CBC Racing

I got my introduction to ORAMM on Sunday.  I thought pre-riding most of the course would give me a good feel for what we would be in for but I was staggered by the suffering inflicted on race day.

I tried to start slow by purposely starting at the very back of the pack but I felt good and it was so gratifying to pass 200 people in 5 miles.  Next thing I know I am at XC race heart rate and zipping past the first rest stop.  That was the only one I felt like zipping past.

The heat was killing me at 98+ degrees and lots of humidity; it was a 4 Camelbak, 5 water bottle, 20-30 endurolytes kind of day and still cramping.  I opted to use the HEED provided at the rest stops as my main source of energy for the day which I believe was too watered down for what I needed.  This was confirmed when I got home and put my nasty kit in the wash.  It smelled so strongly of ammonia that it made my eyes water – I’d never had this happen before.  A little Googling and apparently that’s what happens when you are lacking carbs and your body starts breaking down protein (muscle) for fuel which also explains how I feel today.

On the bright side, my bike was awesome!  Mechanically I didn’t have so much as a dropped chain in the 6 1/2 hours I was riding.  I can get downhill fairly well on anything but the Superfly 100 had me catching people that were not even in sight on the climb up the hills and I was catching them within the first couple of switchbacks. 

It was also a great team day; we had 8 CBC riders out.  Chris B and Tracy were giving cold towels and moral support on Curtis Creek.  Jim and Patti had water and ice before Kitsuma #2 although at that point my only thought was to get to the top so I could feel some wind on the decent.

Yesterday, I said never again as I was lying in the creek beside the finish line trying to cool the inferno in my core.  Today, I am thinking about what I could have done differently to perform better.  Still, I think I’ve got ORAMM out of my system but you never know.  This was one of the events I was hoping to peak for this year and although it hurt I am happy with my ride. Now I am off for a couple weeks of vacation.  See you in 10 pounds.

I haven’t posted for a while because I have been riding myself silly.  The family has been away so I have been enjoying all the guilt free riding I can handle after work and judging by the way my legs feel today I have reached my saturation point.

Let’s count them backward

Sunday – Popular tent, trails are in great shape but they always are.

Saturday – Old Fort, this was 5 1/2 hours of big mountain fun with the CBC showing the orange and black in force.  I think I am ready for ORAMM.  The Superfly 100 certainly is. 
Friday – Rest day – had to catch up on TDF and sleep
Thursday – Whitewater.  2 laps in the wicked heat and dinner with live music.  Thursdays rock at USNWC.
Wednesday – Harkey’s road ride in Mount Pleasant.  I was led to believe Wednesday is their easy day but it was 5 mph over my idea of a hard day.  They did their best to keep me hanging on and it was the fastest I have ridden ever for the 40 minutes till I popped, those guys can ride!
Tuesday – Orr Road.  I popped my Orr Road cherry finally.  Rode over from the shop with the CBC crew, did the crit and rode came back.  Before going to Harkey’s this was my fastest ride ever. 
Monday - What started out as a ride at Lake Norman turned into Warrior’s Creek after Jim and I were too busy talking to see the exit.  I have mountain biked lots of places and I now have a new favorite.  9 miles of  flowy bmx track, we rode until we had no more food or water and I still didn’t want to stop.
Sunday – North Meck.  What can I say, it’s close by.
Saturday – Old Fort for the first time.  I was really looking forward to this ORAMM recon day with the rest of the team but my Friday night’s activities made it was the most suffering day I have spent doing anything.  I would have suffered watching TV that day.

The girls will be back in two more days and that will be great!  I need them home for a rest.

Ok it’s been awhile since my last blog, I think we were talking
about the Collier Lilly ride and a pre-ride up ORAMM.  Well since then
I’ve been racing more than I’ve been training.  7 races in the last 25
days.  I typically do the Wed. night Mt series and I far as I’ve been
told I’m in first place in the expert standings.  I’ve moved into cat
4 also and have placed 8,9,1 and 14th.  The State Games were cool and
to race back to back road and Mt was a unique experience.
Ok about the bikes.  I raced the Superfly Hardtail on Wed. at
the WWC and Then the Superfly 100 on Sat.  I raced the same course in
the same temps against the same group of competitors and had more or
less the exact same time and results.  I worked as hard and fought
about the same trying to hammer and then holding position.  The 100 is
my winner though  because the next day I didn’t have the lower back
muscle tension.  I use more body language on the Hardtail and stand
almost constantly.  The 100 has a tighter cockpit and there for better
handling and therefor less body movement and less fatigue.  I also
rode in Atl. during the 4th of July weekend and broke my seat rail to
the point that I almost packed it up and went home.  Didn’t want to do
that so I stayed at Chicopee and did the loop twice.  I never sat and
rode the 100 all day standing and surfing the trees.  No BOB none.  I
‘m serious they (GF) figured it out, it rides as a hardtail if need be
and does it flawlessly.  I’m very impressed, and thats hard to do!
Crossroads is coming up and so is ORAMM.  Hang in there for the
next results and hopefully some good stories.

What to say a big Thanks and Congrats. to Nick, Brunner, Tim,
Scott, Mike T, Buddy, Travis, Cricket, Jim, Gary, Mike S, Kelly and
any one else I’ve Forgotten who has been racing the last two months.
We are lighting up the town because of ya’ll and the black and orange
are getting noticed at every starting line!

Rock on! Cricket Butler photo as she finished the Tour Divide
self supported Mountain Bike Race. 2796 miles later, Cricket was the
only woman finisher in 2010. Averaging 105.8 miles per day, Cricket
finished in 26 days, 9 hours and 36 minutes. Unfortunately, the race
had one casualty with the death of Dave Blumenthal. Dave was riding
alone in Colorado and on a fire road descent he strayed into the path
of on oncoming truck and succumbed to massive head injuries suffered
during the crash. The race began on June 11 in Banff , Canada and
ended at the border of Mexico . 48 starters from all over the world,
24 finished.

Congratulations Cricket!!

It’s been a little while since I last posted on this racing blog, early May to be exact.  Why? you ask.  Because I haven’t been racing.  No, not by choice.  I crashed in early May and then toiled with a nagging back injury, the kind that bothers you after 30 minutes of riding and then forces you off your bike after an hour of riding.  It’s also the kind that you can’t locate to succintly explain to a chiropractor.  I nevertheless went to a professional body snapper.  After examining my x-rays and getting “adjusted” (the technical term), I started feeling better.

Enough to participate in a Wednesday night local XC Expert race at North Meck.  Surprisingly, I took a 3rd place and figured my ailment was gone.  I subsequently signed up for the Riverfront Classic the following weekend.  However, I couldn’t even finish the first lap of the three lap race.  My back pain was back and it was back to the laboratory (how many times can I write the word “back” in a sentence?). 

Anyway, I took some time off the mtbike and strictly rode road for a couple weeks.  Chronologically speaking, this now puts me into June.  Pain-free now and ready to race again, I signed up for another XC Expert Wednesday race at Rennaisance.  I was so psyched up and ready rock n roll.  There was a field of 11 consisting of 4 team mates.  I had a great start and took the holeshot, but as luck would have it, I and another team mate flatted before we even completed the first lap.  Did I mention that there is broken glass littered all over the Renni course?

The following week, I headed to another Wednesday race at Fisher Farm.  I was hungry for some redemption, however I was short on time and only was able to race a lap and a half.  I figured, it was better to get something in rather than nothing.  I kept training pain-free and by the end of June, I entered the NC Powerade State Games XC race. 

It was a hot and humid day.  There were no age groups and they just lined up all the Expert  racers together in one field.  I am pleased to report that CBC took three of the top five spots.  Noel took second, Jim fourth and me rounding out fifth.

I’ve lost some fitness over these past two months with inconsistent racing/training, but I am back on track, healthy and looking forward to some more Wednesday night races and the Rivers Edge Mountain Bike Marathon in August.

Scott Webster and I will be representing CBC Racing at the Tour de France this year.  No, not on a ProTour team (still waiting on that contract from Radioshack), but as riders and spectators.  We’re staying in a chalet at the base of the Tourmalet in Bareges, France during the last week and will be climbing numerous famous tour climbs, such as Tourmalet, Aspin, Peyresourde, etc., as well as catching 3 tour stages in the Pyrenees.  We’ll then hop a train to Paris and catch the last stage.  Follow our pain and suffering at www.twitter.com/richardkirkman

Richard

Another hot day of racing here in the south, although not a bad as last weekend.

This course was another first time for me and judging from the 3+ hour finish times from last year I was a little apprehensive.  I was relieved when I finished my first lap in around 40 minutes which meant I would be finishing in about 2 hours.

It was a great course, very fast and flowy, not too rooty and some blistering downhills. Kind of like Lake Norman but a little more technical.  I don’t know that I would drive 2.5 hours to ride there but if I was going to be in the area, I would definitely take my bike.  

I had a good start, feet just dropped into the pedals and I was 3rd in the woods without killing myself to get there.  Robert Fish was driving the bus and I decided my stop was about 5 minutes in – too hot for me to keep riding that fast.  A few guys passed me and then I was alone, it was time to get smooth and see if I could bring anyone back.   Racing outside the Charlotte area meant lots of unfamiliar faces , as I passed people I didn’t know if they were 19-29 or my category but I was passing people so that was good.  There were two stations on the trail where volunteers had ice cold water to throw on us and that was sooo nice!

Laps 1 and 2 were fun, lap 3 was more like work but at least I wasn’t cramping for a change.  I really didn’t know what place I was in at the end but figured I was 4th or 5th and I must have been riding well since Jim hadn’t caught me yet, I am always impressed with myself if I can hold him off.

However, poor Jim didn’t have such a good day, he was dressed and finishing his six pack when I crossed the line – a big chunk of steel in his brand new front tire ended his day after a lap.

Buddy Gardner and Mike Thompson were racing as well.  Buddy won his race and Mike finished strong in the heat.  As for me, I was 3rd!  Seems to be my place lately.

Super organized race from parking to registration layout, to pre race meeting, to starting on time race on time, great course markings – every .5 mile, awesome food at end, great prizes and big money.  The only negative thing was the award ceremony was 2 hours late.  They are talking about combining the race with a music/beer festival and making it a camping weekend in the park next year.  I’d be up for that!

Ok this might go back a week or so. 24 Hour Burn! A wet course full of roots and slippery switchbacks. But we had a support camp so full of everything anyone would need to get it done. We had 6 popup tents a camper 3 stoves and 3 girls that were taking care of every little detail. Lap times, food, drinks, snacks, setup, lights, clean towels the works. All we had to do is just show and ride. I’ve done 5 burns in a row and and this was by far the best. We road as the 5 man team and did as well as possible. No mech, no bonking, no mental breakdowns. The Fisher bikes were awesome and honestly helped over 24 hours to keep us in contention. We ended up third in the overall open class. Second looser but we r happy to have it out of 25 teams. Really happy.
I rode the Tuesday night caboose ride in the rain and the few guys that made it out had a good ride that ended up with sunshine and a few beers.
On Saturday morning we met at Davidson College for the annual Collier Lilly ride. It went out nice and slow but eventually picked up to a nice pace that had the front group whittled down to about 25 guys and gals. The Fisher road team was there and did a nice job up front keeping it fast and in control. I’m not saying nothing but the first guy who crosses the finish line wins right??? Thanks y’all.
ORAMM reconnasense ride. Sunday at 6 we left concord for Old Fort. We pre road heartbreak ridge, star gap, Curtis creek and heartbreak again. Looong day in the mountains but it was overcast and the air felt like AC. It was beautiful to be in the mountains but the mountains won again. We bailed early after 5.5 hours in the saddle. We talked big and bad about taking Kitsuma on the way back but wanted none of it when it came down to making a right turn towards it. Mark J looked really good out there and Chris W. lead the pack as usual. What a two weeks, I’m beat but faster for it. Ain’t that the idea!

Today’s race was the 7th in the southern classic series held at Caraway Hills, about 1.5 hours east of Charlotte.

We were starting at 12:30 and it was HOT!!!!!!  In Canada we don’t get heat and humidity like this so it does a number on me.

I decided to try the Superfly hardtail today, for some reason I thought this course was short and fairly smooth.  I was wrong on both counts, it was rooty and the heat made it take 30 minutes longer than it should have.  Don’t get me wrong, the Superfly performed like a champ, fact 4 of the top 5 spots were Fisher 29ers and 3 were Superflys but it would have been a good course for full suspension.

The race started up a dirt road with Eric Marland of 29er crew driving it; I was on his wheel enjoying the draft until we hit the single track.  I was sitting in 2nd fairly comfortably, Eric would gap on the flats and I would catch him on the descents.  About quarter of a lap in he dropped his chain (with my 1 x 9 set up I didn’t have to worry about that) and I got by him.  As I have already said it was really hot and I was hoping someone would pass me so I could settle in to a groove and not overdo it but 10 minutes passed and I was alone,  I had even backed off a bit. 

At this point the though rolled through my head ‘this race is mine to loose’.  I cringed as the thought popped up because that is always the kiss of death for me.  Without fail, whenever I think that thought something happens.  Today just added more proof.  I started feeling my rear rim on some of the bumps and then all of the bumps and then I had to change it.  I had the wheel off and was putting the tube in by the time the next rider passed me.

I am running tubeless however that doesn’t work so well when all the sealant is dried up inside the tire.  So to all my tubeless friends out there, check to see if you have any liquid sealant in your tires once a month or so, these ones had been running 3 months.

4 minutes later I was pedaling again and to be honest, a bit relieved to be out of the running for the race, at least now I could back it off a bit because it was soooo hot.  Is that bad that I felt that way?  I was actually feeling bad for the first couple of guys who were probably still duking it out for position in this heat.  I tried to ride a pace I could maintain and take smart, smooth lines and hoped I would at least catch a few people.

This course has very little ‘free speed’, by that I mean you don’t get much out of your momentum.   Every climb starts with a tight corner or momentum robbing pile of roots.  And then there is the Stag climb – straight up, steep enough I had to stand the whole thing and long enough to hurt.  This was the one spot I would have gladly accepted a granny ring but I did manage to grind up it in my 34 x 34 low gear.  I am sure all the single speeders out there are saying stop whining but it was rough for me.

The race went on and I rode within myself, which felt pretty slow but I was picking up guys who passed me during the flat repair and some of the 19-29 year old guys.  Halfway though the last lap I picked up Eric who was feeling the heat and he said the other 2 were way ahead.  I was surprised to hear there were only 2!

That’s how I finished, 3rd!  (see Noel, you can fix a flat and still do OK)  I haven’t seen the finish times to see if the flat kept me out of the 2^nd or 1st but I think the flat may have been good for me because I eased up and that probably saved me from blowing up.  I am still trying to get my fluids back to normal; my head continues to throb with a race hangover 8 hours after finishing.