Five-Oh

We spent Labor Day weekend in the Black Hills of South Dakota. We took the motorcycle and did a ton of sightseeing. Wall Drug, BadLands, Mount Rushmore, Deadwood, Sturgis, Etc.... I also took my bike for the Dakota Five-O.

Things got a little crazy on Saturday. We were on the motorcycle for close to 8 hours before finally making it to Spearfish for race registration. The line was a block long and it took well over an hour to get signed in. By the time we made it back to Deadwood it was 9 o'clock and we still had to eat dinner. A few hours later the alarm went off so we could double time it back to Spearfish for the 7:20 am race start.

500 racer lined up in Spearfish city park for the "neutral" ride out of town. Shortly out of town the "neutral" part quickly ended and the pace went up on some pretty long gravel road climbs. Right away I knew something wasn't right when I couldnt even stay with the lead group. I was fading and watching a big group ride away and we werent even to the singletrack yet. I must have entered the singletrack in the teens somewhere. I was still going backwards. After the first section of singletrack the trail opened back up to doubletrack and I moved past a few riders, Dejay Birtch was one of them, which I was happy about because he was just bragging about how his wagon wheels were such a huge advantage. I caught up to Mark Savery somewheres about this time. We were only a few miles in and I was thinking that my legs would come around at some point. At mile 10, Mark and I were still together somehow. We were yo-yo ing back and forth a lot but always seemed to come back together. Through the first feed zone we were told we were in 7th & 8th, 2 minutes off the lead. A huge suprise.

I still had only one speed and it wasnt all that fast. I decided to fuel up. Two bottle of Heed, two gels, and a bar were all consumed. By mile 15 my stomach was not happy with this and I started going backwards, fast. At mile 20 I was in 14th and 10 minutes off the leaders. I took on water and nothing else from Katie. By about mile 25 I was around 20th at best. I stopped for a bathroom break on the side of the trail, thinking about quitting. Downed some more water.

Mile 30 comes along and I get some more water. Suddenly the stomach is coming around. I ride with a singlespeed rider for a long descent and we catch a group. On the flats I go by. Then there is a huge downhill. By the bottom of the downhill ive caught three more and we get to the 40 mile checkpoint. I miss my bottle but im with 3 other riders, who I know were inside the top 10 so I decide to push on. A super long, steep climb is right after the checkpoint. Without really thinking I go to the front of our little group and start spinning up the climb. By the top of the climb ive dropped the three and have caught Kelly McGelky, who got second at 24hrs of Moab last year. Somehow ive made my way back towards the front.

No time to stop at the Bacon Station for bacon or PBR as I figure there are only about five miles left and maybe 4 miles of singletrack to the finish. After a sweet singletrack descent I started seeing the dust of another rider. On the next and what I assume final climb I catch him and he says something about being close to the finish. That wasnt exactly correct, as there was still a good 10 minutes of racing left. I never saw him again and was able to cruise back into Spearfish in 5th place. Satisfactory considering I almost quit at mile 20.

the rig.

As we cruise through the badlands on our way to deadwood.

LIKEaBIKE Jumper Action Video featuring the world famous Jackson Goldstone

RIM

So I had decided to do the Rapture in Misery 6hr solo. Thought it would make a good training ride. Then it was really hot all week and I was wavering on whether to do it or not. Finally decided to go to Trenton and just take it easy and ride 6 hours without making myself miserable.
But when its a race and the pace isnt too high, its hard not to want to be at the front.

Lemans style starts crack me up. Everyone takes off sprinting, I took it easy. If all these guys are going to run as fast as they can for a few hundred yards to get to their bikes, then they should sprint when they get on them as well. I was pretty far back when I got to my bike but there was a lot of double track before the singletrack. It didnt take long at all to ride through the pack, as I assume everyone was gassed from running too fast. I entered the singletrack right behind Jeff Winkler and maybe in 5th. There was a duo team leading the charge but the pace was pretty managable, even for a 6 hour race. The first lap was slippery and muddy which made it interesting. Guys were sliding all over the place which let me by and I sat on the Columbia Duo teams wheel the rest of the lap.

At the start of the second lap I was still on the Columbia teams wheel as they switched off riders. I had to stop for some refreshments, but was able to catch back on. Essentially followed the entire lap and Mark Savery closed back on me at the end of the lap. Lap 3 was a bit of a disaster. I had lost the wheel of the Duo team so pace making was up to me. I passed Savery, who was doing something to his singlespeed and commenced to get a bee stuck in my helmet. It was not very happy about this, and I quickly stopped and got the helmet off. I was trying to eat my lunch on this lap so I wasnt going very fast and I wasnt really concentrating either. A slippery root took my front wheel out and I was on the ground pretty fast. At first I thought I might have done some collarbone damage, but the pain was temporary and I was back on the bike. Luckily I didnt choke on any of the pretzels I was enjoying.

Lap 4 went much better. Just cruising along at a nice pace, still sitting in 2nd overall and first solo rider. On lap 5 I pass Savery on the dam where the course doubles back on itself, this means Ive got about 15 minutes of lead. My motivation to keep pushing starts to fade. At the end of the lap Katie tells me that Winkler dropped out, I had it in the back of my mind that he would be coming up at some point, motivation fades a little more. I come up a a lady towards the end of the lap, ask to get by but I can tell she thinks she is going fast enough I dont need to pass. I ask again, She moves over a little and then starts scolding me, "if your going to pass me, hurry up and do it." If I was in the mood I would have explained to her that I was lapping her and after 5 hours of passing people like herself my passing gear has faded a bit. But I just laughed and continued on my way.

By lap 6 im still feeling pretty good but dont feel like pushing too hard. I see Travis Donn on the same dam as Savery the lap before, Travis says he is in 2nd now. I start to do the math...15 minute lead, 50 minute laps....dont want to go out for an 8th. As the 7th lap starts I see Winkler and Savery enjoying themselves in the venue, all cleaned up. I decide that Ill just back it off and make sure this is my last lap. I see Travis again on the dam, he has made up a little ground, but I still have 12 minutes or so. At about 5:55 I figure Im safe and wont have to go out again so I pick up the pace a little as I see Craig Stoeltzing a switchback behind and I want to finish my 6 hours as the 2nd overall, 1st solo.

Katie womanned the pits again and did a great job. She filled my pockets with tasty snacks and had bottles ready every lap. Plus she was able to make a good dent in her new book as she had 6 hours of reading time. Definitley couldnt do it without her.

The Count

This year ive gone to the starting line 18 times. Of those 18 races, 11 have been on the hardtail and 7 on the dually. There was one race that I think I made the wrong decision and should have been on the hardtail instead of the dually. So the count should be 12-6. Basically I pick the hardtail twice for everytime im out on the dually. Looking back on the season I would have thought that I didnt race the dually even that many times. If you would have asked me my plan before the season, I would have said that it was going to be the other way around. I had the Top Fuel all set up as my primary bike with XX and the Elite 9,9 is built up with last years parts running 2x9.

The Top Fuel is an awesome bike, but I still love the effeciency and weight of the hardtail. I typically go to races thinking Ill ride the hardtail and change to the dually if its too rough. Its definitely nice to have options. Of course, 90% of all my off road riding is done on a 29er...hmmm.

also...I love checking schottler's flat count. 15. thats awesome. Ive had 3 flats in two years on the offroad bike (two in perry couple weekends ago, one in Windham due to a nail) and im thinking maybe 2 more on the roadbike.

Local Bike Shops

This has nothing to do with HighGear in Emporia. Matt and Stephanie are great and seem to treat everyone that comes into their shop they way you would think a small business owner should. I really cant say enough about how impressed I am with them and their new bike shop.

edit: I posted this once and decided I didnt like it. In a nutshell I find that a lot of local shops have pretty substandard service and today I figure I spent an extra $15 on a $50 purchase on some odds and ends for the weekend than what I would have spent online.

I dont know how some of these local shops make it. High prices and bad service. No wonder so many people are turning to the interwebs for their bike parts.

Makes me appreciate HighGear even more.

Rad

My favorite movie of all time. Rad. Cru always seems to pull it off at HellTrack. Plus lots of great cameos. I used to watch Rad a couple times a week and then go out and ride down to the bmx track and do lap after lap. I wonder what guys like Travis Chipres are doing these days. He came to Topeka for a camp one time and hung out with us at my grandma's pool afterwards. He might of even stayed there, or that might have been Billy Harrison. Its all a little fuzzy. Charles Townsend might have been along as well...hmmm. Anyways, Chipres was Bart Connors stunt double when he was racing, such as in this picture.

Kick Ass was not quite to the same level, we lasted about 20 minutes and took it back to the redbox.