2014 Gravel Worlds

I made my 5th trip to Lincoln Nebraska for the Gravel Worlds again hosted by the Pirate Cycling League. The course normally is a giant loop around Lincoln with a few minor changes each year to keep it interesting.  The big change to this years course was it would be run clockwise this year for the first time. After last year's blast furnace I was not looking forward to the last 35 miles being into the normal afternoon winds. This year the race started and finished near Denton for the second year at the Reinkordt farm.

 

 

To keep track of riders along the course there normally are 3 stops for Powerball tickets and secret checkpoints. For the first time the PCL had the checkpoints on the cue sheets which helped determine how much food and water to carry between stops. Racers need to be self supported and must purchase water or whatever else they need in the small towns. The racers need to stop in small town gas stations and general stores to purchase Powerball tickets to prove they made the stops in order.   The day before I prepared several plastic bags mixed with Hammer Nutrition Perpetuem and HEED for each bottle I would need. I mixed up 6 bags of mix along with the 2 bottles I started with and hoped it would be enough for 153 miles.

 

 

Potenza getting bike ready before start.  Photo courtesy of Stephen Lam

 

Racers lined up at the start

 

 

 

The PCL delayed the start of the race 15 minutes due to some road construction on Denton Road 5 miles into the race.  There was some culverts being replaced and 30 foot drop-offs on side of road which would be hard to determine where the road ends in the dark.

 

 

After riding this section on Friday I was glad the PCL kept rider safety in mind for the delayed start.  The section was only a mile and not that difficult to ride with another rider, but would be more challenging with 150+ other riders around. I looked at my Garmin when I finished the section and it was 6:40 and sunrise was at 6:37.

 

 

The weather was a cool 70 and foggy in the morning and no wind.  This was a rare treat for the start of the race.  The fog lasted until after the first Powerball stop at mile 34.  With all the moisture on my glasses and the low light in the morning  had a difficult time reading my cue sheet a few times but did not get lost. After the fog lifted it stayed overcast and no wind until almost noon.

 

 





Pulling a group around mile 30 Photo courtesy of Lisa Janssen

 

The early miles seemed to go by rather uneventful with my plan of going out easy and trying to ride an even pace.  My Garmin kept beeping my splits every 5 miles and they stayed very even throughout the day.

 

Split	Time	Moving Time	Distance	Elevation Gain	Elevation Loss	Avg Speed	Avg Moving Speed	Max Speed	Avg HR	Max HR
1	19:20.2	19:16	5	446	371	15.5	15.6	29.4	150	184
2	19:44.9	19:39	5	486	430	15.2	15.3	33.8	150	175
3	18:25.7	18:13	5	121	141	16.3	16.5	27.3	137	167
4	17:48.6	17:49	5	105	92	16.8	16.8	22.6	140	156
5	19:24.1	19:18	5	121	62	15.5	15.5	23.2	146	172
6	17:31.1	17:30	5	164	148	17.1	17.1	26.7	154	170
7	23:57.3	18:10	5	125	161	12.5	16.5	23.6	138	171
8	19:13.3	18:21	5	331	299	15.6	16.3	32.1	149	175
9	19:12.6	19:04	5	528	443	15.6	15.7	30.4	159	175
10	17:49.8	17:40	5	112	82	16.8	17	23.5	159	170
11	19:26.0	18:44	5	161	272	15.4	16	31.1	145	168
12	18:43.9	18:44	5	476	482	16	16	31.5	152	173
13	17:13.7	17:12	5	525	620	17.4	17.4	35.4	160	180
14	25:11.7	19:19	5	344	433	11.9	15.5	28.1	154	174
15	19:16.5	19:09	5	262	217	15.6	15.7	27.8	164	176
16	21:10.0	19:38	5	446	571	14.2	15.3	29	160	174
17	19:48.0	19:48	5	423	466	15.2	15.2	26.1	160	175
18	17:24.4	17:07	5	210	190	17.2	17.5	25.8	155	176
19	20:22.8	20:16	5	338	282	14.7	14.8	25.1	154	174
20	20:08.2	20:10	5	394	269	14.9	14.9	25.9	155	172
21	27:32.8	19:12	5	285	410	10.9	15.6	25.6	145	166
22	20:16.6	20:16	5	427	430	14.8	14.8	28.3	151	164
23	26:14.2	22:01	5	430	384	11.4	13.6	30.2	148	168
24	21:25.4	21:15	5	423	348	14	14.1	27.1	151	166
25	17:12.1	17:12	5	305	358	17.4	17.4	28.8	154	167
26	22:32.7	18:01	5	266	305	13.3	16.7	28.9	149	165
27	19:30.5	19:28	5	397	305	15.4	15.4	29.1	153	164
28	18:52.8	18:52	5	282	299	15.9	15.9	28	156	167
29	20:11.3	18:38	5	295	341	14.9	16.1	28	158	170
30	18:53.6	18:49	5	374	449	15.9	15.9	30.5	161	171
31	11:29.1	11:26	3.25	243	157	17	17	26.6	169	178
Total	15:24.0	40:17.0	153.25	9,846	9,816	14.9	15.8	35.4	152	184

 

Around mile 65 outside of Malcom Photo courtesy of Lisa Janssen

 

 

 

The beautiful rolling hills along NW 168th Street 

 

Outside Garland

 

 

 



Checkpoint 3 was at Schmidty's  Aunt and Uncle's house who have hosted a checkpoint\ oasis every year. There were a few other racers at the checkpoint when I left by myself.  I figured they group would catch me in a few miles.  I ended up riding the last 53 miles alone.  Thankfully the temperature and winds stayed favorable for the entire day.




I ended up with a finish time of 10:15 which was good for 22nd overall and 15th in Men's Open. With just over 4 minutes spent at each stop including waiting in line to purchase my Powerball tickets my 33 minutes of not moving was kept to a minimum.

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

Fools 25K Trail Run

With the winter that does not seem to end in Northern Ohio this year I knew the trails would be questionable. The day before the race there almost an inch of rain followed by 6 inches of snow. There was no question the trails would be a sloppy muddy mess.


The morning of the race the temperature was 27 degrees with an afternoon high in mid 30's. My pre-race warm-up consisted of spending 90 minutes helping direct cars. When 15 minutes to start was announced I quickly changed had a Hammer Gel and walked over to the starting line.

The 50K runners had started an hour before the 25K which help packed some of the snow on the trails. There was range of conditions on the trails from snow, ice covered rocks, ankle deep shoe sucking mud, and lots of muddy standing water.

My fueling plan was to stick with what works for me. I carried a bottle with 2 scoops of Perpetuem and plan to have a Hammer Gel around the 1 hour and 2 hour mark. There was HEED available at the aid stations so I topped of my bottle twice.

I had survived the sloppy trails until about a half mile from the finish when I tripped on a down hill section and slid about 50 feet snow and mud. My goal for the race with the conditions was 3:15. I was pleased with my finish time of 2:56:05.  



There were 207 starters 183 finishers I was 30tht. The winning time was 2:21 my time 2:56:06 was good for 4th place in the men's 40-44.

7 Springs

Suck It Polar Vortex

Here is my obligatory polar vortex post.

2013

January 372 Miles

 

 

February 250 Miles

 

 

March 609 Miles

 

 

April  682 Miles

 

 

May 631 Miles

 

Cleveland Marathon 4:07

 

June 843 Miles

 

Mohican 100 11:26

Funk 200 8:56

 

July 677 Miles

 

 

 

 

August 757 Miles

 

 

 

Gravel Worlds 11:29

 

September 350 Miles

 

Akron Marathon 3:49

 

October 420 Miles

 

 

Rock N Roll Half Marathon 1:43

Wild Cat Hollow Gravel Grinder 2:43

 

November 401 Miles

 

Bills Bad Ass 50K 6:18

Turkey Trot 34:29

 

December 275 Miles

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bills Bad Ass 50K

Bills Bad Ass 50K trail run November 9, 2013.  The race was 6 loops of the Perkins trail plus one time up Oak hill to grab some candy.  Finish time 6:16 was good for 23 overall.

 

 

 

Wildcat Hollow Gravel Grinder

The Black Diamond Challenge Wildcat Hollow was October 13, 2013 in Crooksville Ohio. The race was a short 45 mile gravel grinder with over 4000 feet of climbing. Potenza and I made the drive Sunday morning and arrived 15 minutes before the start, which did not leave much time for a warm-up.

The Crooksville Police gave the 73 racers an escort out of town.  With the race being a short 45 miles I knew the pace would be fast from the beginning. The first big climb just under 3 miles in separated the pack.  Unfortunately I dropped one water bottles filled with a mix of Hammer Nutrition Perpetuem and HEED.  I went back for my bottle but was dropped in the process.

I ended up finishing 12th overall and 4th in the men's 40-49.



 

 

2013 Gravel Worlds

I made my fourth trip to Lincoln Nebraska for the Gravel Worlds again hosted by the Pirate Cycling League. The course normally is a giant loop around Lincoln with a few minor changes each year to keep it interesting.  This year the race started and finished west of Lincoln at the Reinkordt farm.

Racers need to stop at the towns of Hickman, Malcom, and near Milford to purchase Powerball tickets to prove they made the stops in order.  There also was 2 oasis along the route and a secret checkpoint that riders were to get a pipe cleaner.  Racers need to be self supported and must purchase water or whatever else they need in the small towns.  The day before I prepared several plastic bags mixed with Hammer Nutrition Perpetuem and HEED for each bottle I would need.

The weather was warm and humid 78 degrees at the start.  The weather forecast was mid 90's and a strong south winds in the afternoon.  My Garmin had a high temperature of 107 in the afternoon.  Weather Underground recorded the winds at a steady 20 with gust to 34. There were 203 racers lined up in the dark for the 6:00am start.  By the end of the day the heat and the wind would take its toll on all of the riders and only 112 finished.

Riders at 5 miles on the Denton wall photo courtesy Craig Schmidt

 

Heading north after checkpoint #2 photo courtesy Swanson

 

Branched Oak Rd around mile 95

 

MMR mile 99

 

168th looking north around mile  138

 

Potenza during pre-ride around mile 144

 

Despite having to ride the last 40+ miles by myself and battling the headwinds I ended up with a time of 11:29. My finish was good for 25th overall and 16th in Open Men's. Thanks Cornbread and the entire PCL crew for putting another great event.