Mohican 100

xc62701

xc62701

Well-Known Member
Anybody heading out to Ohio for this one? It's the day before Bearscat so many of you will be there, but if you're not doing that race, you've gotta try this one. Super cool vibe and amazing trails. It's only an 8 hour drive from north jersey. I just reserved my lodging for this - got a sweet cabin at the finish line with a hot tub! ;-) I'm going to do it right this time.

http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=14869
 
do you do these car rides and races solo?
Is it difficult to get thru it with no support?

What kind of bikes generally are these guys on? suspension? hardtail? 26? 29? How bout you?

If you had like a handful or top 10 list of advice. What would you say?

It's friday!
 
THATmanMANNY said:
do you do these car rides and races solo?
Is it difficult to get thru it with no support?

What kind of bikes generally are these guys on? suspension? hardtail? 26? 29? How bout you?

If you had like a handful or top 10 list of advice. What would you say?

It's friday!
Click to expand...

I've done a bunch of them solo and it's good...but much more fun with a group of course. The hardest one is driving 13 hours down to Tennessee for the Cohutta 100, racing, and then driving 13 hours back the next day solo. That hurts.

No support is fine. Most of the 100 milers have aid stations about every 15-20 miles. They have all kinds of repair supplies and food, but that doesn't mean you should depend on them. I bring everything to be self sufficient(besides water) and only rely on the aid stations when necessary. Of course I can't carry 2 gallons of water so I rely on the aid stations for that. All of my repair supplies and food I have on me or in my drop bags. Usually each race will give you 2 - 1 gallon zip lock bags to put food or whatever in them to pick up at the aid stations. You have to plan what aid station you may need them at.

A lot of people generally ride full suspension because of the endurance nature of the race. Finishers range from 6.5 hours to 17+ or whatever the cutoff is. The thing to remember is that there are a handful who are gunning for the win but a lot are there for the adventure or even as a life goal. It's great to ride with all these people from all over the country. Usually when you're suffering the worst you find someone that's right there with you and chatting with them helps get through it.

Others, like me, ride a hardtail. I choose to ride front suspension, although a few do it on rigids as well. For me it's not a crazy light hardtail that does the trick either. It's nice to have a light bike but it needs to be durable. I've done them on Alum bikes and Carbon and they are both fine.

Top Ten:
  • Hydrate Properly before the event - if you cramp, that's bad for 8 hours.
  • Hydrate Properly during the event - a lot of times it's easy to get caught up in the race and not take in fluids. This will kill your ability to go hard later.
  • Get Nutrition dialed in - you don't want stomach issues for 8 hours.
  • Ride a lot - don't ride for 10 hours in prep for a 10 hour event but two back to back 5 hour days is not a bad idea. Just make sure you do this a month or more before the event so you are properly recovered for the race.
  • Race from aid station to aid station - racing for the whole 100 miles is daunting but if it's broken into smaller chunks it's more manageable mentally.
  • Know your gear - make sure everything is checked over on the bike - lube, psi, cable condition, bolts tight, etc...
  • Do your homework - know how big the climbs are(how long, how many feet of vert, how frequent, and in relation to the aid stations
  • Keep your efforts in check. You only have so many matches to burn. Over a 100 miles you'll know when you have gone too hard.
  • Recover recover recover. You'll be amazed how many times you can bonk in 100 miles. If it's only once you're lucky. The key is to eat and hydrate and press on. If you have cramps that lock up. Ride through them and they will release eventually. I've finished the last 10 miles of many 100's by punching myself in the legs to get the cramps to stop. Sounds funny but it works. The muscles can't take more than one impulse at a time so they don't know what's going on when you hit them so the cramps start to subside.
  • Have fun. When it gets painful and tough to keep going, remember how fun it is to just ride your bike.

How's that?
 
dude, that was awesome, thank you

you posted and I almost pulled the trigger on reg'ing with a wth attitude but I think I should ask some questions first haha

I'm in no way gunning for the win haha. It's more about the adventure for me. I've done long rides like ~6hrs but it's been looong time. As long as it's not like 100mi of mooch, I think I will be ok

I would prefer a FS but I do not have one for the job right now.

my best friend is in Columbus and I haven't paid him a visit in a couple years so I was thinking two birds one stone
 
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Wow--thanks for the info. I've been wanting to extend my riding and avoiding cramping is a concern. Aside from the hydrating and eating, obviously you can't ask your muscles to do something they aren't used to, so I'm trying to build up slowly when I can.
 
Sorry Ryan, decided I wanted to try the Bearscat...now I'm trying to work out which race to make my 4th NUE for the season.

Currently looking at Lumberjack, High Cascades and Shen.
 
I'll be out there this year Ryan. I have a crew of 6 or 7 heading out from my area. What cabin rentals did you get? We are still trying to figure out where to stay and a hot tub sounds oh so good.
 
THATmanMANNY said:
dude, that was awesome, thank you

you posted and I almost pulled the trigger on reg'ing with a wth attitude but I think I should ask some questions first haha

I'm in no way gunning for the win haha. It's more about the adventure for me. I've done long rides like ~6hrs but it's been looong time. As long as it's not like 100mi of mooch, I think I will be ok

I would prefer a FS but I do not have one for the job right now.

my best friend is in Columbus and I haven't paid him a visit in a couple years so I was thinking two birds one stone
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A friend in Columbus = perfect excuse to get out there and enjoy these amazing trails! Yea most aren't going for the win and is truly a beautiful day on the bike. I've done this on perfect days and the last time I've done this was after 3+ inches of rain the day prior and 2+ inches and a few tornados on race day. That was a crazy race in 2009. Residents on the course were shouting to take cover and get off the course because a tornado is coming and all I'm focused on was getting my best time on the course. I did come in 13th though :) in 8:56. I'm looking for more this year. 10:24 was my first attempt and 8:30 is my quickest finishing time. Looking for sub 8 this year. It'll be tough.
 
pedals said:
Wow--thanks for the info. I've been wanting to extend my riding and avoiding cramping is a concern. Aside from the hydrating and eating, obviously you can't ask your muscles to do something they aren't used to, so I'm trying to build up slowly when I can.
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Yea cramping is the #1 issue out there but I think intensity and food/hydration intake are key. Plus it doesn't help to take supplements like the endurolyte pills. They seem to hold off the cramps but not stop them totally. I don't think anything will stop cramps period. It's inevitable.
 
Glancing Aft said:
I'll be out there this year Ryan. I have a crew of 6 or 7 heading out from my area. What cabin rentals did you get? We are still trying to figure out where to stay and a hot tub sounds oh so good.
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Grab one of the Mohican Adventures A Frame cabins and you'll be right next to me :) There's only 3 of them so act fast! It's the campground right at the finish line of the race. I want to take my finishers BBQ back to the cabin and eat in the hot tub :D
 
6thElement said:
Sorry Ryan, decided I wanted to try the Bearscat...now I'm trying to work out which race to make my 4th NUE for the season.

Currently looking at Lumberjack, High Cascades and Shen.
Click to expand...

Shen is always good but I'd do High Cascades if I could pick one of the 3. That would be great although logistically draining.
 
i'm reging if i ride today. no jokes. I also told a couple friends in ohio and they said they would do it but ill believe it when i c it
 
My thinking was if I rode today with these roads and ahole spraying drivers then I can muster up the encouragement to train for this 100. Well, I rode, got sprayed, honked at, freezing, nearly an accident of two cars because ppl think its smart to pass qith caution over a hill. Thank god for fenders tho. I'm reg'ing tonight!
 
Manny, it's not actually that hard to finish as long as you enjoy longer rides and learn how to feed yourself while riding all day.

I did my first race season in '08, racing beginner in the H2H. Decided I wanted a bigger challenge in '09 and finished 25th overall in the NUE series with 4 100 milers complete. I'd never even ridden a century until I crossed the line at the Cohutta :D
 
THATmanMANNY said:
My thinking was if I rode today with these roads and ahole spraying drivers then I can muster up the encouragement to train for this 100. Well, I rode, got sprayed, honked at, freezing, nearly an accident of two cars because ppl think its smart to pass qith caution over a hill. Thank god for fenders tho. I'm reg'ing tonight!
Click to expand...

Awesome!!! I guess I should register soon too. Rates go up Feb 1st.
 
xc62701 said:
Grab one of the Mohican Adventures A Frame cabins and you'll be right next to me :) There's only 3 of them so act fast! It's the campground right at the finish line of the race. I want to take my finishers BBQ back to the cabin and eat in the hot tub :D
Click to expand...

I grabbed Cabin #1, so I'll be seeing you out there. You'll probably already be asleep though by the time I finish :D
 
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