Ouachita Challenge 2015

This year was my 8th year doing the Ouachita Challenge. My first was way back in 2006, when my little brother Luke and I did the Tour together. We were pretty much "noobs" to cycling, but we made it through the ride and had a lot of fun. I was still riding 26" wheels; and although I had a full suspension bike I found out a week before the OC that one of my shock linkages was broken. I stripped the frame down and built up my old hardtail frame. Hard to imagine riding a hardtail 26" bike on the OC now!

26" wheels; that just ain't right.

After '06 I went back in '09 with my friend Brian to do the race and I've done it every year since. I battled flats and stomach issues for several years, and never could get under the 6hr mark that I had taken as a goal. Finally in 2013 I broke through and finished in 5:58:28, squeezing just under the mark. In 2014 I had an ok race until the very end and managed to set a nice new PR of 5:42. This year I was hoping I would be able to get under 5 1/2 hours, but I hadn't been doing any long rides and felt like I had been struggling with my fitness. I decided that I would ride with my friend Patrick if he was feeling good and try to get him under 6hrs.

We did our usual drive up Saturday morning, in a packed Suburban with 6 guys, 4 bikes on back and 2 on top. Spending time with friends on the way up and back, besides while there, is always a highlight of this weekend. We checked into our cabin and did a short spin, then cooked dinner and got ready for Sunday morning.

Top of the Womble Trail on our Saturday afternoon ride

After breakfast we headed to the school for the start and dropped our drop bags that would be taken to the halfway point. Patrick and I lined up near the front, and then we were rolling behind the truck for the neutral start. After the truck pulled off, the pace went up, but I tried to keep it civil and keep Patrick on my wheel. He lost contact a couple of times as the rollers started on the gravel road, but I waited for him hoping he would get warmed up. After I dropped him again I could tell he needed to ride his own pace and I ride mine, so I kept going. I felt like I was struggling in the first ten miles before we hit the singletrack, losing lots of positions. I tried to just keep a steady pace and hope that my legs would come around. Big Brushy was uneventful, then we were up and over Blowout. I thought I could climb the whole thing but I was stopped by a walker who wouldn't move so I had to dismount and join the line to the top. I rode some new rock gardens I haven't done in the past, then it was on to Chalybeate. This climb is always tough, as it is very steep and seems never ending. I usually have to walk a good portion of it and this year was no different. I ended up stopping halfway up as I discovered that my stem bolt was loose, luckily it hadn't spun on any of the technical rock gardens on Blowout or the fast descent! After Chalybeate is the long road section through the halfway point in Sims. I felt pretty good on this section and made good time up to the Womble Trail.

Through the first section of Womble I felt like I was starting to fall apart. My legs felt ok but I was tired and my stomach was unsettled. Eventually I decided to just stop or else I thought I was really going to be in bad shape. I rested for what must have been 5 or 10 minutes, drank some Skratch and then got back underway. This helped settle my stomach to where I felt ok to keep riding. As usual I was getting close to survival mode by this point in the race. The next big climb was Mauldin Mountain, the last real obstacle to the finish line. I've ridden it several times in the past, but this year it wasn't happening and I walked more than I was happy with. After the big climb up Mauldin you have about 18 rolling miles left, with one steep climb on the road 5 miles from the finish. I started the last climb with a group of 4 that had rolled up behind me after we exited the last singletrack. I tried to stay with them but just didn't have the legs so I rolled over the top on my own and then was off for the fast run-in to the finish. There is an aid station at the top of the climb where the course crosses over itself, Patrick was there as I rolled through and he gave me some words of encouragement. I made it to the finish in 5:38, a new PR by about 4 minutes and 35th place out of 159.

I hung around the finish to watch all my traveling buddies come in, then we went back to the cabin to relax for the evening. We took a swim in the river right below the cabin, then made our way to the hot tub on the back deck. Justin cooked us a delicious dinner and we turned in for the night. Monday morning we woke up and packed, then hit the road back home. It was a good trip and I'm alread looking forward to next year, chasing a new PR and spending a great weekend with my friends.

Chumba Ursa / The Fatbike Sandy

I'm proud to share that I've recently partnered with Chumba Cycles to do some rides on their bikes, starting with Texas' first fatbike race The Fatbike Sandy. I have been interested in the new 29+ or "mid-fat" tire size for a while, and I saw my first one in the flesh last year at Mellow Johnny's. I saw the same bike and rider again this February after the Double Lake Marathon, where I struck up a conversation. It turned out I was talking to Chumba's Operations Manager, and one thing led to another. Chumba has a storied history in the mountain biking world, previously known as a downhill brand and has recently been revamped. I would best describe their bikes as adventure capable trail bikes. They offer a 29er hardtail the Stella, a 29+ the Ursa, their fatbike is the Ursa Major, and they have a 27.5" aggressive hardtail the Rastro. All these bikes are steel and built right here in Texas.

I took delivery of the Ursa the week before the Fatbike Sandy race and got it all set up with my preference of grips and pedals. The demo I was riding had been on loan to a Tour Divide rider with a hand defect which meant he runs his brakes backwards  with the rear lever on the left. (Sponsoring challenged athletes is another area that Chumba is big on, which is really cool in my book.) The XT brakes tolerated swapping the lines back to normal very well with no bleed required and the Ursa was ready to ride.

I managed to get one good trail ride on the bike before race day with a fast group out at the Cypress Creek trails. It took a few turns to get a feel for cornering the beast, but soon it was coming naturally. The wide tires have a tendency to "self-steer" so you have to overcome that a bit, and then getting the bigger bike to turn-in is a bit heavier than my normal 29er. I wouldn't say it is harder, but it takes a bit more input to get it to lay in. Once you get this down however, turning is a pleasure. Traction is never the issue, the only limiter is how willing you are to throw the bike through the corner. It holds a line well and carries good momentum while coasting through the turn; I was repeatedly rolling up on the back wheel of the rider in front of me on a 29er who is a very good bike handler. This first ride was a ton of fun and I was looking forward to the race.

Leading up to the race there had been a TON of rainfall in the trail area, so it was slated to be a mudder. The original premise of the race was the sandy trails and the advantage the fat/mid-fat bikes would have on the soft surface, but it turned out to be a tractor pull through the mud. This didn't turn out to be a good opportunity to test fast trail riding on the Ursa (typical TX riding), but it was a good indicator of the bike in adverse conditions. Traction was absolutely minimal at times, but on most occasions I was able to keep the bike rolling and upright due to the volume and contact patch the tires offered and the stable geometry. To get a real idea of the conditions here's a video I made from my GoPro mounted on the bars.

I got a terrible start, I didn't realize we were immediately turning left and then I completely missed my pedals so I was at the back of the group right away. I charged hard at the end of the road before we entered the woods to take a few spots, then I was able to make a few more passes early on into 2nd place. The leader was also riding an Ursa and he pulled away, riding stronger through the heavy conditions. I rode solo for about half the race, until 3rd place came up behind me riding a fatbike. We battled for a while, it was obvious he was stronger as he was pulling away anytime it got hard going uphill, then I would reel him back in on the flowy and downhill sections. Eventually he got a small gap that I couldn't take back and I made it to the finish in 3rd overall and 2nd mid-fat. We finished completely soaked and covered in mud, but it was a fun day on the bike in a crazy way! I was glad to have the opportunity to race the Fatbike Sandy and represent Chumba on the Ursa, and hopeful to get to do it again at future events.

Making passes at the start of the trail.

There were about a thousand of these on the 17 mile loop.

Mud.

TMBRA Mid-season update

It's late March and I'm halfway through the 2015 Texas XC Mountain Bike State Championship Series. Three races done out of eight, but I won't be making the fourth, so this is my mid-season. It started at the Rocky Hill Roundup; I had a decent race but felt kinda flat and came out in 4th.

The next race was Mellow Johnny's. This was slated to be a mudder and it delivered. It had been raining quite a bit leading up to the race, so much that they floated the option of a modified rain course consisting of mostly fireroads. Saturday night before the race I drove over to Austin to stay with a friend, and it was non-stop rain once I got out of Houston. Sunday morning the rain had slowed to a drizzle, but temperatures were just rising above freezing on my way out to the ranch. This was looking like a repeat of last year when the temps fell rapidly on race morning and the rain came down.

After warming up on the rollers to keep myself dry and my bike clean, I rolled up to the start. The temperature was still well into the 30's, so I was pretty bundled up. Luckily I didn't overdress and stayed comfortable the whole race. I had worn my mud shoes, and the cleats are placed a little differently than my normal shoes, so I totally missed my pedal off the start, got hung up with the rider next to me and finally got going in the back of the group.

I'm near the back in the yellow jacket with black sleeves.

 After this terrible start we went straight up a hill, and I managed to pass a couple of guys on the way up. At the top we went through some tight singletrack that was super greasy, and there was no passing to be done there. After we got out of that I made my way to the front group and rode with them for a bit. Eventually it broke up and I was in 4th or 5th. Through the race I saw 2 guys walking out with flats, so I knew I had a chance at the podium. I went back and forth with another guy through the 2nd and 3rd laps, but I was able to come in ahead for a 2nd place finish. I was glad to be done and stoked for a good finish, but my bike was pretty trashed. I stopped on the way home at a carwash and spent $10 cleaning it up, then immediately lubed the chain and pivots to keep things moving.

Even looking like this, my drivetrain worked well throughout the race.

Next up was Comfort, one of my favorite races and courses. We took the kids over for this one, and after the Kids Cup and Raine's and my preride on Saturday we went to a hotel in Kerrville with an indoor pool to let them swim for a bit before bedtime.

Kid's Cup Swag

On Sunday Raine's race was first, so after getting her on course I started my race prep while taking care of the kids. I got an ok warmup, then it was off to the races. I started about 5th, but when the 4 guys ahead of me went the wrong way on the first turn, I found myself on the front. I settled into 3rd place for the long climb up onto the first loop, and was feeling ok. We got to a critical climb and the leader bobbled in front of me, holding me up and putting me at the back of the front group of 9 guys. Unfortunately I couldn't get around him and the front guys got away, and I was left to pick up the pieces. I made my way up to 6th by the end of the race. This is definitely not what I was hoping for, as my series hopes took a big blow. I've got a few weeks now before the next race, so I'll hopefully get some good training and come back stronger.