Sam Wins the Pisgah 55.5k and Second at the Pisgah 111.5 K

On a day featuring torrential rain last Saturday, May 18, Sam finished second on his Scott Spark 900 RC by about 1.5 minutes after 111k and nearly 7 hours of racing in the mountains of Pisgah National Forest.

Full results are available here.

The next day's 55k race awaited, when Sam took the lead to win in 4 hours, 46 minutes.  Results are here.

Almost twelve hours combined for Saturday and Sunday - that's a lot of racing in two days!

On the Rocks at French Creek - 2013

On the Rocks at French Creek

Saturday, May 18, 2013
Elverson, PA
Conditions: Overcast, with light rain falling at the end of the race
Riders: Cam (2nd, Pro/Open); Dylan (3rd, Pro/Open); Jeff (5th, Pro/Open); Mike (8th, Pro/Open); Jay (2nd, Cat 1 50+); Zack (DNF -- bent chain)

As the race name implies, French Creek has a lot of rocks.  The course has a number of fast, twisting downhills over rocks, plus one or two steep climbs per each ~7 mile circuit.

The parking lot had seemed full - lots of people came out on the overcast spring day to race.

I handed out samples of Zevlin's "Crack" chamois cream to other riders in the lot while getting ready to race (if you missed getting a sample, find us at the next race - I've also been handing out samples at the 100+ rider group ride in Arlington, VA on Tuesday nights).

After a viciously fast start, Cam and Dylan made the lead group of five that settled out at the end of the first lap, following Jeremiah Bishop's lead over the rocks and steep climbs at French Creek State Park.

In the second lap, the group was whittled down to four, then two on the last lap, with Cam chasing JB along with Cole Oberman and Dylan slightly behind.

Cole crashed badly on the fast and slippery rock downhill section on the backside of the course, and Cam continued on in pursuit of JB, eventually finishing 40 seconds down at the finish.

Dylan had a another very strong ride again this week to finish third, about 1:30 back from Cam.

Cam 2nd and Dylan 3rd

Jeff hung on to fifth after falling out of the lead group on the first lap after blowing up when redlining it to catch back up to the leaders after a bobbled section at the base of the steepest/most technical climb of the day.

Mike went into the singletrack nearly in last place out of the field of 32, but used his technical skills to turn in consistently fast laps to pick off most of the field and finish 8th.

The rocks got the best of Zack's chain, denting and twisting one of the links so badly he was forced to pull out of the race.

Pro/Open Results

Jay rode a great race on the rocks to finish second in the Cat 1 50+ field.

Jay 2nd

Cat 1 50+ Results

Cole had a Wolf Tooth Components XX1-type chainring/spider installed a SRAM X-9 crankset. This was the first one I'd seen and he said it kept his chain on the crankset, even when he crashed his Scott Spark hard on a downhill.  Maybe an option for the future...

Wolf Tooth Components Drop-Stop Direct Mount Chainring

After the race, Zack and Dylan headed north to pre-ride the USAC National Championships Course at Bear Creek with JB.  Hopefully, they got some good video of the course they can post up later.

- Jeff

Nathaniel at EFTA's Weeping Willow

I did my first mountain bike race of the year this past weekend at EFTA’s Weeping Willow in Ipswich, MA. This is a favorite of mine and of the local community with its fast, flowing trails and moderately technical bits. It is flat and fast.

Having just finished the semester and finals, I haven't had much time to ride my bike. I wasn’t sure where my fitness was, so I decided to do Expert (two laps) instead of Elite (three laps). I did the Elite race last year and three laps on the course was surprisingly difficult given that you never get a rest from pedaling.

The weather was overcast with some light rain during the race, although the roots never got slick. After a brief warm-up and seeing all my bike friends after several months at school, I lined up with about fifteen other 19-29 racers. 

(photo: Martin Allen Sr.)

I got on the front row and got a good start. I have a good snap off the line that often helps me get the hole-shot, but at this race, there is probably a solid half mile or more of fire-road at the start. About five people passed me before the single track, which wasn’t a huge deal, but I was surprised how quick everyone was riding.

(photo: Martin Allen Sr.)

On this fire-road stretch, in a paceline, the rear wheel of the bike in front of me flung up a huge stick that would have hit me smack-dab in the middle of my face, but I saw it and was able to avoid it. In the process, it ripped one of the twist ties off my number plate. The rest of the race was pretty standard; I caught some people and some people caught me.

(photo: Laura B. Kozlowski)

I rode smoothly and stayed focused, never having a crash or a close call. I paced myself well, although I probably should have been a little more aggressive when I got stuck behind some slower riders.

During the last twenty minutes, I was being chased down by some racers in other categories and even though I wasn’t racing against them directly, I still wanted to stay ahead of them. I finished fourth, less than a minute down from third and pretty solidly in the mix overall.

For how little I’ve been riding and how bad my diet has been, I was very satisfied with my result. Definitely room for improvement, and hopefully I can make my way back into the Elite class in a few weeks. The race, overall, was excellent and well run.

My Scale 900 performed perfectly and felt perfect the whole time. I’m looking forward to whatever happens to be next on the schedule!

 (photo: Nicholas Barry)

- Nathaniel

Pre ride of Patapsco 100

Jeff and I (Mike) went to try out the course. There will be a race @ Patapsco on July 7th...

BikeReg Link to register and see more info.

The course is 33 miles. For the race there are 33/66/99 (they round up to 100) options.

It had rained the day before so it was a bit muddy, not horrible but it made trails a bit soft and there where spots where water had pooled and other places where the trail seemed to be the drainage route for water.

There were lots of turns. Jeff felt like our ride closely resembled one of the adventure races that he does because we spent a lot of time looking at a map and exploring different trails before finding the correct one. 

The trails overall were pretty technical with lots of short-medium steep climbs. Jeff had a 1x10 and he was wishing he had more gearing for the steep climbs (at least a 32 tooth front chainring rather than the 36 tooth ring he was running). I think the average speeds on this course will be at least 2 miles an hour slower than other 100 milers like the Shenandoah 100 with a lot of people dropping out of this race. 100 miles of this will be very difficult.

The scenery was great.  Lots of look outs, lots of sections of trail following along a pretty river, lots of relics of old built over construction.  Even if you don't finish the race, you're going to enjoy the ride and the views.

Great scenery

Getting ready to duck under a branch

Epic water crossing

Brought clothes across on a first trip across the river, waded back over, and brought bike across on second

Testing the depth of the water

Climbing

Perspective make Jeff look tiny in this pic

Took a wrong turn and bush whacked back onto the trail

Took a wrong turn and bush whacked back on the trail

Tn the parking lot, train passing in background

Riding along the river, enjoying the day

We were lost again - trying to figure out where the trail went

Disc rotor issues

Sam wins the Pisgah Mountain Bike Adventure Race

On a chilly day in NC (check out all the puffy jackets!), Sam teamed up with Jacob McGahey to win the 11th Annual PMBAR, finishing ~45 minutes ahead of the second placed team in a field of 73 two-person teams.

This is a choose your own route mountain bike race, where racers are given maps and need to navigate to a series of checkpoints, then back to the start/finish in the fastest possible time.

Full results are available here.

This race is tough:

Teams of two riders will race to reach # of # checkpoints, in any order, and return to the start/finish. Teams that reach all 5 checkpoints will be awarded a time bonus. Checkpoint locations will remain secret until start-time and there is no suggested route. Routes will vary between 50-80 miles, will include 9,000-15,000 feet of climbing, and should take 7-14 hours to complete.

The Pisgah Mountain Bike Adventure Race (PMBAR) will be held deep in the Pisgah National Forest, one of the most beautiful, rugged, and unforgiving areas in the nation. There will be little to no water or food support on course. Once you leave the start/finish you are on your own. There will be no drops, sag wagons, or other outside support available. Be prepared for any circumstances you may encounter including, but not limited to: medical emergencies, navigational errors, inoperable equipment, wild animals, and stinging/poisonous insects and plants.

PLEASE DO NOT UNDER-ESTIMATE THE EXTREME DIFFICULTY OF THIS EVENT.

Iron Hill 2013 Short Recap

Another good day. Six of us in the top ten in pro/open and a win in 50+.

Cam won after a battle with Cole that lasted until the last lap of the 4 lap race. Dylan was third. Jeff was fourth. Nick was sixth, Zack 9th and Mike 10th.

Top four five (looked at photos and fifth, Ethan Frey of the Joe's Bike Shop team, was also on a Spark) riders this week on Spark 900s in the pro/open field.

Jay won the 50+.

A big turnout of racers on a good course.  Lots of small rocks and turns. Dry and fast.

Pro/Open Podium - Cam 1st, Dylan 3rd

Cat 1 50+ Podium - Jay 1st

Pro/Open results

Cat 1 50+ results

Bike Line Spring XC @ Fair Hill - Race Report - 2013

Location: Fair Hill Recreation Area, Maryland
Date: April 28, 2013
Conditions: Dry, fast, sunny, pollen-heavy air
Riders: Cam (1st Pro/Open), Jeff (3rd Pro/Open), Dylan (4th Pro/Open), Nick (7th Pro/Open), Zack (10th Pro/Open), Mike (19th Pro/Open), Ross (26th Pro/Open), John (31st Pro/Open), Jay (2nd 50+ Cat 1)

7 Scott Sparks in the top 10 of the Pro/Open field!

It was an early morning for us Virginia based racers to make it north to Elkton, MD to race at the Bike Line's Fair Hill XC race, but well worth the trip.  The course is super fast, twisty and with limited elevation changes.  It's almost like racing a crit on the road.

Any mistakes (bobbled turn, a fall) would drop you off the wheel in front of you and it was extremely difficult to fight your way back to the pack.

The 2012 Pro/Open race turned into a 10+ person drafting event, with separations occurring only when someone didn't take a corner properly (well, at least until Cam went to the front on the last lap and rode everyone off his wheel).  This year's race was expected to be no different, and possibly even more of a fast event as the course was bone dry and even faster than in 2012.

A huge turnout for the race, as always

 We started out after a 15 minute hold at the start (I'm glad we got there early - the 40 person Pro/Open field was bigger than most races) and Cole Oberman (riding a 2013 Scott Spark 900 RC) got the hole shot, closely followed by me, Dylan, Cam, Nick and Zack.  It was very cool to see of the first 10 riders into the singletrack, that six of them were riding a Scott Spark!

Cole's blistering pace at the front whittled down the lead pack to just Cam, Dylan and me until a hard crash took Dylan out of the lead group.  At the end of the first lap, it was down to just three riders in the lead, with Dylan dangling off the lead group by 25 seconds and the next closest riders almost a minute back.

Lead group at the end of lap 1

Lead group at the end of lap 1

Dylan chasing just off the lead pack

Nick in a good spot heading into the open fields

Zack chipping away at the lead

On lap two, it was more of the same in the lead group, but Cam took the lead through the singletrack.  I was cornering like an idiot and had to make up tons of time in the straightaways.  I realized after the race that I'd put too much air in my normally extremely grippy Continental X-King Protection tires!

John hanging tough through a knee injury

Ross taking on more fluid on a warm day before heading out for another lap

Heading into the third and final lap, I expected an attack from Cole, as he was caught between two Scott team riders.  It came just after the water crossing and before the entrance to the singletrack.  Thankfully for me, he took a bad line and got caught on the wrong side of a deep rut and I was able to head into the singletrack first, followed by Cole and Cam.

Cam leading heading into the final lap

Mike picking off riders

I gave it all I was worth in the first few sections of singletrack, but I just couldn't keep up a steady strong pace and let Cam by (closely followed by Cole).  I hung on their wheels for a bit more before finally getting gapped off about 2 miles before the finish.

Cam put in the fastest lap of the day on the last lap (by more than 30 seconds over his first lap time) to take the win, with Cole 10 seconds back.  I trickled into the finish 1.5 minutes later.

Dylan, in the meanwhile, had latched onto a group with Nick in the second lap and they were able to ride together and handle the open field sections in a group.  On the last lap, he attacked, putting 15 seconds into fifth place.  Nick lost a close sprint for 7th.

Zack, fighting off a lung infection, handled the course well, finishing in 10th, after battling it out all day with several other riders.  Mike had his traditionally slower start, gaining speed through the day, to come from the back of the field to 19th.  Ross was close behind in 26th.

I was surprised to see John a the race as he's been dealing with a  painful knee injury.  He handled the pain well and came in 31st.

Pro/Open Podium - Cam 1st, Jeff 3rd

Pro/Open Lap times

Jay had a similar ride as the guys in the Pro/Open field and got away with another rider in the first lap; they put a 20 second lead on a chasing group after one lap and stuck together in the second lap.  The last lap, the other rider attacked and rode in for the win with Jay finishing 30 seconds back.

Cat 1 50+ Podium - Jay 2nd

Cat 1 50+ Lap Times

Full results are available here.

Thank you to all our team sponsors who made this race a big success for all of the team!

• Scott Bicycles - Scott Scale 900s and Spark 900s
• Optic Nerve - Sunglasses -- Colorado to the Core
• Limar Helmets - The lightest and most comfortable helmets in the world
• Fizik Saddles - Comfortable and light and fit to your body flexibility type
• ESI Grips - Hands down the most comfortable grips int he world
• Zevlin - Makers of fine chamois cream, body care products for cyclists and handlebar tape
• Continental Tire - We're riding X-King 29x2.2 Protection tires and loving their flat-proof nature and awesome grip and wear
• Yokozuna - Ultrapremium shift cables
• Lifeproof - iPhone, iPad and iPod cases that are waterproof, shock proof, dust proof and snow proof, plus the accessories to take your device to the extreme.
• Stan's NoTubes - Tubeless wheels and systems
• Stuffitts - Portable drying solutions to keep your cycling gear dry and smelling good
• Dumonde Tech - Eco Friendly and High Performance lubricants
• The Parts Shoppe - Ceramic bottom brackets, pulleys, bearings and ultra low friction grease
• Medilast - Compression gear for athletes
• VeloInk - Custom graphics for your bike
• Polar Bottle - Keeping your liquids hot or cold
• Strava - Tracking rides and competing against friends
• The Sufferfest - Training videos to kick our asses today so we can beat yours tomorrow!

Here is the ride data from Strava:



See you out on the trails!

- Jeff