cycling extravagaaaaaaanza

sunday, sunday, sunday. not to be missed: the throw down of the year......dreams will be crushed and feelings will be hurt. The tandem national championship road race in Louisville, Kentucky.
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Seriously though this is going to be a great race. We have won it the last 2 years, but Betsy and Gunnar Shogrun have plans to end that streak. Also coming into play will be the mtb tandem superstar team of the midwest the Eppens. Should be an exciting race to watch .....

catchin up

Soooooo....the weekend after the mohican 100 I headed over to a great little race in TN called the Disc Burner. This was a 12 or 6 hour race in a really nice park. After my last couple weeks' adventures there was no way I was going to do a solo 12 hour effort, so I opted for the solo 6. I felt great. I rode well and won finishing quite a bit ahead of 2nd place. Here are my lap times:
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1- 45:05 (includes Lemans start and I didn't get to pre-ride the course)
2-42:01
3-42:40
4-42:44
5-43:18
6-44:51
7-47:01 ( I held back a bit on this one on purpose so I could do the last lap faster)
8-46:44
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I was pleased with the effort. I can highly recommend this race for anyone interesed next year...I hope to do the 12 hour next time.
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The day after this Cara and I did the fletcher flyer full century on the tandem. We rode HARD...lots of attacking and stayed with the lead group until we had to stop for fluids with just 18 miles to go....I was pretty much smoked at that point anyway.
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The following weekend I took off...no racing, no traveling , just 2 solid 5 hour training days...sweet.
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That brings us to this past weekend. The Cowbell Marathon at fischer farms in Davidson NC. 50+ miles...6 laps of an 8. something mile course and a 5 or 6 mile run-in from town at the start. In a word: HOT. I think the temperature was near 100 degrees and the humidity was right there around the same number. I made the lead group on the run-in to the course....then was pretty much on my own. I passed a couple riders on lap 2 or 3, but after that there was no one close ahead or behind. I was fine with the heat until the last lap and a half. Knowing I was not moving up or back I rode pretty easy the last lap to avoid cramping or worse. I ended up 6th.
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I felt ok when I finished, but about 15 -20 minutes later heat exhaustion hit me HARD. I felt horrible and sick. It took me forever to get packed up (sorry Ddub!). I lost my voice and my hearing ?! Very strange but as I started to feel bad all of a sudden I lost about 50% of my hearing...like I had water in my ears...weird. I wasn't too bad off, but I had never had that happen before. I was cured on the drive home by blasting cool air conditioning in my face the whole way.
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At this point my legs are fine, but I still think I am recovering from the heat thing...at least the temps here in the moutains are nice 80s.
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Next up: tandem nats and Fitchburg!!!
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a2

24 solo #1

The Burn 24. 2 weeks ago: my first SOLO 24 hour race. After having done many team 24s (all the way back to 1994), a couple of solo 12s and some duo endurance races it was time to give the full show a shot. What a learning experience!

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I went out a little hard, but stayed strong though about 12 hours ...then fell apart a bit. It rained overnight and things got tough. I started taking short breaks after every lap as I began to have trouble eating on the bike...so the breaks allowed me to continue to take calories in. I knew if I didn't do this I would completely fall apart. At around 4 am I thought I was done. I hurt in every imaginable way and thought we were going to pack up right then and go home. I took a 20 minute "nap" in the car...which resulted in about a 40 minute break all told. I woke up, and got back on the bike. It took just a few minutes , then things opened up and I started to feel really good....REALLY good.

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I had fallen from 3rd when I started my break , down into 5th.....and was about 11 minutes behind 3rd at 6 am. I started flying...getting better and better every lap. By about 9 or 10 am I had moved into 2nd....which I held through to the end. 24.5 hours, 28 laps and about 200 miles of single track riding later I was done. I felt better at the finish than I did at midnight.....

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In the morning when I was moving so fast after having such a rough night I knew that my primary questions that would come from doing this race were answered...#1 is will I focus on this discipline in the future?: yes.... I think it suits me well.

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Big congrats goes out to Erik Nielsen on his win. He led the entire race and while he had a rough time early in the morning....he pulled through nicely to win (it was also his first solo 24).

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A big thanks also goes out to my support crew of my old friend Mark Wolff from colorado who worked the bikes and of course Cara who held me together....

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This past weekend with less than a week of recovery I headed up to the Mohican 100 ...100 mile MTB race in Ohio which was stop # 2 of the NUE series. All the big boys were there to play. We started and I moved like a snail for the first 30 miles....and I mean SLOW. I watched the lead group ride away ..then the middle of the pack riders ride away....then I finally got things going. As the day went on I again got stronger and stronger and finished fast, feeling great. Unfortunately I lost a ton of time early and my time was just 8:12....WAY off the pace of the top 10. I think my official place was 25th. So the lesson for the week was: don't race the week after a 24 hour solo! Or at least if you do: don't expect to get a good result :)

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Things are just starting to get fun......

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a2

new post!

ok...it has been a VERY long time since I have posted to the blog. Things have been busy and there have been lots of great events we have done that are worth of reporting on ( including 2 x 6 hour races, the tour of the battenkill and a 12 hour duo race I did with Cara)....but they will have to wait.

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Last weekend we headed over to TN for the big Dirt Sweat and Gears 12 hour race. I hope to get a real report up soon...but as you can tell I did pretty well (3rd). Now this was not really a bike race...it was more of a mud running/ walking race. Take a look at these videos to see what I mean:

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http://www.cyclingdirt.org/videos/coverage/view_video/234968-2009-dirt-sweat-gears/177599-andy-applegate-3rd-pro-solo-mid-race-interview-lap-4

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http://www.cyclingdirt.org/videos/coverage/view_video/234968-2009-dirt-sweat-gears/177746-andy-applegate-pro-solo-3rd-post-race-interview

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http://www.cyclingdirt.org/videos/coverage/view_video/234968-2009-dirt-sweat-gears/177733-pro-mens-solo-podium

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Hopefully I can get to a real report soon...but the videos tell most of the story.

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Right now I am covered in poison ivy and have some strange kind of illness that is sucking all the energy out of me and wreaking havoc on my digestive system....must have been something in all the mud I ate on saturday. I have not been on the bike in more than 3 days and with my first 24 hour solo race just a week away I am getting a bit worried. Hopefully I can get rid of what ever this is soon...I am going to try a bit of an MTB ride in a few minutes before heading over to work registration for our "ring of fire" race series event tonight.

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a2

break a commandment and .....

Train moderately and train consistently are two of Joe Friel's "training commandments". As Joe has been a mentor of mine...both as an athlete through his books and methodology and as a coach as part of his Ultrafit Associates group for 7 years you would think that I would know better than to break one of these rules. Well I did...and now I am sick.

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Cara had been sick for almost a week and I was holding it off well. After last weekend I was a bit disappointed in myself that I faded after about 5 hours of racing (even considering my mishaps). This week the weather has been nice and I had two days with no appointments scheduled, so I decided to get a couple of killer rides in. On tuesday I did the ride above. Out to Hot Springs from Black Mountain going over Doggett Mountain on the way out. 121 miles in just under 7 hours of ride time. I was very conservative with my pace and actually felt really good. I limited my power to just 70-80% of FTP on the longer climbs and this worked well to keep me comfortable...until about 10 miles to go. At mile 110 with home just about 30 minutes away I fell apart and struggled in. No worries...I still didn't feel too bad, but I think I pushed the limit a bit too far for what I was ready for right now.

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I started to feel like I was getting sick, but denied it and set off for a 4 hour off road ride on wednesday. I rode up through montreat, down rattlesnake, did kitsuma, then on the road through old fort, up curtis creek to jarrett creek, over star gap , down lower heart break and up mill creek to get home. Stephen Janes has some good photos of the fire damage from last week around lower heartbreak here: http://ashevillejanes.blogspot.com/2009/03/burn.html

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As soon as I got on the long climb up jarrett creek I lost all my energy and knew I had gotten in too deep. I crawled along knowing I was digging myself deeper into illness, but there were no shortcuts home from there. I got home and I was sick. I think it is just a nasty head cold, but the bottom line is I have not been able to ride for a couple of days...and probably won't be able to do any real training for a few more days...and if I do race on sunday, I will really just be riding without being able to push it much.

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So there is a lesson here...and I have learned it before...I guess I just have to make the mistake and re-learn it every few years. If you push the envelope too much and go far above what would be considered "moderate" in training, you get sick...or worse yet, injured. This causes you to break the other commandment of training consistently...if you are sick or injured and can't train, consistency goes out the window...and you lose fitness. SO I am not saying that athletes should not train really HARD when appropriate....or even for very long durations when trying to prepare for endurance events (like I am this season), but care needs to be taken to ride within certain limits in order to stay healthy and injury free. Playing around on that fine line is ok....but take a big leap over the line on a particular day and there will usually be less than beneficial consequences.

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Instead of doing an extreme ride on tuesday , I should have scaled it back a little and done 3 more moderate endurance days in a row. This more than likely would have left me healthy...able to train and race the rest of the week and would still have caused a significant training adaptation.....

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a2

dirty spokes 6 hrs...ouch

Yesterday was the first endurance race of the season for me...the dirty spokes 6 hour at Heratige Park near Athens, GA. I was hoping for a good ride, but realized after pre-riding friday evening that the course was not particularly suited to my riding strengths...i.e. very twisty and rooty with hardly any sections to really open up and ride hard, short punchy climbs (but nothing extended) and lots of narrow, tight wooded sections. At any rate, I think my fitness is coming along and I still had hopes of a good finish.

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Forecast was for rain and temps in the 40's. We had light rain on and off through the day, but for the most part, while it was cold, humid and cloudy, the course did not get too wet (other than lots of slick roots).

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I got off to a pretty good start and the front group was close together for the first half of lap one. 4 miles into this initial lap I was in about 5th position when I got "clotheslined" by a low hanging vine on a downhill. Ever wonder what would happen if you were cruising on a downhill and ran into a cable hanging right at neck height? I found out. It was a scary moment to be sure...feeling the vine rip into my neck bringing me to a stop...worse still was that this vine had THORNS on it of which I felt every one. Ouch.

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As a few riders stopped behind me I felt bad about holding them up and asked if there was any foreign objects sticking out of my neck....then I was off ...although a bit shaken up and definitely not in the groove. At the end of the lap I stopped to be sure I was not bleeding too badly ( I wasn't) and the promoter and announcer (thanks guys) swabbed off my neck with some alcohol. I was glad I didn't have to pull out of the race and took off on the next lap. I got back into the groove...and as soon as I felt I was really back into it I skipped off a rock and a couple of trees played ping pong with the back of my rib cage. Damn. I had the wind knocked out of me and again it took me a bit to get going again....but I did. I finally got rolling again on lap 3 and 4 and passed a few riders.

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At the start of lap 5 Cara yelled at me that I was just 1 min behind 3rd place and I turned it on. I caught Erik about 3/4 of the way into the lap. We rode together until the start of lap 6....which was cool..... Shortly into lap 6 (which would be my final lap) I realized that I spent a bit too much energy chasing Erik and had to let him ride away. I cruised through lap 6 feeling pretty worked over the second half....and glad that I wouldn't have to go out for a 7th round.

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Just a couple miles before the finish I caught Cara (who was racing in duo class with Dwight Wyatt). I was surprised when she caught back up to me and we crossed the line together at the finish.

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So I ended up 4th. Big congrats to Nathan Wyatt on the win, Shey Linder 2nd and Erik 3rd. I turns out that Erik was able to get within a minute of Shey on the last lap...so I was not too far off the mark today even with some bad luck. Cara and Dwight were 2nd in the duo class.

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My neck looked pretty bad, but is starting to heal up already just 24 hours later. I also have a nasty cut on my left shoulder from the vine...where it burned a nice hole through my jersey. That blood spot on my chest in the pic above, while it looks like a gunshot wound, is really just where the blood from my neck pooled. My back right lat is pretty torn up too...but didn't keep me from getting a good night's sleep. I am already amped up for the next endurance race...I just need to do a better job of avoiding obstacles :)

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a2

kenda pro team camp

The big Kenda pro road team camp has come and gone. This year we gathered in Greenville SC for a 5 day marathon of fitting, analyzing, meeting, learning and getting a couple of decent rides in. When I say "marathon" I mean it. 4 of my days there were going for almost 15 hours straight. Trying to get all the riders fit on the new rigs was a time consuming project....but we got the work done and I am sure it will pay off. The team this year is outstanding. This program started as a small grass roots venture 5 seasons ago and has grown into what is a real uci pro team with some amazing new talent along with some seasoned vets as well.
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Watch for the team at some of the big races this year. With seasoned pros like Jake Rytlewski, Scottie Weiss, Russel Stevenson along with some great neo pro talent the team is more well rounded than in years past where crits have been the focus. Good stuff. While I am still not planning to do many of the big road races this season, coming home from camp I was really motivated and looking forward to lining up with the guys whenever possible.
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For now though it is off to a 6 hour mountain bike race tomorrow (in 50 degrees and rain :( ). Last week was the final of the snake creek gap series and I posted my best time yet again: 2:58....
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a2

February is camp month

February has become a month of training camps....and why not? With the race season starting in earnest right at the beginning of March, Feb is the perfect time to get in some specific training and learning.
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First up was the CCN / Cannondale MTB team mini-camp last weekend. Nothing super organized and we simply gathered here at the house in Black Mountain, but it was a great couple days of off road riding. The team is basically 3 fast young guys (Alex, Travis and Daniel) along with a token old guy (me). On saturday we did a Pisgah semi-epic 4.5 hr ride including horse cove, squirrel gap and some of the Black Mountain trail. Sunday was a long big climbing ride on most of the ORAMM course for just about 6 hours. The guys are riding really well and you can expect to see some really great results from them this season.
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Next up is the VeloSports MTB camp this weekend. This will be a another 2 day camp in Asheville that is primarily a skills building weekend. It looks like the weather saturday will be cooperative, but we may be a little cold sunday....that is ok, we will still have fun.
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Next week, wed through sun is the big Kenda Pro Road Team camp. While it will be great to see all the guys and the atmosphere should be electric with it being the first year the team has pro status, for me it is a lot of work. There will be bike fits, bike fits and more bike fits to do .....which entails a lot of crawling around on the floor measuring things. Last year I pulled muscle in my back at camp and hope not to repeat that. This year I am not an official team rider (or am I?) , but more in the role of a staff member......not sure if that will make things easier or harder for me :)
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After that the race season is REALLY here. Snake Creek Gap #3 is March 7th, then I will do the Dirty Spokes 6 hour race in GA the following weekend.
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a2

southern cross etc

I have done some decent training and a couple of cool events since my last post. Two weeks ago Cara and I did the Southern Cross race on the MTB tandem. I still can't decide whether this was fun or not...ok I am just kidding, of course it was fun...well maybe with a few exceptions. There was a (no joke) 1 hour and 20 minute long climb (for us) right in the middle of the course. With our nearly 50 lb bike and squishy wet roads this was a bit trying. We rode pretty well on the first 45-50 minutes of the climb, but the last bit was, well, hard. We were fine after that until we started getting really bad chain suck every time we went to the middle or mall chainring over the last 10 miles or so.....frustrating. A great event though and we will certainly be back next year....not sure if it will be on the tandem though :)

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Cara put up a better race report here: http://caraapplegate.blogspot.com/2009/02/southern-cross.html

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Last weekend I did the Icycle MTB cross country race out at Fontana Village. The course was fast and fun and the field was surprisingly big. We began with a leMans style run start then went straight into the first climb. I had an ok start and was riding in about 6th when I flatted on the first downhill :( . I totally botched the repair and lost about 10 full minutes. Losing 10 minutes in a race that the leaders finish in an hour fifteen does not bode well for results...but I did ride pretty well, had fun and got a killer good workout in which is exactly what the goal for the day was. I even went out and rode an extra lap near race pace before I packed up to head home.

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Off to Snake Creek Gap #2 tomorrow....weather looks to be good and while my form is nowhere near good right now, I am still hoping to go for my best time on the course. If this happens I know it will be to dramatically improved technical riding skills since last year.

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a2

29er Love

I have been riding my cannondale 29er for over a month now and while I knew it was a perfect fit for me on the very first ride, I can now say for sure that I am in love with this bike. Since Cara has inherited my old hardtail, when I gave back my team bike last fall I decided to get the 29er as my own bike for training and what I thought would be a "different" bike to use for some of the endurance races I am planning on doing in 09. It didn't take but a few rides to determine that I wanted to race the 29er exclusively for the coming season. Why?...and why would I rather race this bike than the scalpel I raced last season??? Good questions.

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The scalpel is an amazing state of the art race bike, no doubt...but there are several things about the 29er that just fit my rider profile even better. What is my rider profile? Well first off I am NOT a "punchy" rider.....basically I seem to have a switch that is either "on" or "off"...steady if you will. The 29er seems to carry this sort of momentum that just feels right for me. I was afraid that the big wheels would be slow on climbs...but I was wrong. In fact I feel like I can climb as fast , or faster on the big wheels...again, I think this has to do with my steady riding style. Next is that I am a bit slow in the handling department. I am not the kind of rider who comfortably flicks the bike around direction changes on a twisty course....I have a tendency to do more "carving" around turns....and again the big wheels give me that flow. Confidence: In general I am not the most confident in my technical abilities...or maybe I would more accurately characterize this as too much of a survival instinct. When I dive into a rocky/ rooty technical section, or go over a drop-off I usually have a sense of tentativeness....and this is where the big wheels seem to help me most. The 29 inch wheels give me a sense of confidence in the rough stuff and taking on bigger drops. The wheels roll over rocks and roots substantially easier....with less tendency to "catch". On technical uphills I seem to be able to get up and over obstacles with greater ease....and I can say for sure that I have been able to clear more tough, steep uphill sections than I could on any of the 26 inch bikes I have ridden.

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Is a 29er the best choice for everyone or every trail/ course? Certainly not. Punchy riders will find the acceleration slower with the big wheels and the handling "sluggish" while trying to make quick directional changes on tight twisty trails....but for me it is perfect...and I am very happy to say that I will be racing the c-dale 29er all year! Now I am basically using the stock 29er 1 model. I did have to change the stem to a longer and steeper down angle ...and get a longer seatpost....and of course change the saddle....but that is it.

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The pic above is from the first of the snake creek gap TTs a couple weeks ago. It was foggy, rainy and wet.....yet I felt fully confident on the new bike...even on the rocks.

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a2

Baby It's Cold Outside

Ok, so it seems it is cold pretty much everywhere in the sates this week..excepting maybe so cal and the greater southwest... but the rest of us are stuck with conditions not exactly conducive to riding outside...so here are a few reasons you might just want to get on with your workouts inside on a stationary trainer.....rather than skippping them:

1. because you KNOW your competition is doing it

2. because you need the endorphins and you will feel miserable if you don't get your daily dose.

3. because to accomplish your race goals for next year, you need to build your fitness...and these workouts build your fitness!

4. because in many cases you can actually get a BETTER workout on the trainer since it is easier to precisely control intensity vs. the same workout on the open road

5. because in one of your past lives you MUST have done something to deserve this type of punishment :)

6. because your coach told you to

7. because if you don't you will be grumpy and your family and/ or co-workers will suffer the brunt of your grumpiness

8. because it will help you improve your mental toughness and focus

9. because you love to ride your bike....no matter when or where, inside or out

10. because RIGHT NOW your competition is doing a tough 2x20 min threshold workout on the trainer thinking of how they are going to crush you next season....and you know the only way to combat them? GET ON THAT TRAINER AND GET YOUR WORKOUTS DONE!

:)
a2

PRO !

Yes that is right. After almost 20 years of racing I am offically a professional bike racer in the eyes of USA Cycling....on a mountain bike. I find this absolutely hilarious. I would have given my right arm to get a pro mtb license 10 years ago, and now at the young racing age of 43, I am a neo-pro. How did this happen???
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A little history:
I started racing mountain bikes in 1992. I was not very good. In fact at my first race as a "beginner" I finished square in the middle of the pack ....something like 52nd out of about 100 riders. Stellar right?...but I was instantly in love with racing. Exactly one year later at the very same race I was an "expert" racer in the pro/expert category. I finished 3rd. OK, so that was not bad. After another year on the east coast racing expert I moved out to Boulder, CO thinking I was going to be the next Tomac...or Tinker...or maybe Shogren :). I trained hard ...maybe too hard...had some great early season results, followed by a serious bout with overtraining (whoops so much for that season). I got my act together and moved back east in 96. I had a great season that year and was ready to upgrade...but that was the year the "semi-pro" category was introduced. This was the heyday of MTB racing and the pro races were overcrowded....another category was needed to bridge the gap between expert and pro racers. At the time this worked, but unfortunately that gave me an extra step. I raced as a semi-pro, mostly in New England for a couple of seasons when the races were huge, the competition unbelievable and the prize money outstanding. I was a solid top 10 new england series guy, but at the national level (which is where the upgrade results were needed) I was nothing but mediocre.
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In 1999 I got my first road team contract (NOT pro) and switched over to racing on the pavement full time....which I did for the better part of 10 years as an elite amateur.
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Now I am back to racing mostly in the dirt and the powers that be decided to scrap the semi-pro category entirely....giving us the choice of getting a pro license or dropping back down to expert. You might think it would make more sense for an old codger like me to drop back to expert....and you would probably be right. The trouble is that at 40+ years old, as an expert, the cross country races are usually short....too short. That and I like chasing around the fast young guys...and making fun of them on the rare occasion that I might beat a couple of them. Also, since my primary race objectives are endurance races (where there is really just an "open" race with no categories), the ability listed on my license is pretty much irrelevant.
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Now, many people have asked me : weren't you a road pro?? No, never was and never will be. While the road team I have been associated with has taken out a uci pro license for 2009, I am most decidedly NOT on the pro roster....no way I am good enough for that :) let alone being at least 15 years too old.
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So there you have it...the reason I may very well be the world's oldest neo-pro.
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a2

cross nats 08 : back to KC

The 2008 season is over. It ended with cross nats back in Kansas City again, but this year at a different venue and with some different weather as well. We made the drive out starting on Wednesday, stopping in St Louis and arrived at the venue on thursday afternoon. The course was awesome! Not your typical cross course, this one was on the side of a pretty serious hill....so the majority of the course was uphill, then back down again...nice and wide with very little in the way of technical sections. For me this course was about as good as it gets...pure fitness not finesse. At first the course was pretty sloppy from previous rain...but by the time of Cara's master's race on friday it was nice and tacky...soft, but not messy at all. Cara had a very good ride for 9th in a tough 30-34 yr age group.

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My age group race was friday..and the conditions were just as good. Temps in the 50s and soft but grippy ground. To top it off I was 9th on the call-up and with one no-show I ended up with the last place on the front line. With 120 of my closest friends next to and behind me, it was going to be a battle. Even with a course that suited me and a primo start position, I didn't come into the race this year with lofty goals. I didn't have anywhere near the fitness I had for my couple of 2nd place finishes a few years back....it has been a strange and long season...but I WAS hoping to get the best out of myself. Was a podium (top 5) out of the question???

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The whistle blew and I had a good start, found my pedal and had a good first few pedal strokes (it is unbelievable how important those first few seconds are in a big cx race). Then, just as we were about to get off the pavement I had the sensation of being pulled backwards....did I go too hard? I figured out pretty quickly that my rear wheel was rubbing my brakes, but was not sure why...no time to think too much about it yet...I just needed to drive hard. I managed to stay in a decent position...probably just outside the top 10, but my gears were slipping and something just was not right with the bike. Near the end of the lap, just after the barriers, I reached down to try to tighten my rear skewer....it was WAY loose: problem identified. I reset the wheel and tightened the skewer. I thought I had it fixed, but the gears were still slipping so I knew I would have to change bikes. In the meantime I had lost a whole bunch of spot and after my bike exchange I was back in the mid-20s.

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With a fresh, properly working bike, now it was time to see how far up I could battle. I actually did a really good job...rode to my abilities (read: really, really hard) and made it back up to 11th at the finish. I was pleased that I was able to make myself suffer so hard and go well...but something about 11th place is not particularly satisfying. No excuses here...even without my first lap difficulty I figure the best I could have done was something like 8th...just a few spots better than I was....it really comes down to simply not having the fitness to hang with the amazingly strong guys at the front of that race. I will get back up there...but cross is becoming more and more competitive at every level, and to get there I am going to need to make it a focus of the entire season. This will not happen next year, but sometime in the next few years this will become the number one goal. I was really hoping that fellow ashevillean Will Black was going to win, but he had a bit of a bad day and bailed...my guess is he will be back for it next year with a vengeance.

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Sunday was elite race day. Here is where the weather story of the weekend comes in. When we got up in the morning it was 60 degrees (no joke!) but at the start of the women's race it was somewhere around 25 degrees....crazy. At least we knew it was coming...but we didn't think it would be that sudden. I was able to see a little of Cara's race while I was warming up...enough to see Katie Compton crush all....and Cara have a decent mid-pack finish on the lead lap.

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The elite men's race was crazy-insane as usual. I have no illusions here...I was doing it for fun and to be part of the big show....if I could make it to 1 lap to go before being lapped by the leaders I would have been happy. The worst part of the race was standing at the start waiting in the cold. Once we were off I just tried to stay safe and ride hard....which is exactly what I did. I started mid-pack and that is about where I ended up being scored. By the end of the first lap my hands were screaming in pain from the cold...but I was able to push that out of my mind with the help of hundreds and hundreds of screaming spectators. If you have never been to a cross nats....you need to get your butt to one to see what I am talking about. I will gladly hand over my $50 entry fee to be in the elite race for just that experience...it is always a highlight of the season and a great way to end the year. I rode hard. My gears started skipping again about mid-race. I still can't believe I went all year with my bikes working PERFECTLY other than a couple of punctures..then they don't work at nats?!?!?! I changed bikes with about 4 laps to go, but knew my time left in the race was limited. Ryan (the winner) lapped me as he was heading in for his 2 to go. In the big uci events (nationals IS a uci race) you get pulled from the course either just before you are lapped, or at the start/finish just after you are lapped. I was pulled when I would have seen 3 to go ...which is why in the results I am listed as 3 laps down...no I wasn't lapped 3 times in an hour...I am slow, but not THAT slow :)

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It was so cold after the race we didn't really hang around ...we just packed up and hit the road. Unfortunately we didn't get to say goodbye to everyone. One of the other great things about cross nats is just seeing everyone one last time for the year. Some of the guys from the west coast we actually ONLY get to see at nats...and it is something that I will miss if we don't get to go next year. So that was it: the 2008 season is in the books. Was it good? bad? It was certainly a strange one. I will do a season summary soon and see if I can't objectively quantify how I feel about it......

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We headed east and spent a couple of days in (very cold) St Charles, MO..had a nice holiday visit with Cara's family, then made our way back to our lonely cats in Black Mountain. I won't be taking too much time off the bike this year.....while I am somewhat "retired" from road racing...I am still cooking up some cool plans for 2009. In fact I did get out for a couple short rides on the new cannondale 29er....more on that later.

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one week to go!

The final weekend of local cross racing was great. We raced at the MSG series in TN on saturday in a nice snowstorm. I was able to take my first "A" race win of the season....really I was able to benefit from a couple other riders bad luck. It went like this: Of fthe start we had a lead group of 5...4 Lees McRae riders and me. Not looking good for me. We drop one, then 2 get a gap...so it is me chasing 2 leaders with one of their teammates on my wheel. I lose the teammate and one of the riders ahead drops back. Now it is me chasing the leader with one of his teammates on my wheel. OK, 2nd or 3rd is acceptable. Then, we pass the leader who is running after he flatted...now it is me leading, towing the other rider around who (rightly so) is hoping his teammate will catch back. Into the final laps when it is obvious no one is coming back to us he is just waiting to jump me....he comes around strong just before a slick off campber downhill turn. I see it coming as he lays it out in the turn. I carefully get around him without going down myself and hang on for the very unexpected win.....hey...I will take it when I can get it!

Sunday was the NC series final. I was in 3rd going into the race, with no chance to move up, but with 2 strong riders breathing down my neck to get ahead of me. I needed to have a good race...and honestly I did. I was able to have a decent start(or in my case simply not as bad as usual) and I was ahead of both my rivals after the first lap. We ended up in a gorup of 3 chasing the 2 leaders...who were gone.....so it was a battle for 3rd with me knowing I needed to finish ahead or right behind Noah (currently 4th in the series). I felt good and tried attacking with one to go, but was brought back. I stayed on Noah's wheel and finished 5th...just behind him to hold on to my 3rd overall in the series.

To top it off: Cara won her races both days and won the NC series overall....

Tomorrow we hit the road for Nationals in Kansas City!
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nccx uci races

Our big hometown cross races were this weekend. Well....as close to hometown as we get since they are down in Hendersonville about 40 miles away. Friday we headed down to recon the course and help set up....nothing like pulling metal barrier fencing off trucks for an hour or so as a pre-race warm-up. With a little cold snap happening the temps were low, but the course was great...fast, fast, fast. Some nice little problems, but for the most part a full on speed course.

I watched Cara ride to 5th on saturday, then lined up for the elite race. We had about 30 guys ...and the field was pretty deep...with quite a few traveling from far away to try to grab a couple of uci points before nationals. I had a second row start position, which was fine, except I pulled out of a pedal on the third stroke! Damn, my starts are bad enough without that kind of trouble and I found myself pretty much at the back after the first couple of turns. I obviously missed the front group and struggled to find a group to ride with. I got in with 3 others at about the half way point and we kept a good pace. I felt stronger as the race went on and with 2 to go I started pushing the pace....one to go and I dropped all but one of the guys I was with. I was having a great last lap and we closed in on 10th and 11th place and caught them with just a couple hundred meters to go....unfortunately I made a couple of small handling errors and ended up at the back of that group for 13th place at the finish. Fitting as my bib number was 13. Overall I was pleased with my ride....my cross season thus far has been less than stellar, but not terrible either considering the lack of specific training....this lack of specific training is for psychological reasons more than anything. I have just had this gut feeling all Fall that if I pushed the specific intensity workouts I would burn out and not want to race the rest of the season.
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Today (sunday) was a little warmer and the cast of characters was about the same. Cara had a great ride..and was 4th after dangling behind the front group , then catching, and attacking, dangling again, then catching and attacking again...very fun to watch. I had a much better start than the day before (which is still not great). The winning group of 3 took off on the first lap and there was a big chase group....I was just behind this group for lap after lap...I felt like I could reach out and touch them, but I just could NOT get there. I was with a couple other guys and we passed Johnathan Baker who had flatted. He got a bike change and came back through us. We were still really close to the group ahead and I thought by staying with him I could get there. I dug DEEP. We were just 5 seconds ...maybe even less ...off the back of the group and I made a small bobble and lost contact. I chased hard and then blew up. Unlike yesterday where I went stronger as the race progressed today I used it all trying to get to the group riding for 4th. After I blew I was riding at a steady mediocre pace....and was unable to catch anyone else. I suffered in for 15th place. Actually I was not all that far behind the big group ahead...or even the winner for that matter, but it felt like a million miles. Definitely less happy with my performance today. I should have been able to stick that group on the first lap and stay there...even if I would not have placed much better, it would have been a more pleasant day. After the race we stayed and helped tear down the course. Loading those metal barricades back on the trucks after a hard race is tough.
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Only 3 more weeks of cross left! While I have not been training hard...I have still been riding...and I am still really enjoying the racing....and as it is with every season, I will be sad when it is over....but I am already excited about 2009.

wind tunnel

Yes today was extremely interesting. I got to spend the whole day in the wind tunnel with Floyd Landis and Rory Sutherland. I was not there in a technical capacity, more just to help out and take some pics and video. It was a blast..... I will write a full post on the experience later....
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bad weekend and some Fall work

Last weekend was miserable racing for me. I flatted both days. Saturday in Bristol TN riding in 2nd I clipped a course marking stake with my front wheel and tore the sidewall out. One dead tire and a lot of coasting and running to the pit had me fighting back from just about last place. I got back to 6th, but no better.

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I managed to salvage the day by winning the single speed race immediately following the elite race....it was just 30 minutes, but I had to really dig deep as 2nd was chasing @ 10 seconds or so the whole time.

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Sunday we raced in Lenore, NC. The course was awesome for me...lots of fast, straight pedaling sections. Unfortunately I missed the lead group of 4 or 5 (again) and was chasing with 2 others, when...you guessed it....I flatted....and just past the pit on a very long course! By the time I made it around to change my wheel I was about 2 minutes BEHIND LAST PLACE! I was very close to throwing in the towel, but I put in a challenge to myself: don't get lapped and don't get last. I rode really hard...probably as hard as I would have ridden in the front group...and managed to accomplish both my goals. I rolled in for an exhausted 15th place. Damn, that was a hard ride for 15th!

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Funny thing is that I have been racing cross for what....like 12 or 13 years now... and honestly I can almost count my flats and major mechanicals on one hand. Well...maybe two hands, but the point is there have not been too many so I can't complain.....and after all, while I could call it bad luck....in reality we usually make our own luck in cycling. Saturday I cut the course marker too tight and paid the price, operator error for sure. Sunday I am not certain exactly what happened but I might have hit a lip on a bridge just a little too hard...again probably my own fault.

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Hoping for better luck at the sate championships tomorrow.

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In the meantime, over the last couple of weeks we have been working on preparing to move the home office to a different room in the house. If I had all day for a few days I probably could have gotten this done in 3 days....as it was, squeezing in a couple hours here and there between writing schedules, email, phone calls and fit sessions it took 3 weeks! But now we are ready to move which will give us a nice downstairs guest bedroom and a place for Cara to study for her CPA exams.

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what a weekend...Oktoberfest and Boone CX

Last Saturday was my final MTB event for the season: the 8 hour endurance race at the National Mountainbike Oktoberfest. With rain on friday night the course was quite slippery...while it was not super muddy, the roots were wet and most of the track slick. The field was small...but there was a host of the top guys there. I love the pic of the start above. Nat Ross is on the front, I am to the right, Tinker and Jeremiah Bishop are on the left, Harlan Price is in there as is Ernesto Marenchin.
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The start was fun....not too fast and I snagged third wheel for a while, then rode on Tinker's wheel for a bit....then we hit the woods. I was really tense on the slippery stuff and quickly fell off the pace of the leaders. In fact every time I felt like I was getting into a groove and gaining some confidence to go faster I would crash or slide out causing me to back off. After a few laps my arms were super tired from being tense. Laps were short...my first few were around 36-37 minutes.
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I was running about 7th or 8th for the early part of the race, but I decided not to worry about that much and I didn't even know for sure where I was or what the gaps were. Because of the short laps, and that I had Cara there pitting for me, I decided to go with bottles vs a camelbak. This can be dangerous for me as I tend to not drink enough with bottles.....but I got into a system of exactly where I would drink every lap and was going through about 2/3 to 1 full bottle most laps. Nutrition - wise I was eating something every lap. Either 1/2 package of bloks, or a gel...I kept on schedule and finally felt like I got it right.
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Right about dusk Jeremiah and Harlan lapped me and I was able to ride with them for a while. These guys are some of the best in the business and it was a blast for the 10 minutes or so I was able to stay with them. Riding with them I realized how much I need improve my riding! Talk about smooth....and while I am pretty good at holding a normal conversation at race pace, they were full on trading recipes the whole time. In general though I was feeling good...and riding to my limit because of my skills and not my fitness. I passed at least one solo rider and the attrition rate was high so I knew I had moved up some, but still was not sure where I was.
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As darkness fell, the track became even more slippery....or maybe it was just because I couldn't judge the roots as well. My 11th lap was mediocre and with one to go before the 7:30pm cutoff to go out on another lap, I was dreading the last long technical trail section. Tinker lapped me as I slid out on a root so I was not able to ride with him at all :(, then just as I entered the long singletrack, rooty part of the course Nixon (an asheville guy) caught me up and we rode together ...this was great as it kept my mind off the slppery-ness and my growing fatigue. As we hit the final climb that had been a steep muddy unrideable hike-a-bike the whole race, I put it in my easiest gear and made it about half way up before dismounting to slog the rest of the way. Nixon, to my chagrin, rode the whole climb! Good thing I was a lap ahead of him or that would have been demoralizing.
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I finished 6th....the first guy behind all the superstars. In fact the next rider ahead of me was Nat Ross, so I couldn't complain. It was nice to be able to pack up and head out quickly without having to wait around for anything.
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The next day was the NC CX series race up in Boone. This race is up in Seven Devils at an old golf course, literally on top of a mountain. Pretty cool. Only problem was that it had huge amounts of elevation changes...not so great just a few hours after an 8 hour race for me! I saw large amounts of suffering coming and I was right. I had an absolutely miserable start (as expected) and faded all the way back to 14th after the first lap. I was able to steadily move forward after that and found I was rolling pretty well...a surprise. I was hurting, but the course was really fun and I was moving up every lap. I made it up to 7th, then 6th, then finally 5th for the last couple of laps which is where I finished. I was really happy with that result considering my condition....
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Cara had a good race as well and was 2nd....so it was a successful weekend. One more endurance race for experience and a respectable finish on sunday. This week's training has been fairly light. One day of near 3 hours, otherwise short rides....most of my time has been working and doing house projects.
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Next up: Cross in TN saturday and Lenore NC sunday.
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Iron Cross VI - finally!

So it took me 2 weeks...but finally an Iron Cross report.
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I have come to realize after racing Iron Cross for 6 years that it is currently in fact my favorite event on the calendar. A great course, promoters, swag, prizes and tons of fun make this a must do ...even if it means skipping the 3 big uci cross races that were even closer to home that weekend :)
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Usually I hit up a cross race in TN the day before IC, but this gets me to the venue late saturday night and with a 9am race start sunday, this year I decided to forgo racing saturday and just make the drive up to PA earlier. I got in at dusk and had just enough time to do a bit of a leg opening ride before darkness fell. I stayed in one of the bunkhouses right on the course this year which sure makes morning preparation easy....as well as fun hanging out with some old (and new) friends. One of my race kit essentials is ear plugs.....unfortunately we had a snoring bunk mate and I forgot my ear plugs! Oh well.
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Race day weather was perfect...sunny and warm....not even as cold as usual as the 300 riders lined up for the start. Off we went and I took 2nd or 3rd wheel as we headed around the "traditional" cross course then out onto the big loop. The pace was not as fast early as in previous years...which was fine with me because I almost immediately developed a nasty side stich. I am pretty sure this was caused by my poor last minute decision to take a gel just 5 minutes before the start. I had one of my normal pre race meals (granola w/ soy milk and a banana), but for whatever reason paniced and thought I needed more calories for the 4 hour event. Not a good decision.
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Up the first climb, across a rolling dirt road, back onto pavement and onto the KOM climb we had a large lead group of almost 30 riders...the biggest I can remember. We shed some of them after the KOM, but it was still a big group. As we approached the turn for the technical lippencote trail climb there were 3 riders just dangling a few seconds off the front. I saw them sit up and start looking around (for the turn) as we got close to the trail. I had a good idea where it was so I blew past them and was able to get the lead as we hit the trail. Perfect! This trail is quite difficult on a cx bike and guaranteed to be frustrating if you get stuck behind other riders. I was able to take my line at my speed. I was not in too much of a hurry, more just concentrating on being smooth and not making any mistakes. As the trail leveled out, Ray Adams came around me and I was able to follow his good lines as we descended to the pavement. Out onto the road we now had a lead group of 7 which quickly became 9....with no other riders in sight behind.
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Down route 30 and onto more up and down dirt roads, Cameron Cogburn attacked as the group was setting a moderate pace (a good move). I was not in a hurry to follow (still battling my side stich at this point) but 2 riders did ...one of whom was eventual winner Chris Beck. Not long after that we hit the big wig wam run up .... which is really a very steep "slog" up a rocky grade. I love this part of the race and, one foot in front of the other, pushed the pace as best as I could. Over the top of the next "run up" we had a group of just 3....chasing the 3 already up the road. We were 3 chasing 3 with a time gap (that held for quite a while) of 3 minutes....interesting.
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As we traveled up and down the dirt roads, then some pavement, I was feeling pretty rough. In fact, the other 2 guys seemed to be going a little better than me and I was preparing myself for a tough battle to hang on going up the next long climb. As we hit this climb (one of the toughest on the course ...I think it is calld hog back) I went to the front, set it in my easiest gear and just started churning out my "I can ride like this for a long time" pace. After just a couple minutes things got quiet. I didn't allow myself to look back for a few more minutes, but when I did I saw I had a sizeable gap. Nice. That was a dangerous point though....go too hard and you blow up, get caught and can't hang on....go too easy and lose the gap. I was good and kept my comfortable, but solid pace. Over the top of the many false summits on this section and I was out of sight....onto a descent and the next long trail section. Everything was going well...I was riding smooth, then I hit a detour from the old course that shoots us down a rocky descent that we were warned about. I started down and thought I was ok, until the trail dropped away and I decided it best to get off the bike. A little too late as I ended up not only off the bike, but in a nasty sticker bush that tore up my legs. Oh well a little blood makes it look like a harder race....off again and back onto the regular course...into the groove and heading to the last section. I was flying down a grassy trail, looking ahead when my front tire hits a groove and next thig I know I am sliding on my back. Great , 2 crashes in just a couple I miles ....I need to get things straight. I got up and was a little worried about the bike as the shifters took the brunt of the impact, but I was able to twist them back into place and carry on.
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One more nasty trail section, a run-up and a really steep short ride up, a mile or so of gravel, then onto the downhill pavement! As I made the left hand turn at the bottom of the descent with just a mile or two to go, I looked back. Sweet, no one in sight....I could be a little conservative on the run in.... save just a little in case there is a last minute charge from behind. Nope....back to camp thompson and across the finaish line....for 4th overall...but wait! As I crossed they told me I was 3rd overall! Cameron had taken a wrong turn and lost a bunch of time...so I was in fact 3rd across the line and 1st for the old guys (>40). A great day.
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IC takes a lot of specific bike preparation to do right. I spent an entire day getting my regular cannondale cx bike "iron crossified". This year ...after 6 tries ...I finally got my wheel /tire combination right. I used huchinson bulldogs set up tubeless with stans on a set of spinergy x-aero wheels. I mounted top mount brake levers and changed out the right shift/ brake lever for a 9 speed. This allows me to run a MTB 11-32 cassette in the back (of course causing the need to change to a long cage rear derailleur). I happen to have 46x36 chainrings, so this gave me an easy gear of 36x32....perfect for sections like lippencote.
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The tuesday after the race I felt like I was recovering well...leg-wise anyway...but picked up a head cold. I felt crappy all week and while my legs felt fine, I was not well enough to do any real training (just about an hour a day). Leading into the first weekend of the NC cross series I was not feeling particularly "snappy". I did have a good race saturday for 4th on a sloggy / windy course in Raleigh. Sunday I blew it and missed the lead group on the first lap. I chased hard essentially alone the entire race with no hope of getting back to the front of the race. I finished a disappointing 7th. I was pretty bummed with that result....but I have to remember how I felt during the week and most likely what Iron Cross took out of me. Historically I don't think I have done well the weekend after IC, but still.....
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Next up: tomorrow a solo 8 hour MTB race near charlotte against some of the best in the business (Tinker, Nat Ross....etc). I hope to see where I stack up and have some fun in the process...hopefully the rain today will be through by race time tomorrow. Then a cx race on sunday in Boone where I know I will be suffering and exhausted......all in good fun eh?
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12 Hours of Dauset Details

After having a couple of weeks to look back on the 12 hours of Dauset, I can put together a bit on what I did right and what I could have done a bit better. First a race summary:
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I went out pretty quick, but at a sustainable pace. I had the lead, but didn't know it until lap 4. I really concentrated on driving the bike around the course conserving as much energy as possible while maintaining speed. This meant really nailing the turns at the right speed, braking less and shifting at the right times. The course was all single track, but it was not particularly technical and while there were a few climbs they were not particularly long or steep.
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I was really strong through 6 or 7 hours and was feeling good but a little apprehensive going into the last 1/3 of the race. I had a decent lead at this point, but I knew that the guys chasing me had more solo experience....so I could not let up. I had one really rough lap...lap 10...I think this was a mental issue more than anything at a frustrating point in the race. Fatigue is setting in and there is still quite a bit of racing left. This was also probably my low point as far as fueling...I suspect I had low blood sugar and it made me cranky. I took a long pit after this lap...mounted up my lights and had some food. The next lap was much better and I was able to stay relatively consistent through lap 13. As I came through after 13 I was not sure if the guys behind would make the time cut to start another lap or not....so I headed out for #14. After riding about 15 minutes I heard Cara calling for me as the course looped back past a parking lot. She told me the other guys missed the cut and I had won...but I had to finish my lap. This made me feel good...but at the same time now that I knew I won, pedaling the bike started to get really hard! I took that last lap SLOW.....I think it was quite a bit over 60 minutes.
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I did 140 miles of single track in about 12 and a half hours....what a day! Here are my lap times:
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APPLEGATE
ANDY
46.17- includes leMans run start
45.65 - my fastest lap
47.42
50.81
49.70
51.94
53.48
51.71
52.67
60.40 - worst lap...but this time does include a 5+ minute pit stop
53.10
56.56
56.30
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So I learned a lot about solo endurance racing....here are some things I could have done better:
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Pit - My pit was a bit disorganized, I was not sure what I would need so I was a little haphazard setting it up. Once I realized this during the race it made me a bit flustered more than once.

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Nutrition- good and bad here. I need to train my body to take in more calories while riding. I know if I can do that I will be stronger late in the race....but I usually end up with a slight nausea that makes it difficult. This will be an ongoing challenge
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gloves! - I usually wear gloves with no palm padding....ouch my palms were bruised for days after the race.
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Chamois creme - I put plenty on to start, but need to make sure I reapply several times...again...ouch!
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What I did right:
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Pacing! It seemed like I nailed the pacing right from the gun for a race of this duration. Of course it would be nice to go faster...but I got it right that day.
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nutrition- I know I need to work on it, but in this case I got what I needed to keep a relatively steady pace except for one lap....so not too bad.
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equipment - the scalpel was absolutely perfect on this course
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event choice - A fantastic race for my first long solo effort.
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OK....after that weekend we did 2 weekend with cross clinic on saturday and races sunday. next up: Iron cross this weekend, then NC cross races, followed by an 8 hour endurance race then cross races every weekend until nationals in december!
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