no, that's a brand new XTR derailleur on there. I'm not replacing it yet.
Tuesday may work, Wednesday also.
Chronicles of a Cat 3 Schlub
- Thread starter MadisonDan
- Start date
Tuesday is team ride dummy.
Quick H2H 2021 Recap so far...
March 26, 2021
H2H Race #1
Aistriu Mayhem Mountain Bike Race
Cat 2, Men 19+
9th of 14
Fast and flat course.
April 25, 2021
H2H Race #2
WTF MTB Race
Cat 2, Men 19+
DNF, flatted out halfway thru lap 1.
March 26, 2021
H2H Race #1
Aistriu Mayhem Mountain Bike Race
Cat 2, Men 19+
9th of 14
Fast and flat course.
April 25, 2021
H2H Race #2
WTF MTB Race
Cat 2, Men 19+
DNF, flatted out halfway thru lap 1.
May 15, 2021
Brands Cycle & Fitness "M.A.C.H.O." MTB Race at Stillwell Woods
Sport Category, Men 35-49
8th of 26
I grew up in Huntington, NY on Long Island. In the 90's my friends and I would ride from our houses, into Cold Spring Harbor and pick up the Green Belt Trail on Lawrence Hill Road, and then head south eventually going thru part of Stillwell, before crossing over Jericho Tpke and eventually getting as far south as Plainview before turning back and doing it all in reverse to get home. 3-4 hours, no maps or GPS. How the fuck our parents let us do this, I'll never know. Anyway..... Stillwell Woods...... I did this race a few years ago and have been looking to go back.....
Loaded up the car and hit the road with plans to arrive about an hour before the 11am start.
The parking lot was jammed to 100% capacity with the weather being so nice, but I found a spot as an earlier racer was pulling out. Geared up and rode out to the field where registration and the Start/Finish were located, temp checks and masks still required per their park permits, so whatever. Got my number plate, and did a few laps of the open field.
The start was time trial style, with two racers going off every 15 seconds or so. The chips on the number plates weren't triggered until you actually rode over the start line, so everyone's timing was consistent. The Sport group (Cat 2) did 2 laps of the ~6 mile course.
I lined up next to a woman who was a little unsure how many laps we were doing, since the director addressed the Expert's (Cat 1, 3 laps) right before us, and he didn't clarify we were only doing 2 laps... anyway, we were about the 7th or 8th pair to go off.
The horn went off and I hit the gas. The start was a big loop along the edge of an open field, flat and fast, hard pack super dry clay-like dirt. I almost immediately caught the pair in front of me and passed them, then shortly caught another rider and passed easily.
After exiting the field and heading into the single track, I could see a few other riders up ahead thru the woods, but couldn't gauge exactly how far, given the twists and turns, and not knowing the course at all. The first section of ST was kind of like 6MR, some tight turns, a few roots here and there, nothing crazy, mostly hardpack. I mad a few more passes here and there, while a few riders came thru me from behind as well. All called out, nobody was overly aggressive.
As the course progressed the the terrain changed from dusty hardpack to softer dirt, mixed with sand, and sections of loose pebbles and stones. Lots of ups and downs here, a good amount of berms built in. CLIMB maintains these trails I think, and it's obvious that they put in a lot of work. There was one MONSTER climb/run up. It was steep AF, and everyone walked/ran it. I'd guess it was about 40-50 yards long. Holy shit.
The back third of the course had some larger berms built in, with multiple small 2-3 foot drops that were either from roots with the dirt below washed out, or rocks built in, but they were super fun, and a little sketchy with the loose dirt/sand/pebble surfaces. Really happy to have been on the Trail429 in those sections. There were a few jumps built up on the sides of the trails that if not for the race, looked really fun. I did hit one on both laps that was more in the middle, and cost me nothing in terms of time.
As the course came around down by the LIRR tracks, it got super tight in some spots, before the climb back up and out where it opened back up a bit and then headed back to the field for lap 2.
I made two more passes in the open filed as lap 2 started, and then at the beginning of the single track two other guys came thru and passed me. No idea who was racing what age group at all, but these last two definitely looked my age. Fuck. I chased them for half a lap, yo-yo'ing on and off their wheel, before eventually loosing them at some point. One other dude caught me at the top of the climb out at the end of the lap.
Going into the finish chute, I came up behind one guy and started to sprint, kind of hoping he just wasn't paying attention..... He was, and he started to sprint also, at which point I went from surprise sprint to IDGAF and crossed the line.
8th place age group, 20th of 62 total "Sport". Lap times 35:50 and 37:33.
Caught my breath and recovered a bit in the field before heading into Huntington to grab some sushi for lunch with a high school buddy before driving home.
Great production by RaceAwesome and Brands Cycles & Fitness. Photos compliments of LIRP Long Island Running Photos.
Brands Cycle & Fitness "M.A.C.H.O." MTB Race at Stillwell Woods
Sport Category, Men 35-49
8th of 26
I grew up in Huntington, NY on Long Island. In the 90's my friends and I would ride from our houses, into Cold Spring Harbor and pick up the Green Belt Trail on Lawrence Hill Road, and then head south eventually going thru part of Stillwell, before crossing over Jericho Tpke and eventually getting as far south as Plainview before turning back and doing it all in reverse to get home. 3-4 hours, no maps or GPS. How the fuck our parents let us do this, I'll never know. Anyway..... Stillwell Woods...... I did this race a few years ago and have been looking to go back.....
Loaded up the car and hit the road with plans to arrive about an hour before the 11am start.
The parking lot was jammed to 100% capacity with the weather being so nice, but I found a spot as an earlier racer was pulling out. Geared up and rode out to the field where registration and the Start/Finish were located, temp checks and masks still required per their park permits, so whatever. Got my number plate, and did a few laps of the open field.
The start was time trial style, with two racers going off every 15 seconds or so. The chips on the number plates weren't triggered until you actually rode over the start line, so everyone's timing was consistent. The Sport group (Cat 2) did 2 laps of the ~6 mile course.
I lined up next to a woman who was a little unsure how many laps we were doing, since the director addressed the Expert's (Cat 1, 3 laps) right before us, and he didn't clarify we were only doing 2 laps... anyway, we were about the 7th or 8th pair to go off.
The horn went off and I hit the gas. The start was a big loop along the edge of an open field, flat and fast, hard pack super dry clay-like dirt. I almost immediately caught the pair in front of me and passed them, then shortly caught another rider and passed easily.
After exiting the field and heading into the single track, I could see a few other riders up ahead thru the woods, but couldn't gauge exactly how far, given the twists and turns, and not knowing the course at all. The first section of ST was kind of like 6MR, some tight turns, a few roots here and there, nothing crazy, mostly hardpack. I mad a few more passes here and there, while a few riders came thru me from behind as well. All called out, nobody was overly aggressive.
As the course progressed the the terrain changed from dusty hardpack to softer dirt, mixed with sand, and sections of loose pebbles and stones. Lots of ups and downs here, a good amount of berms built in. CLIMB maintains these trails I think, and it's obvious that they put in a lot of work. There was one MONSTER climb/run up. It was steep AF, and everyone walked/ran it. I'd guess it was about 40-50 yards long. Holy shit.
The back third of the course had some larger berms built in, with multiple small 2-3 foot drops that were either from roots with the dirt below washed out, or rocks built in, but they were super fun, and a little sketchy with the loose dirt/sand/pebble surfaces. Really happy to have been on the Trail429 in those sections. There were a few jumps built up on the sides of the trails that if not for the race, looked really fun. I did hit one on both laps that was more in the middle, and cost me nothing in terms of time.
As the course came around down by the LIRR tracks, it got super tight in some spots, before the climb back up and out where it opened back up a bit and then headed back to the field for lap 2.
I made two more passes in the open filed as lap 2 started, and then at the beginning of the single track two other guys came thru and passed me. No idea who was racing what age group at all, but these last two definitely looked my age. Fuck. I chased them for half a lap, yo-yo'ing on and off their wheel, before eventually loosing them at some point. One other dude caught me at the top of the climb out at the end of the lap.
Going into the finish chute, I came up behind one guy and started to sprint, kind of hoping he just wasn't paying attention..... He was, and he started to sprint also, at which point I went from surprise sprint to IDGAF and crossed the line.
8th place age group, 20th of 62 total "Sport". Lap times 35:50 and 37:33.
Caught my breath and recovered a bit in the field before heading into Huntington to grab some sushi for lunch with a high school buddy before driving home.
Great production by RaceAwesome and Brands Cycles & Fitness. Photos compliments of LIRP Long Island Running Photos.
lol... He was in the 50+, so even less fucks given....
Sevenz
Well-Known Member
Right on Dan...Looks like you raced with my son...It would have been nice to catch up but I was out of town picking up my new van
. Stilly is still the same as when we were kids...LOL...Sandy blown out goodness...Glad you got out here and enjoyed it!
Stillwell is my original home turf as well. Used to ride alone from my house in Jericho, down Jericho Tpke to the trailhead at Stop&Shop, do a loop or 2 then ride home. Also don't know how my parents let me do that. Anyway, I raced this a few years back too. Really nice, well-run event. Thought about it this year but i'm way out of shape and heard they were limiting to in-state riders. Did you use your parents' address to register? Maybe next year.
They opened it up to out of state riders after April 1, I think. I had emailed them about it because there were like 20 racers in Brands kits at the WTF race.
I keep trying to to get my friends from high school that I used to ride with to meet up there, but life always seems to get in the way....
I did the 2018 race also... complete mudfest
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Oh, hey..... Been a while.
So 2022.... race season...
April 9th, 2022... H2H Jungle. After hearing positive trail reports at Jungle, I registered last minute. 5-10 minutes into the race it was thunder storming and there was hail. The trails were destroyed, so I pulled the plug after the first "short" lap to DNF. Complete disaster.
May 1st, 2022... Iron Furnace Endurance Race. I did the 25 mile two lap race, and didn't die. Mission accomplished. 16th of 18 Male. 3:42 total time.
May 14th, 2022... MACHO MTB Race at Stillwell. Another fun course and well run event hosted by Race Awesome and Brands. 11th of 22 Men Sport 35-49
So 2022.... race season...
April 9th, 2022... H2H Jungle. After hearing positive trail reports at Jungle, I registered last minute. 5-10 minutes into the race it was thunder storming and there was hail. The trails were destroyed, so I pulled the plug after the first "short" lap to DNF. Complete disaster.
May 1st, 2022... Iron Furnace Endurance Race. I did the 25 mile two lap race, and didn't die. Mission accomplished. 16th of 18 Male. 3:42 total time.
May 14th, 2022... MACHO MTB Race at Stillwell. Another fun course and well run event hosted by Race Awesome and Brands. 11th of 22 Men Sport 35-49
Boxbaum Bash
H2H Series - Men Cat 2, 45+
Aug 8, 2022
I decided earlier in the week to jump into the final race of the H2H series after seeing somewhere that the course up at Port Jervis was less climby/more flow than the Point Peter Pounder version. Part of Painted Apron was in the course... Sign me up!!!!
The Cat 2 race was an 11am start, and Port Jervis is about a 90 minute drive, so I wasn't really in a rush to get out the door. Thankfully I remembered to bring the number plate from the Jungle fiasco, as H2H uses a series plate. Phew. All checked in and situated.
With about 25 minutes before the start, I pedaled up the gravel road to where a course marshal was watching for traffic as the race crossed over. He said the first section of ST was only about 3/4 of a mile, so I road back the start, and pre-rode the first section.
From the starting line, the course goes down the gravel road about 150-200 yards, then makes a right onto another gravel road, then a quick hard left into the ST. The transition here is loose pea gravel. Someone's gonna go down. The Port Jervis terrain is immediately front and center as the ST begins. Lots of small pointy rocks/shale/slate. Some loose piles to roll over, but nothing like what's up top where the other race is held. I rolled thru the first section in a few minutes, then back to the car for a quick Gu before the race started.
At this point, it's warm out, kinda humid, but not really unbearable. Dejay sends out the Cat 2 19+, then calls up the 45+ group. There are 7 of us at the line, he gives a 5 second countdown and we go. Down the gravel road halfway, and 5 guys are in front of me. Somebody ain't making one of the two gravel turns, so I back off a touch.
Sure enough, someone fucks up the second turn into the ST and I have to come to a stop and track stand for a split second. Two of the three guys get going again, and I get past one still trying to collect himself. Now in 5th. The three guys up front are maybe 15-20 yards in front of the guy who's in front of me. We're making our way thru the first section that I pre-rode, and everyone is more or less hitting the same pace. Mid way thru here, guy in front of me either clips his bar on a tree or he wheel slipped out on an angular rock, because all of a sudden he's on the ground. I grab a fist full of brakes to avoid running him over, and as he's getting up I pass/ask if he's hurt. All good, carry on.
As I exit the first section and cross the road, I can still see 3rd place in front of me, maybe 50 yards at this point. First and second are out of sight. We're about 1.5 miles into 15 total.
Somewhere in the next mile or so I catch/pass one of the 19+ racers, and I can still see 3rd place guy ahead, although much further. The trails are flowy, with enough rocks littered about that there's almost always some sort of chatter going on. Short ups and downs, log overs here and there. Really fun at race pace. About mile 4 was the top of Paint Apron..... If you've never been here, it's an awesome flow trail with berms and some cool jumps/drops here and there. Only the top half was in the race, and then we cut out and back up a gravel road climb. At this point I got passed by one of the guys in the race behind me, and caught another of the race in front of me, so still in 4th.
As we head back into the ST off the gravel climb, we pass by the S/F area at around mile 5.5ish (so 2 miles left in the lap) I pass 3rd place guy who's pulled off the trail and administering CO2 to one of his tyres. There's still another .3 or .4 mile climb to go and another 19+ guy ahead of me, so I try to pick it up a little here since I didn't know how far ahead CO2 guy was when he flatted, how long he was fiddling with it, or how much longer it would take him.
After this climb levels off, the trail gets twisty and flows again, and I eventually pass the 19+ guy who was ahead of me and finish out lap 1 in 00:49:25. Holy shit, this is a long XC race.
As lap 2 starts, I feel like the heat kicked up a bunch, and I was starting to feel it. Somewhere around mile 2 or 3 of Lap 2 @xc62701 (Cat 1/2 15+ 3 laps) passes me on his 3rd lap from the 10:30 start. He won his race.
The came 1/2 45+ winner Joe Johnston. I passed @Earthmiller (Endurance) on the way up to Painted Apron and got passed by Mancuso. As I approached the top and started down PA, I could see Dave Kahl and another guy behind me. Fuck, I don't want to be in front of them on the DH, and have no idea how far back CO2 guys is behind them. Welp. About 3/4 of the way down they're both right on my wheel, so I pull to the side and let them rip by. Only 3 miles to go now, and 1 of those miles is uphill.
As I turn onto the gravel climb back up I can see movement coming out of the ST. I'm 25 yards up the gravel road and here comes CO2 guy like he's shot out of a canon. FUUUUUUUUCK. Back in 4th. He's standing, sprinting up this hill, looking back every 20 yards, and I'm like derp, see ya at the finish line.
Nothing extra left in the tank. I gave it a little extra gas, but there was nothing.
Now I'm thinking "oh shit, who's behind him?" Thankfully no one. Finished out the last few miles with my foot on the gas and nobody around me. Lap 2 00:52:17
4th place of 7 starters. 1:09 behind 3rd place CO2 guy. Total time was 1:41:42 for 14.5 miles. I'll take it.
The course was great. @Dejay Birtch and the StarCrawf crew put together a killer loop with a great mix of fun and pain. 10 of 10. Wood do again.
H2H Series - Men Cat 2, 45+
Aug 8, 2022
I decided earlier in the week to jump into the final race of the H2H series after seeing somewhere that the course up at Port Jervis was less climby/more flow than the Point Peter Pounder version. Part of Painted Apron was in the course... Sign me up!!!!
The Cat 2 race was an 11am start, and Port Jervis is about a 90 minute drive, so I wasn't really in a rush to get out the door. Thankfully I remembered to bring the number plate from the Jungle fiasco, as H2H uses a series plate. Phew. All checked in and situated.
With about 25 minutes before the start, I pedaled up the gravel road to where a course marshal was watching for traffic as the race crossed over. He said the first section of ST was only about 3/4 of a mile, so I road back the start, and pre-rode the first section.
From the starting line, the course goes down the gravel road about 150-200 yards, then makes a right onto another gravel road, then a quick hard left into the ST. The transition here is loose pea gravel. Someone's gonna go down. The Port Jervis terrain is immediately front and center as the ST begins. Lots of small pointy rocks/shale/slate. Some loose piles to roll over, but nothing like what's up top where the other race is held. I rolled thru the first section in a few minutes, then back to the car for a quick Gu before the race started.
At this point, it's warm out, kinda humid, but not really unbearable. Dejay sends out the Cat 2 19+, then calls up the 45+ group. There are 7 of us at the line, he gives a 5 second countdown and we go. Down the gravel road halfway, and 5 guys are in front of me. Somebody ain't making one of the two gravel turns, so I back off a touch.
Sure enough, someone fucks up the second turn into the ST and I have to come to a stop and track stand for a split second. Two of the three guys get going again, and I get past one still trying to collect himself. Now in 5th. The three guys up front are maybe 15-20 yards in front of the guy who's in front of me. We're making our way thru the first section that I pre-rode, and everyone is more or less hitting the same pace. Mid way thru here, guy in front of me either clips his bar on a tree or he wheel slipped out on an angular rock, because all of a sudden he's on the ground. I grab a fist full of brakes to avoid running him over, and as he's getting up I pass/ask if he's hurt. All good, carry on.
As I exit the first section and cross the road, I can still see 3rd place in front of me, maybe 50 yards at this point. First and second are out of sight. We're about 1.5 miles into 15 total.
Somewhere in the next mile or so I catch/pass one of the 19+ racers, and I can still see 3rd place guy ahead, although much further. The trails are flowy, with enough rocks littered about that there's almost always some sort of chatter going on. Short ups and downs, log overs here and there. Really fun at race pace. About mile 4 was the top of Paint Apron..... If you've never been here, it's an awesome flow trail with berms and some cool jumps/drops here and there. Only the top half was in the race, and then we cut out and back up a gravel road climb. At this point I got passed by one of the guys in the race behind me, and caught another of the race in front of me, so still in 4th.
As we head back into the ST off the gravel climb, we pass by the S/F area at around mile 5.5ish (so 2 miles left in the lap) I pass 3rd place guy who's pulled off the trail and administering CO2 to one of his tyres. There's still another .3 or .4 mile climb to go and another 19+ guy ahead of me, so I try to pick it up a little here since I didn't know how far ahead CO2 guy was when he flatted, how long he was fiddling with it, or how much longer it would take him.
After this climb levels off, the trail gets twisty and flows again, and I eventually pass the 19+ guy who was ahead of me and finish out lap 1 in 00:49:25. Holy shit, this is a long XC race.
As lap 2 starts, I feel like the heat kicked up a bunch, and I was starting to feel it. Somewhere around mile 2 or 3 of Lap 2 @xc62701 (Cat 1/2 15+ 3 laps) passes me on his 3rd lap from the 10:30 start. He won his race.
The came 1/2 45+ winner Joe Johnston. I passed @Earthmiller (Endurance) on the way up to Painted Apron and got passed by Mancuso. As I approached the top and started down PA, I could see Dave Kahl and another guy behind me. Fuck, I don't want to be in front of them on the DH, and have no idea how far back CO2 guys is behind them. Welp. About 3/4 of the way down they're both right on my wheel, so I pull to the side and let them rip by. Only 3 miles to go now, and 1 of those miles is uphill. As I turn onto the gravel climb back up I can see movement coming out of the ST. I'm 25 yards up the gravel road and here comes CO2 guy like he's shot out of a canon. FUUUUUUUUCK. Back in 4th. He's standing, sprinting up this hill, looking back every 20 yards, and I'm like derp, see ya at the finish line.
Nothing extra left in the tank. I gave it a little extra gas, but there was nothing. Now I'm thinking "oh shit, who's behind him?" Thankfully no one. Finished out the last few miles with my foot on the gas and nobody around me. Lap 2 00:52:17
4th place of 7 starters. 1:09 behind 3rd place CO2 guy. Total time was 1:41:42 for 14.5 miles. I'll take it.
The course was great. @Dejay Birtch and the StarCrawf crew put together a killer loop with a great mix of fun and pain. 10 of 10. Wood do again.
Yeah, pain in the ass to get there. FWIW.... Boxbaum Bash > Point Peter Pounder.
I haven’t paid much attention but what’s the difference?
Felt like an overall faster course. Also, at ~7.5 miles/lap, makes for a longer race.