottles- they just have the right fill, not to hard not to soft and with good tops.

7) Cytomax – keeps the cramps away for me.

8) Peanut butter power bars- I like the way they taste.

9) Plain gu- if you forget to eat your peanut butter power bar and you bonk, this will give you about 30’ worth of juice, than take another.

10) Good gloves, seat, and shoes- you only make contact with your bike in three places, so you want the best you can afford.

11) Cyclops fluid trainer- great for indoor workouts or warming up for a race.

Well that’s if for me. If you have any thoughts send them out so others can compare. It might also be fun to list any thing you bought or tried that you thought was junk or a waste of money.

Jeff Dorminey