Ohio Cycling Disorder (OCD)

Camp Tuscazoar Entrance There is a reason that the word PAIN is a part of this mountain bike race. The race is held in Bolivar, OH at Camp Tuscazoar which is a Boy Scout Camp ... yes ... another race at a Boy Scout Camp (last Saturday was the Fools 50k at Camp Manatoc, a Boy Scout Camp in Peninsula, OH). These trails have to be the best-kept secret in Ohio; although I think the secret has been let loose over the last couple of years. SHAMELESS PLUG: The KNOBby Side Down Rac ing (KSD) led by Kenny Kocarek (local single-speed extraordinaire) has put in serious hard work and time to make these trails what they are today and they continue to not only improve the trails but make subtle changes to portions of the course that keep you on your toes. You like rocks? Kenny likes rocks and often travels to Rothrock, PA for a healthy dose of rock riding. Fairly certain this is where the idea of these awesome rock features come from, so yes ... there are a few challenging rock gardens at...

      I raced the Fools 50k in 2018 and only two weeks after racing the True Grit 100. The conditions last year were muddy and the worse trail conditions I had ever run in at the time so, of course, my ITBand issues cropped up about 3-4 miles to the finish and I lost 3rd place overall ( still took home 1st place for my age group 45-49 ).  This year I did not want to let that happen again, but trail conditions and weather would certainly be the determining factor.  They moved the race from the end of March to the third weekend of April so what was not playing into my favor is that I just finished a 5-day stage race, the Pisgah Stage Race just one week prior. I knew I was not going to be fully recovered but I sure as heck tried to pull out all the tricks in my recovery-bag; two massages, light cycling, a couple of easier runs, and daily foam-rolling/stretching/compression-boot sessions.  Heading into the race it had been raining, quite a bit actually...

Why did the gnar turn my frown upside down? In 2017 I traveled to race the Pisgah 111k event with my good friend Dave Jolin. While I had originally intended on racing the stage race I thought it might be better to spend one day gaining perspective on the gnar rather than be frustrated with 5 days of single track that is over my head. At the time it was the right decision and after having experienced the 111k the trails were in fact way more technical than I could handle or wanted to handle. Honestly, they scared the crap out of me. Fast forward two years, with having taken skills clinics to improve my handling skills, improved bike equipment, and having raced more gnarly single track to continue to work on skills ... I made the leap to take a shot at the Pisgah Stage Race. That isn't to say that I still felt ill-equipped and low in confidence with my bike handling skills heading into the race, but I wanted to at least give it a go having seen several of my Rescue Racing teamm...