This is one of my favorite ~4hr routes.  Starting from my house in McKinney and riding out to Isle Du Bois State Park near Pilot Point, TX.  It’s roughly 72 miles.  I have a few variations of this route, I like the gravel road version but that definately slows the ride down so that you are pushing 6hrs to complete it. 

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=2003388

 There’s plenty to look at out here.  Great wide open views of the land.   I was out there riding 6/25/2008 with Adam when we came across this…

He was crossing the road and I went right by him.  Adam came by next and I watched the Rattler strike at the bike but miss.  We then turned around and had a closer look (but not too close).  You couldn’t see the rattle on his tail but when we got closer you could definately hear the rattle.  The snake quickly took to the cover of the brush along the side of the road.  He just wanted to be left alone.

Sunday 5/25/08 - Memorial Day weekend

Adam e-mailed me the other day asking what ride I had planned this weekend.  I didn’t have anything except I had thought about doing a boring road ride up the service road.  He didn’t seem too impressed.  But when I told him I was going to try to make it to the Oklahoma border and back his perspective changed a bit as the challenge was now before him.  I decided to invite a few additional crazies on the ride to share in the adventure.  John Sanborn and Chris Ferguson.  John had mentioned riding his mountain bike and I said that should be fine because we weren’t going to be setting any speed records on this ride and Adam was bringing his fixed gear.  John was not enthused when Adam shows up on his geared roadie leaving him the only one on a MTB.  At least it was 29er and a light one.

I wanted to get an early start to “beat the heat” so I told the guys to get here by 7am or so.  I guess we should have started at 5:30am or earlier if we were going to beat the heat because we ended up baking our brains in the heat anyway.  We finally rolled out from the house at 7:40am and headed east to 75.  We jumped on the service road and stayed there.  You can’t just go straight up the service road all the way to Oklahoma like you can on the actual interstate.  There are a few spots where you have to get off and hit other roads and then jump back on.  Thanks to John’s GPS on his Blackberry we were able to navigate all of these transitions with minimal additional mileage (I think i’m finally sold on the Blackberry.  I need one now).

It was a very enjoyable ride most of the way to the border with the wind at our backs and the reasonable temps.  Everyone was in a good mood and cutting up and just having a good time.  This was going to be easy!!  Even though you couldn’t really feel the wind at your back I started noticing that the flags were blowing around pretty good and stiff and then I realized that the trip back was going to be real work.  Little did I know.

We had no incidents other than a flat tire 200yds from the Oklahoma border sign.  I stopped and put a tube in and blew it up with a CO2.  John continued the remaining 200yds and snagged a pic of himself by the border.

I continued working on my flat situation. But as I started to put the wheel back on POP!!!  It blew.  So, I knew there was probably something stuck in the tire.  I took the tire off again and checked the inside by running my hand around the inside of the tire but couldn’t locate anything.  Adam found the problem though.  I had rolled over a piece of glass and it cut a 1/4 inch slice in the sidewall of my Conti GP4000 (almost brand new tire).  The tube new tube had poked it’s way through the slice and the little bubble that had formed gave way to the high pressures.  So, we patched the sliced tire with an old ketchup packet that was laying along the side of the road, put a new tube in and pumped it up. 

Good to go.

After a brief stop at the border to snap this picture it was time to return.

Now, the work begins.  Heading back South into the headwind.  Our avg. speed went from 20mph to 15mph and below.  It was getting hotter too.  Let the suffering begin.  First John started to sag a little on some of the climbs.  Then me.  I think everyone was hurting a bit at this point about 5 or 6 hours into the ride (including stops).  Pain or not we were 50 - 60 miles from home at this point and had no choice but to trudge on and make it back.  Around 2pm we stopped in Howe, TX for some food.  They had a Sonic there.  Not really what you want but any place was fine with us at this point.  We sat down and ate and then took off again 20 minutes later.  Now the final leg.

By this time the sun was really beating down but we managed to make it back to my place at around 5pm.  8hrs of ride time, 122.25 miles, over 9hrs total elapsed time.  I can’t say I’d recommend this ride to very many people but it was an adventure and overall, I’d have to say that I had a good time.

This was our route: http://tiny.cc/bksEt

I’ve been going and doing the crits this year.  Never have in the past.  The first one I did I took off and ran hard like a rabbit for the pack to chase.  Not really the best tactic necessarily and I knew it but just couldn’t help myself.  Of course I tired out after a while and the pack caught me.  I sprinted for 10th I think… 

The next time I went out and sat on the back and got whipped around a little and ended up doing worse than 10th.  Okay, now I need a new tactic.  After 5 tries I think i’m finally catching on… i’m a slow learner.  I sat in for 2 laps and then pushed it a bit for a couple of laps and then rested again.  Then with 2 laps to go I just covered whatever attacks came while staying near the front.  Then pinned it in the last 1/2 of the last lap and sprinted for 2nd or 3rd.   I can tell that I don’t excel at these crits but they definately are a good workout.   http://www.fdmcycling.com/tuescritinfo.html

John, Chris and I arrived in Coldspring with just a bit over an hour to spare before race start.  We got ready and did a warmup with Larson, Boyd and Martin then headed over to the start area.  My group lined up and shortly after that we are moving.  I’m feeling pretty good and get the holeshot and go into the woods 1st wondering how long it would last.  One of my race goals today was to stay with the leaders as long as I could and I managed about 35minutes on the front (1 full lap) so mission accomplished I suppose.  After going through the big sandpit after the first lap they start to go by.  Chris Renshaw, then Wallace Groda, then Kevin Koen and Bonavita too.  Dang!  Now i’m in 5th place.  So I hold their wheel for a while but had to slow down just a bit and take a rest.  After slowing down I could hear a couple of other guys coming up from behind.  It was John Rigdon and a Subaru / Fisher rider.  Something happened in one of the corners and I went down.  I got up quickly and moved out of the way as Rigdon passed me.  I jumped back on and took off after him, quickly reeling him back in.  I made a poorly judged attempt to pass Rigdon just before going back into singletrack after a short trip down some fireroad and ended up aborting that attempt.  In the process I went off the trail and the Subaru / Fisher guy behind us went by.  So, now i’m in 7th.  I caught back up to these guys and sat on their wheel for a bit.  I’m pretty sure I could have ridden faster w/out them in front of me but so be it.  The Subaru guy passed Rigdon and disappeared.  I finally got around Rigdon and tried to catch him but I had let too much time go by before getting around.  I did catch up with the usual suspects in the 19-29 class though and caught all but the 1st, 2nd and 3rd positions in that class.  Not my best race by any means.  Disappointed?  Yes, a little.  But I do feel like a gave a good physical effort, just not my best day handling the bike or with the mental aspect of the race.  I did manage to move up to 4th in the overall standings after our first “drop” was calculated into the overalls.  This put me ahead of Bobby Etheridge by 1 point and moved me ahead of Dave Espers as well.  I’m sure Bobby will come out with guns blazing at X-Bar to try to take 4th.

6th place.  Nothing stellar but nothing to be ashamed of either.

Full USAC Results: https://www.usacycling.org/results/?permit=2008-790

I went down to Comfort with John and Chris.  We drove 5.5hrs straight to Flat Rock Ranch, changed and hit the trail.  The weather was awesome, nice and sunny but not too hot.  The trail was also in great shape and I knew that the race would be FAST.  I was feeling super strong for the first time in a while, this gave me a good boost of confidence that I have been lacking lately due to being sick for what seems like an eternity.  I thought to myself that things were coming together for me to have a good race.  So, back to the hotel now and we shower, change and went over to the “Cowboy Steakhouse” in Kerville, TX.  This place has some really good food and I would suggest it to anyone.  We ate like kings and let me tell you, the apple pie was better than any I have ever had (except maybe Mom’s) and that’s saying alot.  Anyway, enough about the food.

Okay, race morning.  We slept late so packed up, huried through breakfast and hit the road from Kerville to Comfort.  We arrived at the race venue with 1.5hrs to spare before the race.  Got changed, registered, etc. and rode around a little.  Chris and I rode together because we wanted to take it easy and not overdo the warmup.  I get to the line and look around.  Only 20 of us on the line this time…why so few??  Comfort is one of the best trails on the circuit!! 

The top contenders in my class were all there though.  Koen, Groda, Renshaw, Etheridge, Esper, Park.  Jurgen gives us the 1 minute, 30 seconds and then the whistle and we’re off FULL BLAST as usual and this is a long start before you hit single track.  We’re all out for at least 5 minutes before we get to the trail.  Koen, Renshaw and Groda pull away and gap Esper, myself and J. Park.  After a couple of minutes Park bridges up to the leaders leaving D. Esper and myself then a gap back to the remaining racers.  I probably could have spent the energy to catch them but thought better of it with the climbing that I knew was coming.  I kept them in sight though, just in front of me about 50 meters.  Once we hit single track I passed Esper and gapped him a little…Bobby E. did the same and I could see him coming up. Back and forth up the switchbacks in the upper loop.  And up up up through the rock gardens.  You have to be on your game in the upper loop.  It’s some of the most technical trail we ride in the TMBRA series.  It’s Very rocky, rooty and lots of steep climbs.  Also, there are plenty of tight little turns that come up just as you are gaining some good speed on the decents.  That’s what I was having trouble with have not ridden the upper loop durning our pre-ride.  I think it would have helped me to pre-ride the upper loop.

Moving along, I see K. Koen up there, he has gotten dropped by the 3 leaders, now I realize that he must be hurting a little because he’s usually up there in the lead.  I tried to catch him a couple of times and came really close to his wheel but one of those tight turns got me and I had to lay the bike down.  I Picked myself up but I was in kind of an awkward spot to try a quick remount.  I saw Bobby coming up and let him go by before getting back on.  I could never close the gap between Bobby and I after that.  But I did manage to get K. Koen.  This was on the lower loop right before the Pipeline Climb I came across Koen laying under a tree.  He had tweety birds and stars floating around above his head.  I asked him if he was okay and he said yes, so I kept on going.  That put me in 5th and that’s how it stayed.  The rest of the trail is really fast.  It’s some of the fastest best flowing singletrack you can imagine.  Once you get to this point on the trail it’s hard to make up time on someone because of the lack of climbing.

Fifth place though and I’ll take it.

Full USAC results: https://www.usacycling.org/results/index.php?permit=2008-838

I suck.

No, but I was sick.

I thought I was well enough to race and I guess I was, but just barely.  My stamina and endurance were nowhere to be found.  I had absolutely nothing coming off of the line and got smoked by everyone.  Going into the single track with the last 10 guys out of 30 in my class.  I managed to pass 10 or so after that but quickly burned out and suffered through the rest of the race.  I really thought I was in last place or close to it and wanted to quit the race 2 or 3 times but talked myself out of it.  I’m glad I finished this one.  Even at 13th place out of 35 racers I still received valuable points toward the overall standings. 

 13th place.  Nothing outstanding about this one.

Full USAC results: https://www.usacycling.org/results/index.php?permit=2008-581

It wasn’t the greatest week, leading up to the TMBRA #3 race at Waco, TX.  I’d been trying to fight off some sort of sickness since last Wednesday, I wrecked my Jeep Wednesday night on the way to WRL for a training ride and had received a couple of tickets on Tuesday for various infractions.  I felt lucky to make it to the start line on Sunday and wasn’t really expecting much from myself during the race to tell the truth.  Warming up, my legs felt flat.  I went through my normal warmup though with some high cadence drills, some easy riding and some power jumps and went to the start area.  Large group today…probably 40 riders.  Who says mountain bike racing is dying??  I get to the line and look around.  Familiar faces.  Koen, Hardy, Renshaw.  Jurgen goes through his speech and then we’re off!  The start at Waco is like a drag strip.  1/2 a mile of concrete with a u-turn at the half-way point.  Then you bank left and hit the single track.  Riders were wreckless on the start and though I got to start on the front line today, my legs weren’t feeling springy enought to stay in front.  I got passed and continued to get passed.  I don’t like the way some of these guys ride in a pack and next time I will fight harder to stay in front of the riff raff.  A couple of guys in front of me got tangled up in the singletrack and went down…yelling f*&n a*@hole as he fell.  I swerved around this mess and continued on.  Being patient and sitting in.  In the single track I felt like the leaders were probably slipping away and felt like I was being held back but not much I could do about it in the singletrack.  Be patient.  There’s plenty of racing left and lots of opportunities to pass.

I stuck to the plan and just picked people off slowly one by one….looking for E6 leg markings along the way.  I finally caught and passed Etheridge and got Stephen Hardy’s wheel.  I think we were sitting in 5th & 6th or so.  Then somewhere along the line I must have burped a little bit of air out of my tire because the rear was squirming around something aweful.  It was still rideable but I felt as though I couldn’t hit corners as aggresively as I usually do for fear of ripping the tire right off.  I continued on though.  We came through the start finish area and I made a good pass before hitting the singletrack again.  I’m still riding on Hardy’s wheel and we caught and passed Koen as well.  This is when things took a turn.  Someone from the 19-29 group went over the bars on a root and I locked up the brakes and came to a stop.  We got wrapped up and his eggbeater was stuck in my front wheel.  When we got that untangled I thought it was a good opportunity to pop a little air in the back tire.  As I did that I started getting passed….1, 2, 3, 4, 5 they just kept coming by as I aired up.  Now, I’ve got to pass all these guys again! Dang!
I get back on the bike and realized quickly that my tire was now TOO full of air as I was losing traction in the corners but I ain’t stopp’n again.  I started trying to pick off those guys that went around me earlier.  Some were easy to pass as I called out to them and others didn’t want to let me by even though they were in a different class.  No worries though.  I finally catch up with Bobby Etheridge again and he surely does not want me to pass!  Earlier he had bobbled one of the little short but rocky/rooty climbs and caused me to unclip.  He did it again, might have even been the same exact spot as on the previous lap, he jumps off and starts running his bike up the trail.  I called out for him to yield the trail to a rider, he finally did, I passed him and made the pass stick.

The third lap was tough for me.  I had been burning alot of energy up trying to get back to where I was before stopping.  My quads were on the virge of locking up by the last 1/2 of the 3rd lap.  I put it all out there today and in the end only managed 7th place.  I can’t be too unhappy about how things turned out considering everything that happend.  Both before and during the race.  I’m hoping to get back on track and put down some quality performances in the races ahead.  The goal is to win the series and based on what I’ve seen this Srping it is a lofty goal yet still achievable.  But 7th place finishes isn’t going to get it done.

See you in Warda.

 Full USAC Results: http://www.usacycling.org/results/?permit=2008-663

This course always ends up getting the better of me one way or another.  I think it just doesn’t fit my strenghts very well.  Things didn’t start out as expected either.  When I got to the start line there were about 40 guys in my class and I was at the very back.  No problem, I thought…I got 2nd at Terlingua and they’ll call the top 10 up to the front like they always do.  I yelled out to Jurgen, “you calling the top 10 up?”  “No”, he says.  Damn, that sucks.  It had something to do with the 1 minute intervals between classes or something.  Okay.  I scooch up as far as I can in the pack and end up like on the 3rd line or so.  Gun goes off and it’s a long long start.  I manage to get into top 10 going into the single track from The Oaks and I worked hard to catch the leaders.  I catch the leaders coming up the last climb out of The Oaks.  I passed them going into Hole in the Tree.  And kept attacking down Hole in the Tree.  I had a small gap on them up to Horseshoe.  As we climbed up horseshoe beginning to pass guys from the class ahead I realized that I had made a mistake.  I’d pushed a bit too hard in the first 15 minutes of the race.  When we got to the very top of Horseshoe I got passed.  1, 2, 3 guys go by and I have no choice but to watch them go.  K. Koen, C. Renshaw and another guy I’m not sure of.  I tried to keep them in site but my body was saying “BACK OFF!!!!!”.  I recovered going down the little down hill section but the leaders now have at least 30 seconds on me.  Then I run into a couple of the Expert 17-18 guys, but there is absolutely no place to pass and they won’t pull over.  I have no choice but to sit in with them until there is a better opportunity to pass.  I finally get around them just before hitting Rustler’s Loop.  At this point the leaders have probably added another minute on the lead.  No worries, I’m still in 4th.

The race was pretty uneventful after that.  I caught a few PSE guys, M. Bohn, J. Sanborn (dealing with a flat).  I caught some 19-29 guys.  Each time, hoping that I’d see an E3 marking on a leg….but no.  Nothing.  No site of the lead group.  I was still pushing hard though, trying to get a glimpse of them and my right quad started to cramp toward the very end of the race but never siezed up.  I finished 4th in 2:01.  Leaders beat me by a healthy margin and I have some work to do but I think strategy played as much a part as anything in this race.  I also think that racing at the end of a rest week is not going to give you your best performance.  I didn’t do much the previous week…that’s just how my schedule was setup.  Waco will be different as I will be doing some intervals for the two weeks going in.  I may try to attack off the front again at the beginning but not sure yet.  It has worked in the past, but these guys (K. Koen and C. Renshaw) seem to be able to cover.

The beer tasted good after this race.

Okay.  See you in Waco.

Full USAC Results: http://usacycling.org/results/?permit=2008-89

The Mas O Menos 100k race went off with a rolling neutral start.  We had two rollout guys.  I was on the front line but that didn’t last long.  I couldn’t believe how aggressive guys were being trying to get right up on our leadout guy’s tire.  We went around one of the loose gravely corners and sure enough someone took out one of our neutral leadouts as well as a racer.  I was being patient, maybe too patient, but I figure this is going to be a long day and the course will balance things out in the end so…

Okay, the remaining leadout guy peels off and it’s on.  Everyone is hauling ass and jockying for position going down the fast fast jeep road.  The goal here for me is just to stay within site of the lead guys.  I passed a couple of guys when I had opportunity to do so and went into the single track about 15th position.  Holding to my “be patient” strategy I followed the group through the single track and took it easy.  I definately could have been going faster and smoother without these guys in front of me though.  So, when a good opportunity arose I made my first move and passed 4 of the guys in front of me and quickly bridged the small gap that had formed ahead.  This time I came up to a group of 4 lead out by Dave Esper.  I followed them for a while and they seemed to be moving much better than the previous group.  Up ahead maybe a quarter mile or so, I could see Bobby Etheridge and another guy so I set my sites on them next.  When he hit the stretch where we turned back into the wind for a bit I broke away from the Espers group and bridged up to Bobby.  After working through a bit of traffic with the Ethridge group I put the hammer down with an attack on the short jeep road just prior to the first aid station.  The attack was successful in dropping all the members of that group except for Bobby.  He was riding well I thought and would be a force in this race.  So, I tried to shake Bobby and finally did (at least for a while) on the false flat just prior to Tres Cuervos.  I was alone going up Tres Cuervos but unsure of my exact position in the race at this point but now I figure at that point I was probably sitting in 3rd or 4th behind John Rigdon and a Cat 1/2 roady guy who ended up winning the race.

Now, I had never been to Terlingua before but had done the 30K course the previous day and had been up Tres Cuervos and knew what lie ahead.  I was licking my freak’n chops just waiting to get to the top because I felt that I could really lay it down on some of that trail up there and recover on the awesome downhill that followed.  I poured it on over the small climbs up there and passed John Rigdon.  I don’t think he knew who I was because he was like “hey dude, what class are you in?”  I told him 30-30 Expert and he tried for a while to stay with me.  But when I got to the jeep road I don’t think my speed fell below 20mph and hit top speeds of 30 coming down.  Passing more tenative riders left and right.  I don’t know why but I don’t fear the downhill.  I knew that on the second lap, once I got to that downhill section that nobody was going to pass me.

Coming in from the first lap I had to go into the pit and grab a bottle.  I still had one bottle full but I knew I’d need plenty of fluid for the second lap in order to finish strong.  I wasted at least a minute getting my bottle and a little confused on where the proper exit was and weather or not I had been scored for my first lap.  I spotted Mike Bohn and followed him out of the pit and he assured me that I couldn’t have missed being scored for my first lap.  We rode together until the singletrack and talked a little.  He said he wasn’t feeling all that great but he managed to stay with me until the singletrack.  After I dropped Mike I was looking back and I could see John Rigdon coming up again and I was starting to worry that he might catch and pass me because I know he’s a strong rider and has been doing some marathons this season.  But he never came within striking distance again.  However, I was starting to feel the beginning fatigue in the legs.  Out in the flats of the desert once again and I look back and who is there?  Bobby Etheridge.  I thought I was done with this guy.  He was now right on my wheel.  I had to shake him once again.  I got passed by some PSE guy wearing an Orbea kit and caught his wheel to try and shake Bobby.  That worked and I didn’t see Bobby again until after the race.  I couldn’t hang with Orbea though but we did talk for a bit.  Apparently, he had been having problems with his seatpost slipping down and had to keep stoping to adjust it so that’s how I had passed him earlier in the race.

Okay.  Now I see Sanborn up there and wanted to catch up with him to see how he was doing.  I caught him and he said he was having trouble with his grip slipping off.  He pulled it off and showed me before putting it back on.  He let me around and I told him, “Bobby is coming up…”

After that, fatigue really started setting in and I just wanted to get to the top of Tres Cuervos again, which I did, but it was definately slow going.  I was proud of myself for not dabbing anything on the second lap even though I was really really tired.

I finished in 4hrs 34min and took the second place pot.

All photos Copyright Chris Vandivere (aka KarmaBiker) 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008

Love me some Terlingua.
See you at BarH

 Full USAC Results: https://www.usacycling.org/results/index.php?permit=2008-77

Just to start off with, ever since the first time I rode it 2 years ago I’ve always felt like Ruston sets the bar for a XC trail and race venue.  I love everything about the course.  The way it is set up, the jumps, the berms, the double track.  The crew also goes above and beyond each year to set the trail up for this race.  Last time they had gone out with blowers and blown all of the leaves off of the trail prior to the race.  This time they had patched different areas of the trail with orange clay to smooth out roots on some of the fastest downhill sections on the course.  Okay, you get it.  I love me some Lincoln Parish Park trail!!!!

So, I drove over Saturday morning and made good time ~4hr 45min drive time with stops.  Didn’t make it there in time to do the short track event and so there was no reason to try to sign up for the time trial.  Guys were coming back from the short track event and saying how taxing it was.  I kind of felt bad about the fact that I was gonna put a hurt’n on ‘em tomorrow.

I got to the start line by 9:45am for a 10am start.  Sanborn and I had already gone over the plan for another 1-2 finish like at Bryan.  Off we went.  The start is very long….probably close to a mile before you finally hit what most consider “singletrack”.  Sanborn is off the freak’n front and I am way way back.  I put out a bit more effort in order to stay in the top 10.  I am sitting 10th or so when we hit the singletrack and things start to settle in for a minute or two.  Now you come in and out of the singletrack a few times and each time you come out to an opening it’s ON.  Everyone trying to jockey for a spot or two.  About the third time you come out of the single track it really opens up for a while as you travel down the back fence line.  You come to a bermed corner there and continue down another fence line.  I knew about this section and was anticipating it.  As soon as we came to the opening I poured it on and passed 8 guys going up the hill.  I hammered to the top of the hill knowing that a nice fast downhill was waiting for me.  I put it in overdrive for the downhill too and soon I was right behind jjay.  John was like “alright Brandish!” and we went down through the creek crossing together with a 15 second gap on the field.  Now the plan was coming together just as we talked about.

I stayed behind John and watch him for a while, he bobbled in a corner one time and then told me to take the lead.  Just as I was going to my front wheel washed out and my left foot came unclipped from the bike.  I glanced to my left and could see the field coming up fast.  I quickly picked up the bike and started peddaling with my right foot till I finally got clipped back in.  John took a 5 or 10 second gap on me but I closed it back up pretty quick.  I then took the lead and never saw him again.  I did however, see Nick Garza.  This guy is frik’n fast.  He got 2nd in the short track event, 1st in the Time Trial and came within 24 seconds of picking me off.  Much respect to Nick.  I’d see him at the start of the switchbacks just as I was finishing them.  But suprisingly, he never gained anymore time on me than that.  Each of the 3 laps, he would be entering the swtichbacks as I was exiting.  This was motivation for me to stay on the gas though and I did.

I have to say that by the last 20 minutes of the race my legs were cooked and I was worried about getting caught.  But after getting past the ski jump toward the end of the lap and looking back and not seeing Nick anywhere I knew this one was mine.

My first win