2018 Funk Bottoms Gravel, Single Speed this year.

June 16th was the 8th edition of the Funk Bottoms Gravel race. This year my oldest son who just started riding decided to do the race.  I thought it was very ambitious of him to try Funk Bottoms as his first race.  I was going to let him ride my mountain bike but I didn't get around to getting it fixed in time.  Being the nice guy I am, he was given the opportunity to ride stinky pink.  That left me with the option of riding my single speed.

Relive '2018 funk bottoms gravel 100K single speed'

The course changes a little bit each year and this year the first 8 and last 8 miles were out and back.   The route was 66.7 miles with almost 7,000 feet of climbing.  I knew exactly what I was getting myself into riding single speed, since I designed the course.  This years route had about 100 yards of flat and short neutral roll out before the climbing fun began.

 

 

Funk Bottoms Gravel has grown steadily over the years the race was now starting at the Lake Park in Big Prairie, OH. The 8th edition had the largest starting field yet.  Thanks to Hammer Nutrition, Yeungling, Kenda Tire, Velocity, Chamios Butt'r, Pro Gold, DeFeet and the many racers who purchased shirts and made donations the Funk Bottoms is a FREE race. 

 

Photo: Potenza

After I gave the last minute instructions and course notes everyone lined up for the start. As I walked over to get my bike and put on my helmet everyone took off. Nothing like being the last person to roll out of the parking lot.  I was in no hurry since I was going to try and ride with my son and help him along. That plan went out the window as soon as we hit he first climb still within view of the starting line. My gear selection for the day was a 42x20, which actually worked out better than I thought. My son and Paul got dropped on the first climb since I could not take it easy, and after all there was the bet of ice cream between us. The first few miles were rolling hills and a large group riding down the road.

Twp 508 at the start. Photo: Potenza

 

Photo: Potenza

 

 

The first climb that was going to be a challenge was just over 5 miles in. We made a right turn on Twp 501 and was faced with a wall.  Somehow I managed to make the climb and stay with the group.

 

Photo: Dan

 

 

When we marked the course on Friday the county was out grading some of the roads. When we got on Twp 217 was the first time of many that I was forced to bust out the walk.  The climb was short but steep, and very loose from the grading the day before.   Later in the day this hill would come back to haunt me. I lost contact with the group I was riding with whilst walking and it seemed I would spend a good part of the day riding alone after that. 





 

 

Around 11 miles in while on one of the few short flat sections I dropped my chain.  A quick adjustment and I was back on my way.

Around mile 18 near Killbuck. Photo: Dan

 

 

Rolling into Killbuck at mile 20 I was feeling not bad and happy to have almost a third of the race done.  A quick stop in the Marathon gas station to get a liter of water to top off my bottles.  My fueling strategy was to use what I know works very well.  I had made 3 bottles of my favorite Orange-Vanilla  Hammer Perpetuem. I had planned to take one Hammer Endorolyte about once and hour and planned on 4-5 Hammer Gels for the race.  Carrying 2 bottles on my bike and one in my jersey worked out well. The forecast called for afternoon thunderstorm's and  temperatures  in the mid 80's so staying hydrated was going to be a concern.   Even though I knew the "secret" checkpoint was 21 miles away I didn't want to be caught without water.  The 33 miles from Killbuck to Glenmont were the most scenic and difficult section of the race.

 

I was able to ride a good amount of the climbs while keeping the walking to a minimum.  Riding single speed you have to figure out the energy wasted grinding up a hill at 2 mph versus walking at a slightly slower pace.  Around mile 30 there was a racer changing a flat so I let him use my pump and it gave me a few minute break at the top of a hill.  By the time the secret checkpoint arrived  at mile 41 two of my bottles were empty.  A quick refill of the bottles mixed with Perpetuem and I was on my way.

 

Secret checkpoint Photo: Nate Burkes 

 

 

After leaving the checkpoint there was about a mile of pavement and easy spinning before a nice long smooth downhill.  As the old adage goes "what goes down must come up"  is very true at The Funk Bottoms. The nice smooth downhill was followed by a nice long grind and some more walking for short sections.

 

 

 

The long downhill on Twp 136 was very loose with fresh gravel and rutted.  The road was fine two weeks prior when a group of us did the full route to verify the cue sheet. All the loose rock made for quite the surprise and it was a high pucker factor.  After surviving that section there was another 1.5 mile climb that was mostly rideable before a long easy downhill into Glenmont.  It had only been 12 miles since my bottles got filled up and only 16 miles left.  I could not pass on tradition of getting the ice cold spring water in Glenmont. I had a Hammer Gel along with a bottle of cold water and was on my way in about a minute.

 

 

 

 

After leaving Glenmont was the last big climb of the day. Needless to say the walk was busted out for what hopefully would be the last time at the steep part of the climb.  Once I got to the top and was riding again I joined 2 other riders and there was a group up the road.  Once we caught the other group I could see that 3 of them were on single speeds.  Two of the single speed guys were doing the 200K so I did the math's and I figured that I was first or second in the 100K single speed.  I normally start out slow and ride the second half faster.  The other 100K single speed racer looked like he was tired and I still had a little gas in the tank with less than 10 miles left in the race.  I decided to try and push the pace and see how much my legs would hurt.  We turned on 217 with the two way traffic of the 200K racers going out for second lap. I was going down the steep loose hill that was the first one I walked earlier in the day and hit a big rock and heard my back tire blow.  After coasting to the top of the next hill I changed my flat as quick as I could.  Several racers passed me whilst the flat was being changed. With 7 miles left I was hoping that the other single speed racers could be caught but it would a difficult chase. Just my luck with 2 miles left another flat on my back tire, after swapping out tubes again I was on my way.  Now I was racing against the rain that was on the way. With less than a mile left it started to drizzle and I could tell a downpour was coming. I was able to finish about 10 seconds before a big downpour.

 

Photo: Dan

 

I had been using my dismount skills all day so why pass up another chance to use them.  After all cross is coming.

Photo: Dan

 

 

 



 



 



 



I finished 3rd in Single Speed 12 minutes back from first place.  Both first and second passed me as I was changing my first flat with 7 miles to go.  Like they say in NASCAR "that's racin" My son gave a great effort but only made it 32 miles.  I see Honey Hut in my future.

Thanks again to Hammer Nutrition for all the support you give me.  I am proud to be a Hammer sponsored athlete. 

2015 Mohican 100

On Saturday May 30th I lined up for my fourth Mohican 100 Mountain Bike Race. The weather forecast for the week leading up to the race called for rain everyday including race day.  Luckily the only day there was rain was on Wednesday.  On Saturday there were strong storms in the forecast for the afternoon.  During the pre-race announcements Ryan O'Dell advice for avoiding the rain in the afternoon was to finish early.  I knew that was not going to happen with me.

Friday afternoon after I went for a short ride and ate diner I was going to get my bike ready and get my drop bags ready.  I looked at my front tire and saw one of the knobs had shredded from the tire down to the casing and a few other knobs didn't look good either.  Several 765 Racing teammates were planning to come down on Saturday and do Bourbon hand-ups and watch the race.  I made a quick call to see if one of them could bring me an extra tire in the morning, unfortunately they all decided to stay home.  Potenza meet me at the Uncle Pilot in Lodi  with a selection of tires. 

I didn't think this tire would have another 100 miles in it.

Saturday morning I left my campsite and rode the 2 miles to the start as my warm up. I arrived about 15 minutes before the start and just relaxed before what I knew would be a long day on the bike.

Photo: Kevin Pietrzyk

The race starts in downtown Loudonville and heads up the Tanney Hill, and the first person to the top get  $200.

Photo: Tim Christy

 

Cresting the Tanny Hill with the mighty KP right behind

Photo: Tim Christy

 

 

 

One of my goals was to get through the race without crashing.  I still had some bad bruises on my right arm and leg from a crash the weekend before when I rode two laps of the Mohican trail. Due to weather and other time constraints I was only able to make two trips down to ride the trail before the race. I knew that as long as I continue to fuel properly I would get through the race even though my technical skills were lacking this year. Luckily for me I am fueled by Hammer Nutrition and use the same mixture for training and racing. I use a mixture of Hammer Nutrition Perpetuem Heed. Since  the race was going to be hot and humid in the morning I used Enduroltes Extreme. Since they pack 3x the sodium and potassium of the original formula I needed to take one an hour and carry only one tube for the day.  Since Hammer Nutrition was a sponsor of the race know Hammer Gels  and Heed would be at the aid stations was a relief.

 

 

 

I made it through the first few miles without any problems but was getting some odd ghost shifting in a few gears on the rocks and the roots.  It was odd since the bike would not change gears on smoother sections of trail. My chain and cassette were only a month only with less than 200 miles on them.  When I got to aid station #1 I lubed my chain and it helped for a little bit.  When I arrived at aid station #2 the mechanic asked if I needed anything and he grabbed my bike while I refilled my camelback with my favorite mixture of Perpetuem and Heed. When I got back to my bike the mechanic determined that the rear cable was not moving smooth and was hanging up in the housing.  I added a bunch of lube on the cable and it seemed to help for the rest of the ride.

I left aid station #3 15 minutes ahead of  last year and was feeling good. After aid station 3.5 there was several miles of new single track that was fairly muddy when I got to it.  That section turned into  a hike a bike for a little bit and my legs were dead after that.  Right after I left aid Station #4 in Glenmont I had heavy rains for an hour.  I had a difficult time seeing due to the heavy rain. I continued on with my slow pace for the rest of the day and it stayed dry until the very end.  I was past the last aid station with about 2 miles left and I could hear the thunder and it was getting dark.  When I exited the trail of the state park with a mile to go the heavy rains came back again.  I finished in 12:05.  Not my fastest time for a 100 mile race but I survived without any major problems.

2015 Finisher growler

my Mohican 100 collection.

 

Up next is the Funk 200 http://funkbottomsgravel.com

2014 Mohican 100 MTB

 

 

This was my third attempt the Mohican 100 MTB race. I had pulled my rectus femoris which is where the hip flexor meets the quad 10 days before the race.  I had a difficult time walking for a few days after I pulled it. That's what I get for being an old man and helping the St. Basil bobcats CYO track team. There is nothing like feeling a pop in your legs and instant pain.  A week of resting my leg felt ok before the start.  I did not want to push too hard in the early miles only pay for it later in the race.

 

The start of the race had an extended road section since people were trespassing on private property in the week leading up to the race. I actually thought the new start worked out better and avoided the backup of riders at the start of the single track.

 

After seeing some NASCAR size pileups at the start of the race I decided lineup in the very back. Once the first climb I went at a steady pace and passed a few riders.  After crashing last year 3 times on the state park section of trail I decided to take it easy.  I was passed by a few riders but also managed to pass a few. I was surprised that  by the end of the trail the amount of riders that suffering and they were only 25 miles into the race.  After checking my ride on Strava I have determined that my biggest strength on the mountain bike is busting out the walk.

 

When I arrived at aid station #2 I went to grab my drop bag and was unable to find it.  Lucky for me I had mixed several bag of Hammer Nutrition Perpetuem and HEED filled my Camelbak and kept going. During the Mohican Wilderness section of the race I lost my momentum in the rock and busted out the walk again.  I actually caught and passed a rider in this section walking.  When I arrived at aid station #3 my missing drop bag was there.

The missing drop bag

 

After aid station#3 there are nice long sections of gravel roads and the Holmes Country Trail.  I rode with a few other riders during this section of the race. After leaving Glenmont at aid station #4 I just continued to grind out the miles.  I was surprised that I was able to ride one of the longer gravel hills after mile 80. 

 

My time of 11:35 was 9 minutes slower than last year.  During the race I didn't feel like I wasted time at the aid stations but I could have made my stops more efficient.  Aid station #2 and #4 I gave my bike to the mechanics to get some chain lube after I got water.  That cost me a few minutes at each

 stop.  I also had an additional 5 miles for the race this year.

 

Post race





 

Another Mohican growler for the collection