Day three at the Transylvania epic stage race was a completely new format to me. The entire stage was enduro format, which means that there were 5 timed downhill segments, all of which were very short (2-6 minutes each). We had to ride to the start of each segment under our own power, but we're able to do so at a our own relaxed pace.
The name of the game for this stage was 'survive'. Looking at last year's times the total accumulated racing time was roughly 20 minutes- so not enough time to really make a big dent in the overall standings, but plenty of of opportunity to lose time if you crash or have a mechanical. I'm here to make it through the whole week, so gunning for the downhill segments isn't something I'm after. Plus this is a stage where a lot of riders will switch out their cross country race bikes for a beefier longer travel all mountain bike, I didn't have one so even more reason to preserve my equipment. The scalpel 29er has been awesome so far, but I didn't want to push my luck.
I was pretty nervous about the enduro stage, mainly worried about how technical the descents would be. But overall, the whole day was actually really fun. It gave me a chance to ride with Chris Cyr, John Burns, and Matt Williams throughout the day. We rode light endurance pace on the climbs since none of us really likes stopping and waiting all that much, and then we were able to regroup at the end of the segments and roll on.
There were no major mechanicals for us, although Matt had a couple of flats. Even though his second flat came towards the end of segment 5 which required a fair amount of pedaling, he still faired pretty well. The trails were awesome, not nearly as crazy as I expected, and a lot of me we're repeats of trail from wilderness 101 which I've done the past two years. The Wildcat trail on segment 4 was probably the most technical as we were dropping into a stream bed towards the bottom. It was also one of the few places on course were there was actually a crowd watching riders.
Next stage is a longer day in terms of mileage, 43 miles heading up to Coburn where we will hit more of the classic riding that is part of the wilderness 101 race- sand mountain, fishermans trail and the railroad tunnel. There is a lot of dirt road riding in this stage so it should be fairly fast. The key here will be to not get caught riding alone. Although, we have thunderstorms rolling through right now at 7:30 with start time only two hours away. Pace lining and drafting off of someone's wheel on dirt roads with mud getting thrown up for 3 hours I'm sure is going to be a good time. But maybe, just maybe, with wet conditions making the trails that much more technical will equal an advantage for me? I doubt ill make up my nearly 2 hour deficit in the GC but this could end up being an okay day. I'll send out another update once I get back and get all of the grit cleaned out of my face!
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
Day 2 recap- Coopers Gap
Well that didn't go as planned.
Day 2 at the Transylvania Epic was a 43 mile stage with close to 5800 ft of climbing and a smattering of some of the classic PA single track. If you've never ridden or been in the woods in Pennsylvania, 'Classic' means there are tons of rocks; and they are all at the most awkward orientation in the trail. It's technical. The word "flow" doesn't exist on these trails. It's hard- and that's exactly what I was hoping for.
After a neutral roll out to get the field around a road gate, we ended up riding as a pack for the first 8-9 miles on gravel road. We quickly jumped into a single track climb and the field instantly started to get spread out since there were very few opportunities to pass. I fell into a group that wasn't exactly to my liking for single track speed, but decided to just settle in and not panic. After all, this was single track section number one of a long long day.
I was gradually able to pick my way through the riders as the trails opened up. Somehow, unfortunately, I completely missed the east coast rocks section of single track that I was gunning for. Well, I thought I did I it, but was wondering why it was all downhill. Turns out I clocked in for one of the enduro sections. Still fun, but quickly realized that I needed to slow down to not wreck myself.
I got to checkpoint one at 17.5 miles in, refueled and filled with water and rolled out with Matt Williams of mtbracenews.com. At this point we both realized how long and tough of a day it would be a rolled into the next section of single track at a more comfortable endurance pace. Of course, the second that I let up on the intensity and decided to 'take it easy' I heard the dreaded "hisssssssssssss". Rear tire down. I had a slash in the tread of the tire just large enough that the Stan's sealant wasn't holding. I repaired with a tube and was on my way. Or so I thought.
3 miles down the road I got into the second enduro downhill and, already riding gingerly and trying not to trash my rear wheel, my rear wheel kicked out. "Hisssssssssssssssss". Sweet. Flat again. Having already used my spare tube I thought how utterly inconvenient it was that I had two tubes and a tire sitting I my drop bag at the aid station a few miles back. At this point I was left hoofing it- not a good time to be running. Carbon soled mt bike shoes are terrible for running, and I was in the middle of an enduro downhill section with riders flying up on me.
I got to the bottom of the hill out of harms way, tried one last ditch Stan's repair with some sealant that some other riders left me to no avail. I began the lonely walk on the road wondering what would happen next. One rider offered me a tube " it's been in my seat pack for a ling time, I'm not sure how good it is" he said. Really? I tried and and sure enough there was a slash in it. Nice dude, I thought, I probably saved your butt from getting stranded. Check your equipment people. A second rider came by and was carrying two NEW tubes and handed one off. This got me up and running.
So now I was rolling again. I lost over an hour doing repairs but was able to keep riding. Everyone was talking about the 'notorious' Stillhouse Hollow climb at the end of the loop. This terrain was the same as wilderness 101 from last year so I knew what to expect. At this point this is where my power meter came in most beneficial. I knew how long the hill was and it was a constant grade, so I was able to work at an intensity just hard enough that I wasn't slacking off but wasn't going anaerobic. This late I. The day and this far down in the standings there was no sense in thrashing myself for no good reason.
So I finished the rest of the day without incident. A little disappointing, but I was able to finish. A new tire is on the bike for today's enduro stage. This day will definitely be about recovering on the climbs ( they are not timed or part of the race) and surviving the downhills (I don't have an all mountain long travel bike with me at the race). After the race , it's off to state college for laundry, a few groceries, and I'm sure after all of today's downhills, a brew at a pub will be in order. It is summer camp after all ;-)
Day 2 at the Transylvania Epic was a 43 mile stage with close to 5800 ft of climbing and a smattering of some of the classic PA single track. If you've never ridden or been in the woods in Pennsylvania, 'Classic' means there are tons of rocks; and they are all at the most awkward orientation in the trail. It's technical. The word "flow" doesn't exist on these trails. It's hard- and that's exactly what I was hoping for.
After a neutral roll out to get the field around a road gate, we ended up riding as a pack for the first 8-9 miles on gravel road. We quickly jumped into a single track climb and the field instantly started to get spread out since there were very few opportunities to pass. I fell into a group that wasn't exactly to my liking for single track speed, but decided to just settle in and not panic. After all, this was single track section number one of a long long day.
I was gradually able to pick my way through the riders as the trails opened up. Somehow, unfortunately, I completely missed the east coast rocks section of single track that I was gunning for. Well, I thought I did I it, but was wondering why it was all downhill. Turns out I clocked in for one of the enduro sections. Still fun, but quickly realized that I needed to slow down to not wreck myself.
I got to checkpoint one at 17.5 miles in, refueled and filled with water and rolled out with Matt Williams of mtbracenews.com. At this point we both realized how long and tough of a day it would be a rolled into the next section of single track at a more comfortable endurance pace. Of course, the second that I let up on the intensity and decided to 'take it easy' I heard the dreaded "hisssssssssssss". Rear tire down. I had a slash in the tread of the tire just large enough that the Stan's sealant wasn't holding. I repaired with a tube and was on my way. Or so I thought.
3 miles down the road I got into the second enduro downhill and, already riding gingerly and trying not to trash my rear wheel, my rear wheel kicked out. "Hisssssssssssssssss". Sweet. Flat again. Having already used my spare tube I thought how utterly inconvenient it was that I had two tubes and a tire sitting I my drop bag at the aid station a few miles back. At this point I was left hoofing it- not a good time to be running. Carbon soled mt bike shoes are terrible for running, and I was in the middle of an enduro downhill section with riders flying up on me.
I got to the bottom of the hill out of harms way, tried one last ditch Stan's repair with some sealant that some other riders left me to no avail. I began the lonely walk on the road wondering what would happen next. One rider offered me a tube " it's been in my seat pack for a ling time, I'm not sure how good it is" he said. Really? I tried and and sure enough there was a slash in it. Nice dude, I thought, I probably saved your butt from getting stranded. Check your equipment people. A second rider came by and was carrying two NEW tubes and handed one off. This got me up and running.
So now I was rolling again. I lost over an hour doing repairs but was able to keep riding. Everyone was talking about the 'notorious' Stillhouse Hollow climb at the end of the loop. This terrain was the same as wilderness 101 from last year so I knew what to expect. At this point this is where my power meter came in most beneficial. I knew how long the hill was and it was a constant grade, so I was able to work at an intensity just hard enough that I wasn't slacking off but wasn't going anaerobic. This late I. The day and this far down in the standings there was no sense in thrashing myself for no good reason.
So I finished the rest of the day without incident. A little disappointing, but I was able to finish. A new tire is on the bike for today's enduro stage. This day will definitely be about recovering on the climbs ( they are not timed or part of the race) and surviving the downhills (I don't have an all mountain long travel bike with me at the race). After the race , it's off to state college for laundry, a few groceries, and I'm sure after all of today's downhills, a brew at a pub will be in order. It is summer camp after all ;-)
Monday, May 26, 2014
Transylvania Stage Race- post prologue
A quick note before a full day of racing. Yesterday I started the 2014 Transylvania Epic 7 day mountain bike stage race. Staying here at seven springs campground, well, can't really call it a campground since we are in a cabin with SATELLITE TV, so we've termed in an RV "resort". We are settled into a great spot with room for bike wash and a great covered porch to chill out on. Best of all we are about 3/4 mile uphill from the race venue, so it's easy to get to the start of the races every day.
Yesterday we rode the prologue. Unlike any prologue in the Tour de France where they are on the bike for a whopping 6 minutes, this was a 15 mile sampler of exactly what PA trail riding will be like. Needless to say, it was no cake walk. We hit some amazing trail right off the bat, and we're out in the woods for over an hour.
Coming into the race I had no idea what to expect with a stage race. It's early in The season and I haven't done a ton of long rides, so being competitive in the overall classification wasn't high on my expectations. The big goal for this week really is survival. Given all of that, they are doing an 'east coast rocks' competition within the race where riders compete on timed sections of single track that consist of technical trail riding that is t necessarily a downhill competition.
Overall yesterday's prologue went as I had expected. I finished about 10 minutes back of Jeremiah bishop who is in the race lead. Unfortunately there were 18 guys in between us, so I'm currently pretty far down in the general classification. But that is after just one day of racing 15 miles- the hour long events are definitely not my strong suit. I am, however, currently sitting in 5th in the east coast rocks competition, so that might be something to continue to shoot for throughout the week.
Today's stage is a long one. We will do 43 miles with close to 6000 feet of climbing. I'll just have to see how I recovered from the prologue effort yesterday and try to keep in mind at I've still got 5 days of racing to go.
More to come this afternoon...
Yesterday we rode the prologue. Unlike any prologue in the Tour de France where they are on the bike for a whopping 6 minutes, this was a 15 mile sampler of exactly what PA trail riding will be like. Needless to say, it was no cake walk. We hit some amazing trail right off the bat, and we're out in the woods for over an hour.
Coming into the race I had no idea what to expect with a stage race. It's early in The season and I haven't done a ton of long rides, so being competitive in the overall classification wasn't high on my expectations. The big goal for this week really is survival. Given all of that, they are doing an 'east coast rocks' competition within the race where riders compete on timed sections of single track that consist of technical trail riding that is t necessarily a downhill competition.
Overall yesterday's prologue went as I had expected. I finished about 10 minutes back of Jeremiah bishop who is in the race lead. Unfortunately there were 18 guys in between us, so I'm currently pretty far down in the general classification. But that is after just one day of racing 15 miles- the hour long events are definitely not my strong suit. I am, however, currently sitting in 5th in the east coast rocks competition, so that might be something to continue to shoot for throughout the week.
Today's stage is a long one. We will do 43 miles with close to 6000 feet of climbing. I'll just have to see how I recovered from the prologue effort yesterday and try to keep in mind at I've still got 5 days of racing to go.
More to come this afternoon...
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