Cranky Monkey - Fountainhead
Stop 3 of the Cranky Monkey Mountain Bike Race Series hits Fountainhead Regional Park on August 19th. See the EX2Adventures website for details - http://www.ex2adventures.com
24 hours of Killington…
by Joe Foley
if you don’t want the full details, here’s the quick scoop: fun course, great weather, excellent teammates. rode out way from 12th overall (thanks to my slow start) to 1st (thanks to the rest of the team) in 4 laps and held on for the entire race. going into the night laps there was only a minute and a half separating us from the two teams behind us but with some good luck on our part and bad luck for other teams we held our lead and slowly built up over a full lap lead. at the end of the race i went out for one last lap with a 1/2 hour left to go before noon to give us 21 laps and a 2 lap overall and expert win.
now for the details, at least as many as i can remember…
start/lap 1:
since i’d never done the run at a 24-hour race, and this is probably my last one this year, i volunteered to run. i didn’t realize when i did it that this would be the longest run we’d seen all year. there’d been some rain the day before and the skies looked threatening all morning. as i started to get ready for the start the rain started and we all thought this was going to turn into a repeat of the mudfest that we had heard this race turned into last year, but as i made my way down to the start the rain stopped. other than a shower or two in the first 2 laps that was the last we saw of the rain all weekend.
the run was kind of a long one, so i tried to take it fairly easy. i stayed in the front half of the pack on the run. there were only 38 teams/solos so it wasn’t too crazy. i’d planned on taking the first lap fairly easy, since i hadn’t seen the course at all and on top of that the run had put a little more hurt on my legs than i expected. out of the start/finish the course crossed under the killington access road and immediately started climbing up and across a couple of ski runs. after traversing over a short way on to the main base area, and then another shot of climbing we got the first, allbeit short, taste of singletrack. the trail was narrow, slick, rooty, twisty, and a total blast to ride. this pattern (fireroad climb, singletrack downhill) repeated over and over for the rest of the course.
another climb, this time a long one, up to the top of the course, interrupted by a short-but-sweet section of singletrack. but once at the top it was a mile and half of super tight singletrack back down. every 20 feet there was another technical puzzle to be solved: a little rock garden here, a tight 180 there, a slick hump of criss-crossed roots, a long boardwalk, a skinny, and a couple of bad mud-pits. there was a short run-up where the trail ran straight up a small muddy gully, but overall the trail was in great shape. a couple more repetitions of the up on fireroads, down on singletrack pattern, though with less and less elevation gain each time and i was dumped out at the lake by the venue. around the lake, over the bridge, and into the start to hand off to kent. 1:12 for 12th place.
lap 5
even after seeing us move up to 6th, then 3rd as kent and mike came back in i was surprised to see matt come in before any other team finished their 4th lap, so i went out for my 2nd lap in 1st place and very worried. without the lactic acid from the run in my legs the 1st climb seemed easier, and the singletrack was more familiar. climbed the big climb at a nice steady pace, starting to catch and lap slower teams, always trying to give some encouragement while passing. some rain that hit the top of the mountain on the 2nd lap of the race and the effect of many bike tires softened up a bit more of the course and the mud was worse on this lap. a good lap though, 1:07 to hold 1st place, just. after this lap there was about 1:30 between the top 3 teams in expert.
lap 9
the mood in the camp was a little weird after we took first. none of us were quite sure what to make of the situation. were we going to be able to hold this lead, or were we just setting ourselves up for disappointment. but the skies were clearing, the air was drying out, and over the cycle of laps kent, mike, and matt managed to open up the lead a bit over 2nd and 3rd. going into my first night lap things were looking a little more comfortable. that lap was going fairly well until about 2/3rds of the way around the lap. after the run-up, my hamstrings started cramping, a big thing to see this early in the race. the downhills were getting more slick and riding them at night was much more challenging that during the day. i kept moving and made it back in 1:21.
lap 13
after my cramping on the previous lap i was worried. i tried to do as good of a job as i could recovering after this lap. i didn’t want to mess up my body clock with any sleep, so i made sure to get some extra food (instant noodles in a cup could be the best 24-hour race food), take some extra sportlegs (something i’d forgotten to do before the last lap), and keep drinking water. i also went down to the start and got a 15 minute massage from the masseuse that was set up in the start tent to try and get my hamstrings and back to relax a bit. the next lap was ok… a couple of technical bobbles, and a little bit slower than the first night lap, but still decent at 1:25.
lap 17
ah, back in daylight. caught a little sleep after my last lap and woke up slightly refreshed. hit the course with almost an hour lead over 2nd place. the downhills were so much nicer in the daylight and seemed to even be getting a little drier. rode strong and felt better on the climbs that i had since my 2nd lap.
sean sullivan (from the 2nd place team) catches me at start of the big downhill. they’re a lap behind, but i try my best to keep up. he’s flying down the singletrack with a grace i don’t even pretend to have. near the end of the course i catch back up to him (i think he stopped to take off his jacket) and then pass him going into a section of singletrack. i rode that last mile of the course fast but ugly as i’m riding it faster than i should. the rest of the team rode hard to put that lap on their team, and even if it’s only a matter of a few pointless seconds, i’m not going to be the guy that lets them get back on the same lap. i’m sure if he really wanted to, he’d have been able to pass me, but he didn’t.
the 5th lap goes into the books at 1:10 and as i’m doing the math in my head i start to realize that we’re going to finish the next rotation of laps well before noon… leading to the question of whether i’ll need to do another lap.
lap 21
by the time the last lap comes around we’ve lapped every team in the race. there’s no way we can lose, but if we stop racing early there’s a chance that another team could get in before noon and get another lap in to get up to the same lap we’re on. matt and i talked about how we’d both like to finish a full lap ahead. in the end it all came down to me to make the call.
i checked the standings while i was waiting for matt. he’s out on lap 20, and 2nd & 3rd place are both out on lap 19. checked the times they started and 2nd place won’t even be able to start lap 20 unless they beat the fastest lap of the race by 10 minutes, so we’ve got our 1 lap victory already. standing in the tent waiting for matt i got some ribbing from the announcer and the kid behind the table to go out for another lap and then matt comes in pulling off a great 1:05. it’s only 11:30 and it feels anti-climatic to call the race early, plus i feel like i’m letting the team down for having ridden so strong, and then i find myself swiping my RFID and running for my bike.
the climbs hurt, but they have every lap. the power isn’t quite there, and i’m spinning in the granny gear a little earlier on every climb than usual, but i’m feeling pretty good. i’d ditched the hydration pack for a waterbottle so i’m riding light. the course was drying out and i’m taking it fairly easy. rode the singletrack the cleanest i did all race - maybe not the fastest though. saw the rest of the team out on the course. they’d driven/hiked up to one of the singletrack sections to hand me up a beer, but i figured it’d be best to wait until the finish line for that… there was still singletrack to ride and i’m a bad enough rider with 2 hands on the bars.
the finish
crossing the finish line as the overall and expert winner was pretty damn cool. there’s really no other way to say it. matt, kent, and mike all made it back to the tent in time to hand me a beer as i scanned out of the course and celebrate in the tent.
it wasn’t my fastest lap (1:15) but it was the sweetest. we got the expert win in temecula, but we were 5th overall. after 3 top-5 overall finishes the overall win is what i think we all wanted this weekend, and we got it.
the series
we’ve got 725 points in the series now, two first places and a 2nd. the wrecking crew have 2 firsts and they’re talking about going to moab. if they win there they’ll have 750 points, but that’s a much more competitive race and even though they’ve won in style at big bear and conyers, a win for them at moab isn’t a foregone conclusion. there’s talk about getting a team to go to lanadahl to try and get more points, and talk of going to moab, just to go there.
Member Bio: Mark Drajem
Age: 40
Years Racing: 5 (cross) 1 (mountain)
Website: wwww.hotornot.com
Mountain Bike Category: Sport
Favorite Races: Iron Cross, DCCX
Least Favorite Race: Not racing
2007 Highlights: 32nd in 40+ category at Iron Cross, 25 minutes faster than 2006. 2nd in sport at 12 hours of Cranky Monkey. 26th in Masters category at DCCX.
2008 Goals: Iron Cross in 4:45; respectable showings in 12-hour mountain bike races.
Bikes: Scattante cross; Bridgestone RB-1; Mongoose mountain; frankenbike fixie
Giro de Coppi
By Darren Biggs
Cat 5 Race
My third road race of the season, the Giro de Coppi, I felt this was a race that was a good fit for me. The DCMTB team was trying to set up a plan to do something in this race. I felt great, and was riding in the front a lot with Wolfgang from NCVC who I know through PPTC. On the second lap I did a dig up the climb and really put a lot of distance between me and the peleton, I thought some others would bridge, but they didn’t so I didn’t go full bore and re-integrated to the group. The third lap I didn’t attack but brought the tempo up on the climb and still no one came with me. So I was like ok I will set something up for Matty on the final rise to the finish. Well it comes towards the end and I am itching to go, and I see an opening and I go, I thought it was the 500m sign but it was the 1500m sign(Doh!) So I get a good gap, I’m going 36 mph and Matt has gotten my wheel and shooting Go Go! Well I think I did about 1000m but then I was spent. So the group flew by me and I soft peddled coming in last of the first group which gave me 15th. Because of my bad setup Matt was only able to get 9th or 10th, I saw Tom V. in front of me so I believe he got 12 or so. I am going to do this race again someday, and I am either going to be part of a breakaway that works or just save myself and gun it at the line.
12 Hours of Cranky Monkey
By Darren Biggs
This Past weekend was the 12 hours of racing at Quantico on the Marine Base. There was a large contingent of DCMTB/City Bikes riders intent on riding and having fun.
This race was an example of why people mountain bike race, and especially at the relay events. The team had good energy with people helping out one another, and making sure people were eating and drinking, when their stomachs did not want to. When you have a team atmosphere things like a broken chain, a flat don’t seem as bad if your teamates boost your spirits. The DCMTB/City Bikes team didn’t have the most racers at the event, but they had the biggest presence on the podium.
Expert
1st Darren, Kent, MattyD
The Solar Ring Blingers-Was the name of this team, The team had a tough battle with the Principle Health Fitness team that was only 2 minutes behind for most of the race. What stands out is the consistent performances of the team. The team was lucky to not have any mechanicals, but it was due considering Darren’s bike completely blowing up at Big Bear two weeks prior. The standout performance was Kent pulling a 47 one lap. That gave the team the lead and they never let it go. Matt put in a big effort and road strong, he also was the only one to have to do a 5th lap, and he complained not at all. Darren was the unknown factor, he had many excuses, and he had some legitimate tendon issues, but with the good energy of his teammates Kent, and Matt and some ibuprofen he was able to pull some really good lap times. He was able to defend their lead and build it to 8 minutes by the last lap. Darren’s personal goal was to help his team not hinder it, and he achieved that; but he did not achieve his secondary goal of posting a faster lap then Marc ;-). This was a big race for Kent, in that it was his first 1st placing in expert. For Darren it was his first 1st placing in expert and his first REAL expert relay race.
3rd Tom V,Mike S, Jonathan
(from Tom V)
These guys were riding consistent laps, with Jonathan on the SS doing those steep hills. Tom did win the DCMTB/Citybike lemans start race, with his goal of being in the top 10 in the run, only to be passed by many riders. So Tom says learned there! At one point Mike S must have been putting the hammer down had to have his crank arm come off!. Tom and Jon were happy they were able to pull 0:50 laps. They finished 10minutes out of second place. Tom V. thought the race was physically harder than Big Bear. He is still hurting!
EX2 did a great job, especially for the first time.Our race was kind of uneventful compared to everybody else, except for
Masters
1st Steve, Chris, Marc
(From Mike K)
The Master’s race was the best story from the race. Viers went out first and turned in a solid lap. Chris went out without a chain tool and, guess what? Broke a chain. He was running and Scardaville caught up to him and gave him a tool. He lost about 15 minutes on that lap. He was bummed. Marc went out next and DOUBLE FLATTED *AND* couldn’t get his CO2 to work then borrowed a bad pump. Damn. He was less than happy. They were 35 minutes down. Through the race, they pulled back into first. Chris passed the first place rider, broke a chain, got passed, fixed his chain THEN pulled back into first! STUD! Talk about redemption. These guys pulled from 4th to first and had the race won without sending a rider out before 7pm.
(From Steve)
Chris and Marc summoned some big courage and poise to turn good laps after the gremlins bit them during the first rotation. And then they rode us back into contention after a second gremlin attack. Um, wow. Nice work. I do wonder, though, if the team name (Retread) had anything to do with Marc’s 3 flats. Good rides, good vibes. I’m proud to call myself a “retread”!
One of my favorite racing memories EVER is now that first lap. Matt, Tom, Mike K. and I rode much of it together or just turns apart. The energy was amazing! Camp energy was pretty good too.
Open Duo
3rd Ilana, Mike K
(From Mike)
I pulled 6 laps, all under 1hr which was my own personal victory. I rode 3 doubles and had a really good time. It was a SUPER slippery course as it was amazingly dry and loose. There were jumps and great turns and high-speed stuff and tight stuff with some REALLY steep climbs. I managed to ride everything on every lap with the exception of this one section that no one could ride. Steep, loose, big roots, big rocks… I almost cleaned it twice.
I started with the run which was a bad idea. That and the fact that I hadn’t gotten a good night’s sleep in a week made for a tired first two laps. I figured that doubling-up would be good as I’ve never ridden the course. Then Ilana went out for her first lap telling me that she had ‘a mechanical’ and could only do one lap. Ok, no prob. I went back to the City Bikes staging area and tried to eat, drink and rest in the hour that I had to chill. She came back and I went out for two more laps. Ilana pulled the next two laps, I did another double and then Ilana did the last double to finish up a lap ahead of fourth but on the 2nd place lap. The winners only beat us by one lap. That’s pretty rad. We only decided to race duo on Wednesday so it worked out well. Podium in our first Duo attempt. We were both tired and stoked. Next time, we both agreed that we should actually try to strategize to improve our position but laughed it off as we both had a good time.
Solo Women
?Mid-Field Tris
This was Tris’s first race of the season, and she had just moved the day before. She came out to ride, and have a good time. She was in good spirits even after she hut her hand on the trail. Tris pulled 6 or 7 laps and ended the day with a smile on her face which is most important of all.
More Photos
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| 12 Hour Crankey 2007 Monkey |
RFK Crit
by: Darren Biggs
We had a pretty good turnout at the RFK Crit on Sunday. Here is a rundown of the people that were there.
Womens Pro Race
11th Lorena Candrian (in her HPC/List Kit)
Mens Masters
(From Marc) It was a fun race, despite the heat! pace was pretty high in the masters
field (lots of time over 30mph, average almost 27mph- how fast were the
other races?), but the overall effort wasn’t a high average wattage for
us (both chris and I had our power meters and both of us were way below
average threshold power- and at least for me , well below threshold
Heart-rate) it’s just a very spikey series of efforts- off and on, off
and on…
I spent the first half of the race getting used to doing the U-turns-
not a lot of turning on the capital crescent trail…
I made one attempt to bridge to break with a few laps to go. Super Dave
Osbourne made a big pull to bring the field back to me then sat on my
wheel when he caught up. I wanted to at least finish with the pack, so I
didn’t want to risk over-cooking it on the bridge by fullly committing
to the move. but afterwards I sort of wished I had stuck it out rather
than let the pack get me so easily.
Chris played it pretty cool in the race and was in a good position on
the last lap. I was further back at that point as as the speed ramps up
to over 30mph it gets harder to move up. but I actually felt pretty good.
great race, and fun seeing everyone out there.
thanks to Bega for hooking us up with race entries and for all the help
he gives us. I’d also like to give thank Big Shawn at Chevy Chase for
helping me get hooked up with some road pedals late saturday night- I
decided I wanted the extra turning clearance of road pedals for one
thing! It’s real nice to have the CB guys behind us.
9 Chris Clarke (in his NCVC Kit)
30 Marc Gwadz
Cat 4
(from Eric) My race went off at 4pm… I did not handle the heat well. the race didn’t feel fast I was able to move up the field just over heated with about three laps to go. hung on for another pack finish…. I think steve broke the top 20…good times,
26 Steven Viers (in his Pedal Shop Kit)
Field Eric Welp
Cat 5
For the men’s Cat 5 Race it was Mike S. Matt D. and Me Darren B. The race was really short, and we started at 8:45am but could already feel the heat. It was cool having the three of us there, and since the field was small we were able to stick together if we wanted. The race had like 8-10 Capital Hill bike guys and I thought they would have controlled the race more, but they were not organized. I ended in second place in the peleton at one point so I then decided to go out on a solo attempt. I did it cause I thought well at least the capital hill bike guys will have to chase me down. I did a lap and some in change in front of the field, partly because Matt, and Mike were in front after I left and slowed up, making others chase me down. I did get my name announced twice on the speaker system since I was in the lead twice around the start/finish line! After I got caught it was in the last lap , the official tried to encourage me to get back to the field , but I was cooked. I did get to see Matty D get third since I was so far off the back I sat up and watched the sprint.
3 Matt Donahue
22 Mike Scardaville
(close to DFL) Darren Biggs
team meeting
monthly team meeting at temperance hall at 7:30pm - the new jerseys are in, so make sure you come to pick yours up.
may 2007 recap…
another month is drawing to a close and with it more races are in the books, but we’re just at the beginning of the season and there’s a lot more racing still out there calling.
the 24 hour expert team went down to georgia this month and took second overall with 30 laps in 24 hours. this edition of the team included mike klasmeier from the temecula team, jonathan wheaton, kent baake, and steven viers, a new member of the city bikes team, but a long time racer in the DC area.
the team placed 2nd in both the overall and expert standings with another expert team taking the class and overall win with a jaw-dropping 33 laps. rumor has it that they’ll be coming to big bear and moab to challenge for the series, so it looks like we’ve got a good fight on our hands.
the month kicked off with two local favorites, the 12 hours of lodi farm, in fredericksburg, va and the kick-off of the michaux series. at lodi our men’s expert took the win on the last lap of the race and at michaux, matt donahue took 2nd in the 25-mile senior category.
the mid-atlantic super series got underway this month. this series based in southern pennsylvania, northeastern maryland, delaware, and new jersey draws racers from a wide area, and several city bikes racers ventures north for the first rounds of the race: “on the rocks at french creek” and “the escape from granogue”. anna and lorena represented at french creek, and joe, mike scardaville, joel, and anna all raced at granogue, posting good results.
whats on tap for june? well the super series continues, the reborn virginia series concludes at the massenutten hoo-ha, granny heads home to west virginia for the 24 hours of big bear and at the end of the month, that dc midweek favorite - wednesdays at wakefield - kicks off.
next team meeting is monday the 4th of june, 7:30pm at temperance hall on georgia avenue in dc. the new jerseys are in, so make sure you come by to pick yours up.
see you out at the races and on the trails…
Member Bio Jake Danoff
Age: 16 Years Racing:
2 Mountain Bike Category: Junior/Single Speed
Cyclocross Category: Men’s C
Bikes: Pimped Redline Monocog 29er, Redline Conquest, Specialized Langster
Favorite Race: Shenandoah Mtn. 100, DCCX
2008 Goals: Finish the SM100 on a singlespeed, race competitively in 24 hr events
2007 Highlights: Finishing the SM100, riding across the country
Member Bio: Ilana M. Knopf
Age: 35
Years Racing: 5, off and on
Website: none of your business
Mountain Bike Category: Sport maybe Expert?
Cyclocross Category: B mabye A?
Bikes: Moots - Vamoots, Cannondale - CAAD 8, Santa Cruz - Superlight, Rhygin - Juke, various others …
2008 Goals: to develop one, Maybe do some C0-ed Relay races
2007 Highlights: 3nd Open Duo 12 hours of Cranky Monkey, Joining the DCMTB\CityBikes team,