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.

Thanks to all our team sponsors!

• 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's the ride data:

- Jeff