2013 Year-End Summary: By Eric Roy

Rose Bike Racing has wrapped up for the 2013 season, and I wanted to take a moment and give you a quick summary of the year.  100% of funds from our sponsors went directly towards jersey costs (all purchased jerseys were heavily subsidized, racers were reimbursed for jersey costs), and a small material donation to the Local NEMBA Chapter for plastic cards to mark the race loop at UMaine.  Be sure to thank all of our sponsors... we do not exist without them.

To put it simply, people noticed the swarm of shamrock jerseys in the crowd.  Every race organizer in Maine made a point of contacting me to thank our team for supporting their events.  I was also approached by the local FOX/ABC affiliate to do a feature on mountain biking in our area, and they plastered our team jersey throughout the 2 minute segment.  

A quick rundown of achievements and statistics for the 2013 season:

• Our team was represented in 25 races in Maine and all over the United States.
• More than 30 people on our team raced this year, tallying more than 100 race appearances overall
• Team rider Niki Milleson finished 7^th overall in the National Ultra Endurance Series
• Team Rider Delia Massey finished 1^st overall in the highly competitive  MFG Cat 4 Cyclocross Series
• By my count, we had athletes reach the podium 30 times in 2013 for their respective age group and racing level, including multiple top 3 finishes from several team riders.
• Team Rider Jeremy Bousquet logged just under 1500 miles for charity in 2013, and he’ll be making the jump to racing in 2014.
• Our team blog has received over 2500 hits since it went live in March.

Despite overall success in 2013, we have reason to believe that 2014 is going to be even better.  We have already added several racers to the roster for 2014, and we are always looking for more.  If you know of anyone who wants to learn more about the Qualey Granite/Rose Bike Team, have them contact me on Facebook, or rosebikeracing (at) gmail.com.  There is also a FAQ tab on the blog.  The same contact information can be used for sponsorship information as well.

Because I’m a nerd, I have posted a few graphs that highlight our growth as a team over the past couple of years.

Race Report: Orono Woods Ramble: By Jeremy Bousquet

Race Review- Orono Woods Ramble

As a first time mountain racer I had a lot of different feelings and emotions coming out. I know I wanted to ride the course before the race, something that I have done before during shop rides and free rides with friends, but for preparation purposes and as I thought, the course changed when you implemented the race concept.

The course is a fun, technical mix of double and single track. The first part of the course takes on the King Root Extension, which for me was something that I could run faster than I could ride. The rest of the ride is about choosing the proper line, knowing when to shift, and having a blast on the bike. Riding a hard tail bike for me is a great ride, but I could see where a full suspension would be an improvement to the fun you can have on the course.

Moving forward, the ride is in its first year, for a first time ride and course, it was well organized and challenging. Next year it would be nice to see more classes and maybe an extension on laps or distance, although the simplicity of the race and classes made it something to want to return to next year. 

Race Report: 2013 Bond Brook Treadfest, Augusta, Maine. By Eric Roy

The Bond Brook Tread Fest is a cross country mountain bike race held for the second year in Augusta, Maine.   The trails at Bond Brook are a blast, and the facility itself is a perfect example of what can happen when a town/city gets works hand in hand with the local outdoor recreation community to develop a coherent trail network on city owned land.  One thing that I really enjoy about this trail system is that the trails can be enjoyed by all ability levels.  Experts can rip through the twisty turns, but the track itself is relatively smooth and not intimidating to a beginner rider.   According to my GPS, the race course loop was about 6.5 miles long and had about 800 feet of climbing per lap… and it’s almost 100% singletrack. 

We had a pretty decent showing of people from the Qualey Granite/Rose Bike Team.   Bill Brown, Craig MacDonald, Corey Adams, and myself raced in the Expert category (3 laps), Corey Oderman, Scott Neal, and Frank Cookson raced Sport (2 laps), and Julie Brown competed in the Novice (1 lap) category. 

  

After a quick pre race meeting, the Expert class lined up and took off.  This year, the race organizers sent us around the parking lot to help spread us out… this was a good thing because we weren’t all over each other once we hit the woods.  By the time I hit the woods, I was somewhere mid pack, pretty much even with Craig, and a fair bit behind Bill (our quickest rider that day), and way behind the race leaders (Tony Giguere and Andrew Freye were flying).   

Eric and Craig

Bill Brown

Corey Adams

Frank Cookson

Julie Brown

After the first climb up “insulator” I was feeling good (not great) but I was hoping that my legs would come to life a little later on like they do sometimes.  I tend to start slow & finish strong anyways… so I wasn't concerned.  A little bit into the first lap, Craig started struggling a bit with cramps (I think), and he fell off the pace.  At the time I thought to myself that this was too bad because he has made some incredible strides in his first year racing bikes, and I really wanted a good result for him. It was also about this time that I caught a glimpse of another white jersey riding right on my tail.  I figured that it was Corey Adams… but it was the other Corey, who was absolutely crushing the Sport class, as evidenced by him picking off guys in the Expert class.  That’s a pretty good indicator that Corey will be racing in a different category next year. 

Corey O. Chasing Paul Denis from Insight MRI

                                                       Corey O. crushed the Sport Class

Corey and I chatted a bit until I insisted that he pass me because it was clear that he could go faster.  I knew that some of the Bikeman guys in the Sport class had raced as Experts earlier in the year, so I was expecting them to be right behind him… but no one came for a long time.  After about 6 minutes, the guy who was in 2^nd place in the sport category caught up to me and as he passed, asked if Corey was liable to blow up… I said… “honestly… I have no idea… the dude just started racing bikes”.   Corey has dropped something like 70 lbs since winter and and has been riding a ton.  Monster.   It was around this time that Craig apparently sorted out whatever issues he was having because had caught me.  This was fine by me, because I could stick to his rear wheel.   I think Craig and I leapfrogged positions a couple of times but ultimately I just couldn’t keep up so I made the decision to let him go and dial it back a bit so I wouldn’t completely blow up nutritionally and literally.  I had to tip my hat to Craig that day… he had the legs… I did not.  

I was having a hard time staying on the trail as it was… and a physiological meltdown would not help things at all.  For me, the finish line could not come fast enough, and I finished in a little under 2.5 hours, behind Craig and Bill from our team.   Also, Corey Odermann was able to hold on to win the overall sport class race, and Julie Brown won her division as well.  Not too bad for what is probably the last race of the year for most of us.  Stay posted for a year end recap at some point soon

Overall:

Bond Brook is an awesome venue, and the Treadfest is a great event.  Huge props to Chris Riley and his crew, as well as the City of Augusta. 

I witnessed the coolest thing I'd seen in a race that day.  Dave Richard (one of the Central Maine Cycling Club Racers) did the race side by side with his young daughters, at their pace.  I hope everyone cheered for them and offered support when they hopped off the trail and graciously allowed the more competitive people to pass them.  

                                                       Two of the Richards looking strong! 

                                       The Richard Family Finishing Together!  Freaking Awesome!

Local Races are awesome.  If we do not support them… they will not exist anymore… though this one has caught fire

Everyone should be asking Corey O. to do a writeup for this event.  The guy has dropped a ton of weight and become an animal in one season.  Anyone who doesn't think they can get fit and fast needs to look to him for inspiration.

*** All Photos are from Bond Brook Tread Fest FB page.

Race Report: Highland Mountain Enduro. By Josh Lawrence

Enduro racing is scary.  Not Halloween scary, not zombies with bloody parts scary, but rip-roaring downhill scary. The Highland Mountain enduro, part of the Triple Crown series, was the final leg of the series and couldn't have been at a better time. The enduro format involved four different downhill runs, called specials, with three untimed hill climbs to tie them all together. The folks at Highland picked a great mix of terrain ranging from sketchy, newly cut single track 2 established flowy down hills 2 flow we trail riding. It really combined all the different elements that make up a good enduro and demand a rider to possess hey wide range of skills and strengths.

It has been a good year for me, riding wise, and I really wanted to finish off the season with one more race.  I had a great time at the Carrabassett Backcountry Cycle Challenge, and had a ball with my kids up at the Nordic Trail Festival in Presque Isle, and this would be the 3rd race event for the season. I thought it would be a nice addition since the other two races involved more endurance and XC riding.

Justin Qualey, accomplished downhill and enduro rider, and I headed down to Highland late Friday morning to check out the course and register.  We arrived early afternoon and after a bit of a wait getting the paperwork completed, we were ready to go.  The race promoters had taped off all of the specials to everyone but foot traffic, so we decided to get out and walk the course. The weather in the past few weeks has been fantastic and the course was dry in all but a few places.  We worked our way up the 4th special, which looked no less intimidating on foot than it did on the bike.  We were almost over run by a few riders that had taken it upon themselves to follow their own rules about preriding the course and snuck through the barricades despite the posted signs.  

As a side note, it blows my mind that people in an amateur race will deliberately break rules in order to give themselves an edge.  I don't compete much, but I am wicked competitive when I do. I can lay back and ride casually when I'm with friends, but if there is an official race and I'm going to take it on, I don't want to hold back. And when I see people that clearly disregard the rules and standards for a competition, it makes my blood boil. It is like the amateur 40 and 50 year old racers that use EPO or get a prescription from their doctor for testosterone so they can get jacked for races. Seriously? It seems to me the point of rules with in competition is to establish clear standards for everyone. If you don't like the rules, don't participate. This isn't some issue like civil disobedience for a greater cause; it is just amateur competition for recreation purposes.  Alright, enough soap boxing...

If you like riding down hills fast, and you like to play and jump around on your bike, I can think of no better place to go then Highland. It is truly a park and the range of runs and terrain is wide open. There are fast flow e-courses with big berms to flow through, pump tracks and huge table tops, freeride drops and gaps, and even a couple of kickers that launch riders skyward before allowing them to land in an inflated crash pad that must be 40 feet by 30 feet wide. They even have a place for little kids to practice going over pumps and dropping off small risers. I felt like I was at one big amusement park for mountain bikers.

We set up our tent in the parking lot, along with about 20 other campers and enjoyed a calm evening under a full moon that was to become partially eclipsed around midnight. Wispy clouds, semi-transparent, skated across the sky and highlighted the rainbow Corona moon had cast. We hung out for a while in one of the fields near the base of the mountain and listened to the blaring Iron Maiden and other metal music coming from the indoor bike center. If the mountain wasn't enough, there is an entire park built inside a soft shell barn where riders can practice aerials & freestyle. After around 11 p.m. The noise settled and we drifted off to sleep.

After a fine breakfast at Pauli’s, a downtown eatery in Tilton, we headed back to the park and prepared. The organizers were a bit slow to get things started in the morning, and the registration and assignment of ankle sensors took a whole lot longer than anyone expected. We ended up riding up to one of the specials in order to get one run in before registering, waited in line for about 45 minutes and then headed up the chairlift to ride a couple more. Since Justin is so fast I figured I would lay back a bit and take it at my pace, and it was probably a good idea since I felt like I was gonna bail a number of times even at my relative snail’s pace compared to him. We checked in each time at the bottom of the hill and the actual race got started a bit later than expected, with a few hiccups along the way,due to timing issues and communication with the riders. However people maintained a positive attitude and the actual racing went off without a hitch. Justin started before me since he is in the 30 to 39 age bracket, and so I took another run to work on the flow, of which I was clearly lacking. Perhaps the best thing to say at this point is that I was keenly aware of my limitations and realized that I would do best if I just stayed relaxed.

For those of you who haven't used them, timing chips are pretty cool. Each person starts separately at thirty second increments. There is a countdown and then the rider begins, but the timing only starts after the rider passes over a wire buried in the ground a few feet after the start. The ankle sensors mark the time the rider passes over the wire at the beginning and end of each special, so that the data is electronically transmitted to the timing house at the base of the mountain.

Once the racing actually began, it went pretty quickly. We finished each special and proceeded to make our way back up to the next special. I was surprised to see the number of riders pushing their bikes back up the hills, perhaps to save energy, rather than peddling. I guess this is where all of the miles of commuting have paid off, since it didn't seem to be much of a chore riding back up and in fact, was probably helpful to keep my legs warm. The first special was about two and a half miles long and consisted of flowy park riding followed by trail riding on a course that had been cut a couple weeks beforehand. It was pretty fast throughout and not nearly as technical as later events, but also really demanding insofar as my legs were not ready for the length of high intensity output. I was definitely feeling it about halfway through the ride and wished that I had more time to warm up beforehand. It seems that my legs have gotten less adaptive to intense effort as I've gotten older, & I need to be really warmed up before I can put out a lot of intensity for a while. The second special was fast and flowy as well, with a couple of quick punchy climbs to mix it up, and was perhaps my best stage. It's a good thing, because the third special was definitely the most sketchy and scary. It started with a steep descent over a granite minefield followed by a newly cut course down loamy, rocky rooty terrain. I came screeching through the first section with my stomach in my throat, and worked my way into the fresh cut. I bobbled a number of times, and after rounding over one corner came into a steep drop that was covered in moss the day before, but now revealed exposed cubes of granite and large cedar roots. I reacted by grabbing both handfulls off brake and shot sideways off the hill, came off my bike and tried to pull the bike down back over me to get back on the course. Fortunately the bike was intact and so was I, and I continued along trying to balance the need for speed with need for self-preservation. I made it to the finish, headed back up the hill, and passed about 20 riders who were huffing and puffing while pushing their bikes up the slope. This was good, because when I got to stage four my legs were ready to go and I only had to wait about 2 minutes before pushing off. This special was challenging as well, and very technical and fast, but it was an established trail and as a result there were a couple of options for lines. I felt like I was moving quickly and flowing over it the best I could, especially since I have been riding and xc bike rather than majority of people around me who are on trail or all-mountain bikes. It became evident that 100 millimeters of travel and xc geometry are just not the right fit for this sort of racing. After one last dab rounding the final corner, I dropped down the chute to the finish and it was done. The timing van was nearby and I checked in to see my status, and soon learned that I was in second place for my age division. Holy crap.

Justin and I had planned on getting a few more rides in after the competition was over, so I dropped off my ankle sensor and headed back to the car in order to meet up with him.

Enduro racing might also be Halloween scary or zombie with bloody part scary. Justin was moving towards me from the car, right arm in splints and right leg covered in blood with gauze wrapped around it. It seems Justin was trying to make up time on the third special, and where I was grabbing brakes he was putting on the gas, and at that speed one error can be catastrophic. Fortunately, he was still walking and no head injury, although he's in the market for a new helmet if anyone has any good deals. We checked in with folks at the event to make sure we were all done and headed home, with a brief stop in Concord to visit the local hospital and tour the emergency room and x-ray department.

All said and told, I ended up in third place for my 40 to 49 age category.  Justin is on the mend and I hope anyone reading this well send out healing vibes his way.  Good thing he is tougher than all hell.

I like the way Eric Roy introduced the positives and negatives for each event that he has documented, and am going to copy that format.

So, the positives:

Highland Park is absolutely amazing. Great riding if you like going fast.

Enduro racing is a great vibe and gives people a chance to socialize in between specials,

which is really fun in comparison to the relentless exertion within endurance racing.  

Enduro racing requires people to apply a number of disparate skill sets, and doesn't favor someone who is purely well conditioned.  I like the demand for versatility.

Negatives:

The organizers can work on the registration and logistics related to getting racers up the mountain to begin. I'm sure they will.

If I'm going to continue this, I'm going to be looking into a different bike that can handle the descents well.  An all mountain bike would kill it here. Hmmm... Maybe this is a positive?

Race Report: Cyclocross at Quarry Road, Waterville, ME. By Eric Roy

This year was the inaugural cyclocross race at Quarry Road Recreational Center in Waterville, Maine, put on by Embrocation Cycling.  Because I actually own a cyclocross bike (It’s my road bike/skinny tire trail bike)… it would have been bad bike juju if I didn’t enter a cyclocross race that took place in my back yard.  Local races are fantastic… you wake up at a reasonable hour, race, and you’re home before dinner… no hotels, camping,  packing food, or tightening up during a long drive home.  This is what it must be like to race bikes when you live in southern New England. 

Upon arrival to Quarry Road Recreational Center (fantastic facility), I checked in quickly and got ready to ride the course.   I ended up hooking up with with Christian from Pat’s Bike Shop in Brewer, who is a really strong rider but had never raced cross, so the preride was a bit like the blind (him) leading the blind (me)... but a good time nonetheless.   The course was a good mix of hard gravel, soft sand, and grass.  It also had a TON of very tight turns and a few of those silly barriers where you have to dismount/remount ( 2 of the barriers were knee height, and one was basically a short set of steps made out of railroad ties.)  Different than what I’m used to, but the course was a blast to ride and was manageable overall.  This put my mind at ease a little bit.

Before long, the announcement came out that called the Cat 4/5 racers to the starting area.  Not really knowing what to expect in a cross race, I slotted myself in the very back of the pack so I wouldn’t block out someone who deserved to be in contention.  The common advice that I got from seasoned cyclocross racers was basically to start fast, go  “all out”, and it’ll only hurt for 40 minutes.  Piece of cake.

Ready… go

I went “all out” for a minute or two … then there was a split in the course about 100 yards in where it was not clear which way to go.  Apparently a section of marking tape had fallen or something… so we were called back for a restart.  Not a big deal at all.  I actually kind of liked it because I got another crack at starting position.   (At the point where the race was halted, I had moved up to near the front of the field… so I didn’t slot myself as far back for the restart) 

Ready … go (again).

I went  “all out” (again),  and was sitting in the lead pack off the start line.  Apparently there are different levels of “all out.”   I was going “all out” at a pace that was sustainable for about 2 minutes… which is not the same as going “all out” for 40 minutes.   I was quickly dropped from the lead group.  It was also around this time that it occurred to me that I had no idea what I was doing in the way of riding a cyclocross bike…. Both of these things contributed to what may have been the least efficient riding performance of all time.  While we are on the topic of inefficiency… dismounting/remounting during a race is a lot different than the time I practiced it on flat, smooth, hard ground.  I’m pretty sure that each time I remounted my bike after the barriers, I had the grace (and success) of someone trying to climb on top of a floating beach ball.  This race was supposed to be a learning experience, but I didn’t like getting passed because I couldn’t get back on the bike.

As the race went on…  I started to get the hang of cornering, and I was able to carry a bit of “free speed” through the course.   I never got the hang of dismounting/remounting for the barriers, so I continued getting passed regularly and had to fight hard to regain position.  However, I found that the railroad tie steps could were bunnyhoppable (sp?),  and I was able to clear these barriers faster than the people who dismounted… this allowed me to pick off a few riders that had passed me early on in the race.  Because I was too far behind to work my way back into contention, my goal was to finish strong and battle it out with some people who were in my section of the field.  I had a pretty good battle going with a guy (I forgot his name) for almost the entire final lap, but I was able to shake him with about 200 yards left in the final lap.  It was all over very quickly.   Overall, I finished somewhere mid pack, and learned a lot.

Things I learned:

• Ernest Gagnon is an impressive and fantastic human.  I had the honor of racing with him and I got a chance to talk to him after the race.  Google him now.
• Warming up is important.  Lately, most of my events have been long/endurance, so warmup occurred during the race.  This is not the correct strategy for cyclocross.   My body was not “ready to go” until halfway through the race.
• It’d be useful to learn the correct pace for a 40 minute race.
• I need to learn how to handle a cyclocross bike.  Free speed is important in an event where you corner 10 million times.
• Cyclocross is fun

Local races are sweet.  Our team should do a better job supporting them.

Race Report: 12 Hours of Bradbury, Pownal Maine. by Eric Roy

The 12 Hours of Bradbury is an endurance mountain bike race that takes place at Bradbury Mountain State Park in Pownal, Maine.  It's one of the "gem" races in Maine that attracts riders of all levels, as well as a sizable crowd.  Everyone who mountain bikes in Maine should do this race at least once.  Last year, I “raced” Bradbury as part of a two person team, but more of a fun/casual thing to see whether or not I like racing mountain bikes (that’s affirmative).  When planning race calendar for this season, Bradbury was the race that I was going to build up to for my first solo effort… but light peer pressure led me to throw my hat in the ring for Millstone and Great Glen, so my overall goal for the race shifted to being the race that I “put it all together”...  However, with The 12 Hours of Bradbury taking place in Mid September, near the end of my first “real” MTB race season, I learned definitively that cycling fitness can be converted to midsection mass under the correct reaction conditions…   

Overall, the Qualey Granite/Rose Bike Crew was pretty well represented at the event:  Bruce Malmer, Clint Sochulak, and myself all registered as solo riders, Bill and Julie Brown were tackling the event as a 2 person co-ed team, we had a 4 man team comprised of Craig Macdonald, Sean Keough, Scott Neal, and Todd Neal, while Steve Kilburn anchored a STACKED 3 man team.

            Bruce Malmer  (Photo Credit Michael Moore, Obtained from 12 Hours of Bradbury Website)

I met up with Clint on Friday afternoon for a quick preride before dinner and registration.  It’s worth noting that earlier that week… Clint became the proud father of a baby boy… so … Clint was having a pretty good week.   The course was mostly dry, except for a few sections that had not yet drained from recent rain events.  The crew at Bradbury stepped it up big time and built a few new bridges over some of the muddier spots on the race course.  While the mostly dry conditions made for very good riding, I was hoping that the course would be a mess of slick roots that favor technical bike handling over pedaling fitness… Kind of like riding at home.   Oh well… there’s always next year, right?

After the pre ride, we scooted over to Buck’s Naked BBQ for registration/check-in.  As I have come to expect from events put on by Casco Bay Sports, check-in was seamless, and took all of 25 seconds.   From there, we snatched a couple of stools at the end of the bar and had a textbook pre race dinner of slow cooked meats and beer (I read somewhere that you need carbs the night before a race). 

When I stepped out of the car after a fantastic night’s sleep, the ground was soaked.  Apparently heavy fog rolled through overnight or something, which meant ... WET ROOTS AND SKETCHY CORNERS!!!  My prospects for the race had greatly improved... But first I had to put on some dry socks

After a quick breakfast, I started hauling my cooler, chair, and toolbox to a trailside pit area that was set aside for solo riders.  Naturally, the event had plenty of volunteers who eagerly rushed to help with this.  Just to give you an idea about the passion/loyalty behind this event, the volunteer who actually helped me lug my stuff to the pit area was multiple time elite solo class winner Greg Jancaitis, who said “I figured that I’d come and volunteer for a few hours because I wasn’t racing the event this year.”  Cool guy and a hell of a rider.  After a quick pre race meeting, it was time for the solo expert men and singlespeed racers to line up.   One thing that always catches me a little off guard is that the even the most serious competitors are friendly at mountain bike races.  I guess it makes sense, because we all have a common interest, but the vibe is just so pleasantly different than any of the hyper-competitive stick/ball sports that I grew up with. 

                                 Me at the start (Photo Credit Julie Brown, Obtained from Facebook)

And begin.

The pace off the starting line was fast, and I quickly fell off the back.  I was so far behind the pack after the initial dirt road section that a spectator laughed and sarcastically asked me if I had showed up late for the start.  Ouch.    I did not pass anyone on the first lap that did not break their bike (it surprises me how many people break their bike in the first lap of a race... I wonder why that is), but I definitely got passed by pretty much every fast 2,3,4 man team (which was expected).  The course was significantly greasier than the preride… but was totally manageable and a whole lot of fun.  In just under an hour, the first lap was in the books, and I was sitting comfortably DFL.  I grabbed another premixed bottle at pit area and took off for lap 2. 

       Bill Brown on course   (Photo Credit Michael Moore, Obtained from 12 Hours of Bradbury Website)

Laps 2-6 were an absolute blast.  The course at Bradbury is perfect for an endurance races because there is a ton of somewhat rooty/techy singletrack strung together, but there are some short smooth relief sections to take the pressure off  and eat/drink.    My strategy for the day was to exert most on the singletrack sections, where I felt like I could gain some ground on some of the other solo singlespeed guys... who I knew were much more fit than I was.  Overall, my lap times were better than expected, and despite a few minor crashes… I felt pretty good.  My goal going in to the race was 11 laps, one more than Millstone… and so far… it seemed pretty doable.  

                Steve Kilburn   (Photo Credit Michael Moore, Obtained from 12 Hours of Bradbury Website)

Famous last words.

“So I’m just riding along, on a smooth section of trail” near the beginning of lap #7, I reached down for my bottle… and nothing was there.  A major focus for me in this race was to keep my rest stops as short as possible.  Apparently the most recent one was a bit too short, and I forgot to grab a bottle…  Being inexperienced in endurance races, I had no idea how this would play out, or what I was  supposed to do.  I thought that the best thing to do would be to scale back an already moderate pace in an attempt to minimize damage, and look to see if there were any water bottles on the trail that had rattled loose or if there was a jug stashed at a first aid tent.  No luck.  About 30-40 min in… the puddle water started to look pretty good. 

Me on course    (Photo Credit Michael Moore, Obtained from 12 Hours of Bradbury Website)

 I limped into the pit station, a bit bleary eyed and dumb and a lot bit thirsty.  Without going into any detail, I will offer up that it is not good to pound cold fluids in this scenario.  After about 10  minutes , I started to feel better, so I set out for lap 8, in hopes that I was squared away.  Even though the cloudiness in my head had cleared and the headache had subsided a bit…my energy level never really rebounded, and my lap times reflected it.  I had to work much harder to get much slower lap times.  Not great for morale.  In short… lap 9 was pretty unpleasant…  but it occurred to me when I was sitting down after the lap that I felt no better when I was resting… so I’d might as well be pedaling.  Terry (Bruce’s wife & pit crew) also let me know that I had moved my way up to 4^th place, and that the guy currently in 3^rd was only a few minutes ahead of me.  Although I suspected that Terry was lying to me so I’d leave, it provided a bit of motivation and I threw 2 bottles on my bike, grabbed my light, and stashed an unwrapped sandwich in my muddy jersey pocket (mistake) so I wouldn’t need to stop again.  

At this point I had 2 goals:  1)  To finish lap 10 by the 6:59 PM cutoff so I could go out for an 11^th lap and 2)  Try to catch the guy who was sitting in 3^rd place.  If lap 9 was unpleasant… lap 10 was awful.  I still had not caught up on fluid intake from my bottle mishap several hours before… and the lap seemed to take forever.  Furthermore, a thin layer of greasy mud had accumulated on the roots, which made things interesting.   Despite not feeling great, my riding was still sharp… so I didn’t really see any safety issues with continuing.  Finally I rolled through the lap area, a volunteer enthusiastically yelled at that I had made the cutoff to do another lap.  In the moment, I could not decide whether I should be happy or punch her… but I kept the wheels rolling.  Amazingly, somewhere midway through the final lap, I started to feel human again, and the last few miles were surprisingly pleasant.  Before I knew it, I was greeted by cow bells and cheering spectators.   

Done. 

While I was sitting and pounding junk food in my chair, Terry came by and offered her congratulations… for moving into 3^rd place.  I was a bit confused because I did not pass any single speeders on the trail… but apparently I passed him in the transition/pit area before lap 11, and he didn’t go back out.      

 Neato.

Overall, it wasn’t a bad day for the Qualey Granite/Rose Bike Crew.  Steve’s 3 man team won their division.  Bill and Julie blasted out 12 laps to take 2^nd in the 2 person co-ed class, and our 4 man team finished in 5^th place in a stacked division.  Despite a lengthy delay caused by a light malfunction heading into a nighttime lap, Bruce finished 10 minutes off the podium in the Solo Master’s Division. 

                                                      Julie and Bill on the Podium

The big winner for the Qualey Granite Rose Bike Team is Expert Solo Rider Clint Sochulak.  On the Monday of the Race week, his family grew when his wonderful wife Jenn gave birth to their first son.  Congrats Clint!

Positive Aspects of my performance:

• I didn’t blow up trying to keep up at the beginning
• Though I’m pretty sure I died a little bit that day… I met my goal of 11 laps, good enough for 3^rd in solo singlespeed, and was top 30% for all men’s solo riders.

Things that might improve my chances of future success:

• Pre race carb loading is not a sustained 5 week process
• If you’re going to be an idiot and forget fluids… don’t do it in the warmest part of the day

Most memorable quotes from the trail:

1)  Right after I got passed by a really strong female team rider…

Clint (who was right behind me):  “Ha… you just got chicked”

Me:  “So did you”

Clint:  “Shut up”

2)  When  I was skidding through a slick corner on one of the trickier descents…

“I’m glad someone is still having fun!”

-  An unidentified solo rider who was walking through the section

General Thoughts on the Race

• Casco Bay Sports knows how to put on an event.  Great energy, great volunteers, great sponsors.
• Bradbury Mountain Staff take pride in their trail system.  The week before the race, they built bridges over some flooded sections of trails.  Drivetrains all over New England thank you!
• In a race of attrition, sometimes the slowest guy still standing at the end of the race finishes “in the money” 
• The event went to real time timing this year.  This allows people to follow racers via the interweb.  Very nice touch

Race Report: High Cascades 100 By Jeremy Larsen

I may not be fast, but I am slow.

High Cascades 100

The HC100 starts in the foothills of Bend, Oregon and travels toward and then around the base of Mt Bachelor. The coarse is roughly 80 miles of single track that never crossed the same path. Last year, we were spoiled with cool temps and a tacky coarse. This year was heat and dust. The race started at the Mt Bachelor Village and headed up Mt Bachelor road for five miles, then off on to dirt roads and sweet single track.

The morning was nice and cool. This gave me a chance to stretch out the cobwebs, enjoy the surroundings, and focus on the day ahead. Luckily, the day before we were warned from Mike the race director that they had not received rain in a while and the trails were extremely dusty. He advised wearing a bandana or Buff mask during the race. This saved my lungs. I had the Buff on through mile 60, then intermittently after that. At aid stations I looked at other racers with caked on dust around their lips and nose, not me. After the race, the sound of racers cough, hacking dust out their lungs, was common, but not by me. The Buff was a lung saver and a tool I’ll use in future races.

Bend is my second favorite place to ride (Park City being first). They have grown a bike culture and have hundreds of miles of single track. Most the single track I’ve rode is smooth and flowing. Because of this, if you’re thinking of doing a 100 mile endurance race, High Cascades should be your first. Not only is the coarse smooth, it flows through several types of terrain, all producing big grins. However, this is not to say the race is easy. The coarse has 11,000 plus feet of vertical, steep climbs, and hard lava rock that beat the bike and the body. This year our main obstacle was the heat.

For me, and what seemed for everyone, the oven didn’t turn till Lava. My first 59 miles went really well. I used the Buff, so my lungs were good. My nutrition was good, eating and drinking constantly. And most important, I enjoyed the trail, all of it. But once I entered the Lava section, the temps rose, the sun exposure was constant, and my body let me know it wasn’t happy. It’s funny the mind games that occur in these endurance events. Throughout Lava my body was hurting, yet my mind screamed for more sweet single track. By the time I made it to the aid station, I was cooked. I had burned through my electrolytes and began to feel the onset of heat exhaustion. I knew leaving the Lava aid was a steep five mile climb out. So I had to pull back and take advantage of what the volunteers had to give. Step one: cool down. I soaked my head, chest and back in ice water.  Cool the core down and wipe off all the salty sweat. This helps my psyche a lot. Step two: take in all the food, drink, and salt I can.  This still wasn’t enough, mostly on the electrolytes. I really need to figure out my electrolytes. And step three: stretch, relax, and refocus.

From Lava I was off to Edison.  The steep climb (for me, hike-a-bike) was waiting and I wanted this finished. All the food I ate and electrolytes I took were not enough, I felt my body shutting down. Riders were passing me and I could barely keep peddling let a lone hit the gas. I had just nine miles from Lava to Edison and it would take everything I had to make it there. The heat was sucking me dry. My drink mix was starting to taste ridiculously sweet. I made myself eat food that wanted to come up as fast as it went down. Basically, I was stuck in the pain cave and it was a bitch! This year, I have visited the pain cave at every race (I really need to figure out my nutrition). When I’m there there’s a saying I repeat over and over, “always moving forward”.  No matter if I’m riding, coasting, or walking…Always moving forward. Repeating this with some good tunes has helped me finish every race I mechanically could. After the climb, heading to Edison this was mostly a blur. I remember feeling the pain of another rider who had just broke his hub and was taking the walk of mechanical angst. One can only understand the disappointment of another if they too have had to drop out of a race from a mechanical.

When I made it to Edison it looked like a MASH triage unit. There had to have been a dozen guys with blank stares due to heat exhaustion. Some you knew would be there for a while, but then push through. Others who were completely cooked, waiting for the sag wagon. Knowing my own condition I did the same thing I did at Lava. This time I kept eating more salty chips. I knew I was taking in enough food. And having peed four times already, I knew I was good on hydration. The missing link was electrolytes, and I was way behind. So I took what was there, ate more salty chips and knew that I had 21 miles to go, six of those being downhill road. I knew I wanted it over, and I knew I could finish in the shape I was in. So, I headed out and made sure not to look back at the defeated.

There’s not much to say about the last segment, at least there’s not much I can say. There was Tiddly Winks, with it’s whoop-t-doo’s, another climb, and finally the road to the finish, but just like all my races this year, the last push has been a blur of exhausted pain. I do remember they moved the finish line to a deep gravel trail and thinking, “DON’T FALL 50 FEET BEFORE THE FINISH!” And I remember the cold, wet towel they give all the finishers. But most of the last 21 miles was a blur. Last year HC 100 had a 91% finish rate. Mike, the race director, hopes to increase that to 95%. However, the night before at the race meeting, he said due to the heat he hoped to get 85%. In the end 80% finished. I hoped to crush my time from last year. I was 20 minutes slower. Niki was just six minutes behind me. If I would have known, I would have taken another drink, ate another PB&J and waited so we could have crossed the line together again. Next year.

Race Report: Tatanka 100 by Jeremy Larsen

I may not be fast, but I am slow.

Tatanka 100

The Tatanka 100 takes place in the Black Hills of South Dakota, with the start and finish in Sturgis. I was curious how a bunch of spandex wearing self-propelled mountain bikers would fit into the world of leather clad Harley’s? What I saw was this town is dead in June. The famous Sturgis Motorbike Rally doesn’t take place till August, so most of the bars were closed and only a few “bikers” were in town. Hell, there were more people in town for a Camaro car rally than motorcyclists. And as far as Tatanka cyclists, we were 100 strong, but spread out between the town of Spearfish, 22 miles to the West, and Rapid City, 28 miles to the Southeast. So, our impact of taking over the town was rather meek. Regardless, this did not deter us from taking in all the sights Sturgis had to offer. And after a 5 minute drive through town, feeling we took it all in, we headed to Rapid City. Here we fueled up with great Indian food at Katmandu and walked the downtown Summer Night’s festivities with outdoor concerts, art exhibits, and excellent people watching. Rapid City seemed to be a cool town and, found out later that it is supposed to have a lot of great single track. If you’re driving I-90 passing through Rapid City, I would stop and check out the biking. You might just find a permanent place to stay?

Back in Sturgis we prepped for race day, organizing our drop bags, figuring out nutrition for the 103ish mile ride, and driving from aid to aid so our pit crew (aka, Mom and Jake dog) knew where to go. If you’ve entered long endurance races, you know it messes with the GI system. I plan days ahead. With a diet of fruits and veggies during the drive to Sturgis and the Indian food for dinner, my GI was clean and ready to ROCK come race day. Race start time was 5am. The promoters wanted to start at first light to give riders “17 hours of daylight riding”. It’s hard enough to be in the saddle for 12 hours, I don’t want to know the taint pain of 17 hours. But, if you have a mechanical it’s good to know you have time to finish. Another part of Tatanka 100 is the Black Hills 100 running race. The running race actually preceded the bike race by three years. There are three categories: 50K, 100K, and 100mile. Now, it’s hard enough riding a bike a 100 miles let alone running 100 miles. Runners are silly. The running race started an hour after we left. The Tatanka 100 race director advised, “if a runner passes you, you should probably think about quitting”.

At 4:45am we were at the start ready to roll. The plan was a police escorted neutral rollout through town to a gravel road. Once there, we were off for five miles of dirt road then to single track (Centennial Trail).  So at 5am we headed out. Now they talked about a “neutral rollout through town”, but I don’t think they told the police officer of this plan, or he had thoughts we were racing Tour De France. He took off at the start and there was no catching him till he stopped to block traffic while we turned off to the gravel road. Despite the early wakeup, I felt great! My lungs loved the lower elevation and dry air. At one point I looked down and saw my HR was 160 (I’ve never had it higher than 153), but still felt great. The race was broken down into four sections: Sturgis to Dalton Lake, Dalton Lake to Silver City, Silver City to Englewood, and Englewood to Sturgis.

The first section follows the Centennial trail, a flowy fun smooth single track trail with great views of the Black Hills. The ups were very manageable and I was feeling really good enjoying the scenery around me. The pack had spread out and I hooked on to a racer from Ontario. I like it when there’s another rider you can talk with and enjoy the trail with. We motored through stream crossings, rain forest like vegetation, up dry canyons, and bombed down loose single track to Dalton Lake. Dalton was the third aid, but first drop of the race. Luckily Niki and I had my mom come out to help crew. She greeted me with cold water and a restock of Portables (http://feedzonecookbook.com/category/portables/). Once restocked, I was on to the second section, Dalton to Silver Lake.

The second section began with ATV two track and mostly stayed that way through to Silver City. The race organizers said there’s 60+ miles of singletrack. And after the first 25ish miles, I was looking forward to another 35 miles of the same sweet single track, unfortunately, it never came. This section was mostly loose funky off camber ATV trail and every so often we had to dodge ATVs and Razors. When the trail did turn to singletrack it was clear that it was not built by mountain bikers. One downhill section was a steep loose 60 degree off camber trail that wanted to shoot you off the hillside where big trees and rock cliffs were waiting to cheese grate you down the mountain and spit you out. At this point my sphincter tightened and all I could do was hold on and ride it out hoping for the best. At Silver City, despite the challenges of the last section, I was feeling pretty good. According to the race description the worst of the climbing was behind me. The rest had “enough to challenge, but to still allow mere mortals to finish the race”. So after being restocked by mom and hosing my head down with cold water, I was off to Lakewood.

This section of the race follows the Mickelson Trail #40 along Rapid Creek. This was a great recovery trail from the shit storm of the last 20ish miles. The trail is a smooth tacky singletrack that follows Rapid Creek. Rapid Creek was anything but rapid. While riding, I couldn’t help but read the stream and think where there would be trout just waiting to take a fly. A perfect 3wt trout stream where one could just enjoy the day. Eventually, my daydreaming ended with the trail. Well, the trail didn’t quite end, but went straight up. I was at the mandatory hike-a-bike section. When I say hike-a-bike, I mean pick your bike up, dig your cleats in, and claw your way up 100 meters of steep ass hillside. If anything, Tatanka 100 delivers trail diversity. Once on top there was some flowy singletrack down to the Mickelson Rail Trail. I should have caught on from the group of riders who pulled over to stop and apply sunscreen, headphones, eat, and recompose themselves. But I did not. The next 16 miles were a constant 3% uphill grade. The trail was an old rail bed that was resurfaced for non-motorized use. The trail is smooth gravel completely sun exposed with a couple tunnel and bridge crossings. This is where things went south for me. The monotony of the smooth gradual uphill grade screwed with me mentally and physically. I tried to tag on to other riders, but nobody was riding at a drafting pace. I have no idea how long it took me to ride those 16 miles, too f’ing looong. The reward was a 5 mile decent to Englewood. With speeds of 25-30 mph, a cool breeze, and the thought of cold water and shade waiting for me I enjoyed every second of that downhill. Once at Englewood I laid on the shady grass next to my dog Jake (Jake had been accompanying grammy all day) while my mom gave me ice and cold water. Food was starting to taste bad and I could feel I didn’t drink enough this last stretch. Oh well, it was time to get this thing done. I’d completed 77 miles and had 26 to go. Sturgis was waiting.

The last stretch was mostly Forest Service roads. Better than the ATV two track earlier, but not the fun single track of the Centennial Trail. As I pushed ahead, the days ride really began to catch up to me. No longer were my pedal strokes smooth and efficient. I had to focus on wagon wheels, then heel slides, then knee thrusters. What was really hard were the riders passing me, talking and smiling as if their ride had just begun. However, misery loves company and I had my own riding partner, Dirk, a SS from Rapid City. Unlike other riders who spoke with positive optimism, Dirk and I exchanged profanity and discontent about the trail, our soft puny bodies, and why in Gods name do we consider this fun. This actually helped the miles go by and before I knew it we were pushing up the last hill. As we crested the top, the trees opened to a view of Sturgis three miles below. As I viewed Sturgis the thought came to me, “I’ve made it 100 miles and only have three downhill miles to go. Let’s do this!” In hindsight, I should have been paying closer attention to the trail instead of looking at the goal ahead. Because at that moment there was a strip of metal flashing on the road and my front tire ran right over it, slicing my sidewall. What was a feeling of positive hope, turned to fear and focused concentration as my front rim ran over baby head after baby head.

Once I was able to stop the bike, a string of loud angry profanity rang out of my mouth. For years to come, I’m sure the children of Sturgis will talk about the day they heard the mountain yell in anger words only heard during the motorcycle rally. Dirk, being a good suffering companion, asked if I wanted him to stay and help with the flat. I told him no thanks and enjoy the downhill. So with three miles of downhill to finish, I pulled my bike to the side of the road and slowly began to change the flat. Within a couple minutes, to my delight, Niki cruised down and blew past me…wtf!?!? But, recognized me and hit her brakes. One thing about Niki is she gets her second wind after hour six and is smiles till the finish. I hate her for that. She saw my sad state and helped me put in a tube. We had nothing to repair the sidewall, so with the tube pushing out a little, I just had to hope it would get me across the finish line.  It was great riding the finishing stretch with Niki. Husband and wife, riding together, matching kits, awww sooo f’n cute! The tire and my body made it to the finish line. As we crossed the line we joined hands and had big smiles.

See, f’n cute!

If you’re in the Bad Lands, don’t overlook the singletrack. I hope to explore more of the Centennial Trail and the trails around Rapid City. Maybe next year? For this year, the body endured for 11 hours with no injuries or major mechanicals. I met some nice people, and Niki and I finished together. All in all, a good race.

Race Report: 2013 Nordic Trail Festival, Presque Isle ME. By Craig MacDonald

The Nordic Trail Festival is an action packed mountain biking weekend that should definitely not be missed. Held at the Nordic Heritage Center in Presque Isle the festival  has a down home soulful feel. The event was well thought out and seemed to have a little something for everyone,  including the kids. There were so many things going on over the weekend it's almost impossible for me to list them all, but I will try. For runners,  there were six and 12 hour trail running events for solo and team efforts. The children had all kinds of entertainment including bouncy houses, face painting, several races and a bicycle parade. There was also adult entertainment for us older kids too with live music featuring 3 bands, The Marshall Warf Brewing Co. was there with some great Maine brews and  several food vendors.  One of the highlights of the weekend was the "short track" race. That event was held after racers had sampled a few adult beverages because you need all the courage you can get when you're about to race a little kids bike with 14 inch rims while wearing a full-faced motorcycle helmet. It was a riot watching racers take a nose dives trying  to pedal over something as easy as a 2x4 (those motorcycle helmets did more than just look funny) We also enjoyed a fireworks display late Saturday evening.  For those of us racing on two wheels they had 6 and 12 hour races for solo and team efforts. Sunday there was the biathlon which was a combination of mountain bike racing and marksmanship followed by a downhill race which was another great competitive event. The drive up to Presque Isle really wasn't terribly long, about two and a half hours, the views are really quite beautiful. When you arrive on Friday there is live music, food, drink, an opportunity to register for the races and free camping with showers. All this and more for $20 if you're doing the 6 hour and $40 if you're competing in the 12 hour.

The drive up gave me time to think about my strategy and how I might handle my first 6 hour solo race; my one and only goal was to stay pedaling for the 6 hours and finish the race. Being new to racing and this being my second race ever after the Carrabassett Backcountry Cycle Challenge 50K, I was told this race would be fun and relaxing,  the perfect sampling of what the Carrabassett 100k might feel like. I have been mountain biking for about 15 years but have only recently taken the sport serious enough to race, so this is all a new experience for me. From what I was told, the course was relatively easy with some technical riding in the beginning along with some moderate climbing, but overall free flowing, fun and FAST.  I've never ridden any of the trails there so the course was unfamiliar to me, which was not ideal.  Along with this concern we had some weather that was rolling in, that made me wonder just how slick the rocks and roots would be.  I had been told the course was fast, but how fast did I want to go under wet and slick conditions?

                                       Photo From Nordic Trail Festival Facebook Page

So there I was staged at the start with all the 6-hour riders. It was great to see a bunch of familiar faces in the white and green jerseys at the start line. Not too long after the start of the race I found myself behind a large group of riders that lacked technical riding experience and that definitely slowed me up a lot. I stayed patient waiting for my chance to pass, I started getting a little more aggressive but not dangerous, passing only when it was safe for both myself and the other rider I was overtaking. I kept thinking about staying with my strategy of pacing myself and not exploding in the first few laps, which was not easy to do, keeping that excitement bottled up and only releasing a little over time. I knew this was necessary if I was going to last 6 hours. Six hours would be the longest ride I have ever been on and my previous night of sleep, or I should say lack of sleep, worried me. Being sensitive to light when you sleep means you should probably not pitch your tent where a parking lot lamp will illuminate your tent like a searchlight would. The light, along with my excitement, had me never catching a wink of sleep. I was ready to jump out of my sleeping bag and PEDAL! Ok, back to the race, this is a race report after all. The gist of it was that I didn't feel 100%, but in what seemed like no time I found myself together with a group of familiar faces and voices, my teammates from Qualey/Rose Bike Racing.  Ahhh… nice, the race now had the feel of "just another group ride".  I continued riding on with my teammates; before I knew it we were all alone - in front of me two members of Team Rose, behind me two more members of Team Rose. It felt great being in that row, 5 long and out in the front.  It looked like our team had a chance to sweep the podium. I wasn't sure where I would be or if I would place at all. I was still thinking about pacing myself and just finishing. Bill Brown was in front of me along with Scott Johnson both strong, fast riders so I was quite certain that they would both place. I continued to ride with both teammates Corey Odermann and Corey Adams when we came upon a rider having some trouble. As we slowed down to see if we could help, it was then I realized it was one of us, Scott Johnson; a stick had taken out his derailleur and several spokes. There was nothing we could do to help and with a smile on his face he told us "I'm out." Riding off, I couldn't help but think about his situation and that our team had lost one of our strong riders. Now the responsibility was on the rest of us to finish in his place strong! I continue to pace myself on the first lap and on the second lap, but by the third lap I could no longer hold back so I made that my "blow off some steam" lap and rode relatively hard. I made it a point to stop quickly for a little bit of food and a refill on my water after each lap, spending a maximum of maybe 3 minutes. Somewhere along the fourth lap the rain started falling again making the trail conditions even more slippery than they had already been. The mud went from greasy to tacky and the consistency seemed to change quickly over time. Climbing became a little more challenging as the tires would stick to the ground but still be very slick on roots and rocks. I learned a few things about wooden bridges that get very little sun - never approach them at an angle, always roll straight across them and DO NOT PEDAL! I think you all know how I might have learned that little tidbit. My 4th lap had me feeling pretty strong, I pedaled pretty hard.  I was really enjoying myself, even taking some air, launching over some rocks and drops on the downhill.  I was having a good time, wasn't really thinking about how wet the root and rocks were. Then something scary happened, I took a jump and landed on a cluster of rocks. Somehow my front tire got pushed to right and my rear tire to the left rotating me in a direction that sent me off into the woods at a relatively high rate of speed. Amazingly, time seems to slow down when these things happen and I started thinking, wondering what a helicopter ride would feel like since I was going to most likely be evacuated by helicopter after this crash. But just as things started to speed up and I was hurdling off into the woods, things slowed down very quickly and I came to a complete stop upright, clipped-in and seated. I looked down; it seems the trail gods were protecting me and wanted me to finish the race. My foot had entered the butt end of a log; it was mostly rotten with a hole dead center. My foot entered that hole and my ankle cut its way through the log almost 2 feet in.  Wow! I took a moment to regain my breath, reflected on my stupidity and gave thanks to the trail gods. I then backed my way out and pedaled off slowly.   Occasionally I would have a rider pass me; they would be going much faster than I was and seemed to still have a ton of energy. 

                                          Corey and Corey (Photo From Nordic Trail Festival Facebook Page)

                   Me Heading through a rocky section (Photo From Nordic Trail Festival Facebook Page)

                                            Photo From Nordic Trail Festival Facebook Page

       Sue passing the baton to Deb at the lap point (Photo From Nordic Trail Festival Facebook Page)

                          Matt Cote being fast (Photo From Nordic Trail Festival Facebook Page)

That was a little demoralizing, but I continued on. After completing my 5th lap I realized those riders that passed me had fresh legs and were resting while another teammate raced on in their place. At the start of my 5th loop I felt strong, I felt good; I wasn't sitting on a lawn chair watching everyone else, I was paddling and loving it. I was much happier sitting on that bike seat than a camping chair. On my 6th and final lap I was still feeling pretty good, looking forward to the 7th lap, unfortunately I missed the cut off time to go back out for the 7th lap.  It was now time wash off all that mud. Later at the awards ceremony Bill Brown was sitting very close to the front, I remember laughing about that and joking that  he didn't want to walk too far to receive his gold medal. I was there to have fun and cheer for those who placed. I really had no idea who that was going to be. It was a big surprise to me when I found myself walking up to receive a silver medal for second place in the 6 hour solo, my strategy had a paid-off  SWEET! 

All in all it was a great weekend for our team. The Qualey Granite/Rose Bike crew swept the Men's 6 hour solo with Bill Brown in1st, Myself in 2nd and Corey Adams in 3^rd place. Eliza Cronkite took silver in the women's 6 hour solo. Our boys Eric Roy, Bruce Malmer & Jeremy Porter raced as a 4 Person Team with just 3 racers and still managed to bagged the Gold in the 12 hour.  Deb Merrill's team won 3rd in the women's 6 hour. Josh Lawrence and Bill Brown both placed in the Biathlon.  Julie Brown placed 2nd in the women's biathlon. Josh Lawrence's daughter Josie Lawrence received a medal in the girl's downhill on a new ride from Rose Bike a few days earlier. Others from the team and friends of Rose Bike (I think we had 17 team members there in all) put forward some great efforts I might add and it was very nice to have you all there.

                                                Most of the team before the race

                     Fireworks show at the after party (Photo From Nordic Trail Festival Facebook Page)

Things I learned:

• Pacing yourself and taking a recovery lap is the way go.
• Mud from the County tastes different than our "local" mud.
• The Dora the Explorer bike rips it up!
• Only explode when you have time to recover.
• Just because beer is free doesn't mean you NEED to take it.
• Get to the front of the starting cluster right away!
• 4 Pints of Can't Dog Ale after a race can render you useless.
• It's better to be passed than to do the passing (get out front).
• Canadians are crazy competitive creatures.
• Be safe, smart, but aggressive to win!
• Mountain bikers and cyclists are some of the nicest people you could ever meet.

I am looking forward to next year's festival and the good times it will bring. I have much to learn and I'm grateful for the advice and time that is offered up by my teammates. I'd like to give a special thanks to my Thursday night fast paced brothers. Thank you all!