Bamacross #2 - Tuscaloosa

:)

Bamacross #2 was hosted by the Tuscaloosa Velocity Pro Cycle at Sokol Park. The weather was a little cool at the start with a north-east wind. The sun was bright and it quickly warmed-up, but remained pleasant. Jeff Dorminey and Carl Viars represented Cycle Escape with about 8 riders from Chain Reaction. Jeff D. raced in the Masters' 45+ and if that wasn't enough he also race in the B race. Two 45 minute races in one day is a big chore. Jeff placed 4th in the Masters' 45+, he was racing against some of the best riders in the state. I raced in the C's and barely managed 13th out of 18, barely meaning it was a sprint finish with some guy from GCC. It was a fun course and of course an opportunity to work yourself over.
Jeff and I will attest that cyclocross is the most enjoyable of the cycling races.

Next week is the Chain Reaction Cyclocross race at Cooter's Pond Park.

Race Report AOS by Carl

The 2007 Attack on Swayback turned out to be an exceptional event on a most beautiful day. The crowd seemed large and the trial was in super shape. I was really nervous for some unknown reason...more than likely performance anxiety. Being in the beginner 50+ class is not particularly worrisome with such a small field of old slow guys. Regardless, I still want to try my best and put forth a respectable effort. I always have a goal of trying to do a little better each time I race. I felt like I was off to a good start, got hung up with a few crashes in front of me, trying to keep moving as fast as I could and still maintain control. Some where around 3-4 miles my rear triangle bolt came loose forcing me to stop several times and go real slow. It took me a while to figure out what the problem was, which I did just prior to the sharp right to climb to the zipper. I thought about abandoning, but at the last minute I changed my mind and headed up to the zipper. Just prior to starting down the zipper I stopped to see if the bold had fell out and a guy stopped and lent me an allen wrench. After securing the bolt, I kicked it in gear and tried to make up for lost time (remember it's me). The remainder of the race was fun and stress free. I finished in 49 minutes, which was my time last year. That was comforting, I felt despite the mechanical issue I still made better time than last year. Despite that I placed 3rd in the beginner 50+ (out of 4).

Dead Dog Race Report

Dead Dog mtn bike race report

By Jeff Dorminey

Last Saturday I hitched a ride with Dave Hiott, and we drove up to Trussville to pre ride the course. I did two easy laps and one moderate lap, enough to get the fill of the course. Dave did two easy and one @ race speed. Dave told me later he felt good, which proved to be true the next day. (Congrats Dave on your 1^st place in the 40 to 49 age group.) After the pre ride we stopped on the way home and had some good Mexican food.

Sunday morning, Dave once again came by and picked me up and also catching a ride with us was Mike White (who came for team support). We all had a good time on the drive up and I new it was going to be a great day. We arrived at the race in time for me to get registered and a good warm up. Finally it was time for the sport riders to line up, by our respected by age group, with the 50 + age group being last. 5..4..3..2..1..GO! we were off; I was second going into the single track. The competitor ahead of me was faster in the single track, not by much, but getting a little gap. I did notice that when it went up hill, I was able to close the gap pretty fast. I also notice (felt) that I was riding at my limit and wondered how long I would be able to follow this guy, at this speed. When we had completed about ¾ of the first lap we came to the ball field hill (what I think is the hardest hill of the course)I was just about to have to back of my pace a bit when the guy in front started to slow, so I made the pass , wow! That hurt, Hey I’m in 1^st place! Ok, so I thought to myself, the guy I just passed is going to recover and come back pass me like I’m sitting still. With that thought in mind, I really keep pushing, way past the point of pain, managing to hold that intensity for the remaining 2 ¼ laps, and came in with the win. After Dave and I collected our hard earned rewards, we packed up, and the three of up drove back to Montgomery, with Mike and Dave having to listen to me talk about my race the whole way home. It was awesome!

Dead Dog

CONGRATULATIONS!

Jeff Dorminey placed 1st in the Sport +50 class today at the Dead Dog MTB Race in Trussville, AL.

BamaCross #1 West Homewood

Well the first cyclocross race for 2007 had a big turn out. BBC hosted the event at a city park in the west Homewood community of Birmingham. The course was well laid out, consisting of all the necessary elements for a good cross race. Each of the categories had plenty of competition, including a big group of Georgia CX'ers. Jeff Dorminey and Carl Viars represented Cycle Escape.

Here's a link to some photos that Amy and I took.

http://good-times.webshots.com/album/560980943jBUJQw

12 hours of Tsali race report

What a great weekend!  My Hunny & I drove up to Bryson City on Thursday and moved into the little mountainside cabin that would be our home for the next few nights.  The weather was perfect & the views were magnificent.  Friday morning, after a big pancake & French toast breakfast, we headed up to the trails at Tsali for a bit of a ride.  My wife, who has limited singletrack experience, did great on the trails and had a blast.  She only fell a couple of times, & those falls were more related to the clipless pedals that I had recently installed for her.  We ended up riding the entire 11 mile race course backwards which was a bit more than we had bargained for, but she was a trooper & hung in there.

The day of the race was cool and very dry, giving rise to some very dusty trail conditions.  That's better than mud in my book!  I had some friends who were doing a 3 person team and since I was entered in the 6 hour solo division, I set up my pit with them.

The Lemans start was 400 or 500 yard uphill run to the bike drop area.  I knew that as a non runner, I would not gain places with a strong run, but I sure could burn a ton of matches.  Needless to say, I was the next to last one on my bike!

The course started with a long gravel road climb and I tried to keep the heart rate down.    I was passing some riders and feeling pretty good.  After I topped the climb, I heard a course marshal say to go slow as they had a rider down.  I did go slowly and as I passed this huge mogul on the downhill I saw a rider laying on the ground.  A volunteer was checking them.  I kept a steady pace for the rest of the first lap and stopped at the pit just long enough for some chain lube.  The dusty conditions were making my chain squeak & I hate that.

Just as I topped the first climb on my second lap, the medical ATV pulled out in front of me and the medic guy said that they had a rider down.  I stayed behind the ATV for most of the descent until he came to the same spot that the rider on the first lap had crashed.  I later heard a helicopter overhead and I assumed that he had been airlifted out.  The next lap I saw that they had taped off that mogul and detoured us around it.  That was a good idea.

I kept up my steady pace, reeling off three laps, all at about 1 hour each, including pit stops.  I was being conservative on the climbs but letting it hang out a bit on the descents.  Man that is one fun trail! 

Just a few minutes after leaving the pit on my 4th lap, my chain started skipping.  I couldn't figure out why it would suddenly start this.  In my mind I was thinking that all that had been done was a little lubing of the chain.  How the heck could that make it skip?  On the second big climb (the one that was like a V shaped drainage ditch) I found out what could make it skip when my chain broke.  It didn't break with a "snap" like a chain usually does; it just kind of fell apart.  When I looked at it, the links were fine but the pin was gone.  It was then that I remembered getting a stick caught in the spokes & I guess that did it!  Anyway I whipped out my trusty bag of tricks, put in a quick-link and was on my way.  I figured that the incident cost me about 8 minutes.

I finished that lap, and by the time I started the 5th lap, I was feeling the day's efforts.  I had noted on my last trip through the finish line that the cut off for going out on another lap was 4:40.  It was now about 3:40.

I was starting to struggle on this 5th lap. I would go through periods of feeling like total crap, and then I would feel good for a few minutes, then feel like crap again.  I kept plugging along & finished the lap at about 5:46 or so.  I missed the cut off by just about the amount of time it took to fix my chain!  I was ok with that though, as I was toast anyway.  One more lap would have probably turned into a death march.

All in all, this race was a blast!  I'm really starting to get hooked on this endurance thing after Yargo & Tsali.  I'm looking forward to Dausett this fall and maybe next year I'll be ready for a 12 hour.  Right now, I can't even imagine doing 12 hours.

I sure hope that the riders that I saw injured are ok.  If anybody has any info on them, please pass it along.  I'm sure that they are in all of our thoughts today.

Ed

Ed's Dirty Spokes Solo 6 Hour Endurance Race

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This had to be one of the most fun events I've ever done! A special thanks to the ICI/Chain Reaction guys for putting up with me on Friday night & really helping me during my pit stops. They would fill my camelback, lube my chain & help me with anything else I needed. I hope I wasn't too demanding guys!

Now on to the race report!

Dirty Spokes 12 hour race, Ft Yargo Ga. (6 hour solo sport division)

Mission accomplished.

I met every goal that I set for myself. Since this was my first attempt at this type of thing (6 hour solo), I set the following goals;

5 laps of the 12 mile course (that would put me at 10 mph avg.)
Consistent lap times
Start conservatively, finish strong
Don't die


Here were my results (I kept my time on my watch);
lap 1 - 1:14:47 (with parade lap & tons of slower riders to pass)
No stop between laps 1 & 2
Lap 2 - 1:11:01
Pit stop - 5:37
Lap 3 -1:11:07
Pit stop - 4:37
lap 4 - 1:09:53
Pit stop - 4:51
Lap 5 - 1:11:58

Total for 5 laps (60 miles) - 6:13:49

This is a fun, flowing trail and I love some single track! I felt like I was letting it hang out on the descents and in the twisty stuff. I also held back on the climbs so that I would have the legs to finish. This led to me passing people on the downs & then getting caught on the climbs. Since I had no crashes and actually only had to unclip in self defense once or twice, I think I had the right strategy. I finished 7th out of 19 starters on my class. I'll take it!

Big kudos go out to Dave Hiott for that 6th lap and 4th place finish. He was riding super strong! He caught up to me on one of the first few laps (I don't remember which one, some of that day is kinda fuzzy in my brain!) right before this long climb up a gas line. In about a half a mile he put about 40 seconds on me. Ouch! I don't think I could have ridden a 6th lap if I had another 6 hours. Way to go Dave!

Thanks again to the ICI/CR crew for all the help & support. All you guys that mountain bike need to try one of these endurance race things. Honestly, a 6 hour solo is about like riding a century on the road, but a ton more fun!

Ed

Ft Yargo MTB Race

Fort Yargo Mtn Bike Race Report

I’m getting back into racing my Mtn Bike this year, so this past Sunday J-rod, Abby (J-rods future better half) Ed Hamilton and myself loaded up the old van and left @ 3:30 A.M.( note to self- 3:30 A.M. is very early) and headed over to Georgia. J-rod and Abby slept all the way but Ed stayed awake to keep me awake, self-preservation I guess. I had wanted to get to the race about an hour and a half early to be registered and warmed up. We actually got there about 45’ before the start. By the time I got registered I had a good 15’s of warm-up (note to self- I need at least 45’ to 1 hr for warm-up).Because I am now 50, I get to race in the GRAND MASTERS CLASS, or as my loving wife calls it, the last class you’ll ride till you die. I guess because we are so old, the race organizers fear that it’ll get dark before we finish so they let us race first. After my good 15’ warm-up, I lined up on the start line for my first time with the other GRAND MASTERS, and with talking with them on the start line I was told that generally this age group does not get tested for performance enhancing drugs because the officials don’t really think its nobody's business who uses things like Celias, Geritol or Grecian formula hair tonic. Because I did not get to pre-ride the course and due to my lack of adequate warm-up, I quickly came up with a plan, just follow the group and after I get warmed up ATTACK and start moving up through the class. Great plan, or so I thought. The starter yelled go…twice (none of us old guys hear that well), and we took off like a bunch of wild Indians, old Indians but wild ones, had to get finished before dark you know. I went into the single track as planed, last place but still had the group in sight (and at my age that’s not that far). About 30’ into the race I started getting warmed up and put the second part of the great plan into action, ATTACK. As we hit the power line, a slight climb I passed a couple of folks, one in my class and somebody else just out walking, at the top of the climb I was really letting it hang out, so I zipped up my jersey so my stomach wouldn’t show as much and keep charging, trying to catch and pass others in my class, when coming down a fast hill, I noticed a very sharp turn with a big dip, even though I noticed it, I could not react to it and took a trip over the handlebars and hit the ground hard (note to self- 50 year olds don’t bounce they kinda thud ) the person that I had worked so hard to pass came back by as I was picking myself off the ground and asked if I was alright, I said yea I think so, just a little scared. By the time I got going again nobody was in sight and I had decided that my plan was NOT TO GOOD so I quickly came up with a second plan, finish the first loop with a little caution and ATTACK on the second loop. I finished the first loop with out another incident. Now that I had gained all that knowledge from the first lap I was able to ATTACK the second lap at a much greater speed, a good 1/2 to 1 mph faster... at times, and even passed a guy in my class (thank goodness he was on the side of the trail with broken a chain) and even a couple of junior sport class riders (ha take that you young wiper-snapper) and I even managed to finished the race before dark as well. Did I have a good time? Heck yea. Did I learn anything? Yea (1) all kidding aside the grand masters class is not any slower than some of the other sport classes, (2) pre ride the course if at all possible, and (3) get a good warm-up. Well that about sums it up for this time. My next MTN bike race will more than likely be the Bump and Grind in Birmingham. Hope to see you there...

Jeff Dorminey

Whistlestop Race Report

Whistlestop Duathlon Race Report by Carl Viars

For the 2007 (12^th) Whistlestop Duathlon one thing was clear to those who raced and to those that stayed home—Sunday, April 15^th was winter-like cold and windy. Yesterday the high and low temperature for Birmingham was 41/53 degrees, combined with the winds and overcast conditions made most wonder if they should have stayed in bed. Whistlestop is part of the Powerman Alabama Duathlon Series which pro athletes compete along with amateurs of various athletic abilities. The Whistlestop format is a 2.7 mile run, a 17 mile bike, and a 2.7 mile run. The Powerman format is a 5 mile runs and a 33 mile bike leg. I don’t have the running base for the double 5 mile runs of the Powerman, so I have stuck with the Whistlestop to get my fill of multi-sporting.

With the winter-like conditions you didn’t see people out warming up prior to the start. Most were huddled-up inside until their group was called to the starting line. For a novice like myself my strategy was to warm-up on the first run (2.7 miles). I tried to pace myself and not push it too hard on cold muscles to avoid an injury in the first 20 minutes. I quickly realized that I had overdressed, being so cold and windy I thought I could get way with wearing my bike jersey with arm warmers over my base layer of a singlet and a Underamour shirt. Wrong! It quickly got real hot, I had to pull my arm warmers down and suffer through the run. Then I was real concerned about being hot, wet, and sweaty…then jumping on the bike for a freezing. The transition to the bike leg was slow and uneventful…but it was a big relief to get on the bike.

The bike leg seemed like it would be dismal with the cold weather, overcast and windy conditions—fortunately it didn’t rain. Despite the weather the 17 mile ride wasn’t bad, I actually was a little on the warm side, and the time/mileage went by pretty fast. I felt real comfortable on the bike and on the aerobars. I didn’t experience any discomfort, but didn’t break any personal records either. In retrospect I was probably in a “survival mode” mentally speaking and wasn’t pushing myself against the weather elements. Several times I had guys pass by me real fast with a “P” marked on their calf; I realized later that stood for “PRO.” The transition to the second run was once again slow and uneventful…unlike the last transition I wasn’t glad to move on to the next leg.

The start of the second run was significantly different than my two previous Whistle Stop attempts—I wasn’t hit by lower back spasms immediately after starting the run…Thank goodness! This leg was simple trying to keep moving one foot in front of the other to finish. The 2^nd run turned out better than any previous attempt and I even had a little left at the end to finish strong—relatively speaking.

My total time was 1:46:42 which was 65^th out of 175 Whistlestop racers and 4^th (of 9) in the 50-54 age-group. Compared to 2005 I was about 45 seconds slower this time on the first run, roughly 5 minutes slower on the bike, and 2 minutes faster on the 2^nd run. I know the conditions for the bike leg was tough, but you always look to improve your performance. I am glad I toughed it out so to speak and competed this year—the epic weather conditions will provide the ingredients of many stories in the future.

Arrowhead race report

During the early morning drive over to Macon Sunday morning I had the feeling that I had forgotten something, but I just couldn't put my finger on it. We (My Hunny & I) had pulled out at 4:15 am, after spending 6 hours in the car the day before taking our daughter to Mobile to catch a cruise ship.

I knew it was going to be cold during my warm up time (about 38*) so I took my trainer & cross bike to warm up with. About 5 minutes into my warm up, I remembered what I left at home.

Legs.

I do my trainer rides by speed, using a rear mounted computer, so I know how much power I should be able to produce. My power during the warm up was way down. I finished my warm up & headed to the start.

I had a good time chatting with all the usual Sport 40+ class suspects. Duckman of course had to yell out "Hey, does anybody gotta go pee?" I asked who all was new to the class this year & got a few hands to raise. I then asked them if they had any weapons such as guns, knives or billy clubs on them. When they replied "no", I told them that if they would go over to the sign up desk, that they would give them one! It's a brutal class! Then we all got to see Duckman, one of the old hands, whip out his multi tool and tighten up his front rotor bolts like he had all day. Thing is, he started this operation with about 45 seconds to go before the start!

As soon as they said "go!", my worst fears were confirmed. I had nothing. Let me tell you, MTB racing ain't no poker game. You can't bluff your way to the front of the pack! I decided to just make the best of it & ride my own race. I went as hard as I could, but still had an average HR about 4 or 5 bpm below threshold. I usually run about 2 bpm over. Not good. But the course was tight, a bit techy & in great shape, so I still had a blast. I managed to catch one guy in my class, make a pass & drop him for good. That was satisfying!

Well, the result of all my efforts was a 12th place finish out of 26 starters. I am still at a loss as to why my legs were so bad. Maybe I did too much the week before? Maybe the driving? Bad nutrition? I don't know. But like the Governator said, "I'll be back"!

Race Report: Sumatanga Practice Race #3

My son (Jerrod) and I both rode in the "B" class, Jerrod stayed in the front of the pack, and me, hanging out in the back , I rode three out of the four laps with the group ( about 50 of us), but at the start of the fourth lap, I peeled off and started the BIG CLIMB (a very hard climb) a lap early, so I would be at the top when Jerrod finished ( I knew he would be one of the top finishers and I was not worried about hanging with the pack for one more lap) and, I also wanted to make the climb.I was at the top when the finishers crossed the line and saw Jerrod finish fourth about 45" after the winner. Overall a good day even though I did not officially finish (it was only a training race) I did what I had set out to do, hang with the pack and get back in the groove of riding in a big group a race speeds.

Jeff Dorminey

Velo News Photo Contest Winner

Cycle Escape Team Member Carl Viars
Wins Week 2 of the
2007 Velo News Photo Contest

http://www.velonews.com/news/fea/11500.0.html

Snake Creek Gap MTB/TT

Ed Hamilton has kicked off the 2007 with the first race of the year.

Check out http://www.photoreflect.com/pr3/OrderPage.aspx?pi=0EPS0017020066&po=67&c

Yesterday I went up to Dalton, Georgia for the Snake Creek Gap MTB/TT, and let me tell you, this is one tough trail! The sign in & finish is right in Dalton, but the start is several miles south of town so we loaded our bikes in trailers and onto car roof racks and were driven to the start. About 3 minutes into the drive to the start, I realized that I had forgotten my electrolyte capsules. Not good. Oh well, nothing to be done now.

We started 3 at a time with a group leaving every minute or so. The start was along a gravel road leading to the first single track. When they said "go", my start partners took off like it was a 15 mile X-C event and I said "see ya!". There was no way I was going to try that on a ride that has the rep of the Snake. My race strategy was simple; start easy, back off a bit in the middle, then really ease off at the end. Easier said than done on this trail! On the first climb I was approaching threshold while "spinning" the granny gear. Think a hill like 2 mile hill or teeter-totter hill at Swayback, except 3 miles long. The rest of the ride had every type of climb imaginable, from steep & rooty to middle ring fire road. The descents were the same. Some fast, smooth & swooping, some steep & gnarly. There was even a down hill fire road where I swear I hit 40 mph!

After almost 2 hours of this kind of riding, I hit the sag stop. It was supposed to be at 17 miles, but my computer said about 15 miles. I stopped only long enough to check the air in my rear tire as it had lost a little pressure. Here's a tip for ya; avoid doing a ride like this on brand new tires that you have never ridden. I felt good as I left the sag and settled into a good rhythm. Rhythm would be important as the climb out of the sag was a long one.

Somewhere around mile 23 or so I came to a stretch of very rocky trail that was some what uphill with some descending thrown in. Most of this section reminded me of the way the rock garden at Oak Mountain used to be, with a mix of baby heads & boulders. I felt good in this section & it was a bunch of fun, so I kinda let it hang out a bit. May I pushed a bit too hard, because when I hit the last 5 miles, I was getting tired. I also felt the twinges of cramps beginning. Remember those electrolyte capsules? I wish I had!

The last miles were the hardest of the whole ride. The rock gardens turned into rock forests & the baby heads were full grown monsters! Kind of like a flat to uphill Blood Rock. Then the trail turned up. And up. And up some more. These were the steepest, longest, most technical climbs that I have ever seen. It seemed like it went on forever, and it got steeper as it went on. I had to walk a bunch of it and some of that walking was difficult. Ever pushed your bike along at a zone 4 HR? Big fun.

I didn't think that it would ever end, but it did. I eventually came out onto a paved road (the only pavement I had seen for a long time) and was directed towards the finish. About a mile of screaming downhill on the paved road & I was done. 5:05:47 (that's 5 HOURS!), with a ride time of 4:48 something. My average was just under 7 mph.

I think that this ride tests all aspects of mountain biking. A rider not only needs to have the fitness to make the miles and hold the intensity, but also the technical skill to make the climbs, clean the rock gardens and rip the descents. I see now why there are so many good mountain bikers in Georgia!

BTW I saw Saul Raisin (Credit Agricol Pro tour rider, http://www.saulraisin.com/sitemain/ ) in the parking lot. He is from Dalton. How cool is that?

This was the first of three Snakes that will be held this year. The next two are on February 3 and March 3. If anybody feels up to the challenge, give me a call and ride up there with me. I hope to do them both & improve my time with each attempt.

Results: http://www.nwgasorba.org/Snake2007/Results_Jan07.htm

Event website; http://www.nwgasorba.org/the_snake.html

Ride lots!

Ed