Your boy DJ said he might be running 38’s it so smooth
It's just a training blog bro
- Thread starter Pearl
- Start date
Dave Taylor
Rex kwan Do
Gotta be easier than 101 lol
Pearl
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING
I think he trollin
10 years ago me would’ve made a weekend of this and did BWR Saturday, this Sunday lol
100% do the 116. I know you're mostly doing this to sport your new 100% glasses and highlighter yellow aero socks, but it should be much more scenic riding around Saluda vs just the shorter loop.
And I'm glad this all came up as now I know what entire area to avoid on Saturday.
Unroad 😂
Pearl
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING
BELGIAN WAFFLE RIDE 2024
Oh boy, BWR Asheville was one of them ones. I think this will be a fun read. Stick around to see why.
I showed up solo Friday, grabbed my number and decided since I had tons of time to burn, I would drive some of the course, mostly the first climb and the biggest gravel/doubletrack climb that I’ve done a bunch, Pinnacle Mountain Road. The first climb starts as road and then jumps to gravel, which was pretty damn steep to drive. Strava says it 10-11% in places and I agree with it. I was second guessing my 46t, 10-51 cassette. It was pretty normal the first half, but suddenly, it looks like 50 dump trucks were trying to turn this into a gravel parking lot instead. It was fresh, parking lot gravel. WTF. This is not going to be fun. I roll back to Flat Rock and try and get some sleep.
The morning starts at 4:30, I throw my precooked rice/eggs/bacon into the microwave and chow down, wash it down with 200mg of Celsius and we are out the door at 5:30. I meet up with 3 other Charlotte locals and we are going to try and ride together, but that is easier said than done at these things. We line up in the front third of the starting chute, 15 minutes before the start and bs for a tad. The plan is to make it over the first two “climbs” in the first 20 something miles and then reevaluate then. I brought enough fluids to make it to the 70 mile mark.
We roll out of Kanuga and it seems pretty calm, but as soon as we get closer to regular roads, it gets sketchy. Taking over the whole road, ignoring the yellow line rule, it was chaotic. There was a small crash behind me, then 2 minutes later someone runs over a cone in the middle of the road and my buddy Jarred runs her over, holy crap. I’m where I want to be in the group and still feel in control and chill before we turn onto the first climb that turns into gravel, Pleasant Grove Church.
It's steep but its cool out, and everyone is feeling good. With how steep it is it is almost impossible to pace yourself, but I find myself not gaining or losing places, Ended up doing the whole climb pretty much at threshold (296NP for 14:14). The leaders are obviously gone and there really isn’t one solid group of people together, its just split up as 2’s and 3’s. We descend Jeter Mountain Road which is very steep downhill, twisty and turny. Can certainly cook these corners if you know them, but I’m not flying off a hill now. I do a good job descending and link up with 3-4 people and cruise on some flatter roads until we hit the next gravel section.
This climb next climb isn’t too bad, our group stays together and enjoys some views of the dam. Very doable effort. The roads flatten out and our group is around 10-15 people now. I’m doing a good job being safe, riding within myself, drinking, not taking mega pulls at the front, all that good stuff. I feel like I’m in a good place and we hit the first little bit of single track. Strava shows this as only 1 mile of trail, but it felt like it was slightly overkill at the time. It was fun, flowy, tight switch backs, probably a great mtb trail and just hard enough on the gravel bike. It’s a total congo line and we are all just trying to not unclip. I’m forced to at one point and create a small gap as we jump back onto the road. A short little, manageable effort and there is a bigger group up the road, right before the split of the Wafer/Waffle ride.
Now originally I was going to do the Wafer ride, but suckered myself into doing the longer one.
A few twist and turns later and we catch one solo rider, and I ask him if there is a group in front of us, he kind of says IDK but also we think a group of 5-7 made the left onto the wafer. So we are down to 5 or so? We are heading into Green River Road, which has always been a nice smooth gravel road you can rip. I have only ever climbed it but knew you could probably let it hang out a little, so I took the front of this and led the group through. I figured I wasn’t going to smash and big power, but I can pick the lines I want and don’t need to worry about anyone in front of me. I get some kudos from the group from my descending as we jump onto the road and I pull off. We get caught by another group behind and we are again, 6-8 peeople or so. Cool. Time is flying by and so are the miles, 2 hours in at 18.6mph.
Another section approaches that I know, the roads around lake summit. Some baller houses are on this lake and fun turns, but nothing to split up a group. Just chilling single file, following wheels, not doing much of any work. Into Saluda and my buddy Jarred rips down Pearson falls, another section we have done over and over again. I know we have a road climb at the end of this I have never done, so I don’t want to do anything stupid. It’s pretty much 8 minutes of coasting and I’m happy to bring the HR down.
Turn right to climb and our group is still doing the same effort, but the perceived effort to me feels harder. The lights are starting to flicker but I can still hold the wheels. I may be a bike or two behind at times, but I’m able to keep it together. I tell myself to just get over the climb and figure it out after. My brain keeps going bac and forth with pulling the plug and letting them go, but I stick with it and get over the top of this short, 15 minute effort at 253w or so. 3 hours in, 58 miles to go.
The road meanders downhill and has a few bumps, but I’m able to relax a tad. I drink some more and then I feel like I have to pee.
Rewind a tad, at the end of Bootlegger, I had some serious gas issues. Like gas issues that would propel myself forward on the drive home. I was doing 90g /hr at that time. I had to stop on the way home to make sure I wasn’t going to put a hole in my seat from blasting off and smacking my head. I never had that discomfort while on the bike, only after. I figured it was part of being that deep in the hole for that long and it was just part of the game. For BWR, I was going to do 60 and see if that was the cause. I usually do 60 for regular rides, but a race is different I guess…
Okay, so I’m feeling that feeling again, while on the bike. A long descend, a right onto Hwy 26 and the road pavement is bumpy as shit. Making following a wheel kind of hard, even with big ass tires on it. I still feel like I gotta pee and man, between that feeling, the lights sort of flickering, I have stop and pee. Or try to. I don’t pee enough for what I was feeling and the stomach pressure hasn’t changed. I start thinking I’m going to have some nasty gas while I climb this hill. I think you know where this is going.
I’m now solo, just DMOT. I reach the top of the strava is telling me I stopped again, but I can’t remember why. Probably the same feeling. Kind of just roll some endurance pace and hope that whatever is going on is going to pass. I get to the aid station I planned to stop at, have some chews I’ve never had, some drink mix I never had, a swig of coke, throw some cool water on myself and head on out. I don’t feel any better but what am I gonna do? As I’m rolling out, the 50+ rider in our group came back and forgot his sunglasses. Bro you crazy. I roll out solo and I’ve been solo the last hour or so. So I’m not getting passed, maybe that is good?
We are now riding back on some of the stuff we already did, I put my headphones on and just try and get into some sort of zone. But the lights are pretty much out at this point and I’m just pedaling to move forward at this point. 4 hours in, with the Pinnacle coming up. This is going to be a long day. On Green Mountain Road climbing and I’m trying to hold a higher endurance effort and it’s doable, but I’m still uncomfortable. It’s getting worse and man, I don’t think this is going to be good. It isn’t gas.
I pull over to the side of the road, rip my pack off, jersey off and yup, I’m going to poop in the woods. This is the first time I ever did this. Man, what a relief. Disgusting, but wow, I feel like a new person now. No one passed me since I got dropped, but as I’m hiding in the woods, a group of 10 or so go by. They certainly saw my bike, but doubt they saw me. I’m laughing to myself about what just happened but hoping this breathes some new life into me.
We make the right onto Pinnacle and just as I expected, it’s miserable. I’m passed by a few other people but you just have to outlast this road. Typically the rough descends you can just let go of the brakes and go downhill, gain some speed, but today it is not that way. You have to pedal it and it is not enjoyable. Make it to the top and run into another rider and we both agree that sucked ass.
Sky Valley Road is a smoother road, all downhill and a welcome break from the bashing of Pinnacle. I gap the guy I was with and enjoy the downhill. I remember year one that I did this, there was an ambulance towards the end of this tending to a down rider, so I keep it rubber side down as we hit these two tight switchbacks.
The descent finally ends and they send us into some farm land and a steep as shit, 14-15% (strava) grade road. Me and another dude are like, WTF, is this necessary!? I’m right on the edge of having to paper boy up this thing. It eventually dumps into some singletrack that descends down to the REEB Ranch. This was rougher than the last bit of singletrack, not as twisty but certainly more rocky, drops, a washed out dismount section. At some point I hit a good bump and can hear my headset is a tad loose. Not that I was sending it down this hill, but I certainly take it a little bit easier down this. Again, would have been fun on a MTB.
I get to the aid station at REEB and steal some SIS gels and some more coke/cold water dumped on my head. I reset my headset but have no confidence its actually going to be any better. Cut through this farmers field and onto the road, which suddenly seems blazing hot. The Garmin recorded 95 degrees, you can decide if that is real or not. No cover from the sun, all the fun things of riding bikes in the summer.
I look back now and I did some pretty decent power for my HR at the time, (170hr and 207w for 10 minutes) and I don’t feel too bad. Not enough to smart smashing threshold up the climbs, but I urge to turn off the road and call it a day are not as high as they were before.
The second little roller I don’t have the same vibes of climbing it and the buzzing traffic almost make me do a complete 180 on my feelings. 6.5 hours in, 93 miles. It’s a good 30 of downhill.
We hit the last aid station. This stop had ice and man, had someone pour a hole scoop of it down my back. So refreshing. Again, breath life into me here. Enough that I trade a quick turn with one of the womens top-5 or so leaders on a flat gravel road. The ice makes you feel lke you can do this. Eventually it melts you feel like shit. The ice lasted maybe 5 minutes? I let the woman I was with ride away from me and just prepare to suffer.
7 hours, Jeter Mountain Road. It was in BWR1 and now at mile 102 or so, it’s a real kick in the nuts. I kept telling myself I just needed to get over this and its all downhill… right?I remember most of this road even though it was almost 4 years ago since I did it. 8-11% and kicks to 15% towards the end. I’m seeing some people have to walk and notice the woman who dropped me up the road and seem to be keeping the same gap between the two of us. Cool. We are passing some Wafer riders walking and I really don’t want to have to do that. I cheer them on, see some Waffle people up the hill walking, pass one of them too. Cool. It stays steep for a while and I know I’m close to the end. I’m crawling in my easiest gear and doing 50-60rpm is killing me. I have to be close to the top. I let my thoughts take the best of me and eventually unclip and walk for about a minute.
Pretty disappointed I couldn’t climb the whole bit. What sucks even more is that once I get onto my bike, I can see the top. So less than 500 feet from the top I popped. Or is it even popping? Cracked about 3 hours ago.
Descend that steep gravel climb we came up 7.5 hours ago and my legs are enjoying the break, even my HR comes down to a normal endurance zone range. My brain says its al downhill from here because it doesn’t register on the map, but ever little bump on the road is a total killer. At this point I just want to be back. The last 7.5 miles I do in 35 minutes, at 13mph. 209 feet of climbing. What a slog.
Come into the finishing chute and click out at 8:06. Which is good enough for 10/20 starters in my age group, and 62/136 finishers.
At the start they said that if you were in the 7:30 range you were pretty fast, so I had that in my head as a goal. My CLT buddy clocked in at 7:45, which would have been way cooler. As is the trend this year, I seem to not be as fast as I want to be. Is it just part of getting old? Trying to stay motivated but it gets harder and harder as it seems that I either can't keep up or I'm done progressing my fitness at 38. Remember when I was the young buck here?
$50 for all the photos is too much, so I'm not gonna rip em
Things I learned:
Next time, do the Wafer, no more Waffle.
Idk if my reheated cooked eggs were an issue or not. I need to figure out the stomach thing.
I didn't have much time to think about this as I turned around for a quick 36 hour work trip to NJ. Back to normal for a couple of days before a week in Florida to unplug. Hopefully this is good timing and I can get my groove of motivation back once we get back home.
Oh boy, BWR Asheville was one of them ones. I think this will be a fun read. Stick around to see why.
I showed up solo Friday, grabbed my number and decided since I had tons of time to burn, I would drive some of the course, mostly the first climb and the biggest gravel/doubletrack climb that I’ve done a bunch, Pinnacle Mountain Road. The first climb starts as road and then jumps to gravel, which was pretty damn steep to drive. Strava says it 10-11% in places and I agree with it. I was second guessing my 46t, 10-51 cassette. It was pretty normal the first half, but suddenly, it looks like 50 dump trucks were trying to turn this into a gravel parking lot instead. It was fresh, parking lot gravel. WTF. This is not going to be fun. I roll back to Flat Rock and try and get some sleep.
The morning starts at 4:30, I throw my precooked rice/eggs/bacon into the microwave and chow down, wash it down with 200mg of Celsius and we are out the door at 5:30. I meet up with 3 other Charlotte locals and we are going to try and ride together, but that is easier said than done at these things. We line up in the front third of the starting chute, 15 minutes before the start and bs for a tad. The plan is to make it over the first two “climbs” in the first 20 something miles and then reevaluate then. I brought enough fluids to make it to the 70 mile mark.
We roll out of Kanuga and it seems pretty calm, but as soon as we get closer to regular roads, it gets sketchy. Taking over the whole road, ignoring the yellow line rule, it was chaotic. There was a small crash behind me, then 2 minutes later someone runs over a cone in the middle of the road and my buddy Jarred runs her over, holy crap. I’m where I want to be in the group and still feel in control and chill before we turn onto the first climb that turns into gravel, Pleasant Grove Church.
It's steep but its cool out, and everyone is feeling good. With how steep it is it is almost impossible to pace yourself, but I find myself not gaining or losing places, Ended up doing the whole climb pretty much at threshold (296NP for 14:14). The leaders are obviously gone and there really isn’t one solid group of people together, its just split up as 2’s and 3’s. We descend Jeter Mountain Road which is very steep downhill, twisty and turny. Can certainly cook these corners if you know them, but I’m not flying off a hill now. I do a good job descending and link up with 3-4 people and cruise on some flatter roads until we hit the next gravel section.
This climb next climb isn’t too bad, our group stays together and enjoys some views of the dam. Very doable effort. The roads flatten out and our group is around 10-15 people now. I’m doing a good job being safe, riding within myself, drinking, not taking mega pulls at the front, all that good stuff. I feel like I’m in a good place and we hit the first little bit of single track. Strava shows this as only 1 mile of trail, but it felt like it was slightly overkill at the time. It was fun, flowy, tight switch backs, probably a great mtb trail and just hard enough on the gravel bike. It’s a total congo line and we are all just trying to not unclip. I’m forced to at one point and create a small gap as we jump back onto the road. A short little, manageable effort and there is a bigger group up the road, right before the split of the Wafer/Waffle ride.
Now originally I was going to do the Wafer ride, but suckered myself into doing the longer one.
A few twist and turns later and we catch one solo rider, and I ask him if there is a group in front of us, he kind of says IDK but also we think a group of 5-7 made the left onto the wafer. So we are down to 5 or so? We are heading into Green River Road, which has always been a nice smooth gravel road you can rip. I have only ever climbed it but knew you could probably let it hang out a little, so I took the front of this and led the group through. I figured I wasn’t going to smash and big power, but I can pick the lines I want and don’t need to worry about anyone in front of me. I get some kudos from the group from my descending as we jump onto the road and I pull off. We get caught by another group behind and we are again, 6-8 peeople or so. Cool. Time is flying by and so are the miles, 2 hours in at 18.6mph.
Another section approaches that I know, the roads around lake summit. Some baller houses are on this lake and fun turns, but nothing to split up a group. Just chilling single file, following wheels, not doing much of any work. Into Saluda and my buddy Jarred rips down Pearson falls, another section we have done over and over again. I know we have a road climb at the end of this I have never done, so I don’t want to do anything stupid. It’s pretty much 8 minutes of coasting and I’m happy to bring the HR down.
Turn right to climb and our group is still doing the same effort, but the perceived effort to me feels harder. The lights are starting to flicker but I can still hold the wheels. I may be a bike or two behind at times, but I’m able to keep it together. I tell myself to just get over the climb and figure it out after. My brain keeps going bac and forth with pulling the plug and letting them go, but I stick with it and get over the top of this short, 15 minute effort at 253w or so. 3 hours in, 58 miles to go.
The road meanders downhill and has a few bumps, but I’m able to relax a tad. I drink some more and then I feel like I have to pee.
Rewind a tad, at the end of Bootlegger, I had some serious gas issues. Like gas issues that would propel myself forward on the drive home. I was doing 90g /hr at that time. I had to stop on the way home to make sure I wasn’t going to put a hole in my seat from blasting off and smacking my head. I never had that discomfort while on the bike, only after. I figured it was part of being that deep in the hole for that long and it was just part of the game. For BWR, I was going to do 60 and see if that was the cause. I usually do 60 for regular rides, but a race is different I guess…
Okay, so I’m feeling that feeling again, while on the bike. A long descend, a right onto Hwy 26 and the road pavement is bumpy as shit. Making following a wheel kind of hard, even with big ass tires on it. I still feel like I gotta pee and man, between that feeling, the lights sort of flickering, I have stop and pee. Or try to. I don’t pee enough for what I was feeling and the stomach pressure hasn’t changed. I start thinking I’m going to have some nasty gas while I climb this hill. I think you know where this is going.
I’m now solo, just DMOT. I reach the top of the strava is telling me I stopped again, but I can’t remember why. Probably the same feeling. Kind of just roll some endurance pace and hope that whatever is going on is going to pass. I get to the aid station I planned to stop at, have some chews I’ve never had, some drink mix I never had, a swig of coke, throw some cool water on myself and head on out. I don’t feel any better but what am I gonna do? As I’m rolling out, the 50+ rider in our group came back and forgot his sunglasses. Bro you crazy. I roll out solo and I’ve been solo the last hour or so. So I’m not getting passed, maybe that is good?
We are now riding back on some of the stuff we already did, I put my headphones on and just try and get into some sort of zone. But the lights are pretty much out at this point and I’m just pedaling to move forward at this point. 4 hours in, with the Pinnacle coming up. This is going to be a long day. On Green Mountain Road climbing and I’m trying to hold a higher endurance effort and it’s doable, but I’m still uncomfortable. It’s getting worse and man, I don’t think this is going to be good. It isn’t gas.
I pull over to the side of the road, rip my pack off, jersey off and yup, I’m going to poop in the woods. This is the first time I ever did this. Man, what a relief. Disgusting, but wow, I feel like a new person now. No one passed me since I got dropped, but as I’m hiding in the woods, a group of 10 or so go by. They certainly saw my bike, but doubt they saw me. I’m laughing to myself about what just happened but hoping this breathes some new life into me.
We make the right onto Pinnacle and just as I expected, it’s miserable. I’m passed by a few other people but you just have to outlast this road. Typically the rough descends you can just let go of the brakes and go downhill, gain some speed, but today it is not that way. You have to pedal it and it is not enjoyable. Make it to the top and run into another rider and we both agree that sucked ass.
Sky Valley Road is a smoother road, all downhill and a welcome break from the bashing of Pinnacle. I gap the guy I was with and enjoy the downhill. I remember year one that I did this, there was an ambulance towards the end of this tending to a down rider, so I keep it rubber side down as we hit these two tight switchbacks.
The descent finally ends and they send us into some farm land and a steep as shit, 14-15% (strava) grade road. Me and another dude are like, WTF, is this necessary!? I’m right on the edge of having to paper boy up this thing. It eventually dumps into some singletrack that descends down to the REEB Ranch. This was rougher than the last bit of singletrack, not as twisty but certainly more rocky, drops, a washed out dismount section. At some point I hit a good bump and can hear my headset is a tad loose. Not that I was sending it down this hill, but I certainly take it a little bit easier down this. Again, would have been fun on a MTB.
I get to the aid station at REEB and steal some SIS gels and some more coke/cold water dumped on my head. I reset my headset but have no confidence its actually going to be any better. Cut through this farmers field and onto the road, which suddenly seems blazing hot. The Garmin recorded 95 degrees, you can decide if that is real or not. No cover from the sun, all the fun things of riding bikes in the summer.
I look back now and I did some pretty decent power for my HR at the time, (170hr and 207w for 10 minutes) and I don’t feel too bad. Not enough to smart smashing threshold up the climbs, but I urge to turn off the road and call it a day are not as high as they were before.
The second little roller I don’t have the same vibes of climbing it and the buzzing traffic almost make me do a complete 180 on my feelings. 6.5 hours in, 93 miles. It’s a good 30 of downhill.
We hit the last aid station. This stop had ice and man, had someone pour a hole scoop of it down my back. So refreshing. Again, breath life into me here. Enough that I trade a quick turn with one of the womens top-5 or so leaders on a flat gravel road. The ice makes you feel lke you can do this. Eventually it melts you feel like shit. The ice lasted maybe 5 minutes? I let the woman I was with ride away from me and just prepare to suffer.
7 hours, Jeter Mountain Road. It was in BWR1 and now at mile 102 or so, it’s a real kick in the nuts. I kept telling myself I just needed to get over this and its all downhill… right?I remember most of this road even though it was almost 4 years ago since I did it. 8-11% and kicks to 15% towards the end. I’m seeing some people have to walk and notice the woman who dropped me up the road and seem to be keeping the same gap between the two of us. Cool. We are passing some Wafer riders walking and I really don’t want to have to do that. I cheer them on, see some Waffle people up the hill walking, pass one of them too. Cool. It stays steep for a while and I know I’m close to the end. I’m crawling in my easiest gear and doing 50-60rpm is killing me. I have to be close to the top. I let my thoughts take the best of me and eventually unclip and walk for about a minute.
Pretty disappointed I couldn’t climb the whole bit. What sucks even more is that once I get onto my bike, I can see the top. So less than 500 feet from the top I popped. Or is it even popping? Cracked about 3 hours ago.
Descend that steep gravel climb we came up 7.5 hours ago and my legs are enjoying the break, even my HR comes down to a normal endurance zone range. My brain says its al downhill from here because it doesn’t register on the map, but ever little bump on the road is a total killer. At this point I just want to be back. The last 7.5 miles I do in 35 minutes, at 13mph. 209 feet of climbing. What a slog.
Come into the finishing chute and click out at 8:06. Which is good enough for 10/20 starters in my age group, and 62/136 finishers.
At the start they said that if you were in the 7:30 range you were pretty fast, so I had that in my head as a goal. My CLT buddy clocked in at 7:45, which would have been way cooler. As is the trend this year, I seem to not be as fast as I want to be. Is it just part of getting old? Trying to stay motivated but it gets harder and harder as it seems that I either can't keep up or I'm done progressing my fitness at 38. Remember when I was the young buck here?
$50 for all the photos is too much, so I'm not gonna rip em
Things I learned:
Next time, do the Wafer, no more Waffle.
Idk if my reheated cooked eggs were an issue or not. I need to figure out the stomach thing.
I didn't have much time to think about this as I turned around for a quick 36 hour work trip to NJ. Back to normal for a couple of days before a week in Florida to unplug. Hopefully this is good timing and I can get my groove of motivation back once we get back home.
Great effort and recap. The greats of the sport have had similar issues
and he still won the giro this year
In my brief period of doing longer rides, it is always a wild card of what happens over 4-5 hours since you ride it so infrequently. I would venture to say stay away from re-heated eggs.
Pearl
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING
If DT is in in 100% in
JDurk
Well-Known Member
Great write up and awesome job.
That feeling you speak of, experienced it twice during endurance races. Luckily they were lap races and was able to make a pit stop at the porta potties.
May I suggest not eating so close to the start time. I'll have a meal 3hrs before the start and make sure its all non-processed foods. Maybe a snack of a banana prior to the start. Will have coffee with the meal and bit more on the drive, but also try too avoid caffeine during the race. A shot of Coke from the aid station, but no gels or fizzes that contain caffeine. Sugar, hell yeah! M&Ms, Fig Newtons and PB&J.
That feeling you speak of, experienced it twice during endurance races. Luckily they were lap races and was able to make a pit stop at the porta potties.
May I suggest not eating so close to the start time. I'll have a meal 3hrs before the start and make sure its all non-processed foods. Maybe a snack of a banana prior to the start. Will have coffee with the meal and bit more on the drive, but also try too avoid caffeine during the race. A shot of Coke from the aid station, but no gels or fizzes that contain caffeine. Sugar, hell yeah! M&Ms, Fig Newtons and PB&J.
Pearl
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING
7am start makes breakfast rough 🙁 I’ve done breakfast 90 minutes before but never the reheated eggs
There were some leaves on a tree that didn’t look like poison ivy, I made a good choice.
Based on Strava I was with Sierra Sims for most of the day, not sure who she is tho
I was out on the waffle when it was supposed to be 135, and the Wafer was supposed to be 80. Then they cut the mileage more and 68 sounded too short… maybe it wasn’t after all lol
Pearl
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING
Oh boy, ORAMM 2024. When I put this on the calendar in January I thought this would be cool to do again. Last time was 2016, pre kids, which really seems like a lifetime ago. https://www.strava.com/activities/660165761/overview
I was really hoping to get some good MTB time in before then, but it never really happened. I guess you can’t do everything all the time? At least I feel fit, sort of. The weather has turned into that “afternoon flash flood” time, so I knew it was going to be wet. Already stressing about it.
4:30am wakeup, I’m in Old Fort at 7ish packing my stuff up. I accidently dropped my keys from my windshield secret spot and they fell under the hood. I was bugging out hoping that I could get them and eventually did. It was overcast and while humid, the lower temps in the mountains make it enjoyable. Spin my legs around and everythings working as it should. Of course my bike starts creaking during this time, never did the 3-4 days leading up to this, gotta love it.
I’m in the back 2/3’s at the start and while not ideal, I’m okay with this. I’ve learned from many events while it’s great to stick a good group, you are usually in way over your head. It’s going to be 6 hours, It’ll sort itself out with all the climbing. I surf wheels and make up a good amount of spots and sit in for the climb up to Kitsuma up Old 70. I’m content with sitting in the group I’m with, keeping my HR in check and my power. Oh yeah, first race with power on the mtb, and on a race with tons of climbing on gravel/roads, its really going to be a life saver, I think. Goal here is to just keep a nice tempo pace and push a tad, but not go into the red.
Get to Kitsuma and I have a couple bobbles on the steep stuff at the bottom, but find a good rhythm going uphill eventually. Maybe I can still mountain bike a little? The roots an rocks are all slick as shit, while the dirt is pretty dry. How do rocks and roots sweat? It’s amazing. I really ***** foot down this thing and realize I’m in way over my head this go around. I also notice my rear brake is not feeling as strong as I would like it to. I end up having to use two fingers on these XTs to get it to stop the way I want to. My upper body/wrist/fingers do not like this.
Looking back at the times, 2016 Kitsuma, 27:58, 2024 roadie peezy, 31:17. I guess not horrible comparing a wet vs dry time, but still, it was kind of the writing on the wall for me. I find a group at the bottom and sit on, just chilling, drinking, etc. We then get to Star Gap, which is a trail that is super tricky to climb, probably not climbable for 30% of it? So you are off the bike walking at the same speed 32/51 would be. It’s rather smooth so it’s an easy walk. Some people are getting grumpy about slipping up and its kind of humorous, but everyone is in good spirits. Still with some peoples, but the gaps are forming more and more. Theres a small descent with some fun switch backs and its wide open (from what I remember) so its easy to ride. All good. Dumps onto some double track that feels all uphill, but it has some breaks. I’m alone here and put in my headphones, ~2 hours in. I always like to mark this because it seems where I’m just 1000% doing my own thing, on my own, not getting caught up in some shit. I get caught by a couple of people and they pass me but I don’t get too worried. The big part of the day is coming up, Curtis Creek Road. Then suddenly we are ushered onto some singletrack, called the Gateway trails, and they are ripping fun. Reminds me of Raystown before it got bombed out. It was a welcome break and I was happy to shred some easy trails. But then the 10.5 mile, ~2400 climb. Oh yeah…
This is a road climb that turns into gravel and is kind of like a ramp, the deeper you get into the climb, the steeper it gets. In 2016 I drove it and was like WTF, so I kind of knew what to expect, and even more so no. I was just going to try and outlast it this time. I remember in 2016 with 32/42, I was just hoping to not fall over. I remember closing my eyes and just hoping it would end. I’m hoping this time is better.
I see some people ahead while its still slightly flat and chat about how much this is going to suck, why are we here, etc. I just keep on pushing forward, trying to sit around 200 watts or so. To my surpise, over the climb, I’m catching people and dropping them. It’s not like I’m flying by them, but it is noticeable that I am putting in time on these peoples. I catch another local CLT guy who is way stronger and says he’s having a shit day. Bad time to have that going on on Curtis Creek, that’s for sure. The road zig zags over the creek and it’s pretty scenic. I stand up at times to use some different muscles. We roll into a water stop and I figure it can’t hurt to grab half a bottle, I plan on stopping at the top on the parkway anyway. I was hoping it was cold, but it wasn’t. Meh. I get caught by two younger kids who just seem to have endless energy and I crest the climb with them in sight. I make sure I take my time at the aid station, I crushed all my fluids on schedule and from here on out I will just fill up my bottle. Grab a swig of coke, fig newton, water, and roll out. Sadly you think this would be the end of the climbing, but it isn’t.
They actually made the road section longer (I think because of a force trail closure) so we have even more mindless climbing. Granted it’s on the BRP, so at least it’s pretty. One side of the ridge is foggy, while the other is beautiful. I again leap frog some people, but ends up being an net-negative as I’m passed by some too. I don’t really have any power goals here, just trying to keep the gaps or wheels in front of me the same, or gaining on them. There is a nice 2 mile descent on the parkway, so the dropper goes down and we just coast for a tad, trying to prepare for even more gnar.
Since they made the road section longer, it got rid of the nasty hike a bike to Heartbreak, but also means you drop into the upper part of the trail, where it looks like the bottom of a fish tank, human size. The rocks are gigantic, loose, wet, WTF. I’m off my bike a couple times, dabbing as I go down, remembering that brake feeling I had about 4 hours ago and not looking forward to this. I’m literally just trying to sruve this 5 mile, 2,700 foot descent. I get caught by the local CLT guy who says he gets a second wind, while I’m hiking down a gnarly section. I eventually eat shit and he goes by me, I’m not dead so I keep going. Everything is just so damp. I let 5-7 people go by. Theres some even wetter bits and I’m even more sketched out. I see a nice dry rock roller and try and go over it, only to slide out and land on my hip. Wtf. I’m over this now. I get to star gap and at least that is more groomed that Heartbreak, and I get into some flow and have some fun. I’m listening for the sound of the heckle area on the bottom of star gap, which is a good 10-15 foot rooty drop that they really give you shit for not riding. No way I’m riding it. I get passed by a guy in a CLT Summer Short Track series jersey and decide this is my race. He rides the section but I’m able to close the gap on him. Ride over a shallow creek, dismount over some train tracks and we are back to the aid stations.
I grab a bottle of water, he stops for his goods, and I decide if I’m going to put in any real hard effort, now is the time. “effort” at hour 6 is kind of a joke, but I do 237w for almost 12 minutes up the gravel climb into the next section of new single track. When I got to the trail I really was not in the mood for it, I just wanted to be home. I eventually catch one of the younger kids that I saw at the top of Curtis Creek and I’m able to follow his lines on this next section of trail, Bernard Mountain, which is an absolute blast. Even more Raystowny stuff. I would totally come back just to ride this stuff. CLT short track guy is the same gap as before, so that is good. We eventually finish this section and by the end of it, I was glad they added that trail. I forgot about all the shit I went through before and had a smile on my face.
I link up with young Rapha kid and chat for a tad, saying he must be a local, only to find out hes from Alabama, just actually a mountain biker, unlike myself. We chat for a tad and share some turns to get home faster. Pass some singlespeed guy and it starts to drizzle. So happy I didn’t have to deal with any additional moisture on them damn roots. The finishes crosses some sketchy bridge and this kid certainly isn’t over the age of 30, so my caution ass lets him go and finish in front of me.
I roll in with an elapsed time of 6:46, where I probably left a good 10-15 minutes on the table on shit mountain biking. That time was good enough for 26th in 30-39, Not sure how many finished, but 63 were reg’d in that category. I think I got 9th in my age group last year? I smash some lasagna and analyze my boo-boos, take a dip in the creek to wash up and roll home.
Maybe I keep mountain biking as a “fun” thing to do instead of racing going forward 😉
I was really hoping to get some good MTB time in before then, but it never really happened. I guess you can’t do everything all the time? At least I feel fit, sort of. The weather has turned into that “afternoon flash flood” time, so I knew it was going to be wet. Already stressing about it.
4:30am wakeup, I’m in Old Fort at 7ish packing my stuff up. I accidently dropped my keys from my windshield secret spot and they fell under the hood. I was bugging out hoping that I could get them and eventually did. It was overcast and while humid, the lower temps in the mountains make it enjoyable. Spin my legs around and everythings working as it should. Of course my bike starts creaking during this time, never did the 3-4 days leading up to this, gotta love it.
I’m in the back 2/3’s at the start and while not ideal, I’m okay with this. I’ve learned from many events while it’s great to stick a good group, you are usually in way over your head. It’s going to be 6 hours, It’ll sort itself out with all the climbing. I surf wheels and make up a good amount of spots and sit in for the climb up to Kitsuma up Old 70. I’m content with sitting in the group I’m with, keeping my HR in check and my power. Oh yeah, first race with power on the mtb, and on a race with tons of climbing on gravel/roads, its really going to be a life saver, I think. Goal here is to just keep a nice tempo pace and push a tad, but not go into the red.
Get to Kitsuma and I have a couple bobbles on the steep stuff at the bottom, but find a good rhythm going uphill eventually. Maybe I can still mountain bike a little? The roots an rocks are all slick as shit, while the dirt is pretty dry. How do rocks and roots sweat? It’s amazing. I really ***** foot down this thing and realize I’m in way over my head this go around. I also notice my rear brake is not feeling as strong as I would like it to. I end up having to use two fingers on these XTs to get it to stop the way I want to. My upper body/wrist/fingers do not like this.
Looking back at the times, 2016 Kitsuma, 27:58, 2024 roadie peezy, 31:17. I guess not horrible comparing a wet vs dry time, but still, it was kind of the writing on the wall for me. I find a group at the bottom and sit on, just chilling, drinking, etc. We then get to Star Gap, which is a trail that is super tricky to climb, probably not climbable for 30% of it? So you are off the bike walking at the same speed 32/51 would be. It’s rather smooth so it’s an easy walk. Some people are getting grumpy about slipping up and its kind of humorous, but everyone is in good spirits. Still with some peoples, but the gaps are forming more and more. Theres a small descent with some fun switch backs and its wide open (from what I remember) so its easy to ride. All good. Dumps onto some double track that feels all uphill, but it has some breaks. I’m alone here and put in my headphones, ~2 hours in. I always like to mark this because it seems where I’m just 1000% doing my own thing, on my own, not getting caught up in some shit. I get caught by a couple of people and they pass me but I don’t get too worried. The big part of the day is coming up, Curtis Creek Road. Then suddenly we are ushered onto some singletrack, called the Gateway trails, and they are ripping fun. Reminds me of Raystown before it got bombed out. It was a welcome break and I was happy to shred some easy trails. But then the 10.5 mile, ~2400 climb. Oh yeah…
This is a road climb that turns into gravel and is kind of like a ramp, the deeper you get into the climb, the steeper it gets. In 2016 I drove it and was like WTF, so I kind of knew what to expect, and even more so no. I was just going to try and outlast it this time. I remember in 2016 with 32/42, I was just hoping to not fall over. I remember closing my eyes and just hoping it would end. I’m hoping this time is better.
I see some people ahead while its still slightly flat and chat about how much this is going to suck, why are we here, etc. I just keep on pushing forward, trying to sit around 200 watts or so. To my surpise, over the climb, I’m catching people and dropping them. It’s not like I’m flying by them, but it is noticeable that I am putting in time on these peoples. I catch another local CLT guy who is way stronger and says he’s having a shit day. Bad time to have that going on on Curtis Creek, that’s for sure. The road zig zags over the creek and it’s pretty scenic. I stand up at times to use some different muscles. We roll into a water stop and I figure it can’t hurt to grab half a bottle, I plan on stopping at the top on the parkway anyway. I was hoping it was cold, but it wasn’t. Meh. I get caught by two younger kids who just seem to have endless energy and I crest the climb with them in sight. I make sure I take my time at the aid station, I crushed all my fluids on schedule and from here on out I will just fill up my bottle. Grab a swig of coke, fig newton, water, and roll out. Sadly you think this would be the end of the climbing, but it isn’t.
They actually made the road section longer (I think because of a force trail closure) so we have even more mindless climbing. Granted it’s on the BRP, so at least it’s pretty. One side of the ridge is foggy, while the other is beautiful. I again leap frog some people, but ends up being an net-negative as I’m passed by some too. I don’t really have any power goals here, just trying to keep the gaps or wheels in front of me the same, or gaining on them. There is a nice 2 mile descent on the parkway, so the dropper goes down and we just coast for a tad, trying to prepare for even more gnar.
Since they made the road section longer, it got rid of the nasty hike a bike to Heartbreak, but also means you drop into the upper part of the trail, where it looks like the bottom of a fish tank, human size. The rocks are gigantic, loose, wet, WTF. I’m off my bike a couple times, dabbing as I go down, remembering that brake feeling I had about 4 hours ago and not looking forward to this. I’m literally just trying to sruve this 5 mile, 2,700 foot descent. I get caught by the local CLT guy who says he gets a second wind, while I’m hiking down a gnarly section. I eventually eat shit and he goes by me, I’m not dead so I keep going. Everything is just so damp. I let 5-7 people go by. Theres some even wetter bits and I’m even more sketched out. I see a nice dry rock roller and try and go over it, only to slide out and land on my hip. Wtf. I’m over this now. I get to star gap and at least that is more groomed that Heartbreak, and I get into some flow and have some fun. I’m listening for the sound of the heckle area on the bottom of star gap, which is a good 10-15 foot rooty drop that they really give you shit for not riding. No way I’m riding it. I get passed by a guy in a CLT Summer Short Track series jersey and decide this is my race. He rides the section but I’m able to close the gap on him. Ride over a shallow creek, dismount over some train tracks and we are back to the aid stations.
I grab a bottle of water, he stops for his goods, and I decide if I’m going to put in any real hard effort, now is the time. “effort” at hour 6 is kind of a joke, but I do 237w for almost 12 minutes up the gravel climb into the next section of new single track. When I got to the trail I really was not in the mood for it, I just wanted to be home. I eventually catch one of the younger kids that I saw at the top of Curtis Creek and I’m able to follow his lines on this next section of trail, Bernard Mountain, which is an absolute blast. Even more Raystowny stuff. I would totally come back just to ride this stuff. CLT short track guy is the same gap as before, so that is good. We eventually finish this section and by the end of it, I was glad they added that trail. I forgot about all the shit I went through before and had a smile on my face.
I link up with young Rapha kid and chat for a tad, saying he must be a local, only to find out hes from Alabama, just actually a mountain biker, unlike myself. We chat for a tad and share some turns to get home faster. Pass some singlespeed guy and it starts to drizzle. So happy I didn’t have to deal with any additional moisture on them damn roots. The finishes crosses some sketchy bridge and this kid certainly isn’t over the age of 30, so my caution ass lets him go and finish in front of me.
I roll in with an elapsed time of 6:46, where I probably left a good 10-15 minutes on the table on shit mountain biking. That time was good enough for 26th in 30-39, Not sure how many finished, but 63 were reg’d in that category. I think I got 9th in my age group last year? I smash some lasagna and analyze my boo-boos, take a dip in the creek to wash up and roll home.
Maybe I keep mountain biking as a “fun” thing to do instead of racing going forward 😉
Maybe XC style racing is more your game? There seems to be way more options for that down by you, including in SC.
Headphones? Omg how controversial of you. And standing to use different muscles? Also very controversial.
I’m glad I didn’t do this. I suck at racing lately. I’d rather suck at a 90 minute race than a 6+hour race. That’s just me though.
It sounds like you did ok. Good job. I bet more suspension and better tires would have made the slippery stuff less sketchy. Time for a new bike! And isn’t that why we do different events? To make excuses to buy new bikes?
I’m glad I didn’t do this. I suck at racing lately. I’d rather suck at a 90 minute race than a 6+hour race. That’s just me though.
It sounds like you did ok. Good job. I bet more suspension and better tires would have made the slippery stuff less sketchy. Time for a new bike! And isn’t that why we do different events? To make excuses to buy new bikes?
Pearl
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING
They are the aftershokz ones and maybe I just stand up because it gives me something else to do? Lol
I always wanted to pop in an ear bud during the 4 hour races but I know people would get all bent out of shape.
Fuck it we should race with one of these.