SSAP 2013 aka Singlespeed-A-Palooza; aka The Social Gala of the 2013 Season

aka Singlespeed-A-Palooza; aka The Social Gala of the 2013 Season

Nothing but singlespeeds

With an eclectic group of racers from some of our favorite local teams (Expo Wheelman, NBX, and Bikeman), DAS racers Donnie D and Liz A headed out Saturday afternoon to Montgomery, NY for a 9 am start at Dark Horse Cycles' Singlespeed-A-Palooza.  Jesse, Melissa, and Alby were perfect accomplices for this road trip, and the entire experience was a gut-busting good time.  

This being Donnie's first race in awhile, he was excited to be back at it.  Here's how the race went for him:  

"As I shaved my face to make some chops I pondered the last time I raced singlespeed, The best I could come up with was Sea Otter around 04’. This time however it would be the first time riding a 29er and the first time riding my new Kona Unit.  Since I was not going to break any records I chose to race it stock right out of the box. I built her up on Friday, threw on some King Cages, a Topeak bag with essentials and called it good. I also thought it was a long time since I loaded up into a car with fellow racers and drove more than a couple hours to camp. 

The line for the beer

"My goal was to not come in last and hang on to my friend Oliver’s wheel as long as possible. On the trip over there were some similarities to previous mentioned trips but this time things were different as well.  For starters I’m way less serious about racing now so my mind was not filled with things like tire choice, tire pressure, sleep, the start, etc. I did however focus on staying hydrated, so I popped open another first for me, a Heady Topper Double IPA from VT. 

"We arrived at the host shop, Dark Horse Cycles, and set up camp on the property. My set up was easy, Thermarest and bag under the stars. I knew that nutrition and hydration was the only way I was going to survive this race, so I immediately started eating and drinking water as soon as I woke. 

"The beginning of the race was typical - complete with a pile up which I narrowly avoided. I was careful not to blow up and settled in on the climb.  Oliver made quick work of the field and moved to the front. Myself I stayed back to keep an eye on the competition. As the race developed I was most impressed with the trail system, fast flowing well designed, perfect for a singlespeed. 

"By mile 10 I was getting used to the bike and the 29 inch wheels.  I was most impressed with the traction I was getting in the corners. The bike was smooth over the tech sections and ran flawlessly. By mile 15 at the water feed I thought for a second about skipping it but came to my senses.  I dumped my half full bottles and grabbed one full one with Heed. I watched with no reaction 6 or so riders go by. I chugged 2 beers and off I went. Total down time 2 minutes. Back in the saddle and 10 miles to go my legs definitely started to feel the work that had been done. 

"I settled in again and ticked off the miles; with no computer and no idea when or where the end was, I took my last GU and hoped for the best. It turned out it was not far, and it was over. Yup just like that it was over. Post race beers, food and good times were had by all. Overall I had a great time with some cool peeps. Oliver came in first and I came in several positions after him. See you at the next race where I’ll be the one letting you pass and chugging beers."

Alby King of Bikeman with our group cooler

Here is Liz's account of the race (taken word for word from her blog, so if you've already read that, skip ahead):

"The race started out on a dirt road which was ideal because if you know anything about singlespeeds, you'll know that one gear means it takes awhile to create a decent gap in a crowd of over one-hundred. The open women started with the open men, and the sport men, fat bikes, and sport women were staggered at two minute intervals behind us.  When the start was called, it was a mad scrabble of clipping in and furiously spinning because much of the first section of road was a descent.  As the dust began to clear and the lead group of men started to pull away, I could see that the road was changing to an incline; I could also see one of the other women that I was up against.  As the incline leveled off, we were all going pretty steady, and it wasn't until the next incline that I decided to try to make a move past her.  I'd intended to go all out in the beginning so I could put some distance and some humans between myself and the other girls before we hit the woods; this seemed to work because I never saw another woman racing during the entire 24 miles.  I didn't know it until I saw her come through, but Melissa was just a couple minutes behind me and was trying to chase me down the entire way as she was catching glimpses of me throughout the race.  

NBX's Melissa and Expo Wheelmen's Jesse

"During most of the race, I was riding with one guy who seemed to be pretty well matched to my pace (after a good chunk of the race, we finally introduced ourselves), and it wasn't until I started popping on a couple of climbs towards the middle-end that I really encouraged him to just go on past me.  I still managed to keep him in sight the rest of the way and somehow got my mojo back after only a few tough little climbs.  Having no idea where I stood the entire race, it was tough to know what I should be doing or where I should be putting out effort.  I never bothered to throw a GPS on the bike, and I've never ridden there before. Also, I don't wear a heart-rate monitor, so my only measure of capacity was the way my legs felt on hard efforts and the time it took for me to recover after one of those efforts. Aside from the fact that I just kept telling myself to go harder, I had no way of knowing where I stood except that I was keeping a good enough pace for people to tell me, "I think you're the first woman rider."  Every time I heard that, I was like, "Cool, but where are they!?" It's tough not knowing!  Fortunately, I did a good job of whispering sweet nothings into my own ears during the race; that's the benefit of being your own coach - you can bring your coach with you during your race, and they won't leave your side (and if they do, there are ways to push the demons out and bring the coach back).  I told myself that I had it in my legs to go hard, and when I felt like my legs were done, I told myself to eat a GU and GO HARDER!  It worked.  In the last section of downhill, one of the open men (who had gotten held up with a flat tire at some point in the race) came up behind me and told me that we were almost done.  I think he said something like, "this is the last section... let it roll and have fun."  And so I did!  I rolled through the timing tent in just under two hours which is probably the fastest I've ever finished a 20+ mile race. 

First ever podium beer buzz 

Why does this picture matter?  Because this is what your pocket might look like after a race-full of mechanicals.

"As it turns out, I was the first woman, and Melissa finished less than two minutes behind me as the second woman.  We were stoked to be on the podium together, and Dark Horse Cycles hooked us up with some hefty prizes - cash, limited edition budweisers, and really unique trophies.  A lot of our buddies did well too.  Alby King finished in eighth (men's open), Donnie D in 15th (men's sport NJ and first race in a long time), and Jesse finished the race after having 3 flats, a bottle-cage debacle, and two beers to take the edge off.  Our friendOliver finished first in his category (sport men NJ)." 

Winding Trails 2013 - Tracy represents!

Racing Winding trails without my team mates but never feeling alone

Tracy:

"I of course missed my DAS team mates; however, when you mountain bike race it doesn’t matter what team your jersey says; we are all one big team. Big is right! The woman’s fields are ever-growing which is awesome. When I compared how many combined category woman raced this year as to last year there were 20 more racers. This is fantastic; every year the woman’s fields are growing. Soon we will be catching up with the men's fields. 

My race didn’t start until 1:30pm which was nice since I didn’t have to rush around to get to the race venue early. It was also a bit chilly out, so waiting until it warmed up a bit was okay by me. I got to the race at the start of the Cat 2 women’s race, and I got to cheer on some of my friends I haven’t seen in a while. I cheered and chatted for a while then I figured I better start getting ready and warming up for my race. 

During my warm up my brakes where squeaking which was annoying. I possibly got something on the brake pads while cleaning my bike. Also I dropped my chain, I haven’t dropped my chain since my last race, but I never adjusted it. Not wanting to mess with anything right before a race I figured I would just stay in the big ring. This should not be a problem since there wasn’t a lot of climbing at this venue, and this proved to be true. Two lessons learned here: (1) no more cleaning the bike and (2) things just do not go away on their own (make the adjustments long before the race). 

Now for the race recap: Lap 1, I felt like I was going to die. Lap 2, I may not die but it hurts bad. Lap 3, settling in a bit. Lap 4, don’t care just going to enjoy my last lap. Overall the race was great. It wasn’t very technical, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t hard."


Great job Tracy!  Thanks for representing DAS in Farmington, CT at the second root 66 race of the season.  The next race of the 66 series is the Wrath of the Boneyard in Meriden, CT, but that race coincides with an EFTA race up in Ipswich, MA.  We may have some racers at both races.  In addition, EFTA has it's Battle of Burlingame race coming up on May 5th, and many of the DAS racers are planning to attend.  As of right now, the forecast looks great; see you out there!

DAS Ladies Represent at Hop Brook Dam

Middlebury, CT - April 7, 2013

It was a chilly morning as we arrived at the park, and constant wind gusts left everyone in a bit worried about over-dressing vs under-dressing for the race.  Unlike a casual mountain bike ride, during a race, it's not really the best idea to be stopping in the middle of the trail to pull off a layer of clothing.  Not to mention, most of us race with the bare minimum of gear, so there'd be no place to put those layers.  Sure, some pros can remove a jacket, fold it, and put it in their pocket while racing uphill past you, but none of us DAS ladies have become versed in the art of circus stunts.  I think we all eventually went with short sleeves.  With the amount of climbing per lap, it was probably a good idea; we were generating some serious heat in those climbs.  

Left to right... Liz A, Tracy, and Liz B. Pre-Race

So, here's how the day went for Liz, Tracy, and Liz...

Liz Bove:

I think I went into the race with the right mindset: This is going to be a long race, so don't go out too hard, pace yourself.
Then we started. I didn't feel like I was pushing too hard. I saw that I was the 6th woman going into the first section of single track, but I felt strong. I didn't think I was pushing too hard. I passed a few riders and made the mistake of thinking 'hey I'm doing better than I expected. Maybe I can do well today and not just hope to finish.' Silly me. That course was a beat down and I realized too late that I did not have the endurance to stay at the pace I was riding or with the women I was competing against.

The first two laps went well. Most of the third lap I still felt strong. Then, as I crossed the road to the final section of that lap, I felt it. I was fading. Fast. Cathy passed me on the pavement and offered words of encouragement. Not far behind her was Vicki, who caught me early into the 4th lap. She was soon out of sight. Next was Haley. Now this was probably the funniest (read: embarrassing) moment. I can only imagine how I looked to her as I was spinning with empty legs up a gravel climb, going so slowly that I simply fell over sideways due to lack of inertia! That's right. I tipped over. I didn't crash. I didn't miscalculate a tech section. Nope. I. Tipped. Over.
From that point on I was praying for it to end. The granniest of granny gears allowed me to limp my way through the final lap. That was the worst bonk I've ever experienced.
So, after being mad at myself for a day, I've decided to think about the positives:

I was able to ride the entire course. That horrible climb? I actually made it up that on my third lap! I didn't do it any other lap, but that was a big deal for me.
I also rode 21 miles. I've only ever ridden more than 20 miles on a mountain bike once before this race. It wasn't pretty for the last 5 miles, but I did it.
I finished 5th out of 9. That was much better than I expected for my first CAT 1 race.
And most importantly--With the start of race season, I'm reminded that mountain bikers are freaking awesome people. Every woman I raced with was super friendly and generous with their words of encouragement.

Tracy:

Last year, Hop Brook was my first ever MTB race, and looking back to that day my goal was the same. Keep the bike upright. Mission pretty much accomplished; I may have stumbled a little but did not have to pull myself off the ground, or better yet, no one else had to pick me up off the ground. Well, as usual my start was awful; I think I started up the single track hill about 3rd from the back. I then made a stupid mistake going over the first log obstacle which cost me some time and then the field was gone. I proceeded to push along but, started to feel pretty defeated early on in the first lap, questioning if I was going to be able to finish. I also dropped my chain during the first lap which only made me feel more defeated. At this point I possibly may have dropped the F bomb!!! Ok I did drop the F bomb. Somewhere during my first lap, yes my first lap, several of the men’s pro racers passed me. I continued on to my second lap feeling like I cannot quit that is just so wrong. My third and forth lap were a blur of feeling ok I can do this and feeling like oh no another climb am I going to have to walk up this. Well I did not have to walk up any of the climbs, well... except for the one steep one which I have never made up anyway. Overall it was a great day with great people; I truly love the camaraderie in mountain bike racing. Everyone is so encouraging and friendly. I am also pretty psyched that I did not give in to the little demon in my head telling me to quit, and as a bonus I didn’t puke. Can’t wait to do it again.

Liz Allen:

Going into this race, I felt pretty good.  I knew I was up against some really talented competition, but I also knew that I'd been working pretty hard training indoors all winter, so I wouldn't be at my worst.  Compared to cyclocross season, where I was lucky if I had time to ride once or twice during the week in between race weekends, I was in great shape.  What I've noticed between the KOB TT and Hop Brook is that my legs are strong and fantastic when I need to keep a strong steady pace going...  However, when it comes time to put out a hard effort, follow someone faster, or move out of my comfort zone, I just can't seem to do anything about it.  That's what happened on Sunday.  

I rode a good steady pace the whole time, pedaled over almost everything smoothly, and somehow felt okay on lap 4.  However, when it came down to my time and the times of my competitors, it's obvious that I have a lot of work to do.  My time this year was 3 minutes slower than last year, and there were two Cat 1 women with faster times than me.  So, my fourth place finish in the open category is really more like 6th.  It's hard to not be disappointed with myself, but looking towards the future, I have some road riding and hills planned.  I'm looking forward to some more challenges this season.  At the next race, I may even race in the men's open singlespeed category.  Watch out, boys.  

Here're the results...

Next on the race schedule is the Fat Tire Classic at Winding Trails on April, 21.  This is a fun venue for first-time racers because the course is generally forgiving, and there aren't many steep or long climbs or descents.  It's also a great place to bring the kids because there are park facilities.  See you there!

The 2013 King of Burlingame Time Trial

The 2013 MTB race season is officially underway.  Sunday, March 25th was opening weekend, and Burlingame State Park in RI was filled with early season racers eager to get out on some snow-free trails.  It's been a rough winter here in New England.  

Here's how the day went for some of our racers...

Tracy:

Racing all starts in the preparation right? So I planned to do it right for the KOB TT. I decided it would be a good idea to go to the time trial after having several days of riding on tired legs. Then, just to make sure I was in top form, I drank a few beers the night before. Well this plan did not go so well; lesson learned- next time I will drink more beer. Just kidding!! I plan to do it the correct way next time, especially since it will be a 20 mile race, YIKES- hope I am ready for that. Well, just as anticipated my legs had no power and hurt the entire time trial. Even though my legs and lungs were screaming I had a blast, it was just great to be back at it. I was not impressed or disappointed in my time; I just know I have a lot of work to do. Looking forward to a great racing season with a bunch of great people

Steve:
Considering all the snow and slop that Mother Nature has dished out this March, there was really nothing to complain about.  We got in some good pre-rides in the week beforehand, and the course was in very reasonable shape on race day.  I can point to two significant changes for me this year:  I'm running front suspension for the first time in three seasons, and I have been neglecting my core workouts.  I've only got 3-4 rides on the new fork, a Rockshox SID RCT3, but I've got it dialed-in pretty well, and I am really enjoying the improved handling. The scenery doesn't go all blurry like it used to, and I can actually steer and brake at speed.  Another factor was the course itself. Relatively dry, but distinctly wetter than last year, which created some traction issues in the rooty and rocky "ledges" tech section. I rode it out clean last year; this year, not so much.  The rest of the course was more or less the same as last year; a couple of new bridges to speed up the wet, rocky tech sections near the end, with some newly downed trees to slow down other sections.  Race day felt much colder this year, and I blame the cold air on the sharp pains in my lungs.  So why was I four minutes slower than last year?  Maybe a minute to the wet roots, another minute to the lungs, and two minutes to my lower back, which blew up early and screamed at me the whole rest of the race. Props to the race organizers for introducing a state-of-the-art timing system, and a big thanks to all the volunteers that make the day run smoothly.  KOBTT remains one of the best events on the race calendar!  

Matt's race started off well and went that way for a glorious five minutes. The sound of metal hitting rock quickly crushed both his dreams of finishing the race and his rotor. 

Liz Bove came out with a strong start to the season finishing fifth for the expert women and improving her last year's time.  Meanwhile, Liz Allen improved her time over last year by a small amount and finished in third place for the expert women.  

The next race that many DAS racers are planning to attend is Root 66's Hopbrook Dam.  See you there!