​I had a great day with KSD at the Fundraiser for Brielle, then followed up at Lockport Brewery! I hope to ride more with you all in 2018. Always good times...

​2016 started off riding the gravel roads of mohican/amish country followed by beers at Millersburg Brewing Company. Next I made my first of two trips to Rothrock State Park. This was one of those trips that I never would have made without the team. The climbs were long and the downhills were steep and rocky. Never would I have thought I could ride those trails, but I did and it was awesome. Next the Mohican 100, the after party was better than the race, enough said. Next was the 112 mile NEO Solstice Ride ,great ride, coolriver soak, then beers with good friends. The tri-state six hour series was cut short due to weather. The races were tough but fun was had by all. The final big experience for the year was when Melissa and I made the trip to Georgia for the Fools Gold 100k. Other memorable experiences include my first race at Vultures Knob and besting my PR at Mohican by 11 minutes. 2016 was a very memorable year for me. It was the first year I participated on a mountain bike team and I found myself having much more fun riding with great friends being pushed to my limits. I am looking forward to much of the same for 2017. Cheers!

Kenny Kocarek Review:

I started off pretty skeptical about the Absolute Black oval, but decided to give it a try on my single speed, it definitely started off feeling goofy and it seemed to feel the oval but after about five minutes it all went away.  Just like they said my pedal stroke felt smoother and I notice the advantage of the oval most on gradual to steep climbs and technical areas of the trail.  Slower cadence it is awesome and if I get hung up in a technical area and find myself track standing or fighting the trail I just have to concentrate on pushing down and it is a lot easier to get the momentum going again.  I never notice the ovality feel unless my cadence goes really high like 110+ but that could be some of my own personal form issues spinning that fast.  Overall I recommend it and will continue to use it!

Josh Kunz Review: 
​
I love my oval ring. I run it on my singlespeed air9. I've ridden it on long 100 mile rides xc races and gravel roads. The biggest help I find from it are on the long gradual climbs.

Rich Doubledee Review:
Application
Bike: Trek Procaliber 9.9
Pros: None noticed yet. May be a good ring for "mashers".
Cons: Noticed bobbing in bike at high cadence.
Note: Giving some time to this ring to before switching back to the regular 32 tooth ring in order to give fair comparison.

Todd Davis Review:

I have noticed that my climbing has improved since installing the 32T Absolute Black Oval chainring on my Trek Procaliber soon after I received it in March. I was concerned about switching from the 3x9 setup on my old bike to this new 1x11 Sram GX drive. I immediately felt stronger climbing and very early in the season I proved it by clearing every climb for the first time in a race at Mohican State Park. I am looking forward to conquering the climbs of Mohican again in the final race of the season in October. The ring appears to be wearing well and I have not had any drivetrain issues so far this season.

Jim Costello Review:

I’ve been using the Spiderless Cinch Oval Ring on my Santa Cruz 5010 since June and can’t complain.  I feel it makes a significant difference when I’m climbing short, punchy climbs.  With the stock ring, it seemed like I would have to stand and mash more whereas the Oval lets me put down more consistent power throughout my pedal stroke. 

Another positive is chain retention.  During an enduro riding the stock ring, I dropped the chain twice within 20 yards on a not so rough section throwing off all of my timing.  Since changing over, not one problem.  Even on severe terrain.  

I can’t wait to put one on my XC bike.​

Many members on our team ride and race with their significant others, while this is not extensive, these are the one's we've captured this year. Many times we have "competitions" for KSD's cutest couple. It's been passed around quite a few times.

In 2015 I had my first experience with the Mohican 100. I had heard about the 100 before and I was excited for the opportunity to go and cheer on my husband as well as the rest of my Knobby Side Down teammates. I brought my dad along with me that day. We had a great time watching everyone from start to finish. At one point in time my dad said to me, "I suppose you will do this crazy race next year". After observing many riders come through the aid stations with the look of pain and fatigue on their faces I said, "no, this type of race is not my thing".  Also, in the back of my mind I thought I am not physically fit to even consider doing something like this.
 
As the year went on I thought more and more about doing that race. Yes, initially I remember seeing the faces of riders that were mentally beat down and physically fatigued, but the more I thought about it there was a ton of excitement associated with the race. Several people were also very high spirited and had a real sense of accomplishment as they rolled through the aid stations and across the finish line.
 
In late fall I broke the news to my husband that I was contemplating the race. Initially he looked at me like I was crazy, which is a fair assessment. After some discussion he said if I wanted to do it he would support me and help me train. I am pretty sure he thought this might be another one of my hair brained ideas that I would possibly forget about after a few weeks. 
 
I am not a strong rider. I have come a long way over the last few years, but I knew if I wanted to finish this race I would need to really need to step things up and I would have to mentally commit - all in 100%.
 
Over the winter word was out that I was contemplating doing the race for the first time.  At first there was fear, "OMG they are really going to think I am crazy?" But with this team, crazy is normal. I had a few initial conversations with some of the ladies on the team (Angie, Corianne and Lisa) about doing the race and my excitement grew. By the beginning of the year I was set on doing the race. I was also celebrating a milestone birthday in 2016, which gave me more motivation to prove to myself, you can do this.

Let the training begin... I had to put the miles in so I could make sure I could get across the finish line.  As many of the other team members do, there were endless miles on the indoor trainer over the winter months, thank you Sufferfest and Trainer Road.  There were countless mornings of getting up way too early in the morning to be the first one to get that training ride complete and uploaded to Strava in for the day.  It seemed at times that Lisa Costello, Michael Canterbury and I had an unofficial early morning competition going on.  In reality that is just when it fit into our family and work schedules for the day. Then there were the countless rides outdoors as the Ohio winter and spring weather would allow.  Mike and I are lucky enough to have the hills of T-County all around us so he made sure I did my fair share of miles outside.   At the end of February, I did the Funk Bottom Gravel Grind ride hosted by Josh Kunz. It was a good test to see where I was at physically.  It was awesome!

The closer it came to race day the more nervous and excited I became.  Shout out to my KSD team mates in that last month. The ladies kept me energized with their encouraging text messages.  Mike started helping me look at some of my training rides as well as times for some of the women that did the race in previous years. We really started talking about what goals I should set for my times. This is the first I really thought about my time seriously. Up to that point my goal was to just get across the line, I figured I'm not fast so who cares about my time. He stressed the importance of setting some basic goals for my time to keep me motivated during the race.  Kenny and Corianne Kocarek as well as Kevin Burgess sent me sample spreadsheets that they had used in the past to set targets for the race. Kenny analyzed my Strava rides and gave me some overall averages based on my previous ride data. The spreadsheet that Tim Portman created with target times based on your overall goal was just what I needed.  Over those final weeks leading up to the race I set my target times.  My excitement grew even more. 

How about that nutrition?  Ugg...race day nutrition...this is something I had been putting off, which I know is the worst thing you can do before a big race. I had tried different foods during training rides over the winter and spring. I found things my body would tolerate.  My big issue is that generally I have NO desire to eat while I am riding. I like to drink plenty of fluids, but the thought of eating any type of food makes me sick, especially on longer rides.  I was getting pretty nervous about what to do for race day.  Some of the team members were using Infinit Nutrition, so I checked it out. I answered the questions online, a few days later my first custom order came in and I had the opportunity to try it out on a few long rides before the race. My body responded quite well. I know you should not try new things like this a few weeks before a big race, but it all worked out. It was just what I needed. #IAMINFINIT ​

​

The day before.... I was so pumped and excited for the race.  Mentally I was all in and I felt pretty confident with my fitness level as well. Mike and I took the day off of work. We headed over to Loudonville and drove all the roads that were on the race course. I had ridden the trails (except for Mohican Wilderness), so this was the last piece of the puzzle for the race.  As we drove through town where the race would begin I remember the excitement from the start of the race last year. I thought to myself, last year I was a spectator, this year I am really going to be part of this! Later that evening we hooked up with some of our teammates for dinner. It was just what I needed to shake off those last minute race jitters.  At dinner Lisa and Corianne laid out what I call "Operation Jones" (AKA do anything to get Amie across the finish line). They planned to be at each of the aid stations and they were going to be at the finish line with me.  I couldn't have come up with a better plan myself!

RACE DAY IS HERE! As I was getting ready in the morning I was so set on making sure I hit my target times at the aid stations. My times may not be fast like others, but they are my goals and it is what I needed to keep me motivated. I pondered where to stash the split times so I could make sure I stayed on track. I had a card all folded up ready to go in my jersey pocket, then I came up with it. I approached Mike with a Sharpie and I told him to scribble my split times on my right bicep. At any point in time in the race I could glance at my arm and see my split times. Yep, he gave me the puzzled look I had expected but he proceeded to help me out.
 
As Mike and I drove to the race we gave each other the last minute pep talks. He then told me that he was going to do the race with me. Up to this point in time I was mentally prepared to just do this myself. At first it made me a little more nervous. I knew I would hold him back, but honestly I was so reassured to know we would be doing this together and I would have someone out there with me. 
 
When we got into town, we hooked up with the rest of the KSD crew. I was once again relaxed to see some of my KSD ladies. Angie Burgess, Corianne Kocarek and Lisa Costello gave me the last minute pep talk and high fives that I needed. 

Getting to the starting line was a bit of a whirlwind. So much excitement was going on. I really could not believe that this was really going to happen.  All of the training and preparation came down to this. I remember standing beside Mike at the starting line filling up with an amazing amount of emotion.  The race began and it was everything I had anticipated and more.  I loved every minute of it.

I rolled in to Aid Station 1 (Mile 20), it was the biggest whirlwind. As we approached I felt pretty good.  I was excited to see the KSD support team. Corianne, Lisa, Angie and Pat were all there.  All I can remember is rolling in, someone grabbed my Camelback, water bottle and bike.  I went to the bathroom and when I came back everything was topped off and I was ready to go again.  They gave me some words of encouragement and shoved me out on the trail again.  They gave Mike and I some pointers so we could get in and out of Aid Station 2 quickly.  That one is off limits to spectators.  They did not want us to spend too much time lingering there and lose our momentum. As I left the station I glanced over at my arm and I came through 15 minutes ahead of my target time.

Aid Station 2 (Mile 34), yep encountered some weird, I mean unique, riders there. Riders around us were starting to drop out of the race. We got in and out quickly. I was keeping a close eye on my target times and I was just a few minutes over my target time.  I started to get anxious about staying on track.  I knew I was losing ground with my time and I still had the hardest part of the race ahead of me.  All I could think of is I have to get through Mohican Wilderness. This was the one part of the race I had heard so much about but I had not had the opportunity to pre-ride.  Kenny was kind enough to email me a summary of the wilderness a few days prior to the race.  By the time I got there I could only remember something about a round building with a coned shaped roof being close to the end.  I kept looking for that #$%& building…it was there. 

Aid Station 3 (Mile 46), my girls were there again to greet me and get me in and out.  Just what I needed, some familiar faces.  I was still feeling pretty good but my time had slipped more.  I was 15 minutes over my target time, which left me feeling frustrated.  I left the aid station with the support of the KSD girls (and Pat).  Shortly after Aid Station 3 Mike was starting to suffer. This is the part of the race that really messes with your mind.  I knew that each time he stopped to wait for me it was taking a toll on him.  It is so important to keep moving.  I told him to just go.  I really wanted to finish the race together but I knew he needed to keep moving.
 
Aid Station 5 (Mile 56), based on the advice of my team mates, I rolled right through.  No stopping for this one.  Stopping this late in the race for a breather would just mess with my mind.  All I could think of was getting across that finish line. I kept looking at my time.  Why was my times so important to me?  Because those were the goals I had set for myself for that day and I needed to hit them.  As I rolled through Station 5, I noticed I had made up some ground and I was back on track.
 

And now for the moment I had day dreamed about for months.  THE FINISH LINE! It was all I had hoped for and more.  As I got closer I could hear the music blaring.  My Knobby Side Down team mates were screaming as I rolled down the hill to the home stretch. I was greeted with hugs and high fives after I crossed the line.  It sounds cheesy but it was truly a fairy tale ending for me.  

PS – I beat my goal by 25 minutes.

On Friday evening,  I threw out to our teammates a challenge to take some photos of their biking antics. Knowing many of us were riding all over the place this weekend. Here's a taste of what we accomplished! (In no particular order...) ENJOY! ~corianne

Slacker Saturday ride with Sara Harper, Rodney Lucketti and Todd McMillan
​25ish miles consisting of road, Towpath, Hampton Hills, a windbag and a brewery. Not too shabby and we made it back before sundown after much doubt!

Brandon Render (Sir Speedy Kitten, Juice man or Rendor) - his lovely wife Melissa, Kenny and Corianne Kocarek headed over to the first Tri-State 6 hour race in Versailles State Park ​ in Indiana.

Zachary Bastin and his wife Shelly completed the 2016 Wooster Urban Adventure Challenge: 27+ miles of biking, hiking, canoeing, running, and many fun challenges!

Scott Palmer and Dicky Dee hit up the Spokejunkie's ride at Dillon State Park in Zanesville

Awesome weekend of riding! Saturday at Dillon with the Spokejunkies, and a Sunday solo ride at Chestnut Ridge. Huge thanks to our sponsors. Mounted my Absolute Black oval ring on Friday and man what a difference. Really smooths out the pedal stroke, especially on the climbs. And thanks to Emily at Infinit for dialing in a custom formula for me. I felt great Saturday and only bonked because I underestimated the ride length. Today, I rode Chestnut with no Camelback and only a single bottle of Infinit, in 90 deg heat. Climbed faster than usual and felt better than expected at the end. Not even close to cramping. ‪#‎ninerd‬ ‪#‎absoluteBLACK‬ ‪#‎ovalthis‬ ‪#‎iaminfinit‬‪#‎fatguyproblemsolved‬

The Jones and Burgess families headed up to Hampton Hills for a MTB ride!

Slacker Sunday Ride at West Branch State Park with Rodney, Nick, Sara & Todd 

Some team-mates on the Great Ohio Bicycle Adventure this week - Sunday was the first ride!

Covered bridges and skinny tires heading out for a post ride beer somewhere in southern ohio - Feeman

Hope you were able to get out and enjoy!

Back in April, Jim Costello and I raced the WVMBA Big Bear Enduro.  We had talked about racing a couple of the WVMBA Enduros and after showing interest in the 1st event of the year, we both get a message from Travis Peebles of Blazing Saddle Cycles offering us a place to sleep in the cabin that he rented for the weekend.  With the trouble of figuring out where to stay out of the way, we were in!

Since this was an Enduro, we figured it best to go down and pre-ride the 5 stages on Friday.  I thought this was a great idea, as I had never ridden big drops, roll-ins and other rock features we would face that weekend.  Once I picked Jim up, we made a relaxing trip down to Bruceton Mills, where the Big Bear Lake campground would host the event.  On the way Jim mentioned that he wasn’t sure he’d ever met Travis.  I reminded him that Travis was the guy who had Elvis at his team tent at the Vulture’s Knob 24 hour race and roasted a whole pig!  Immediately Jim remembered and got even more excited for the adventure to come!

We arrived to the parking area around noon and began changing into the appropriate EnduroTM attire.  It just so happens, with no discussion between us, that Jim and I bought the same helmet.  In the same color…  EnduroTM Blue…  For the past 2 weeks months we had been taking flak from everyone we rode with about how we were matching EndurBro’s and how the helmets matched nothing about the rest of our kits.  Before we pedaled off, we ran into Jeff Simcoe.  He is the main person maintaining the trails at Big Bear.  He gave us some helpful tips on which stages were important to pre-ride and help prevent us from getting lost. 

The climb out of stage 2 was awesome!!  It reminded me of the final miles of the Snake Creek Gap TT in Dalton, Ga.  Huge, chunky rocks on a long grinding climb.  I kept thinking how much Kenny would love this climb, but know how much he would be cursing me on the downhills to get there!  We made it back up to the top of the mountain and started down stage 4.  This was the most technical of the stages with big rock features that required some knowledge of the proper line choice to keep from falling into a crack or off an edge.  And to top it off, it ended in the same spot as stage 2, so we got to do the fun climb again!!  We were out of time to pre-ride stage 5, so we started heading to camp.

As we made our trip up to stage 4, Andrea Wenger passed by going down stage 3 so we provided the appropriate “motivation.”  Waiting for our turn to start the stage, 2 people with Walmart looking bikes come pedaling up the road, turned directly into the start and began going down the trail.  Everyone at the start gives that WTF stare and the jokes about bikes exploding commenced.  I was able to ride everything on stage 4 without any issues.  On the preride, we noticed a couple of bypasses around some muddy chutes.  By the time we went I figured the mud would be cleared out and I could just moto the ruts and be fine.  Boy was I wrong…  One of the ruts was already deep and apparently still hadn’t found solid ground underneath as after the stage I notice the bottom of my fork legs had acted like shovels and brought some of the trail with me.  For the rest of the stage, I was snickering to myself how Jim would have to break into his emergency chain cleaning kit so it didn’t trouble his OCD for stage 5!  Up until that stage, everyone had stayed relatively clean with only the occasional puddle.  This is remarkable because according to Jeff, the weekend before the area received 8” of snow!! 

On to the final stage of the day.  We didn’t preride this and were told that there isn’t anything difficult.  It was a very gradual grade, especially compared the other stages, and required a great deal of pedaling.  Two very hard days were beginning to be felt in the legs.  We both finished with only a couple of near-misses and Jim grabbed a beer from the keg that wasn’t available when Cary went by at least an hour earlier. 

At this point one would think that the adventure was over, but there was quite an experience still remaining.  Due to the distance back to the staging area, a shuttle was planned to take everyone back to the start.  Jim and I threw our bikes on and grabbed a seat on the back of the trailer.  Just as the trailer began to leave, a couple of kids came chasing after the shuttle.  We threw their bikes on and one of them sat on the edge of the trailer directly behind me.  About 30 seconds down the road, the trailer hits a big bump and I see air between his ass and the trailer deck.  I grab one arm and drag him back against my knees while Jim grabs the other.  Now that he is sitting on my lap he feels compelled to introduce himself as Nate.  I was getting to be very close to Nate.  Jokes about the shuttle trip keep flowing between him and Jim, before the topic of how you shouldn’t mention this to your mom until you are at least 25 (guessing he was in the 15-17 year old range??) to keep her from getting upset.  Well, not 30 seconds pass and a car goes by the other way.  Nate starts yelling “Hey, that’s my mom!!”  Jim and I look at each other with the ‘what are those odds’ stare and make sure we have an extra tight hold on him so he doesn’t fall off then get ran over by his mom.  Luckily, Mom doesn’t look to be too worried and follows us to the drop-off point. 
​
Now all of the adventure was officially over.  We turned in our timing chips, got cleaned up and made our way back home.  I ended up in 8th in the sport class, while the dropped chain cost Jim a few additional spots.  He finished out in 18th.  I would personally like to thank Jeff Simcoe, Ben Klimer and all the others who put on a great event!!  And once we get into the summer and past some of the big races, there is definitely going to be a KSD field trip to Big Bear to go check out the xc trails and maybe even hit some of the enduro stages.  And now the WVMBA Big Bear Ultra is on my radar for August!!

Ready or not the 2016 mountain bike race season is upon us and by this point in full swing.  I will keep this short and say that by the time I started training for 2016 some of my KSD  teammates were already racing. 

My first Enduro and first race of 2016. Not being in prime physical condition and not racing any previous Cross Country or Enduro races this year I didn't have the mental focus that I am accustom to heading into a race event like this, but what I did have was the bike. Now I will be the first to tell you that a better bike doesn't make a better rider, but having the right bike can make the difference between fun and disaster. Now was this the first time I raced the Mayhem enduro? No. But it was the first time on I raced on a bike with over 6 inches of travel, 36mm forks, and 27.5" wheels.  

The goal,
 My goals were to be able to do the bike some justice and at least jump all of the more natural dirt built jumps and maybe, just maybe, a wooden feature like the road gap or the new and improved creek gap "2". And most importantly, have fun.

The ride,
Saturday's pre-ride didn't look promising. Physically I felt good but I just didn't have my "mojo" whether it was riding with unfamiliar teammates and not having at least some of the usual rowdy KSD crew around, or having those big welcoming rocks stare at you from the landing side of the jumps, or not riding the Wilds in two years? I don't know so I just cruised the course until we met up with some dudes hitting the creek jump on stage 4. We watched them hit the jump a few times and then one asked "anyone else want to try?" I replied " yes, I want to check your speed" so as I followed him to the approach of the jump the speed felt too slow but I stayed on his back tire to complete the jump.  This was the little boost I needed. Saturday evening - free beer provided by Weasel Boy brewing of Zanesville, the party was on.

The Race,
I did a morning pre-ride of stages 1 & 2 with Mark a team member that couldn't be there Saturday for warm up. My legs felt weak. During the transfer to stage 1 I tried to keep my speed up to help keep my flow for the stages. However, we caught up to another slow moving team and I got bored so I tried to "bunny hop" a small roller, only I didn't have any speed and my back tire caught a tree root to drop my front tire on the downside of the hill and over the bars I went. Usually this is something of the norm for me and I was quite amused with myself and Matt's comment "I think I heard you say every cuss word in the book before you hit the ground" (or something like that ) anyway,  this could have been the kind of thing that gets my blood flowing for the rest of the day only to ruined by disappointment as I found my Garmin screen shattered. 

I did make pinkbike.com though...so that was pretty cool! http://www.pinkbike.com/u/beavercity/blog/wild-in-ohio-the-2016-mayhem-enduro.html?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=mobile&utm_campaign=news

“How many people are going to keep trying to crowd the front rows?!”  My teammate Josh Kunz shouts as yet another rider pushes by us to inch every little bit closer to the front row as we stand under the Kenda arch at the start of the NUE Big Frog 65 in Cleveland, Tennessee.  We are waiting for the race to start which begins with a three mile gradual road climb, being in row 1 or 3 is not going to make a huge difference right?  Thinking like that is probably why I’m “Bro not Pro” status; obviously this guy had the right mindset that a six foot head start will make or break your race I’ll just sit here and keep my mouth shut (My first victory of the day!)
About my victories let’s review my goals before the race starts:

#1. Ride and talk clean.

#2 Get into the woods with the second group, and recover in the single track, the first 20 miles is fast and flowy with limited places to cleanly pass, it reminded me of the first 20 miles in the Snake Gap Creek TT 50 miler where I got excited started passing people in the weeds and got a flat tire.  Let’s not do that today it will lead to failure of goal #1.

#3 Pace myself, I’m racing my single speed, not by choice (Thanks FOX service!) the week prior was the first time I survived an XC race without completely falling apart, I’ve been training harder on the SS this year but still have a lot to learn about pacing.

#4 If I can actually finish the race try to do it in about 6 hours (a little under preferably).

#5 Do not come in after Josh Kunz and Bill Mickey!  We forgot the #Skirtofshame at home so we made a side bet that last person in has to ride in the trunk of Adam Elser’s Kia to our celebration beers at Chattanooga Brewery (45 min away) thus the #trunkofshame is born and someone mentioned putting on lipstick too.

The race begins and the first thing I notice besides the usual everyone clipping in and bumping into each other is our “pro” friend from earlier has a support to the banner around his seat post, I think about how funny this should be when it pulls tight and his bike snaps back like a rubber band on him, I start to move out of the way awaiting the impending snap back...

...but his pro level of watts is too great (or the support was only hooked to a five gallon water jug) and the Kenda arch gets dragged down right on top of Josh and I.  It was like being in a bounce house on my mtb with about two hundred people looking to cram into the party.  We quickly lift the banner up and slide under it unharmed so I guess the race can now start, surprisingly I just laugh to myself, no profanity yet and still winning goal #1.

​As with most of the climbing for Big Frog the start is gradual enough to make you work but not enough where I have to stand and start putting power down it makes me think I picked the right gearing out of the hat (32 Absolute Black oval x 18) for the race.  I’ve been on the Absolute Black oval for a couple weeks and it seems to really excel on gradual climbs and letting me stay seated longer trust me once you go oval you won’t go back!  I pass a couple single speeders I saw on my warm up yesterday (one of which told me I was going to have a hard day in my gearing) and latch onto any geared riders wheel that I can find to help pull me up the hill.  I pass Bill Mickey and Ben Michaels (two other Ohio SS’rs) and tell them to jump on (don’t know if they did or not) but I found myself close to the front of the second group and I see my teammate, Josh Kunz a little further ahead in no man’s land between the first and second group.  I expect this is the last time I’ll see Josh and we duck into the single track with ten riders between us.  I find myself behind one geared rider that I was assumed with his line choice and shifting patterns was familiar with the trail and we were moving at a good clip so I sit in behind him and tell myself to relax.  I could have passed him a couple times but I knew if I had open trail in front of me I would start going too fast I wasn’t in it to win it. I was in it to just survive the day.  The train of riders built up behind us and it seemed like everyone was content with the pace because no one was talking or trying to pass from what I could hear.  I waited toward the end of the single track at Boyd’s gap where there actually some decent climbing before I made my pass.  I figured the whole train would join me and I knew I needed a head start for one of the few technical descents on the trail so I didn’t get ran over by a bunch of geared guys with plenty of suspension.  Only one rider joined me and it was Bill Mickey, we got a good run and surprisingly no one caught us on the short descent until we hit the road and a coupled geared guys pedaled by us.

Bill and I duck onto Old Copper which is flat double track with some occasional rocks and roots, we talk about #trunkofshame bet aside, if we can stick together we’ll try to make up some time on the roads and work together. 

We cross an awesome bridge that goes over the Ocoee River and go back onto some steep single track.  On the pre-ride we went up what we thought was most of the climb maybe a ¼ mile, Vanessa Marts who was with us said “it wasn’t much further than there was a switchback and then double track” well the ¼ mile was actually a mile of steep climbing, now I was regretting my gear choice and Bill was breathing down my neck so I let him by. I continued to mash at my own pace and try to conserve energy, even if it meant getting stuck in the trunk with ruby red lipstick on I wanted to finish the race!  Bill pounded away from me and I just kept telling myself I wasn’t going to get off and walk in the first half of this race and at least I was passing geared guys which was a confidence boost to think about how slow I’d be climbing if I had my fancy geared bike with me!

We finally arrive to the first aid station which I ride by and now enter the gravel grinder part of the race, as much as I hate descending on gravel it was a nice break from the beating I just got from the never ending single track climb.  The gravel was pretty mellow compared to some of the stuff I’ve been riding in Mohican country, I just kept telling myself to control my pace I had no idea what was coming ahead of me.  Passed aid station two and I roll into aid three I was stoked to see Bill Mickey bumbling with a drop bag loaded to the gills and behind him the flowing red beard of Josh Kunz.  I roll in and Josh asks me how I’m doing which I lie and say “I’m getting my second wind” and he promptly takes off.  I grab my bag load up my camelbak and leave the aid station before Mickey and after Josh like Cole Trickle trying to hit the pace car.  ​

​My trunk of shame lead was short lived as Bill caught up to me at the start of the next climb I do try to be sportsmanly and tell him I’ll be in the trunk, he tells me that he is cramping bad and hurting….then he drops me on the hill, if I could have caught him and ran him over I would have.  I catch up to Josh on the same climb and he told me that Ben Michaels came through the aid station right before me and is just ahead..I get confused because I don’t remember him passing me and ask if he is sure, which he was (Josh was correct except getting it backwards I was already at the aid station and Ben passed me.  Props to Ben for rolling the whole course without stopping for a refill once!) I knew Ben has to be a better gravel rider than me so the odds of me seeing him again was slim and all I had to worry about was not going in the trunk and I have both of my competitors in sight so that was my focus.  When the hill turned down I tried to stay on Josh’s wheel…I failed miserably and he fell out of sight.  Next aid station comes up and there is Mickey filling up a water bottle.  That pattern continued for the remainder of the gravel portion of the race get to a big hill “cramping” Bill would pass me, I’d eventually catch Josh, Josh would drop me on the descent, we’d both pass Bill when he stopped at an aid station, come to a climb Bill passes…rinse repeat over and over again for the next 25 miles of gravel with a little bit cramping some mustard consumption and one guy that was so delirious he was literally rambling to me as I went by.
Josh and I approach the last aid station together only to see Bill in his usual aid station pose we enter the single track together and Bill quickly jumps in behind us ten miles of singletrack to go and all the trunkofshame combatants are wheel to wheel.  Josh is nursing every gear that he has and Bill and I pass, I thought the climbing was over but now it is short punchy climbs and I know one of them is going to uppercut my hamstrings for immediate cramping and I’ll be on the side of the trail crying in my pink jersey and my pink handup gloves as I was expecting to happen.  I get a lead on Bill and Josh and one of the punchy climbs I gave in and started walking…followed by a loud expletive that Bill heard (Failed at Goal #1).  I could see Bill chasing down my sailor mouth and as soon as the climb was over got on my bike and tried my best to keep spinning while going downhill on a rigid bike.
I’m a horrible descender and it’s no secret, doing it on a rigid bike while trying to pedal to fight cramps probably looked like a flailing monkey in tight pink lycra or maybe it helped, I drop out of quartz trail and nobody is in sight, Adam Elser warmed me if I was going to get lost this would be the place and certainly Bill would have yelled if I made a wrong turn right?  I stopped at slow rolled the double track looking back for the now deceivingly difficult to see FMBR jersey through the trees…nothing, great I made a wrong turn going to end up in the trunk with ruby red lipstick.  I keep slow rolling and I see a couple guys I recognize that were helping with the race “I’m going the right way?!” I ask they confirmed I was ok and I pedaled as fast as my soon to be cramping legs would take me.
Onto Chestnut which had a lot more punchier climbing than I would have cared for, then the Thunder Rock Express…which for all the warning I had about the trail I didn’t think was so bad, maybe I was too tired to care about it I just was waiting for Josh and his full suspension bike to jump over me but it never happened.  Get to the bottom of the trail and I hear red beard yelling at me he catches up to me on the flat I try to draft him for a while for a free ride to the finish but can’t do it and tell him to take the win for the #trunkofshame he sits up and says we’ll ride in together and that I’ve earned the win…single speed and all, (for those not in the know Josh races with me as an expert SS in Ohio he chose not to bring the single speed and was ridiculed ALL weekend for it…I don’t care too much, if I had my geared full suspension couch I’d been on it too) so we cruised to the finish line.

​So there we are teammates who did not pull any punches on each other for the last five hours geared full suspension vs. rigid single speed cruising in side by side pretty cool huh? We roll through the parking lot and I am relieved to see the Kenda arch is removed at least I do not have to worry about that falling on me now.  I sit up and take my hands off my bars cruising across the finish line, imagine it….go ahead I’ll wait.  You beat your goal time by 25 minutes, you aren’t going to get stuffed in a trunk all you have to do is roll across pavement.  You are filled with victory!

A volunteer starts yelling at us "TURN RIGHT!!"

What?! My face looked like this….

​To my surprise the official finish is across the Ocoee river you turn onto a bridge then cross the line, Josh who kept his hands on his bars quickly turns right..I don’t, so I T bone him and fall to the ground in front of everybody.  Must be an Indian burial mound on this spot in the parking lot…..5 ½ hours ago the start line fell on me, now I’m lying on the ground from running into my teammate.  I quickly get back on my bike, my calf so cramped I can’t put my heel flat and hobble across the finish line at 5:33, I had a lot of victories today realistically I just laugh to myself what a way to end a race. Hitting 4 outta 5 goals ain’t bad a solid 80%, B- if you will I took that grade in High School and I don’t have to ride in the trunk ! Now the big question to I “race” my single speed for the Mohican 100k, I guess that depends if my squishy comfy bike is repaired by then.

Super thanks to Adam Elser for taking us into his humble abode and Trailhead Outdoors Bike Shop in Cleveland Tennessee for putting on a great race and spending over an hour dialing in Josh and my bike..lesson learned never go Chunky ESI when you can go EXTRA CHUNKY ESI!!!!

            ​Over the past three years I had heard stories about an epic mountain bike race in Dalton, Georgia. The tales of long climbs, ice cold river crossings, massive rock gardens and frozen drive trains stuck in my memory each time a different experience was shared by those who stood up to the challenge.  Those same individuals also wore a coveted belt buckle earned at the conclusion of the third and final 34 mile event of the series. I was intrigued by their experiences and wanted the opportunity to complete the series for myself. The thought of making it to all three events seemed like an impossible dream due to my work schedule, college courses and family responsibilities. Discussions started to take place on Facebook regarding registrations for the 2016 series. I read the initial post and instantly noticed there was change from three races down to two. I believed with proper planning and support from my spouse, this was an achievable event. We discussed the requirements for the event and she agreed to support my request. In no time at all I registered for the Snake Creek Gap Time Trial series.

           Personally, I need a regimented plan and measureable goals to work toward. Otherwise, I find myself constantly questioning the effectiveness of time spent training. Am I working hard enough? Am I training too hard and risking an overuse injury? Should I be doing cardio or strength training? All of these questions started to come to mind. I had not ridden seriously during 2015 and my stamina was not at the level I needed. I had returned to college, started a new job and my daughter entered elementary school. My life was busy and cycling had slipped way down on the priority list. I needed to make changes in order to elevate my fitness higher on the list; not only to prepare for the Snake, but to lose the “freshman 15” gained over the summer. It was November and the days were getting shorter. The only time available to train was early in the morning. The window of 4 AM through 6 AM offered the best opportunity for this time crunched cyclist, father, husband, student, and slave to corporate America. I quickly started looking at my training options. I could have ridden outside with my lights or invest in the necessary equipment to train indoors. I opted to add another hour or two each day in my home office with the latter choice.
​
                 My preference to train indoors led me to several options. I am a firm believer of positive reinforcement from those around me. I knew that it was possible to get the needed support and motivation from others through an online social media/training tool such as Strava. I had seen others following various structured plans and uploading their data and gains to show progress. This knowledge led to the discovery of TrainerRoad. An application used by many other friends and team mates to improve their cycling abilities. I wanted to couple this tool with a state of the art cycling smart trainer to get the most out of the time spent on my bike. After applying my motto of “buy nice or buy twice,” a second hand Wahoo Kickr was purchased to act as my resistance and power measurement tool in conjunction with my road bike. I believe the combined functionality of a smart trainer and proven training software provides a good foundation for efficient training. Consistent use of the trainer has allowed me to steadily increase my Functional Threshold Power (FTP) over the past 4 months. Not all of my requisite training was done indoors. Facing the outdoor elements and ascending realistic gradients was necessary to build additional endurance to prepare for this event.
I have to say outdoor social rides were the most enjoyable part of all my training. Between the months of November and January, several weekend group rides were organized with members of KSD and FMBR to build our base fitness up to prepare for the first event in January.  While each ride was challenging, they were also jovial, due to the antics of a select few, you know who you are, that made us smile when all we wanted to do was get off the bikes. The support from each and every person helped push me to improve. Ride after ride, my endurance returned and I felt able to maintain a faster pace without feeling my heart beat in my ears after a long sustained climb.  Before I knew it, January 8th had arrived and it was time to make the trip down south.

            Car pooling for the road trip down to Georgia allowed me to connect with new people. Of course, I had cycled with most of the group in the past, but I had not taken the time to learn as much as I could during an eight hour car ride from the same people. I was pleasantly surprised to learn just how genuine and caring the people were that I was fortunate to be in the same company with.  I would have to say that being social is not one of my strongest traits; however in cycling, we usually have similar goals and expectations. Taking the time to get to know people is just as rewarding as completing a long and arduous ride. I am very thankful for the opportunity to be associated with such considerate and likeminded individuals.  We were all headed toward the same challenge.

​Once we arrived in Dalton, we went through the check in process at the Snake Pit. We got our race packets and shirts with the event logos on them and headed back to the hotel to start preparing for race day. It was a bit unsettling not having all my tools available to tweak my bike as I would if I were back in Ohio. I made sure to pack a small bag of essentials for the second trip. Who would have thought that not having some snips to cut off number plate zip ties could be so stressful? Thankfully, other members of the group had the forethought to bring the right equipment. It seems like it is always better to have than have not. 

Leading up to race day, the weather was extremely uncertain. I brought enough clothing to support weather conditions from the 60s down to sub zero temperatures. However, the looming concern was the rain, which weighed heaviest on everyone’s minds. Were we going to have to deal with being soaked for the entire 34 mile course? Fortunately, the rain held off and the trail conditions were far better than expected. Comparatively speaking, the trail reminded me a lot of a frequented trail at Mohican State Park. The climbs were challenging and the downhill sections were fast. I have to admit that the downhill sections were not as pleasant as they were on the second trip. I had not adjusted the pressure in my front shock since I had lost quite a bit of weight. It felt as if I had been riding a fully rigid fork. I corrected the pressure prior to my second run and the downhill sections on the course became a play ground. 

​The most memorable challenge of the course was found in the rock gardens. My experience with rock gardens was minimal. Heading into unfamiliar terrain with tired legs weighed heavily on my mind. The last thing I wanted to happen was to go down hard, with my feet clipped in, and risk an injury that would not allow me to finish the race. I had no choice but to get off my bike and walk while in situations that my safety was at risk. What I learned from this experience is that you need to have the proper speed and ability to see the lines of least resistance. During the second trip, the lines seemed to present themselves more clearly. It also helped to follow other locals who knew the most efficient paths to take. What a difference it made riding someone’s rear wheel that knew where they were going. 

​The course leads to a pair of self supported tower structures on the final mountain ridge. These structures are faintly visible from time to time while traversing the remaining miles of the single track. A euphoric feeling and sense of finality enters your mind once they are in view. After transitioning onto the remaining gravel road, relief sets in and the final few miles are downhill to the finish. Crossing the finish line and claiming my prized inscribed belt buckle made all of the effort worthwhile. I had achieved my goal to complete both 34 mile events.

​This journey was not completely about earning a buckle or riding my mountain bike in a different state. It was about stepping out of my comfort zone and doing something that I would not normally do. It took a goal of this magnitude to force me to remain focused through all of the challenges that led to this point, and proves that we can do whatever we set our minds to. Effectively communicating, reprioritizing, planning and working extremely hard yields dividends on so many different levels. I’m extremely thankful for all of the support and new friendships formed throughout this experience. I’m looking forward to doing it all over again next year in the 50 mile event.