Nursing my hamstring back to health has proven to be a long and arduous process. So much so, that it seems like I start every post with a diatribe about it. Fortunately, to this point it has responded well to cycling, so that’s were we are going to focus today.
I hit a bit of a rut after Ragnar, but things have started to bounce back over the last month or so. I’m running again, but it’s measured, 15-30 minutes warming up (foam roller, glute bridges, squats, resistance band) and then 45 minutes of running very easy. That’s where the cycling comes in play. I’ve had very few issues riding, so I’ve been doing 45 minutes after work, sometimes longer if I’ve got time and I’ve jumped into a few different bike races to try and get some more intensity. I’m not the best bike rider, but they’ve certainly been adventures.
It all started with a flat tire. I’ve been working in some morning rides a couple times a week now that it’s starting to warm up and dry out in Atlanta. One day I in April I was riding on the trail near my house – the Ivy Creek Greenway – when pop, hiss. Flat tire. Long walk. Since I know virtually nothing about fixing bikes, I paid a visit to my buddy Shaune Huysamen over at Whitetail Bikes to get my Cannondale Slate fixed. While I was their he talked me into jumping in the Georgia State of Gravel race. After that I made the impulse decision to ride in the Dirty Spokes 3 hour mountain bike race and I followed that up with the Currahee Gravel Grinder, a race I had actually planned to do earlier in the year but it got postponed due to our insanely wet winter.
I’m not going to go into great detail recapping each one of them. They all basically break down to, the race started. I rode hard, the course was cool, my legs hurt, I started to feel better, my legs hurt again, finish, tacos, beer, and scene.
That’s actually a pretty solid recap of all three right there. I am well and truly out of my element when it comes to these bike events. The State of Gravel race had minimal signage, because most people have a Garmin or Ride with GPS on their phone. Not this guy. My stragety for that one was keep people in sight so I wouldn’t go the wrong way. Yet I still managed to ride the last five or six miles with that sinking ‘I went the wrong way’ feeling. I didn’t. I’m a regular Magellan over here.
That race featured 60 mile and 30 mile options. Shaune was very close to peer pressuring me into the 60 but luckily for me Amanda and I had plans that afternoon and I couldn’t be gone all day. Bullet dodged. If I’m being serious though, it was actually a fun day and the perfect use of my gravel bike. I could have done without 40 and rain but you can’t win them all.
The rest of April and the beginning of May were a blur. I was straight out with work and we somehow squeezed a quick trip home. I ended up catching up with my childhood best friend Chris Ouellette to play paintball, which he has gotten heavily back into lately. And by play paintball I mean I got my ass kicked. That actually should have been the title of this blog. Trestle Run: Getting My Ass Kicked. I’ve gotten worked in all of these bike races and man did I get worked that day on the paintball field.
When we got back to Atlanta, we were treated with some more heavy rain, which forced Dirty Spokes to postpone their annual 3/6 hour mountain bike race one week. With the new date, Tim Schroer asked if I wanted to ride and I’m not one to turn down a human powered adventure. I dusted off the mountain bike and made my way to Ft. Yargo.
It’s been a few years since I’ve been able to do this race, but this year’s version was my best effort. I ended up hitting three laps in under three hours, which is the first time I’ve ever done that. I must be doing something somewhat right. Usually, I’m doing all these different races off of running fitness, so to actually do better than I have in the past at something off of what I’m doing now was pretty encouraging.
Once again my lack of bike knowledge and skill came into play though. I am very hard on equipment. Especially bikes. I beat the crap out of them and my mountain bike is affectionately my beater bike. My parents bought it for me like eight years ago. It’s a bottom of the line model and with the exception of the two rear derailleurs that I have broken everything on it is what came with it. Including the brakes. Turns out, those wear down over time and my rear brakes, gonzo.
Guess what? Your hands get super uncomfortable when you constantly have to hold the brake lever 3/4 of the way down because only a full pull will give you any stopping power. At the start, I was hoping I could finish three laps but nervous because I tend to start to run into issues once I get beyond three hours. After about 30 minutes I figured my hands would start cramping on the second lap. They kindly waited until after the race.
I don’t know what it is about the three hour thing. In the world of endurance sports, three hours isn’t that long. However, when you look at most of the things that I do, they generally at three hours or less. I’m guessing here but I would imagine that my relative inexperience with efforts that are longer than three hours means I don’t have the nutrition strategy dialed in. Especially when it comes to the heat down here. Oddly enough, the longest event I’ve done, Fools Gold 50 miler, I didn’t have any issues with cramping. My legs hurt like all get out and I was totaled but I also know that I ate during that race. Something that I am still trying to figure out in these three-plus hour events.
Speaking of my three hour conundrum, that brings me to my most recent endeavor. The Currahee Gravel Grinder. This is a 34 mile ride on gravel roads surrounding Tocca, Georgia and includes the three miles up, and three miles down Currahee Mountain made famous by the Paratroopers of Easy Company of the 506th Airborne – a.k.a. the Band of Brothers.
Flashback time – On Memorial day in 2013, I went to Currahee and did a workout as part of my build up for Peachtree. I ran out to the base of the final climb, a one mile stretch of dirt road that climbs 600 ft and averages an 11% grade. I ran three reps. 9:23, 9:38, and 10:05. I died a thousand deaths on that last one. That stood as a Strava CR for the climb for a few years. Now Cawood has it. I have to go back and take it back. Or at least try.
Okay back to the present. Currahee was originally supposed to be in the winter, but with all the rain we got there were too many wash outs and the forest service roads were in no shape to ride, pushing the event to Memorial Day weekend 2019. I had done a little riding up that way, I’ve run Currahee before, and I’ve done two bike races at or around 30 miles, so I figured no big deal. It would be hard, but fun.
It was really, really hard, so I was right on that part. I had fun for about two hours, so I was right on that too. The only issue is that it took like three hours and 15 minutes, so that last hour and 15 minutes was rugged. My Cannondale Slate performed admirably, albeit with two minor mechanical hiccups. My chain sort of overshifted and wedged between the cassette and the wheel. Fortunately, I was able to figure it out both times without breaking my chain. Having to walk back to the car would have been a major bummer.
These bike events are definitely a different challenge for me. It’s much more personal than anything I’ve done running-wise. You always have to content with the mental side of things during any kind of physical undertaking, but when I’m running I do compare myself to others and concern myself with where I stand.
When riding though, it’s much more solo focused. I’m never really worried about where I rank or who I’m riding behind or ahead of. Some of that probably has to do with the fact that I don’t like riding in groups. I’m way to nervous and feel like I’m going to take someone out. Really though, it comes back to that internal struggle. It’s about me vs. me and whether I have strong enough legs, lungs, and a strong enough will to push through the hard times.
I did end up falling into a group in all of these and rode with the same people for stretches, which is great. That’s the other thing that’s awesome about these kinds of races or events. Everyone gets in where they fit in and you end up out there grinding together.
When I finished the Currahee race, I was completely smashed. I definitely need to work on fueling and hydrating as the temps will only continue to climb here in Georgia. I was able to bounce back after a couple of brisket tacos and a can of sweet, sweet dixie champagne (coca-cola) though. After the race I hung out for a bit and chatted with a couple of the guys I rode with and got to meet some of the crew from Whitetail Bikes.
Despite the difficulty, it ended up being a great day of riding. I am seriously considering riding the Red Clay Ramble when we get back from our annual trip to New England but the heat and distance (54 miles) do have me a tad concerned about my ability to finish it. I guess that’s really the point of all of this though. If you only do things that you know you can do, you’re never going to grow. You’ll never extend your comfort zone if you don’t get out of it every now and then. I think I just convinced myself to do it.
I ended up breaking out the GoPro for this one. I realized that this is the first time I’ve used it since I rode in this area back in the fall, which was a bit of a bummer. I’ve got to work on that this summer.
What I’m Reading/Listening to/Liking
Trail Runners are Lazy Parasites
I’ll admit it. I took the bait on this one. I saw the headline and my instant reaction was ‘screw this guy’. That being said, I’m going to stop short of going all Facebook comment on this and here is why. Despite what the author says, he did 100 percent write that headline for clicks. That’s not to say that he doesn’t present a valid argument in the article. In fact, after reading the story I have absolutely given some thought to what my impact on the trails is and what I’m doing about it.
The message is solid. A lot of people use the trails and we need to make sure we take care of them not take them for granted. I have no issues with that. I’m very thankful for the amount of trails that we have around here. I appreciate everyone that pitches in to maintain them. I need to pitch in more time doing that. Most of us probably do.
The more I think about it, the less upset I get. Really my issue isn’t with the story. Sure you could argue that it’s message is clouded with divisiveness, but a lot of that is in the reception not the substance. Going this route, you run the risk of your message getting lost in a sea of angry comments and end up pitting groups of people that should be working together against one another. What good would that do? Then again, maybe that’s the point. Maybe getting people talking about the issue, even if it starts out as arguing will lead to action. Maybe getting called out and having to face a truth will get people more involved.
I believe that is what the author is aiming for here and I’ll admit that it worked on me. I’m going to be checking out local trail groups and seeing what I can do. Sure the angry comments will be louder, but if a few people decide to read the article instead of just the comments maybe something good will come of it. That is probably a general lesson that can be applied to a lot of things these days.
Groad to Kanza w/ Ted King
I’ve had gravel on the brain lately and that has synced up nicely with the explosion in popularity of the Dirty Kanza 200. For those not familiar with it, the DK200 is an insane 200 mile gravel race in Kansas. Not only is it an ultra-distance event but it’s apparently on some of the gnarliest gravel roads around. I first came across this race a couple years ago when former pro road cyclist, and close personal friend that I met one time, Ted King won his first attempt.
Since then, gravel riding has exploded in popularity with more and more people looking to get off of the roads and away from cars. Amen to that. As such, Ted and Ansel Dickey from Vermont Social have been chronicling the build up to this year’s race (which took place on June 1).
I’ve watched each episode a couple of times as Ted is very engaging and Ansel does a great job of shooting and editing. It’s really well done stuff. Ted’s every man ethos and world tour pedigree make him easy to root for. I won’t spoil what happened in this years race because I’m sure their will be another episode, but I will say this. The popularity of gravel and the community driven focus of these events has led to some professional teams taking notice. The field featured a number of professional road and mountain bike racers.
I think it’s awesome to see events like these that were once considered fringe and kind of crazy like DK200, Leadville (run and ride), Western States, or even the Barkley start to get some attention. Endurance sports are definitely fringe in America but the one thing that they all have in common here is that we are about participating not spectating. I think that add a whole different dynamic and dimension to being fan or supporting an event or athlete. There are thousands of regular people that lined up and raced the same course as all these pros. Well not that regular because they rode 200 miles in one day but you get the point.
As a participant that suffers through the same distance and the same course, there is a bond there and that’s something that not many other sports or athletes have with their fans or supporters.
Pineland Farm Trail Festival
Shout out to Joe Reynolds for taking second in the 25k at the Pineland Farms Trail festival a few weeks ago. I’ve only run at Pineland once but I can imagine the course features relentless up and down on the xc ski trails and this is right in the middle of mud season in Maine. Joe is in the midst of getting ready for the Mount Washington Road Race, a 7+ mile run up New Hampshire’s tallest peak.
Certified Rollers 