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.

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