Scott Pro Mountain Bike Team

July 22, 2013

Race Report - Michaux Endurance Series - Curse of Dark Hollow - 2013

July 21, 2013
Curse of Dark Hollow - 40 Mile Race
Riders: Mike, Jeff
Location: Rocks of central PA
Conditions: Humid, hot, buggy
Result: Jeff, 4th (senior); Mike, 6th (senior)

Mike and I headed to the rocks of Michaux State Forest outside Gettysburg, PA this past weekend for some rock riding at the 40 mile Curse of Dark Hollow. I'd never been to Michaux before, but it was relatively close to DC and the longer distance format was better for me than going to the US National Championships this weekend and getting pulled in the costly XC event due to the 80% rule given the limited to no training I'd done since early June (wedding and honeymoon).

After an early morning start with a solid waffle/bacon breakfast, I picked up Mike and we headed north. We got a bit lost trying to find the race venue, but arrived with plenty of time to register and drop off our bags of items that were going to be transported to the aid station at mile 20.

Getting ready for some rocks

The race had the feel of some good-old-time mountain bike racing. Low key vibe, moto-leaders, good food and beer after the race, a t-shirt for entrants and a hard, hard course. These are the things that make races great!

Race venue - very low key!

The day was very humid and promised to be hot. Having not ridden my mtb on any technical terrain since mid-June at the Massanutten Hoo-Ha, I was a bit worried that 40 miles was going to take me a long, long, long time to finish.

I rode my full suspension carbon 29er Spark. It took the edge off some of the punishment the rocks gave out and made it thought the day unscathed. Mike rode his Scale (hartail) with some big Continental X-King 2.4” tires on some wide rim Stan's Flow wheels. The large tire volume added suspension and grip on the rocks and roots.

The 2.2 X-King on the left and the much, much bigger 2.4 X-King on the right

I started out on the first descent well and got into a line of fast riders in around 4th place. On the first hard climb, we four separated ourselves from the rest of the field, and on the first hard section of rocks, the first three riders separated themselves from me. I would ride most of the rest of the day on my own.

The trails were somewhat like the Frederick 'Shed. Loamy soil with rock after rock, all sharp and waiting to destroy your tires, bike and body with a wrong move. But, there were some very fast, and smooth descents (one came about 10-15 miles into the race - an eye blurring rip through the trees) and a bunch of hard packed fire roads.

I was starting to catch up to third place, Brandon Draugelis, one one of the longer fire-road climbs, when my front Conti X-King Protection tire went flat. It was the first flat I've gotten on one of these tires in two years of beating on them. The Michaux rocks had put a huge slice in the sidewall.

Luckily, I had a tube of rubberized super glue (this Loctite stuff is great), shoved a ton of glue into the large hole that the Stan's sealant wasn't filling, turned the hole to the bottom of the tire, shook it to get some sealant into the glue and hit it with a CO2. It held air, and I rode off. (The tire is still holding air today.)

Glue plus Stan's patch worked and kept my tire inflated and running tubeless

One rider, Colin Becker, passed me when I was fixing my tire, and I'd work to catch him for the next 2 hours. I did finally catch up to him on a long climb, just before we went into what's tagged on Strava as the "Bombing Mad Scientist" descent, where the Michaux Off-Road weekend's Super-D was held earlier in the season. I lost Colin's wheel when I clipped my bar on a tree at high speed, sending me shoulder first into another tree which stopped me dead. I took a minute to assess as I was sure I'd dislocated my shoulder (my hand was completely numb and I couldn't feel the handlebars). I felt it was in place and gingerly set off again. Later, I found that my new wedding band had taken a big chunk out of my finger (time to stop riding with it on).

I nearly caught Colin while climbing the next section of road, but he was well out of sight on the last long section of singletrack.

The final section of singletrack incorporated a crazy sliding descent into a stream. I had just about run out of steam at this point, and the hike-a-bike out of the stream valley thereafter finished me off. I trickled into the finish for 4th in the Senior category and 5th overall (a singlespeed guy went by me in a rock field at light speed - he was flying!!).

Mike came in just a bit later for 6th in the Senior category.

Instant results were available

The race illustration. I believe this is a metaphor for the race... get through the challenge and you're rewarded with pain and some food (a free meal ticket came with the entree fee -- no cup cakes though)

Following the race was lunch and beer on the grass. A perfect way to end a tough day of bashing through the rocks!

Here's the data from Strava:

In addition to Scott Bicycles, we'd like to thank our other sponsors of the team -- these folks keep us going!

Continental Tires - Tires that can handle a ton of abuse
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
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!
Wolftooth Components - Drop-stop chainrings to keep you focused on pedaling, rather than dropped chains

- Jeff

July 19, 2013

Cam Dodge 3rd at U23 Nationals!

Cam rode a great race today to finish 3rd at the U23 national championships. An awesome result in the midst of a stellar season.

Here is the race in his words:

Watch more video of 2013 Cross Country National Championships on cyclingdirt.org

July 18, 2013

Wednesdays at Wakefield (W@W) race #3

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Expert: Jeff Dickey 1^st, Mike Joos 6th

Course: fast, short, and twisty

Weather: high / mid 90’s sunny and humid (so humid, one might have thought you needed gills to breathe properly)

Jeff showed up to this one after being off his bike for month because of his wedding /honeymoon and cleaned up. He won by a minute on a short fast course.

Mike struggled in the heat to get a 6^th place finish. Dylan the reigning W@W points leader skipped this one to be fresh for the National championships this weekend. Good luck to him!

Ian 2nd, Jeff 1st!, Sunny 3rd

Mike

July 02, 2013

MASS XC #6 - Guy's Bicycles XC Classic - Neshaminy, PA

June 23, 2013

The Guy's XC Classic in Neshaminy sports a twisty course with many short punchy climbs, filled with roots and log stacks. It was a blast to race on these fun trails. The day was hot and humid, making good hydration crucial, and the trails were tacky and fast.

Cam, Dylan and Zack came up to race in the Pro/Open, and Jay competed in the Master's field. Cam Dodge finished in first place- over 4 minutes ahead of 2nd place Aaron Snyder followed closely by Cole Oberman. Dylan said he felt off and may not have eaten enough, but still finished in 4th, and Zack rounded out the top 10. For the 50 plus race, a hard charging Bob Eichlin took the win, and Jay Dodge had another strong finish in 2nd place. Full results here.

Open Men Podium

June 27, 2013

Wednesdays at Wakefield Race #2

Wednesdays at Wakefield is a race series at Wakefield Park in Annandale Virginia and is a great way for mountain bikers in the DC area to satisfy their racing fix mid week. For the second W@W race Scott Pro Mountain Bike team members Dylan Johnson, Zack Morrey, and Mike Joos came ready to throw down with some of the local competition including Ian Spivack and Dave Weaver.

At the start of the race Zack hammered up the start hill to make it first into the single track followed by Dave, Dylan, and Ian making up the lead group with Mike not far behind. Zack lead the entire first lap setting a good pace. At the end of the first lap Dylan crashed in a rocky creak crossing but quickly got up and rejoined the three leaders.

The beginning of the second lap saw some jostling of positions with Dave, Ian, and Dylan passing Zack and then Ian passing Dave to take up the pace making for the group. Later on in the second lap Dylan put in an attack on the open power line section of the course and was able to string out the four man group and break away leaving Ian in second, Dave in third, and Zack in fourth. Meanwhile Mike was creeping through the field making his way up to fifth place by the end of the race making for three Scott Pro Mountain bike riders in the top five!

June 21, 2013

Fizik Tundra 2 Long Term Review

My Fizik Tundra 2 has been back and forth on my Scott Scale race bike and on my road bike since the Fall of 2011. It has proved to be a durable, stylish and comfortable piece of equipment. I’ve found its material is the perfect balance between grippy and slippery. I can move around on it easily for climbs but also rely on it to keep me in one place on the rough stuff.

In addition, weight isn’t holding it back at all. My Tundra 2 with kium rails was, at the time, the least expensive Tundra model. It is still very lightweight at 190 grams. The rails are well marked and the markings haven’t worn off after several bike swaps and saddle adjustments.

I especially like the length of the saddle (280mm). I’ve used other long saddles, like the WTB Silverado (290mm), but what I especially like is the support the Tundra 2 has closer to the nose. The Silverado narrows too quickly and doesn’t give adequate support if you intend to sit near the nose for any extended period of time. Of course, every bike and every rider will be different, but for me and the way I like to be positioned, I like to ride near the nose. On the road bike, when in the drops and really grinding it out, I can comfortably be near the nose. Sitting further back works well too and as a result, you end up with a few good positions that you can switch back and forth between to relax or work particular muscles.

The saddle is smooth on the sides, so you don’t have to worry about getting your shorts stuck on it while cornering or rubbing on your thighs while pedaling. If you are really getting ballsy on your bike and lean back behind the Tundra 2, you don’t have to worry too much about getting your shorts snagged on the nose. Because of its rectangular, instead of triangular nose, I’ve only had a few close calls, and I frequently lean back on New England’s technical trails.

This is marketed as a mountain bike saddle and the main reason why I believe that to be the case is that because for long road rides, where you simply aren’t moving around that much on the bike, it can cause some discomfort. For mountain biking, however, it really is a great saddle and I encourage you to try one for yourself.

If you are at all curious about the Syncros saddles that are coming on new Scott bikes, I’ve been pleased with their comfort and practicality. They don’t have the same low weight or quality as Fizik saddles, however. It all depends on what you are looking for.

One last thing worth mentioning about Fizik saddles is the neat integrated clip system that allows you to cleanly mount a saddle bag or light to the back of the saddle. I’m rocking an old, traditional style saddle bag and have yet to try the integrated system, but it looks slick. The Velcro on my saddle bag is wearing out, so I have a ByKyle Simple Strap as a security measure. If quality is important to you, give Fizik a try!

- Nathaniel

June 18, 2013

Wolf Tooth Components Drop Stop Chainrings

Lots of rings just arrived today from team sponsor, Wolf Tooth Components, LLC.

Cam, Dylan, Jeff and Zack will be rocking these for the rest of the season.

Narrow/wide rings don't require a chainguide when using a clutch rear derailleur. The GXP direct mount rings drop 30 grams from an XX1 crankset by eliminating the spider completely (cheaper than XX1 rings too) on Zack and Dylan's XX1 bikes, and Jeff's XX1/XTR hybrid beast.

The 104 mm BCD ring will fit nicely on Cam's Shimano 1x10 setup (and he can toss his chainguide), and the 88 mm BCD ring for XTR Race cranks looks very trick.

Going from a 2x10 to a 1x10 setup saved about a pound on each of our bikes. This is an even lighter setup, especially when you can ditch a chainguide.

Check out http://www.wolftoothcycling.com/ for more info or ordering!