8-Hours of The Mad Dash

In my last post I eluded to my next adventure, which was the Mad Dash Mountain Bike Race I did this last weekend. The Mad Dash is a short 8-hour mountain bike race and part of a week long series of events put on by Adventure Sports Week (do click on the name and check out all the incredible events they put on - biking is the least of it). I did this race even though my legs were telling me that they were not nearly recovered enough or ready for this so soon after the 24-hr race a few short weeks before.


We (Scott, from Ride-On Bikes, my trusty friend, mechanic, support-person, chauffeur), arrived the day previous and setup camp with some good friends from Sandpoint, ID, Chris and Leah.


It was another great time around the fire with friends.


The next morning we set up our pit area in the choicest spot there. Scott once again provided support to others, since that is in the spirit of these events and besides we really like everyone we meet.



The background scenery at this venue was the best, most distracting ever...I constantly wanted to stop during my ride (uhhh..race), lay in the grass and just take it all in...


...but instead, I rode for 7-hrs 44-min. during the 8-hour period for a total of 85-miles, which placed me 3rd in my highly competitive age category. What is up with all these 40-49 year old biking animals?


I fueled with real food (home-made bean/rice burritos, some potato chips, and a few datenut bars) and hydrated exclusively with ELETE, an electrolyte suppplement added to water giving it a nicely plain, simple "water" taste. I've gotten to where I hate anything sweet in my drinks and I seem to survive best on plain tasting foods and drinks. I've used ELETE to finish many long events when the sweet drinks were making me want to barf. So this time I decided to start and finish with ELETE and I must say it worked so well that I am having a hard time figuring why it took me this long to just drop all the other sweet stuff my body always seems to reject. Hmmmm...

I had one mechanical, an unsealable flat from a monster nail, which set me back on my 5th lap far enough that I never really recovered from time-wise. This is the second time I've had a large nail puncture that my tubeless sealant (Stan's NoTubes) just could not seal up. Both times the tire was a Bontrager Jones ACX - a super dependable tire for traction, but seems to be a nail magnet. In fact this same tire type, I've had 3-other nail flats when tubed. So the end result is that I'm a bit wary of using the Jones ACX anymore in an event even though I love the consistent traction it provides in corners. Hmmm...I have the think about this some more.


I truly had a great time during this ride, the course was fun, as well as the friends I had time to visit with. I did end up getting some time to lay in the grass...caught a little nap also while enjoying the ultra eye-pleasing background, dreaming of my next little (non-racing) adventure...

Finding My Legs Again

Now that my bottom is feeling better, several days after my recent painful adventure, I'm back in the saddle trying to find my legs again. Warm, sunny days and fields of color definitely help distract from any pain and provide the motivation to keep going.


I just can not say enough about how uplifting a field full of flowers is to me...I could ride in such scenery all day and never feel tired.


But every blissful, flowery day must end for the there is always a need to return home. It's always a dreadful trip since it seems that the route home is always a hot one via one of several blast-furnace pipeline options...the roads home become stupidly hot, parching experiences starting this time of year.

The good news today is that I found Jiminy Cricket alive and well...time for some song and dance, just in time for the next little adventure...

Top-10

I showed up at the race with one bike on top of the car - a Huffy (Go Team Huffy!). It was a ploy to psych out the competition...they were so scared that they rode faster so maybe it back-fired. The Huffy is actually Jeremiah's (and it saw some serious use over the weekend).


Scott, from Ride-On-Bikes, my solo support person came in with my equipment later. Scott had told me I was famous on the phone, but I was not sure what that meant until I saw his vehicle that had my name on it...a cool surprise to say the least.


Scott once again proved to be a valuable asset and truly kept me and the bike going. I had to do nothing but ride, drink, and eat...I can not thank him enough for his support, efforts, and friendship.


Scott was up the whole time...well except for one short nap...


Dave Parkins, another ace-mechanic, of Sandpoint was also in attendance at my pit area and he was instrumental in us all having some fun. Plus, he kept many of my competitor's bikes rolling when they had major malfunctions...most people would not think of this as a good thing, but I'm perfectly happy that Dave and Scott had fun keeping other people riding...the nature of this event is to have fun and to help others plus I really like all the competitors I have met...all good people.


My performance in the Spokane 24-hr race turned out a top-10 finish (literally I came in 10th). Even though I took precautions to avoid dehydrating in the heat, it proved once again my biggest downfall. During the first 4-laps I was downing 2 large bottles an hour (a typical maximum for me, but after 4hr-10min, 60-miles) of riding I was feeling the symptoms of dehydration and I had to start taking extended breaks just to let more fluid absorb.


The good news is that I did not puke this year. I'm starting to think that my genetic makeup will not allow me to do this kind of event and/or intensity in hot weather. Once the temps cooled down I was feeling much better, however it took most of the night to catch up on the fluids. At some point around mile-90 I made a decision to ride just for myself instead of for the podium and to simply have some fun while doing it...and fun I did have.


In the end I rode for 14hrs-40min for about 195-miles during this event. The course was not disappointing in providing a thrash test to both body and bike...my butt is sore even with the super cushy ride. The Ellsworth (#21) survived perfectly, but after the race I noticed my bottom bracket is in need of replacing...it has just over 3000-miles of use, which is not bad for an outboard BB on a MTB. I do miss the internal BB's that I typically got an easy 10-15K or more. My Ay-Up lights were awesome all night and I never once found myself needing so slow down due to lack of light - in fact my lap times at night were nearly the same as my lap time in the day.


After the day after the race Donna, Jeremiah and I all went for a sweet ride on parts of the course (Donna on the Ellsworth, Jeremiah on the Super-Huffy, and I was on the Think Pink SS). Riding the SS was all fun and my legs seemed to have plenty of GO still.


The event was fun as usual and more pics (some are probably rated PG-13) can be found at my Picasa Web site.

It's Time...

Yes, it's time once again for some pure self torture on the mountain bike, time for the ultimate equipment thrash test, time for a body endurance checkup, time for psychological self examination, time for a sore bottom....time once again for my annual 24-hr race.


I've even been growing my hair out to fit in with the theme this year and I'm sure you will find me in some hippy-looking casual clothing at the event (which is actually my preferred everyday clothing).

This will be my 4th ride at this event as a solo rider (I have several team entries prior to that). Every year when I finish I say I am never doing that again, but it seems that time make me forget the torture this event provides since I continue to sign up for it annually and I get giddy with anticipation to start riding the race. I have butterflies now and the event is still 3-days away. Plus, amazingly, I already have plans to do it next year solo on a single-speed. Yes, I'm insane.

This year the Ellsworth 650B/26 will once again be my primary ride and the fully rigid Gunnar Think Pink 650B/26 will be the back-up ride (either bike will be fun). My training this year is truly in the toilet for a long endurance event like this, so I'm just going to punt and do the best I can.

Spring Adventures on the Ellsworth 650B/26

I have a good habit of choosing my Ellsworth 650B/26 (that means I run a 650B wheel up front and a standard 26" wheel in back) for day-cruises in search of adventure, speed, and fun. This is one bike I've absolutely no desire to get rid of anytime soon, which is rare for me...those who know me well enough are shocked I'm sure since I have a bad habit of owning and riding a new bike for a short time (typically less than a year) then selling it for some other bike I'm lusting after. Since I built up the Ellsworth (aka the Black Pearl) in October 2007 I have had no desire to get rid of it, in fact I think I'm finally done with the crazed need to buy-and-ride-every-bike-ever-made (yes, I am shocked myself so close your mouth and wipe that stunned look off your face). I can't help it - I just love riding this bike and it feels new to me every time I get on it.


Spring weather has been rather bipolar this year, but the rides in the back-country are good as ever right now (up to the snowline that is). The field flowers, which always make me happy, are out in force as are other spring things - like Steve Largent repellent, a.k.a. snakes.



Get out and ride!

Glass + Tires = Shredder

Some times people question why I buy Bontrager's kevlar belted road tires...I have some difficulty convincing them (or maybe they have difficulty believing me) that many of the roads down in this valley are lined with broken glass (typically beer bottles). There is no getting around the fact that at some point on any road ride that I will incur direct glass-to-tire contact. The Bontager kevlar tires have saved me from more flats than I can count...I'm always digging glass pieces out plus pieces of metal. The wear factor of these tires is also quite good since I typically get 4000-5000 miles from a set. However, on occasion a tire gets so shredded that it needs an early retirement...like this tire (after only 1800 miles) that sustained a direct impact with a rather large chunk of glass that I simply did not see in time to avoid (because I was looking around trying to enjoy a boring road ride).

I rode this tire home and 38-miles later it was still inflated...it was a bit annoying to ride.

Skinnies on Dirt

Everyone knows how much I like road bike riding (yawn), but when there's an adventure involved I seem to fore go my perceived boredom of skinny wheels. Over the last week I seemed to have peaked to any all time high with a few fun road rides. The first was riding the Whitebird grade down and back from Grangeville. The Whitebird Grade is a fun, narrow, twisty road to ride.

Going down...


Climbing up...


In between the grade I managed some Roubaix-style dirt road riding (yes on the road bike with skinnies on).


I have never realized how much fun skinny road tires could be on the dirt...or how fast.


My sister, Megan, was along on one of my mountain bikes for part of the trip.

The next trip was also from Grangeville...I had to drop off my Grampa's Jeep (yes he still drives at the age of 97) after my sister used it to get to the airport in Spokane. Since I had no way home I decided that I would ride home on the old highways through Nez Perce, Craigmont, and Winchester. It was a nice day with a few sprinkles here and there, but the trip was scenic along the way and I enjoyed the adventure of riding a new route (for me). So after 5-hrs, 20-min of riding time I rolled into my driveway with 107-miles on, at which time I was beyond ready to be off the bike. I think I may ride this route in reverse another time.

Racing the Think Pink Rigid

The performance of the Think Pink SS Rigid had me all giddy before, during, and after the Devil's Slide MTB Race.

(In the Hunt...Photo credit: Doug Goodenough)

This SS bike was not the ideal choice to run in this event this year due to some long, long, looong, flat sections, but somehow I was holding my own and held off many of the geared bikes until the end of the first lap on these ultra long flats...Single Speeds Rule!!!

(Photo credit: Scott Trost)

I ended up taking 2nd (still not sure how), but that doesn't mean too much since the race had a small showing this year. It was super fun to do the race on the Think Pink SS.

(Photo credit: Scott Trost)

In the tradition of cancer support I wore my pink and black Fatty jersey with matching socks to support Fatty's wife, Susan, who is struggling with metastatic breast cancer.

Think Pink Goes Rigid

Yep, that's right, once again I am messing around with bike setups. People that know me well enough understand I have an obsessive behaviour that involves changing up things on my bikes on a regular basis just to try something new.

Recently I had my Fisher Ferrous SS 29er set up rigid and rode it on back-roads mostly. I really liked the setup, but on the trails I did not think it was so great...in fact it downright sucked.

Then on one of my trail rides I had a "duh" moment (or maybe it was a "Doh!" moment) and realized that the fully rigid bike may ride better over the rough stuff with a bigger volume front tire for a bit of suspension effect. But after running through the mental inventory catalogue I found that I did not have a 29er tire larger than a 2.1 in my stock of "stuff". So that led to another inspiring moment within milliseconds...after which I raced home where there was instantly a flurry of activity in the bicycle laboratory. Within minutes the Think Pink Gunnar was transformed into a fully rigid, ultra trim, single-speed.

With the Pacenti Neo-Moto 650Bx2.3 tire up front I headed out to prove it was a worthy ride. Out at Hells Gate State Park I was a tad disappointed at first since the ride was nicer than on the 29er, but still a tad stiff and "boingy" over the rocks. So I let some more air out, then even more, and more, and...until the desired effect was achieved. The end result was an air pressure of 18psi in the front tire...at this pressure the bike was a smokin fun ride. The Pacenti tire is a true 2.3 and appears larger in volume...I never pinch flatted or even came close and my entire body is thankful and I seem to smile a lot while riding it...of course the normal, gentle thrash testing will continue.

One more thing has been brewing in the background here for some time now...his name is Jeremiah, soon to be adopted by Donna and I unless some weird unforeseen thing happens.