CBC Racing

I got in 2 laps on the new Epic 29er today at the Whitewater Center with our Carolina Bicycle Company Mountain Bike Team captain, Noel Kirila.  It’s always an honor to ride with the big guy.

Riding fast, dry trails in shorts and short sleeves was a real treat after the weather we have been having since Christmas.   I’ll be sad when things turn back to ‘normal’ again.  Until then get out as much as you can!

See you on the trails.

Former pro moto crosser, turned Single Speed powerhouse, Luke Sagur, completed his sweep of the Winter Short Track Series today with victory #5. 

Luke let Tim Anderson share the lead on and off before cracking him with 2 laps to go.  Jason and Noel were strategically placed in the pack to ensure any attacks were neutralized.

The race conditions were perfect today and which was evidenced by the huge turn out in all the categories.  This year has definitely had the best Winter Short Track racing weather in recent memory, now if only the races could be held on Saturdays instead of Sundays..

Luke doubled up and took on the Super Sport category with his single speed as well and was sitting in second place when his hot dogging over the jump burped his rear tire.  He opted to finish the afternoon on the sidelines with a Bud Lite.

What’s next?  Probably the business park on Tuesday night.  Come on out and be part of the action.

It was too icy to even try to drive to North Meck to brave the trails today so desperate times called for desperate measures.

My side kick and I lasted an hour.  She was concerned that I was sweating and thought I should take a break.  She was also a little disappointed that she didn’t ever get sweaty.  It was the quickest hour I ever spent on a trainer, must have been the steady stream of drinks, snacks and lively conversation from my team mate.

This was also a first for the Norco; she has never been on a trainer before.  This off season has seen a lot of firsts for her.

Reports have it that 2 ‘hard men’ were spotted riding at the white water center tonight in dark sub zero conditions.  Rumour has it that one of them was actually night riding without a light.  There is some speculation that both of them might be Canadian.

For more information on the non porographic meaning of hard men refer to : http://www.velominati.com/blog/the-rules/

Rule #9

Rule #21

I’ve ridden Sherman Branch a couple of times and it is an awesome trail but I’d never ridden it with one of the local crushers who know it inside out.

I got my chance on Friday afternoon with Jim starting at 4:01.  Jim showed up on his Superfly rather than his single speed and I had my Superfly single speed so I knew I would be working.  For someone who rides a single speed a lot of the time, Jim shows no mercy to single speeds when on a ride.

We went ripping down the trail which was a little slick from the previous night’s rain.  Jim showed me where he crashed and got his most recent concussion.   I was feeling a little sketchy with the super fast Bontrager XR1’s on the single speed but I was glad to have the acceleration these light tires give every time we came out of a corner.

Anyone who has ridden behind Jim knows his choice of lines can be haphazard to say the least.  So I was really conflicted riding behind him because his lines looked like the right ones to be on by I have trained myself to avoid his lines (I did not want a concussion).  Eventually I gave in and started taking his lines and for the most part he kept me out of trouble.

I rode the big skinny near the lake near the lake and that was enough to break up the pace and we eased up for a while and then it was on to the end.

4:52 we rolled back in the lot.  I have never paid attention to the clock out there before but this was the fastest for me for sure.  But not very fast in the world of Sherman so I’ll have to try again.

Luke Sagur did an incredible 13 laps in 12 hours to handily win the 12 hour male single speed category, yes I said single speed.  That also would have put him in 2nd with the geared guys.

Afterwards he was too tired to drink a beer so we helped him with that.

Crossing the Line 1 minute after last lap cut off

The 3 man masters dream team of Mike Thompson, Charles Robinson and Ian Smith not only took first but made a statement by finishing a lap over their nearest competitor (in any category). They were in better condition at the end than this picture shows.

Dream Team

Jessica Thompson told 3rd in the women’s 6hr solo after a hard week of training and then hung out to cheer on the the rest of the team until 9pm which argueably felt longer than the race itself.

Still here cheering for Dad

Noel Kirila put in a solid 3rd inthe 6 hour solo after his partner (how shall remain nameless) for the 12 hour busted his toe Thursday night.

Team Beam/Johnson took 3rd in the 6 hour duo.

Mike Sciame came in 5th in the 6 hr solo , closely followed by Chris Sugar in 6th.

Hope I didn’t miss anyone.

As for myself, after a week in Amsterdam I was in no condition for racing.

there were no kidding 20 000 bikes parked in this garage

the shirt says it all

Mike Thompson, Cat 2 40+ and Buddy Gardner Cat 2 30-39 both took 1st place in the Southern Classic series as well as taking the NC Championship.

Great work guys, see you in Cat 1 next year!

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.

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!