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Fitness Concepts Greenbrier Challenge AMBC

Date: April 30, 2006
Location: Greenbrier State Park, Boonsboro, MD
Website: http://mysite.verizon.net/vze933kp/

From the Race Website:

Join us for the third annual Greenbrier AMBC mountain bike race. Our second race in 2005 brought a great crown for Mothers Day, and beautiful weather. This year the race moves a couple weeks earlier, for the first weekend of camping at Greenbrier State Park. The race continues to offer one of the largest prize purses on the East coast, valued at over $8,000 this year, and the outstanding Greenbrier race course with challenges to test the pro’s, yet attainable and fun for beginners.

So bring the whole family out for the day, or the whole weekend. There’s plenty to do at this park nestled in the Western Maryland Appalachians, including hiking parts of the Appalachian Trail, boating and fishing on Greenbrier’s beautiful lake, and enjoying hot showers in the campground’s top-notch facilities. All within an hour’s drive of Baltimore and Washington, DC.

Race Reports: Summary, Tris Newbury, Joel Gwadz, Matt Donahue

friday update…

Greenbrier AMBC

The Greenbrier Challenge AMBC race is this weekend at Greenbrier State Park in Maryland. This is a great race with a fun rocky course just northwest of Frederick Maryland. The weather has been good this week and sunday is looking perfect for spring racing with temps forecast in the 60’s. The DCMTB/City Bikes team will throwing down in the sport, expert, and singlespeed races. Last year we had some good results, will we have a Maryland State Champion this year? Check back next week for some great race reports. more information | race website

Monthly Team Meeting

It’s time for our monthly team meeting again. This monday (5/1) at 7:30 at Joe’s House. If you’re interested in joining, drop us a line at captain@dcmtb.com for the address and directions.

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Poor Farm Enduro Report

by Eric

I passed on the rocks and rain of Michaux for the sunnier and muddier pastures of Poor Farm Park in Ashland, Virginia. Saturday night My wife and I watched the monsoon blow throw. “Stupid Pre-registration,” I said. Had we not plopped down two race fees, I am sure a late breakfast and a road ride would have been in the future. But as they say “some are born to greatness and others have greatness thrust upon them,” or something like that.

I signed up for the enduro class. Five hours on a twisty rolling 6.2 mile course. I was sure my legs and lungs were up for it. My head however, would come into question. The race started in a thick fog. It was muggy and damp and I knew it was going to get hot in a few hours.

The promoter of these races loves a laman start. Just like you have that friend that still rocks the Pearl Jam “Ten” album like it came out last week, we had a race promoter who was waiting for Ned Overend and Steve Larson to line up. No school like the old school.

I got into the woods third. With 50 riders lining up in the wave, it was good to avoid the bottle necks that can knock you out of a five hour race in the first fifteen minutes. Ten riders got away in the first lap. A single speeder got feed up with the geared bikes spinning up the rollers a broke off the front. He built a 4 minute gap in the first lap. We dropped a guy leaving eight in the chase. The second and third laps flew by. I rolled to the back of the chase group choosing to follow the lines of other riders.

Towards the end of the third lap I noticed a slight gap opening between me and the seventh rider around every turn and technical section. I knew I was working harder then the guys in front of me. They could just flat out ride mountain bikes. The smooth and efficient motion of a technically sound rider is fun to watch, but not when you are trying to hang on to a train of them. A gapped opened that I could not close with out getting out of above my threshold. So I let up and hopped my fitness would hold out longer then the other riders.

Laps four and five went smoothly. I drifted as high as fifth place and as low as ninth. On the sixth lapped I pasted the single speeder. He had completely blown up, his legs barley getting around on the climbs.

Checking my watch, I knew it was crunch time and needed to keep it tight over the next two laps to keep with the leaders and work my way up in field. What happened instead was a meltdown.

My sixth lap was slow. It had gotten hot and I was having trouble forcing food down. My head started to hurt at the end of the fifth lap and by now was really bothering me. I packed down fluids and gels trying to right myself before the complete bonk set in. A water bottle with filled with coke seemed to do the trick for a few minutes then my mind drifted.

The course turned to complete slop. I began to take bad lines and putting my head down. I kept thinking about everything expect the race:

“Did we feed the dog this morning.”

“I need to call my brother tonight.”

“Slap Shot was a better movie then The Bad News Bears but nobody talks about Slap Shot”

With my head out of the game, I crash three times. Like Evan, my noodle roadie arms could not hold my lines. The last crash was bad. I wasn’t hurt but it took it all out of me. I crawled across the finish in eighth place out of 47 starters. My fast early laps saved me from falling out the top ten. Not bad, but I was hoping for a top five finish. My wife was the MVP of the trip snagging third in the womens sport race. Her training secert… Yoga and not riding a bike. Up next some road racing then… HOO-HA!

Going Bonk-ers at Michaux

Race Report: Michaux Maximus 4/23/06

by Evan

Here’s the brief - as you already heard from Mike S. it was rainy, sloppy, slippery. A steep, long road climb quickly stretched our group. I was 2nd into the woods and then took the lead for a while. Got passed by Eric Roman who started a minute behind my group (expert senior) and tried to stay with him. That’s just not happening – that guy was flying (as usual, but now on a geared bike). My glasses fogged and my lack of mtb saddle time became more apparent. Stopped, took off the glasses, and got passed. Now in 2nd, but riding without impaired vision. Conditions worsened with heavier rain and my wee little arms were struggling to control the bike (again - too much road time). Relinquished 2nd and sat comfortably in 3rd going up the 15 minute double track climb - Dead Woman’s Hollow. I had 1st and 2nd in sight most of the climb and couldn’t see anyone behind me….giving me about 3 - 4 minutes on 4th place. At the top we were about 1:45 into the race. Then my world started to cave. I began to have the lightheadedness, drifting concentration, and fatigue that warn of the impending, dreaded bonk. Throttled back, slipped to 4th as my skills deteriorated and I began to cramp a little with every miscalculated technical move. I recovered and caught 3rd place on the final forest road. We must have had 3 miles to go and I wanted to stay with him to the end and pull out a roadie move of coming around for a sprint. Never happened. I cracked like an Easter egg! This time for real. Got passed eventually by the guy in 5th place behind me, putting me into 5th, as I crawled up the road to finish in 3:07.
Disappointing race as I felt really strong for about 2/3 of it (minus my technical riding which will hopefully come around soon). Officially I finished 6th, but a short cut apparently was discovered accidentally by several riders. I never saw anyone else pass me at the end besides the guy in 4th, and specifically not the guy who officially finished 4th - however, in the pain cave it is often hard to see clearly. I think he slipped into our lead group without even knowing it and got passed by the 3rd place rider. On to Greenbrier…

Race Report #1: Another Muddy Start

Race Report #1: Michaux Maximus 4/23/06

All winter I’ve been excited about adding the Michaux Mega Series to my 2006 race schedule. While I had never ridden Michaux up until a preride a few weeks ago, these races are legendary in the mid-Atlantic for being some of the roughest around, with a point-to-point format that doesn’t allow for bailing out. 

My goal in in including this series was to keep the overall Senior Sport race leader position in the City Bikes/DCMTB.com family after Matt Donahue’s victory last year. Unfortunately, today was a major setback in meeting that goal.  Reminiscent of the start of my 2005 season further north in PA, the day was defined by a muddy course and mechanical failures.  But I’ve jumped too far ahead.

When I woke up I was glad to see it wasn’t raining after two days of straight rain.  During the car ride up I felt a bit tight, but figured that was just the prerace jitters.  It was.  After lining up, I took of like a bullet for the death march road climb that preceded the single track.  The pack caught me pretty quickly and I decided it was best to wait until we hit the top and turned down a dirt road just before the first stretch of single track.  I did and entered the first section of single track, a few miles aptly names “Shake and Bake” in 5th or 6th.  Within short order I had moved up to 2nd or third (I think second), and was pulling away.  I caught two expert riders and generally was thrilled with the way I was riding.  Then it started to rain and all hell broke loose.

Shortly after overtaking the 2 experts we rounded a turn and had to navigate a pretty large rock formation.  I started to go over it the same way I had gone over many similar rocks in the past only to have my chain slip off the cassette right when I needed a touch of power - end result I went OTB superman style.  Surprisingly only the two experts I had just passed overtook me. 

I eventually passed the two experts again, but could now hear more rumblings behind.  At the same time, my drive train just wouldn’t settle in any cog.  After one climb I went to shift into a smaller cog and realized that I was still in the big cog.  Turns out the rear derailleur cable had pulled out of the derailleur.  I spun like crazy, but could hear the pack closing in.  Since it was still early in the race, I decided to stop and fix it in hopes of having my full range latter.  What seemed like the entire pack past me.

After the fix, I was able to shift, but things were still not right.  The chain didn’t seem to want to say in any one cog, every attempt to power over an obstacle resulted in the chain slipping or chain suck and any shift into the small ring guaranteed massive chain suck.  It was starting to look like a long day.  Nonetheless, I took off determined to make up for lost ground.  After an endo that left me with a twisted ankle and some scrapes on my knee, I took off again, but it seemed like everytime I tried to pass someone my drive train failed.  I was starting to get discouraged.

Eventually I found a cog that kind of worked.  Of couse, it was too steep for the climbs and technical sections and too light for the few spots where I could really open up.  Most importantly, the odds of chain suck or slippage where high everytime I had to apply a lot of pressure on the pedals.  After many trail side repairs I felt like I must have been running near the back.

Eventually we hit the fire road that I knew signalled the approaching end of the race.  However, the organizers decided to through in one last trick by sending us down the slickest section of single track of the day before dumping us back out on the fire road for the last run of the day.  With a few miles of double track to go I decided to test out my big ring. 

I ended with one last attempt on the double track where I passed a number of riders, but still finished (unofficially) 10th out of about 25 racers and 15 minutes off the podium.  Not the day I was hoping for, but hopefully I can get my bike working for Greenbrier next week.  On that note, time to change my ice pack.

 

Michaux Maximus

Date: April 23, 2006

Location: Michaux State Forest, PA

Website: http://www.racemichaux.com/

The Michaux Maximus is the first race of the 3-race Michaux Series, some of the most rocky and brutal mountain bike racing on the east coast.

Race Reports: Evan Ellicott, Tris Newbury, Mike Scardaville

City Bikes Demo Day at Schaeffer Farms

Date: April 22, 2006 - 9:30am-2:00pm
Location: Schaeffer Farms (Germantown, MD)
Website: http://citybikes.com/page.cfm?PageID=213

Join City Bikes for our Season Kickoff on Saturday April 22nd 9:30am till 2pm at Schaeffer Farms. Team members will be out in force leading test rides and team member (and Pro downhiller) Hilary Elgert will be leading skills clinics at 10:30 and 12:30. You can choose from a bunch of spanking new road and off-road bikes to try at one of the area’s favorite places to ride. Remember to bring your helmet, biking shoes, pedals (spd compatible will be provided) and driver’s license. More…

2006 Priority Event Calendar

City Bikes 2006 Season Kickoff Party - April 22 at Schaeffer Farms

Join City Bikes for our Season Kickoff on Saturday April 22nd 9:30am till 2pm at Schaeffer farms in Gaithersburg. Team members will be out in force leading test rides and team member (and Pro downhiller) Hilary Elgert will be leading skills clinics at 10:30 and 12:30. You can choose from a bunch of spanking new road and off-road bikes to try at one of the area’s favorite places to ride. Remember to bring your helmet, biking shoes, pedals (spd compatible will be provided) and driver’s license.

Food will be provided from Powerbar and DrinkMore Water will be supplying refreshing H2O. Test riders will be allowed on specific routes on the roads and trails. We will have cue sheets for the roadies to find thier way back.

City Bikes’ mechanics will handle dialing in your shock setup and getting the fit right before you go out. Helmets and a driver’s license WILL BE REQUIRED for all test rides. See you there!

Schaeffer Farms is in Gaithersburg, and has several excellent singletrack loops covering almost 12 miles of rolling terrain. Trails offer something for all levels, but tend toward fast and smooth hardpack singletrack, with moderate climbs, and a good number of log and ramped log hops. Some technical sections will require beginners to dismount, but intermediates should find most sections rideable and challenging.

Check out the shop website for the full details, including a list of a lot of the bikes that’ll be available for test rides.

O-Hill Race Report

Saturday was the beginning of the race season for myself and probably close to a hundred other brave souls.  A quick glance at the race schedule showed the only race of the weekend was the 16th Annual O-Hill Meltdown.  I ventured out of my northern VA suburbia and pointed the family truckster south to Charlottesville, VA.  A quick 2 hour ride and I was registered for the singlespeed class and ready for some racing.

About the time I was to be racing, we got wind there was a delay and the sports/experts/ss classes would go off about an hour or so later than originally thought.  Nothing really to do, but chat with the other racers and try to find some shade on this 85° degree day.  Before we know it we are lined up and ready to go.  All other classes go before the singlespeed class.  When we step up to the line it’s all business…right.  A quick look around yields a few familiar faces.  Next to me is fellow fixie racer Tim Richardson, a Contes rider, a Pedalshop rider, and a few others I’ve just met in the parking lot, hailing from Lynchburg, VA.  The countdown begins and then we take off.

The first 300 yards of the race course is a steep paved road.  Before you reach the top of the road you cut off onto one of the few flat sections of trail.  It’s less than 5 minutes into the race and my heart is maxed out!  At this point I’m just trying to keep the leaders in sight, after all, the biggest mistake you can make is riding someone else’s race.  After the climb we are rewarded with cheese grater downhill along a fenceline with rocks big enough to keep you on your toes.

At this point I’m starting to get a feel for the course.  It’s got roots like Lodi and rocks like Gambrill, well maybe more like Greenbrier.  The hills aren’t very long, more Fountainheadish than anything.  Steep enough to require max power output, but not quite long enough to burn you out…right away.  Take Wakefield’s twisty trail and Fountainhead’s hills and you’ve got O-Hill.  About half way through the first lap the heat starts to get to me.  My body isn’t used to the 85° weather, as this is the first 80°+ day of the year.  When the occaisionaly cloud rolls through and blocks the sun, a nice breeze can be felt sweeping through the shadows.  Head down and mashing the pedals, this was going to be a hard day in the saddle.

Somewhere along the course I managed to either miss a turn or make a wrong turn.  I only realize this as I seem to be in the middle of a whole lot of geared riders and I’m somewhat doubtful that I have caught up to the sport/expert classes.  Stranger things have happened, but the simple answer is usually the correct one.  When I see the race director I tell him what happened and tell him I figure I should be DQ’d as it’s not really fair to other people in my class.  Evidently I’m not the only one who “accidently” cut the course.  I believe a pack of expert/pros got a little lost themselves.  We’ll just chalk this one up to riding so fast that I missed the signage, yea that works.

After all was said and done, I think I ended up with only 1.5 of the 2 required laps and a nice solid DQ for my first race of the year.  Could have been worse, I could have been stuck inside on the couch watching television…  What’s good news is this race gave me an idea of where I am fitness wise, the bad news was…seeing where I am fitness wise.  It felt good to be out on the bike and pushing the body, even better that it was on a course I’ve never raced.

DT

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