First of all full disclosure, I'm stealing Mr. Quickdirts race preview format blog...A.) because I'm not that good of a blogger, B.) his race previews are pretty good and they have convinced me to drive a little further to do a race when typically I wouldn't.  Check out his blog here and follow him on facebook here.  I know he has some excuse like a family vacation or something like that and that is why not he is joining us.  Even with the temptation of following Jim Costello around for hours on end I guess family comes first.

Ok I've given credit where credit is due so now the reason you are here, why do you want to do this race, and are all the rumors that you have heard about Camp Tuscazoar trails are true are they really that horrible and old school?

First why do you want to do the race?  We wanted to do a fundraiser for the Camp, which is an old boyscout camp that is now owned by a foundation of camp alumni that wants to "Keep the spirit" of Tuscazoar burning. This is private land that they let us play on, so anything that we can do to help we try to do. So we teamed up with 331 Racing and they gave us a unique proposition,  we prep the course, bring in the prizes, food and sponsors, they'll do the scoring bring the atmosphere and help us throw one of the biggest events the camp and Northeast Ohio MTB community has seen in a long time.  The heart of this race is a fundraiser and because of that 331 is graciously offered 70% of the profits of this race will go back to the camp, so even if you are not a "racer" or this seems like a long event just come out and have a good time, if you are your teammate each do one lap and then just want to hang out in the pit area, do it, and you will know that most of your entry fee is going to help develop the camp that you are enjoying that much more!  To find out more about the race or pre-register (this is a pre-register event only!) click here

Twain of Pain, definitely does not make this sound like a fluffy race does it?  This event is going to be a relay race with you and a teammate, for classes you can be on a  Co-ed Team, Female Team, and Male Team and there is Open and Novice/Sport divisions.  Open teams will have a maximum of 4 laps per teammate for 8 laps total while Novice/Sport does three laps per teammate so 6 laps total.  After 6.5 hours the race is over and teams will place based on how many laps they completed or who did the maximum number of laps in the fastest time, nobody will be DNF'd because they did not make all the laps.  Every lap will be alternated between teammates as you come into the transistion area you will hand a baton off and send your teammate on there way! Teams wil transistion in the area past the stockade, this is a great area for tents to be set up and give it a festival atmosphere.  In between your laps you'll be able to mingle with other racers, walk around a spectate, or just sit in a chair put your feet up and relax, whatever you want to do!

Now the trail report, some of you are probably thinking well I heard it's old school, straight up  climbs, doesn't sound fun to me.  I'm not going to sugar coat it yes there is climbing, is it impossible ..no.  Can you handle Mohican State Park?  If you answered yes you can complete a lap of Tuscazoar.  Over the last year passionate mountain bikers have started converting some of the hiking trails and added extra trail to make it more mtb friendly, you'll find some switchbacks, some flow, and some climbs that will challenge you no doubt, but lets be honest you didn't get into mountain biking to not be challenged right?  Overall the race lap is 6 miles with 1,100 ft. of climbing so per mile you will end up with a little more climbing than Mohican State Park for comparison.  Overall the trail is not very technical, almost wide and smooth in many places, the most technical aspect you will run into small armor sections that keep you dry and fast steep downhills (those are fun though right?)  Now for a photo preview taking you through the trails of Camp Tuscazoar!

We may have some surprises for the start but Pioneer point is where you will enter the woods, this trail is mostly a fast down hill trail, in fact the first .75 miles is downhill so getting a good start will be crucial in setting your self up for a good lap one.  In the Twain of Pain you have to switch to your other teammate each lap (more pain that way right?)

Next trail on deck is the Pipestone Trail, your still going to be moving and having the time of your life, guess what it keeps going!  More downhill just enjoy it and remember what goes down must go up!  At this point the downhill will start to get a little steeper and possibly even more fun!

So you've been enjoying a lot of downhill and you start to think to yourself, this isn't so bad it's actually fun, when Pipestone turns left and you see this sign, as heard on today's ride "this is where the pain begins" John Lorson-Soupcan Racing

The Pipestone climb will be .75 miles and you'll gain about 190 feet of elevation, expect some tight trail with switchbacks, you'll know you are getting close to the end when you hit the 8 dreaded switchbacks, here is a hint do not start counting from the beginning, you'll know when you get to them and luckily you'll almost be done!  After the 8th switchback you get a reprieve and some downhill that will drop you onto doubletrack.

Ahhh double track, fast smooth and downhill enjoy it you've earned it, the double track will end on sharp turn to the left and you will meet this guy, heads up you won't see the bridge till you clear the turn, and you'll be riding it at that point so be careful!  Also after this is your next signal that a climb is coming but it's not as bad as what is to come, just a couple switchbacks.

Your last Pipestone sign leads you to a quick turn to the right to the end of pipestone trail this will put you on a ridge line trial parallel to the Zoar Valley Trail, don't look down, trust us it's there, way down there!

Pipestone ends with a steep drop onto the Zoar Valley Trail, that will take you to the Roost Trail, this is our Fast and Furious 1/4 mile of fast, flat action also about the only place you'll get a good sight line of your competition, don't burn yourself out because I probably did not mention that the Roost trail is our second infamous climb.

Wasn't that flat fun?  A left turn off the Zoar Valley trail and the Roost trail officially starts at this point you are almost half way through the trail, the roost trail begins with a fire road climb that is a gradual climb that gets a little steeper then you get a break on a ridgeline trail then up again, overall the beginning fireroad is the worst the remainder of the singletrack is a gradual climb pacing is key, but if a competitor spotted you on the Zoar Valley Trail there is a lot of room to pass on the fireroad and they'll be chasing you down!

Top of the Roost!  You have officially made it to Buzzard's Roost, stats of this trail you climbed .75 miles and gained 250 feet of elevation feel free to take time and enjoy the view this is the best the camp offers!  Now get moving to the Iron Mine Downhill!

Now for the payoff of the Roost Climb, The Iron Mine Downhill!  If the Twain of Pain had an Enduro (TM) stage this would be it.  It starts off with a steep downhill littered with waterbars...note, I said waterbars not jumps, use caution on these bars, they were made to divert water not jump, if you have those skills have fun, if not be safe and roll them because every one of them will kick your back end up and put you in trouble!

Iron Mine Downhill ends with a steep punch climb that leads into icky's trail, good news is Icky's is the last trail to the finish line, bad news two more climbs to go

After the "easy" climb on Icky's and downhill you will have a short up and down that will lead to the final climb that will take you to the transition area, remember the trail started on a downhill, and you are at the bottom of the valley, time to pay for that awesome start.  Just for the race we rerouted a sketchy bridge and added a more flow/mtb friendly line this will set you up for the steep climb a little better but it's still a grind, on the plus side after this you are done and hand your baton off to your partner it is now there turn!  This last climb from the bridge is .5 miles and 200 ft mostly doubletrack and will put you right into the transition area!  Like any MTB trail the first time is always the worst, but luckily next lap you will know what's coming and will have a blast, so enjoy your transition time visit other teams tents, then get ready to roll out again!

A huge thanks goes out to the our sponsors for the race, Eddy's Bike Shop and Schwalbe Tires for supplying prizes for the Novice/Sport Division. ED&FA of Tuscarawas county for the pint glasses and CAMBA for the tools and donation to help fund this event.

Most of the KnobbySideDown Race Team showed up for a trail day at Camp Tuscazoar to help put that last bit of polish on the trail so that all the first timers to this new trail will have a great experience!  We all had some pet projects/safety/flow issues we wanted to handle for the race and we wanted to give a big thank you to some of our teammates that drove over and hour to help us dial everything in!  Get out and enjoy the trails we will see everybody next week!

Three years ago, Kenny and I agreed to sign up for the Mohican 100 and complete the 100k distance.  We knew very little about what to expect and knew even less on how to prepare for that amount of time on a mountain bike.  With the help of a friend, Zac, we both managed to drag our cramping, tired, dirty carcasses across the finish line about 8.5 hrs after starting to collect our pint glass!  We swore we’d never do it again…  Then the following year we agreed to complete the 100 mile distance!  We never said we were smart, but we are stubborn! 

So fast forward to early 2015, Kenny and I agree to sign up for the 100k again now that we think we know how to train and prepare for this type of event.  No big deal, 6-7 hours on a mountain bike and a great time is sure to be had!!  Around March during a group ride with Jim, he mentions he had thought about doing the 100k this year.  Well that was all Kenny and I needed to persuade him into entering!  I could only imagine how many of Jim’s famous one liners we could hear during a day on the trail.  It would certainly be a welcomed relief in some of the dark hours when you just want to give up!

A couple of weeks before the race, Jim is trying to back out and tell us he doesn’t want us to ride with him because he doesn’t want to slow us down…  Secretly, Kenny and I were glad he was coming along (though we never mentioned it to each other, we’re trained to be tough and look forward to stupid ideas) because it would keep us from killing each other trying to push too hard.  Plus, we wanted to make sure that his long, hard ride would be as good as possible.   With a lot of cajoling, Jim finally agreed and signed up!!!

The day finally arrives!  Around 6:30AM nearly all of the participating KSD’ers group up and take the 1 mile ride to the starting line.  Jim is instantly goofing around pulling wheelies and such, which I can’t miss an opportunity to show off and promptly join him!  Though I did tell him if I saw him doing that on the trail I was going to increase the pace because I took that as a sign of too much left over energy.  With the necessary stop at the porta-john to shed excess weight we make our way to the mass of bikers already lined up.  Once settled, Jim pulled out a GPS that looks like it was from 1994.  In the process of mocking him, I hear Kenny start cursing at his Garmin which only had 1% battery remaining…  And as everyone knows, if it’s not on Strava, it never happened!  Then we’re off!

If you haven’t seen a 700+ person mass start, go find it on youtube!  Chaos is the only word I can use to describe it.  Halfway down Main St. Jim and I bump bars, but stay upright.  Near miss #1…  About halfway up the big climb at the start a lead group is starting to form ahead of us and Kenny tries to bridge the gap.  I then take a turn only to look behind me to find him and Jim both slowing down, what gives!!  Oh well, with 30 miles of singletrack ahead it’s not worth burning any more matches. 

The entire way thru singletrack, I’m shouting at them what time it is and when to eat since Kenny’s Garmin is dead and Jim’s dinosaur is too big to fit on his handlebars!  At the double track at mile 8 I try to go around Jim to pass a few other riders we were tailing and hit his bars again!  Near miss #2…  The three of us make it to the 1st aid station within a couple of minutes of each other.  Prior to the start, we planned to only wait long enough to group back up, but before I know it Kenny is off BS’ing with someone and Jim has his gloves off and is scavenging food and water.  When I finally get everyone gathered up, Kenny and I take off and realize Jim is still standing there with food hanging out of his mouth and no gloves on!!  Oh well, just makes for good pictures and stories later.  After that stop, Jim kept hearing us talk about the 1st big climb…  When we finally reached the big hike-a-bike at the end of the State Forest loop, I thought Jim was going to burst!  Now he realized why we kept mentioning it!  

After we caught our breath at the top, we started making our way down the horse trail to the water bars.  About halfway down, the rider in front of me drifted from end to the other on one of the water bars without dabbing!  I was immediately impressed and told him he got a 6 for distance and 10 for style!!  He asked why it wasn’t an 11, but I was too busy trying not to wreck on the same water bar to answer.  Don’t know who you are, but dude you have some skill to ride that out and my hat is off to you!

Finally onto the smooth road and eventually to Buck Haven, right on target at just over 4 hrs.  This time, it was me who was delaying the show.  I realized my glasses were muddy from the horse trails and headed over to grab a paper towel.  On the way back to my bike I dropped my glove.  When I turned around to pick it up, I’m nearly met head on by a rider coming in.  Good thing he is paying attention!  Near miss #9… As we head out, Jim has a huge chunk of watermelon in his mouth.  I immediately start laughing, which causes him to laugh and start choking.  Near miss #10…  A few more huge gravel road climbs and we reach Mohican Wilderness.  Normally, Jim and I go wild on technical, long, rocky downhills  like that, but after a minute I’m all alone.  I think to myself “Jim must really be tired to not be enjoying this!”  I manage to ride the whole wilderness trail until the large hike-a-bike at the top (unless you are a beast like the 2 guys Kenny and I watched ride the entire hill!!)

Aid station 3, at last!  I’m not feeling great at this point.  I know I can finish, but I’m ready to be sitting on something that’s not a slab of carbon bouncing down a trail.  Kenny leaves early and tells me he will be back in a few.  Jim is looking slightly better that death.  I offer him some food, but he says no more will go down.  I make sure we are both topped with water and we head down the road.  Literally 200 feet after the aid station, Jim is pulling off to use the restroom.  He looks at me and asks how I’m feeling.  I can tell he is at his low point.  Everyone has one on a ride like that.  I tell him there’s only 2 big hills left and that I feel like crap, but know we can do it.  2 minutes later, Kenny is pedaling back towards us with a PBR in hand.  I’m pretty sure Jim instantly vurps and he knows not to offer me a drink!!  Still don’t know how he came up with it.  Maybe he just stole it from a cooler or someone felt bad enough and gave it up?  No one will ever know?!

We make it back to Mohican and all of a sudden Jim is all smiles and wheelies!  Literally practicing wheelies for crossing the finish line.  After making it back to Mohican Adventures, I am leading down a loose gravel road.  Jim is on my back tire and Kenny is yelling something.  I suddenly see the arrow to the left and lock up both brakes.  I know I’m not making the corner and try to think about my options.  Remember, I’m 7 hours on a bike, thinking is not a strong suit at this point, so I point it to the ditch and close my eyes!  Next thing you know, Jim is following me into the ditch.  Near miss #19…  A few minutes later Jim clips his handlebars on the iron bridge but saves it.  Near miss #20… 

At last we are on the road leading to the finish line.  I turn around to see the 100 mile runner up pass us like we are standing still and bump Jim’s bars again!  Near miss #21…  We all cross the finish line doing a wheelie, except for Kenny because he is lacking of that skill, and promptly get yelled at by the people scoring that they can’t see our numbers!!  Keepin’ it classy as usual!  

Thanks to all the support from the people cheering on the side, other KSD’ers volunteering and all of the overly helpful and friendly aid station volunteers!!!  This is what makes this such a great event.  Can’t wait to do it again next year!  Great ride Jim, I hope Kenny and I helped make it a truly memorable day and that you’ll join us next year to make more great stories and jokes!