Grand Slammers

Grand Slammers: "

Photo: Erin Mulder

Running a 100-mile ultramarathon is an extremely difficult feat. But, running four of the country’s oldest 100-mile races in a span of 11 weeks? Come on!

Thirteen folks completed all four—the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run, the Vermont 100-Mile Endurance Run, the Leadville Trail 100, and last weekend’s Wasatch Front 100-Mile Endurance Run—this past summer, competing in what is known as the Grand Slam of Ultrarunning. Somewhere between 10 to 20 folks do the Grand Slam each year.

This year, 34-year-old Neal Gorman from Washington D.C. set a new record for the lowest combined time over the four races. Gorman’s time of 74 hours, 54 minutes and 16 seconds bested Joe Kulak's previous record of 75:07.

Gorman, who owns an insurance brokerage firm in Richmond, Virginia, is recovering from an impressive second-place overall finish at the fourth and final 100-miler in the Grand Slam series, the Wasatch Front 100-Mile Endurance Run. I caught up with him on his drive back from Utah to D.C.

“The Grand Slam sort of came out of nowhere this summer,” he says, explaining that he raced the Massanutten Mountain Trails 100 in 2008, and ran part of it with Kulak. “After running the Vermont Trails 100 and then the Wasatch Front 100 in 2009, I got a better feel for running that distance, learned how to do it well, and how to feel okay. And I thought, ‘Next year, there’s so much energy around Western States. If I get in, better do the Grand Slam.’ Why not? It seemed like a pinnacle effort that would really create a lasting memory that would just be fantastic.”

Gorman got into Western States, paid the $80 fee to register as a Grand Slammer and began chasing the engraved eagle each finisher is awarded at the end, should they complete all four hundreds. “It was a fun, long-term goal,” he says. “I love those, by the way.”

Gorman says that, for him, Western States was the hardest of the four 100s. “I created a bad patch for myself. I felt fine, but I had nothing, and I just wasn’t right for two or three days after that. I just chalked it up to heat, and that it was my first 100 in a while.”

You’d think one bad hundred would make a person concerned that they’d be racing three more within weeks. But Gorman remained level-headed and optimistic.

“I trained to think about it one race at a time,” he says. “Vermont was next, and I just thought, ‘I’d like to do better the next time and have a good day.’”

He had a good day, and then he had a good race at Leadville, and went into Wastach with a goal of running under 21 hours and 30 minutes to break Kulak’s record. “I knew Wasatch would have to be a top-notch performance,” he says. “I was like, ‘You’re going to have to go after this like a prize fighter. Stay focused, and don’t relent.’”

Gorman finished an astonishing second place at Wasatch, behind winner Nick Clark, and set a new Grand Slam record with just over 12 minutes to spare.

“I felt like stars were aligning all summer,” he says, crediting good weather, great pacers, working under his running coach, Russell Gill, and his innate ability to sense oncoming injuries early and treat them accordingly. Sometimes, that meant running through pains, which seemed to work for him.

When asked if he’d do another Grand Slam summer, Gorman replied with a laugh, “Seriously, just beat me with a whip. It’s too good of an experience to pass up.”

Gorman isn't alone in his enthusiasm. "There were so many spectacular moments," says Aaron Mulder, who finished with the third fastest Grand Slam time this year after only getting into running in 2006. "The scenery of the four races was vastly more beautiful than I was lead to believe. My biggest regret might be not sacrificing just a bit of time to bring and use a camera."

"

2010 Shenandoah Mountain 100

Pardon the tardiness of this post. I wrote most of it a while ago but...

Rolling happily up to the finishing line. Yes, I thought I was that cool that I took my hands off the handlebars.

There's something about riding in the back country... It's a totally different experience. Being out there in general is amazing, but I guess since riding in it is fairly new to me it just stands out. The SM100, while maybe not as "out there", and was certainly WAY more crowded then the Iron Mountain 100k, did it for me.

I can't really pick out a whole lot about my race (term used lightly since I never really felt like I was trying to race); I think most of it comes back as a blur aside from a few standout things. I immensely enjoyed my time riding though, and I have every hope and desire to go back and do it again; maybe next time with a solid understanding and a more serious goal for what I want to do out there.

First of all the scene is amazing. Matthew and I got out there in the early afternoon Saturday, set up camp, did some bike work with the assistance of Jonathon W (including major last minute changes generally severely recommended against... whoops!), and then joined by Evan E did a quick shake down ride out the start of the course. Over all on the ride I thought I felt pretty good, though when the other three opened it up a little coming back my legs quickly felt a bit tired and my lack of confidence on the sketchy, dusty and sandy corners glared a bit too bright for my liking. Luckily this section would be mostly uphill so at least the sketchy stuff would be somewhat less treacherous.

The race provided pasta dinner was excellent and as the weather grew chilly the DCMTB crew headed for the warmth of our sleeping bags. The next morning we woke to the sounds of a dirt bike racing through the campsite horn blaring at 5am, prepping us for the 6:30 start time. Aside from pulling on the bike shorts with cold chamois butt'r my prep went smoothly, though I felt a bit rushed as the start time loomed.

Now for my first and only major complaint of the day. The staged start, where people lined up based on their expected finish time; a great concept but like in running races, people just don't quite do it right. Matthew and I lined up at 11 hours, since that was essentially our goal finish time. It seemed like we were all alone though, with what seems like less then 100 of the starting 550+ riders being around or behind us. I have no better suggestion on how to line up the start though so my complaint here is really just more of a bicker, and hopefully next time I'll be lining up farther on up the line anyway.

So, the long fire road slog to open the race was a bit frustrating for me. It seemed like half the time was spent waiting while a group of riders four wide blocked a group of 20+ riders trying to go up faster. On the single I felt like I was wasting energy early on riding a pace I didn't feel comfortable with and putting myself behind people (possibly for a long time to come) that I didn't want to be behind. So, I wasted more energy punching it when I could to get by the big groups until finally things started to spread out a bit more.

I topped out the first climb uneventfully and began the first downhill. I don't remember a lot from the downhill over all but I did notice my rear rim making contact with rock a couple of times before we got to the bottom. So, instead of blowing through the first water aid station as I planned and like everyone else, I stopped for a pump, added a couple of quick pumps of air to the rear and went on my way just praying I didn't give myself a slow leak since I'd left my CO2 valve/mini pump sitting on the tailgate. Whoops!

The first of many long, slow, flat/slightly downhill sections for me.

Again, more of a blur in my mind as we rode Hankey Mountain for the first time, Chestnut Ridge, and Brailies (not sure in what order) though I remember a few fairly punishing downhills where I was on the verge of loosing control of the bike at times, others where i was comfortably flying, and still more where i was just squealing my brakes hoping to make it down in one piece.

On the climb between aid stations 3 and 4 I was stuck in a line of people that were all walking a fairly technical and steep bunch of trail. In the end I think we all hiked the final 15 minutes up the climb, and while I'm not quite sure how much I would've ridden without the hold up, I know I wouldn't have walked as much as I ended up walking there. Unfortunately, the hiking didn't provide the rest I might have hoped for either.

A few of the road sections proved to be some of the most difficult parts of the race for me as they continued for mile after monotonous mile. On the single speed I couldn't do much aside from a simple steady spin while geared riders flew by me on the slightly downward angled sections. This is the only time I was feeling uncomfortable on the bike the entire day since I couldn't stand to pedal with any effectiveness and likely the emotional hit of watching rider after rider pass by me only added fuel to the fire.

Eventually though the road gradually turned upwards and I was happy again. I caught up with Pooch who mentioned Klasmeier was just ahead and that added a bit of extra motivation for me. I got to the sharp right that turned quickly up towards aid 5 and MK was peeing in the bushes. As I made the turn he called out for me to wait up and as I hit the steeper slope I did for a short bit, but when I saw he still wasn't back to his bike after what was probably a few seconds but felt like minutes, I continued on my own up the hill at my pace figuring he'd understand with it being my first SM100 and everything. Upon his finish he told me, not too happily he'd needed water badly, so in hindsight my decision wasn't that of a team player and I'll be more mindful of situations like that in the future.

The climb to aid 5 was great for me. It was a steady, steep but not too steep climb and it allowed me to get in the zone and just keep going. I was riding well and still felt surprisingly strong some 70 miles into the race, passing people constantly, mostly those riding with gears. Aid 5 like all of the others was excellent and someone took my bike and filled my bottles while I grabbed some food. I was again in and out within a couple of minutes at most and the climb (apparently) continued upwards for a while though I don't really remember that.

There was a crazy fast dirt road down hill with big rollers and huge red mud puddles, one of which I of course hit and then it was the road back to Hankey mountain. Starting up Hankey I felt a slight twinge of dread, remembering from other peoples accounts how terrible it is late in the race but I zoned back out and kept pushing up. I think what made it not so bad was telling myself that it was going to get worse the entire way up the climb. When I topped out the climb I swore to myself there was more, that I was only at a false top out and I was saving some energy and mental effort for what I though was another five miles of killer rolling fire road and one final steep though not too long climb back into the camp ground.

Suddenly, I was in a random campground with the course entirely taped off, then it was a jeep road between tents and cabins and I finally realized where I was, not even a quarter mile from the finish. At that realization I started whoopin and hopping, speeding down into the field, over the rollers and up through the finish with a huge grin on my face. Best yet, I was in at 10:28, a full 30 minutes better then I hoped for and an hour and a half better then I planned for!

All in all a great experience for a first SM100 and first 100 even. Aside from the long road sections I was always comfortable in the saddle and the legs had plenty of juice. The recovery wasn't even nearly as bad as the last 50k I did and though my nutrition on the day wasn't perfect, it got me through at the effort level I was riding at with no problems.

Finished... and a bit confused.

So, in planning for my next attempt, aside from being a little better prepared going into the race, I think I want to make sure I'm strong enough to push a 32x19 and really be able to attack and enjoy the downhills. This year I swapped out to a 32x20 after planning on the 32x21 when Jonathon, who generally spins way more and better then me told me he was riding 20. Probably not the best idea the day before the race and I started questioning my wisdom midway through the race but the legs held out with no problems. The 32x19 would just be that much faster on the roads/flats and force that little extra bit of speed out of my on all the long steady climbs. Sweet.

Is This Really the Best a Man Can Get?

Is This Really the Best a Man Can Get?: "

A teacher argues for the expansion of No-shave November.

An untrimmed mustache is a despicable thing. I know this because I am an American, and because it's the rules. Mostly these are the unspoken, unwritten rules of culture that everyone grows into, but sometimes they are right there in black and white.

The start of each new high school year brings a review of institutional rules, and beneath the grumbling malcontent this engenders, lie larger questions of values and culture that are rarely, if ever, addressed. And for reasons that are never clearly expressed, students are expected to unquestioningly comply with a number of broader cultural expectations—restrictions on facial hair among them.

I, on the other hand, am the art teacher. I do not like pat, one-size-fits-no-one answers to questions. So, I will take a moment to talk about facial hair. But before I do, I must admit that since the school where I teach is a private school, they have perhaps a little more leeway with the rules than do their public school brethren—and in my experience, they tend to use that leeway to allow students a bit more facial-hair self-expression than is perhaps typical. Nonetheless, “rules is rules,” and there comes a point when even at my school, the hammer gets dropped on students brazen enough to sport a pair of lightning bolt sideburns.

As a college preparatory school, we are theoretically attempting to prepare students to move into the professional world, a world that by and large thinks creatively-sculpted facial hair is something better left to the denizens of television shows and community college. It would be valid, I think, to question if this particular cultural bias is quite as relevant as it once was, but I would like to go a layer deeper and ask why we feel it necessary to scrape and shape our facial hair at all. And—despite what billions of advertising dollars have been spent to make us believe—the natural state of most faces (at least in my particular racial and cultural milieu) is to be gloriously bearded.

That is not what bothers me, though. People are welcome to do whatever weird and wooly things they want. What bothers me is that because of all this face-scraping, Americans throw away around a billion disposable razors a year. That is a lot of plastic and aluminum being dumped on and into the earth and oceans that sustain us. It is also depressingly ridiculous, given that there are sharpeners available (it’s even possible, I have recently discovered, to sharpen a safety razor on your arm hair) and that—let’s face it—straight-edged razor shaving is a dead sexy, manly skill to have.

I know that men’s faces are not entirely to blame for all that, but I cannot help but feel that it might be a good place to start fighting back against the marketing machine that demands consumer-conformity to some artificially fabricated smooth-faced ideal. You know, make them find some other unnecessary product to trick us into buying—maybe one that does not end up filling the crops of seagulls with tiny bits of sharpened aluminum. Is high school the appropriate place to begin this sort of fight? I do not know.

It is unlikely that I will be persuaded to stop slicing away at my face any time soon. I am guessing that the weight of culture and long-borne insecurities press down on me far too strongly for a drastic change like that. Plus, I love my job.

For our teens, though, there is still hope. It’s a new generation, a generation unwilling to blindly accept the market-driven traditions of its forebears. Perhaps if we were willing to stop enforcing our problems on our youth, they would find the space and freedom to start helping us fix them.

Josh Barkey is a high school art teacher in North Carolina.

"

Iron Mountain 100k

Aside from being practically in Tennessee, the Iron Mountain 100k was probably the best mountain bike race I've participated in. The town of Damascus, VA is tiny, littered with outdoor retailers and bike shops, sits just off the AT and is nestled in the Southern most section of the Appalachian mountain range still inside Virginia. I LOVE this town!

We camped in a tiny city park right along the peaceful stream running through the town and rode our bikes from their to the start of the race a couple of blocks away. I was extremely anxious before the start, this being my first true endurance mountain biking event and my first experience riding in the back country as well; my legs were literally shaking with anticipation.

The race started out with a few miles along the essentially flat Virginia Creeper Trail before pitching steeply up a tough loose and rutted climb. Jonathon W and I, both on single speeds dropped back to within the last 5 places during the creeper trail portion but quickly began to make up spots when the trail turned up. J rode much more aggressively then I did and passed a large number of people quickly up the first bit of steep climbing while I hung back and passed when I could easily do so.

The trails were tough but beautiful and I was able to make up a lot of places by the end (when we finally reached it) of the first climb. For a while I was steadily pacing myself with a handful of other single speeders, riding most of the trail and walking occasionally when things got either too steep or loose/rutted to keep the forward momentum going. The final descent down to the first aid station was incredible, enveloped in rhododendrons and fast and flowy around sweeping turns. I led a couple of guys down this decent and managed to pick off at least 2 or 3 other guys as well. I even managed to snag a compliment on my descending "skills" from one the guys following me down! (Glad he didn't see me later on in the race...)

At AS 1 I caught Jonathon who had to stop to refill bottles since he'd left his bladder at home and we set off on a long road section before the next set of singletrack. My memory of the next few portions is already a bit hazy a day later, but we continued riding more or less close together with J and I and a couple of other guys. Eventually Jonathon and I broke away on some steeper climbs and I even managed to get ahead and away of Jonathon for a bit. Then came my complete low point for the race.

I was ahead of Jonathon, maybe by as much as 30 seconds when I hit a fast, off camber and rocky descent that straight from the beginning scared the crap out of me. The rocks threw me everywhere and I was going too fast to feel like I was under control on the steeply off camber trail and eventually I just braked hard until I felt moderately under control. Of course this meant Jonathon was quickly catching me; so quickly in fact that he got to witness first hand my roll down the side of the mountain. A washed out heavily cambered section of trail spooked me big time and I basically came to a stop and tried to put a foot down... on the down side of the trail, realized too late how far down that was and rolled wheels over helmet 10 to 20 feet down the hill before coming to a stop in a pretzeled position and with my right calf cramping hard and stuck between my handle bars and my frame. Ouch!

I told J to go on and worked my way back up to the trail while 2 more guys passed, checking that I was alright, and then slowly and tenderly making my way down the remainder of the treacherous trail. I was worried about my calf, which felt like it might cramp hard at any second but I popped an S-Cap and drank a bunch of water and just paid close attention to its condition for the next few miles.

After the descent we hit a long steady gravel road climb where I just put my head down, stayed seated and tried to pedal as efficiently as possible. I managed to reel in the two geared riders that'd passed me on the down hill and then caught sight of Jonathon as I pulled into the next aid station before he set off on the next section of trail. I grabbed some water and a cup of coke and headed on along with another SS'er I'd been riding near all day. He was riding 32x18 vs my 32x21 and was walking when necessary so I quickly rode along and set back to my goal of trying to catch Jonathon.

Again, the order of the sections is a blur at this point but I basically rode a bunch on single track climbs, some sweet ridge-line trails, some more decents and then some more gravel road. This time the gravel was deeper and harder to ride without slipping and eventually I saw Jonathon up ahead. After a long chase with him in my sights I finally managed to catch and pass him. He was having an rough day, over heating and lacking in power after a week of severe back problems. Either way I'll take it as a good day anytime I can even hang with The Sweetone!

Next there was some more climbing and some more descending and some super sweet and semi-difficult ridge riding. The down hills were a TON of fun for the most part after the one super sketchy one earlier in the race. One reminded me of the fast and flowy Rosaryville trails on steroids and I was loving every second of it!

At the final Aid Station the volunteers informed me I was in 26th place overall and they believed possibly in 2nd SS! This gave me a bit of motivation for what they said was the final 9 miles of the course (and maybe a bit of distraction while day dreaming about getting a "podium" spot in my first endurance race... give me a break, it helped get through some of the tougher sections and kept the drive alive to try and hold off the close behind wheels of J and other SS'ers!)

I rode the majority of the race after passing Jonathon without seeing a single other rider until around 5 miles to go when a geared rider (who'd stopped and back tracked a 1/4 mile on foot early in the race to retrieve a pair of sun glasses he'd dropped) caught and passed me on the climbing and flat sections. I'd catch him back on the downhills but at this point in the race I knew I was slowing on the climbs, even walking some I knew I should be riding since it felt like I was probably wasting more energy trying to muscle my way up then if I walked them.

Even still I managed to hold anyone else off, and actually passed another geared rider who appeared to be having some mechanical difficulties with his bike. Down the final descent things got loose, rocky, rough and a bit sketchy with huge water bars crossing the trail but I just held on and tried not to lose control of the bike. I actually fully believed I had one more climb and descent and between every course marker was fretting I'd gotten off course and was going to have to turn around and climb everything I'd just screamed my way down.

Then, suddenly there was a big yellow finish sign with two volunteers standing by to write my number and record my time. Sweet. From there you rode back to the pavilion via the Virginia Creeper trail though in my super anxious pre-race state I missed the official directions and continued on the trail out of Damascus before turning around and heading back to the pavilion to find Jonathon.

We went and broke down our tents and packed up the car before returning to the pavilion for some burgers and pasta, checked the results and saw I *might* have taken 3rd SS though we'll see when the results are posted, and that Jonathon was barely 2 minutes behind me likely making up a good deal of time on those sketchy downhills, collected our drop bags, which neither of us actually used and hit the road (and Dairy Queen for some Blizzards!)

All in all a VERY successful day and an amazing time riding an incredible course. When all was said and done it looks like we hit about 8500 feet of climbing and descending and my official finishing time was around 6 hours 14 minutes. Not sure of the total actual mileage but Jonathon reports it should be in the 54 to 55 mile range based on last year. I forgot to start my garmin until a few miles in and it shut off sometime before I got back to the pavilion so I'm not sure exactly what it would would have reported either though I trust the elevation profile it reported through the elevation correction on Garmin Connect.

The 6 hour drive each way was quite rough, but maybe next year Aimee and I could work it into a trip down to spend some time with her folks, a mere 2 hours further down the road. I think the race was worth it, though its a bit of stretch as a quick 2 day trip.

Garmin Connect Report: Garmin Connect

Race Results (to come): Shenandoah Mountain Touring

The right dose

Its official, the perfect weekend is a three day weekend. One day to get stuff done around the house, one day to get out and have fun and do something you really want to do (thats maybe not exactly relaxing) and one day to just relax and recover from a busy weekend (best served by a Monday off, Friday off just doesn't quite measure up). That was my long weekend to a T.

Saturday I spent the day working on the house, replacing molding in the upstairs hallway and bedroom. Satisfying work that immediately adds to the decor but is still tough to find the time for amongst the usual daily grind and short but stacked weekends.

Sunday, I rode the famed Sky-Mass loop with Wheaton and Leland for the first time. Quite the ride. logging both my and Leland's longest rides mileage wise and probably logging the most vertical I've even hit before on a single ride as well. Better yet, I had enough left in the legs afterwards to kick out a couple of (very) brief sprints in the last mile or so of the ride. Encouraging to say the least and it has me feeling pretty decent going into next weekends' Stoopid 50 race up near State College, PA.

Monday was, in my eyes the perfect holiday Monday. Aimee and I got up late and drove out to Markham, VA to meet up with Matthew for a relaxing day at some local wineries. We stopped by Philip Carter first, were not that impressed and went on to Rappahannock Cellars where we spent the remainder of the afternoon sitting at a picnic table in the shade drinking 2 bottles of white wine, eating cheese and crackers and some pulled pork sandwiches. So perfect. After that, back at Matthew's place, we spent an hour or two sitting on the dock, toes dangling in the pond, just enjoying the evening breeze as the light slowly began to fade. Incredible.

Still hard to come back to work today, but knowing how amazing the weekend was certainly helps to dampen the blow.

A few extra miles

Yesterday as I was riding home from work I remembered Wednesdays are Greenbelt Training series race days. I don't really think much about the GTS races much since I decided 3 seasons ago road racing maybe wasn't my thing after getting crashed out of one of the Greenbelt B races when a rider went down in the middle of the pack. But, I've been talking to a few people here and there lately and with it being 2 miles from my front door I figured I kind of had to get out and race it at least a few times this year, if nothing else then just for the hard efforts and the extra miles.

So, I stopped by, not expecting to get in last night since I was late and had no cash or license. They took an IOU though and with 5 minutes to spare I was standing on the line in the 6pm C race (no license, no B race and no I'm really not sandbagging here anyway).

I rode somewhat aggressively from the start hoping to keep the pace somewhat high and see what would happen. Didn't really do much though other then wear my already tired legs out. Felt like I was moving around easily in the pack but on the final ramp up to the finish I lost my nerve a couple times while trying to move up gave up a lot of spots well before the park exit road and seeing I was well out of contention soft pedaled in to the finish line. No sense in being the guy sprinting for 15th.

It was definitely fun to be out there and really aside from one especially squirrelly rider it was a pretty good group out there. One guy named Rob on a single speed was especially impressive I thought. Should be pretty strong when he gets his hands on a geared bike.

So, now that I've got the first one under the belt for the year I plan to try and get out as often as possible to my neighborhood crit. As usual a big thank you to Route 1 Velo for putting on such a cool and laid back series.

North Face 50 - PHT section scouting trip

Around 23 miles yesterday on the Potomac Heritage Trail portion of the upcoming North Face 50k trail race. Needed a good long trail run as I've been slacking off a bit lately on long runs and getting out on the trails in general though I have been riding a bit more instead. Also wanted to see what the course will be like which from what I saw yesterday it should be pretty fast!

It looks like it begins with around a mile of paved path (which I skipped yesterday) followed by a mile of crushed gravel path before it hits the single track. That'll make it hard not to go out fast, though also means it'll be a good idea to hit this part fast so as not to get stuck too far back once we hit the single track.

The majority of the PHT section is basically flat with the very distinct possibility of being very muddy should it be wet and rainy leading up to race day. There were 3 or 4 very abrupt and steep sections where the trail was rerouted due to the Potomac river washing away old sections of trail or for other reasons. Should be mostly runable, especially early on but probably will be a good idea not to expend to much energy on these steeps.

Somewhere, likely along the way where I ran the course will leave the PHT though the runner's guide description wasn't clear enough for me to fingure it out so I just stuck to the trail down a bit past the dam near/in Great Falls park.

Slightly disturbingly, my garmin reported just over 650 feet of elevation gain for this 23 mile section of trail while the 50k runners guide states over 3000 feet for the course. Either one of these is way wrong (and the garmin has been known to be well off the mark, though Garmin Connect now has topographical map corrections included) or the 10 or so miles in Great Falls will produce 2500 + feet of elevation gain to really kill us mid-race. Hopefully next weekend I'll manage to get out and check out some of that section to see what that's like.

My 23 miles took around 4.5 hours, though I spent a good bit of time stopped, either taking pictures of/watching wildlife, trying to figure out if I was going the right way based on the course description or just generally putzing along. The goal Matthew and I have set for this race is a sub 5 hour time which based on the sections I ran yesterday and our times at the Seneca Greenway Trail 50k should be well within reach. We just need to average 9:40 for the course which should be doable on this course.

Yesterday my average was just under 12 overall but just over 10:30 "moving time" according to the garmin. That was self supported (aka with backpack filled with water and other stuff) and getting dehydrated after running completely out of water with 5 or 6 miles to go. So, there you have it, a publicly stated time goal. Now its time to live up to it.

Otherwise the run was pretty scenic with a good bit of unexpected wildlife. I caught a bunch in pictures after rigging up my cell phone to my pack strap. Unfortunately I didn't catch the huge red fox (probably 40 or 50 lbs, by far the largest fox I've ever seen), the giant red headed woodpecker, the deer, the lizards or the big turtle that scuttled into the creek as I ran over a bridge. Also should have a grabbed a picture of the guy that nearly punched me when he didn't hear me coming as he stood on the trail talking to his buddy (who saw me and I figured wwould warn his friend). He then proceeded to cuss me out. Nice. He looked like an unhealthy version of Ron Swanson from Parks and Rec so I suppose a heart attack was a real danger there.

Enjoy the rest below!

Baby frogs all over the trail near the golf course and swamp like (though likely man made) area.

A swarm of butterflies that found something tasty.

Great blue herron that was talking to me as I tried to get closer for a picture.

Great North American trailious runnerous in a typical confused pose.

The mighty Potomac River.

A very large black snake (non-poisonous I now know thanks to Matthew) plastered to the side of a big tree along the trail.

A large millipede stuck to the side of a bridge. Took this one for Aimee and I even managed not to step on any of these guys along the trail.

BTWD 2010

Great day for riding and lots of people on the roads. Met a few cool folks and forced myself to actually go to work in the end. Should have grabbed a pic before I left when the freedom plaza crowds had grown but this one is from about 7:30 when I first got there.

2010 12 Hours of Lodi Farms

I've been putting off this race report, though really I have no good reason why. I wasn't entirely stoked with the outcome I suppose, though it was essentially what was expected. I also, and probably more importantly wasn't all that stoked about my own performance. Enough of that already though, on to the words you've all been waiting for! Dry race reporting from an amateur sport racer!

Jonathon Wheaton, Darren Biggs and I were teamed up on a three man single-speed team, with our main competition being against another DCMTB team comprised of "Cargo" Mike Pearce, Joel Gwadz(illa) and Kent "Solar" Baake (ok I made that last one up but it seemed wrong not to include a nickname for Kent and of course, solar fits!). On paper, they had us beat, just a bit on a head to head basis. Pearce is blazingly fast, and has a history of setting the fastest laps at races like this, Kent is just wily and fit and can just always ride a bike fast, and Joel is usually found standing atop the podium in the Clydesdale class.

We took hope in the poor condition of Joel's spare bike being used by Kent riding SS off road for the first time in his life and Pearce coming in late, feeling sick and nearly pulling out of the race. But, then Kent got the bike issues sorted out and Pearce showed up so, the cards were on the table.

Jon gave us a good solid starting lap, coming in as one of the first riders, behind Mike K riding first for the DCMTB 3 person expert team also consisting of Leland and Ilana and a few minutes ahead of Kent and I was up second with Joel hard on my heels. That first lap I rode my ass off and really stuck to it the whole way through. It was hot and I was drinking a lot of water but still I could feel my head over heating in the mid-nineties temperatures. A few miles in I managed to catch Leland when he misjudged a sharp downhill left and he dropped back a bit later after hitting a root he never saw as he followed close behind me.

The one place I really felt bad about on my first lap was down in a really twisty and tight but flat and smooth section where I was able to get up a lot speed but then entered the turns too hot. This was the one place and one time during the entire race that was actually passed by anyone, so it hurt that much worse, but I was so choppy here on the first lap I was probably wasting a lot of energy while still losing time on other rider.

I freaked a bit when I got back to the start finish and Darren wasn't there to take the baton, but really in the grand scheme of things it meant nothing; just a few seconds really before he showed up. Darren, unfortunately had the unenviable task of trying to hold off a hard charging Pearce and when Pearce caught him, it was going to be tough for us to mount a comeback.

Recovery was tough after that first lap and I (along with everyone else) was showing the signs of dehydration. Getting out on my second lap I worked to ride more smoothly then my first lap. I was also noticeably riding a bit slower and struggling just a bit more on some of the climbs. I still only walked one and that was due to a poor line over rooty terrain but still I could feel the fatigue from the first lap.

I rode the tight and twisty flat section much smoother this time and really came in feeling decent about my lap time though in the end I dropped a few minutes on my first lap time here. The third lap though was where the sh*t really hit the fan.

I was struggling everywhere now and turning the cranks was way harder then it should have been. Joel had started his lap ahead of me after Cargo Mike put in another blazing lap and combined with my own physical struggles I basically imploded. The lap was still in daylight and the temperature had even dropped off a bit but the way I was struggling simply compounded my dying drive. I think here I started to get into my head a bit too much which worked against my energy as well. I lost another 5 minutes from my second lap time.

My fourth lap I had started to feel better and thought I was riding pretty well, but I suppose the damage was already done. I wasn't blazing along in the night, but I was riding much more smoothly then my 3rd lap and thought I should be coming in around the same time as my third, though the darkness seemed to take more out of my lap then I realized.

There is a lesson for me in this race, though sorting out exactly what it is isn't something I've done yet. It may simply be to not go out quite as hard on my first lap of a 12+ hour relay so I save some energy for later though I think its more then that. I do think this course provided ample opportunities for me to waste energy trying to go hard in the wrong places due to the super tight and twisty nature of it.

I also swapped cogs after my first lap going from my 32x18 to 32x20. Maybe I would have actually been better off starting with the 32x20 and not killing my legs on my first lap with the harder gearing... Who knows.

It was fun riding with Jonathon and Darren no-less and as usual a pleasure listening to the antics of the various DCMTB regulars. MK's kids are a hoot and at least Emma has taken to calling me Paperclip permanently so this one seems to be here to stay.

12 Hours of Lodi Farms Results

Pictures

Hint: go to the creek crossing gallery and check out pictures 266 and 267. Awesome!

See Darren's report here.

Paradise found (almost...)

Al...most...there!!!

In a mere 24 hours, Aimee and I will be well on our way to San Jose, Costa Rica. Needless to say, the past few days have been pretty excruciating. I tend to fall into the "night before Christmas kid" category for big things like this; likely at this point my coworkers are sick and tired of hearing about my trip, and it hasn't even happened yet!

Everything is all set up though; flights confirmed, bags (mostly) packed, new goodies picked up and passports at the ready. We've got a list of things to look into but no solid plans aside from lodging and transportation and that's just how like it (though really I think we'd be fine without even the lodging set up!)

The view that will hopefully greet us into Arenal/La Fortuna tomorrow afternoon.

The first two days in Arenal will be action packed with beauty all around while it's looking like Jaco will be filled with more relaxation and beech time. Here's to cooperative weather and friendly faces! WeatherUnderground.com shows what looks like a central Florida forecast of a 30% chance of rain and t-storms every afternoon. Should keep things exciting!

Jaco Beach.

In other news, we'll be finding out tonight (hopefully) weather I'll be having a niece or a nephew! Here's hoping I get a nephew (or at least a tomboy) that I can drag into crazy mountain biking and outdoor adventures!