Twain Reign of Pain - When the RD thinks he won't get more than a few Solo Nut Jobs

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 Racing (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 Tuscazoar trails; Eagle Hill to name one of them. Kenny likes to climb as well, so you better believe you can get solid elevation on these trails. Over the span of 8+ miles, you bet you will climb over 1200'. Heck yay!! END SHAMELESS PLUG

Solo Division - Who would take on this madness?!?!

The Twain Reign of Pain was the first Duo race I had ever taken on with teammate David Jolin in 2018. At the time I spoke with Kenny about having a Solo division and Kenny did not think that there would be enough nut jobs to take on such a challenge. Well ... we proved him wrong. As I understand it, 80% of the registrants were Solo. BOOM!! In true form of this race, it reigned ... errr ... rained quite substantially the day before, and earlier in the week, the event. The Tusc trails shed the water much like Mohican, fairly well, so I wasn't terribly concerned however this was probably the wettest I had seen and ridden the trails. Regardless, 70-80% of the trails were very solid. The wet spots were wet and deteriorated over the span of the race but were still ridable if you knew how to keep that rear wheel planted on the solid ground underneath the mud.

Race Course
Lap Race - Complete as many laps as you can in 6.5 hours (finishing in 6:31 does not count!)
Lap Distance - 8.30 miles (according to Strava)
Lap Elevation - Roughly 1,200'
Number Plate - Kenny gave me the #1 plate - Thanks for putting the Bullseye on my back Kenny!!
Weather - Sunny and cool at the start but warmed up to mid-50s after the first few laps

The sun was out and the race was on, so stoked to be able to tow-the-line on this, my third race weekend in a row, race day! It was chilly at the start but I did my best to not overdress and kept the leg warmers off. Did a short 18-20 minute warm-up on some of the gravel goodness that was on the final sections of the course, raised the HR into mid-Z2 and was fine with that. I had no idea how this day would go so I didn't want to spend too much energy knowing full well this was going to be a tough day IF I was able to complete the race.

Myself, Jeff Rupnow and teammate Jacob Gordon @ the start.

Kenny called everyone to the start-line before 10am, the official start time, in true fashion via his blow-horn (I swear he probably uses it at work), gave props to the crew for getting the trails ready for this beat-down of a race (Dicky Dee took out more trees than you care to know about ... the guy is just awesome for sure!!), called me out for my well-known lack of navigation ability in that "even Scott Morman can find his way around the course thanks to the markings" (LMAO), and finally jumped into his car and we were off!! A short gravel section where at the top of the climb it is GO time. I was roughly 10-12 riders back, not sure who was Solo vs Duo, and knowing it was a long day in the saddle that I wanted to not go out terribly hard and just pace myself. I'm no spring chicken.

The first bit of trail we hit is the East-side flow trail. They cut out the small lollipop on this side due to wetness so it was roughly 4-minutes faster than usual which made it a 6-minute section. I really dig flow trails as you can rail the turns and pick up speed coming out of them. I also used this section as my recovery for laps 3-6 because the West-side trails were such a beat-down. I got behind some riders that were a bit slower than me through this section but all good as I knew it would open up and I managed to get around a few riders before we hit the old-school West-side trails, where the fun really begins. Definitely old-school with rocks, roots, some wet spots, punchy climbs that keep you working, and not many opportunities to pass (but there are a few spots in-between trail sections). I really love the challenge of these trails as you have to stay on your toes most of the time and I took full use of my dropped on a few of the Enduro-like sections that allowed me to not lose time and take full advantage of the Fox 34 StepCast 120mm goodness mounted on my S-Works rig. LOVE THAT FORK!! The guys (Jake, Tim, Andrew ... these guys take GOOD care of me and my passion for riding) at my all-time favorite LBS, Eddy's Bike Shop, performed a 50-hour build on the fork just a few days before the race so it was dialed and ready for the gnar that Tusc trails can dish out.

New rock armoring on Eagle Hill courtesy of Kenny.

The part of the West-side trails that I always look forward to is Eagle Hill. This is where the rocks are a bit challenging if you are unfamiliar with the lines and yes there are lines but watch out because Kenny has been known to change the lines! To be perfectly transparent, I did not cleanly ride one particular rocky corner every lap. The first lap I was stuck behind a rider that came off the pedals, meh. The second and third lap I just screwed up hitting the line properly. BUT ... laps 4-6 ... NAILED IT!! Riding this section cleanly always stokes my engine and maybe that is why I started to feel better on laps 4-6. Maybe. Also, a few weeks before the race Kenny and the crew shored up some wet sections near the top of Eagle Hill with new rock armoring. I rode this section on my Wednesday recon ride, but on this day I only managed to clean it the first two laps. Laps 3-6 the lead in just got too sketchy for me and I struggled to keep traction and had to do the walk-of-shame. Oh and if you EVER think or removing rocks to make the trail EASIER?? DO NOT DO THIS because 1) you suck as a human being for doing this and 2) (and most importantly) Kenny will replace every rock that you remove with N+1 rocks. Trust me on this.

The awesome berm on the new Icky's Rough Cut trail.

After clearing Eagle Hill there is a fun Enduro descent that I love to rail as it has some fun water-bars that you can launch off of and leads you into a sharp left-hand turn down another rooty and quick descent into the valley of the camp alongside a river. Yes, I said river ... i.e. it's wet.  This is probably the wettest I have seen this section and it was definitely greasy in sections which made for more leg sucking funness. There is a quick VERY punchy climb coming out of the valley that I was just unable to clean, at all, for every lap. I tried to ride it the first 3-laps and they just threw in the towel and ran up the climb the rest of the laps. It's short but certainly takes more time than riding it. I have ridden it many times, but I do not clean it every time. One of these days I will figure out the magic incantation. After the river bed section, you do a little bit of fun and dry, single track that climbs you up to a new rough cut section aptly named, Icky's Rough Cut. When I rode this section on my Wednesday recon ride is was VERY rough. I think they cut it in maybe a week before the race due to the usual route being just too wet. I actually like this section as it has some fun switchbacks, nice off-camber portions, a cool lil'jump, and some tight trees to weave your wide-bars through. This section was of concern with all the rain that trail received but I must say that other than one small section that was indeed wet, mostly this new section held up extremely well and was just downright soft and loamy. It reminded me of racing the NUE race Hampshire 100. The New Hampshire trails are VERY loamy and just suck the life out of your soul, spirit, and legs!

Soooooo muddy.

After clearing Icky's Rough Cut the rest of the trails included a quick descent to another riverbed followed my more switchback climbing, up and out of the valley back onto a short gravel road that leads you back to the start/finish/aid station area. I had set up my easy-up where I had laid out all my bottles/food with some items pre-opened to reduce downtime and shared the love with David, Jacob, and Jeff Rupnow so that they had a well-defined location they could place their gear as well. We were riding just under 1-hour lap times so unless we could continue that pace and get to the point where we finished the 6th lap around 5.5-hours I knew full well that seven laps just would not be in the cards today. Had the trail been hero dirt, then 7-laps would be feasible in 6.5-hours, I think. Each lap felt more and more difficult, I mean this was my third race in a row so I knew full well that I would be in the hurt locker. The third lap was likely the worst, mentally for sure, and I just felt like I was a Bull in a China Shop with the bike slipping all over the place, me fighting the bike and the trail, and frankly, I just felt off. It wasn't that I felt sick, but I think it was more general fatigue and my body felt very much done. Towards the end of the third lap, I came up alongside Michael Banks, a local racer who is always very solid and definitely a person I like to keep an eye on during races. He has beaten plenty of times. I chatted with Mike for a bit and he mentioned that I may be in 2nd or 3rd place. Huh. I did not expect that and really did not take it to heart as I thought I was farther back than that. Regardless, I managed to get myself through a very painful and slow third lap, grab some food, a new bottle, and head out for a fourth lap. At this point, I would take one lap at a time but I tried to slow myself down a bit because I very much needed to feel better and I wanted to finish the race in one piece. My fourth lap was much better as I started to feel better overall, began to ride the wet sections much more efficiently, and began to rediscover the fun on the trails as opposed to the third-lap-hot-mess-of-a-mental-beat-down.

Feeling like Stella and having "gotten my groove back" I felt better both physically and mentally and I finished lap four. At the start the fifth lap I knew full well that only two more laps would be in the cards for today, so I decided to take a minute or two pull off a bunch of the mud/leaves/pine-needles out of the derailleur, chainring, crankset, and the frame that could be slowing me down. Right ... cuz that is why I was so slow. LOL I also threw some lube on the chain as I could tell that it was definitely drying out from getting wet, then dry, then wet, then dry ... rinse and repeat. Grabbed one more bottle for the final two laps, threw down a GU and I was off to the races. Lap five was fairly uneventful and I was definitely using the east-side flow trails as my recovery. I cleanly road Eagle Hill sans the new rock armored section, ran up that flipping steep pitch out of the valley just before Iky's Rough Cut, spotted and passed teammate Jacob Gordon (who told me at the time he had gotten sick on his third lap ... damn ... really felt bad for him) and I kept motoring on to start my final lap. Oh, and Jake recouped a bit and raced a fourth lap ... madman, I tell ya!! Way to go Jacob!!

Jeff (1st) and I (2nd) at the finish.

The thing I love about the "final lap" in a lap race is that I use every bit of the trail as motivation as I tell myself ... "last time for this section" ... annnnnnnd "last time for this section". You get the idea. It motivates me to find the energy to push with whatever is left in my old-diesel engine. Here's the rub ... I thought that Jeff was LOOOONG gone a well out of reach. In fact, I honestly had him pegged as finishing 7-laps but I knew he would likely need to turn himself inside out to accomplish such a feat due to the tough trail conditions. Well ... I happened upon Kenny's BFF Corinne on the trail and she calls out to me that "Jeff is just head". I think I responded with something like, "No way, he is long gone". At which point she says "No seriously, Jeff is just up the trail" (Sorry Jeff, blame Corine ... LOL). Well as I was coming up to the final rock armoring section on Eagle Hill I saw that all too familier Paradise Garage jersey. It was Jeff. Now ... this was a good and bad thing. It was good because it meant that neither one of us was going to complete 7-laps. Phew. It was bad because after racing for over 5-hours I now had a carrot and had to muster whatever energy I had left to try and hunt down my prey. Here's the thing though, Jeff is one VERY tough racer and he will NEVER go down without a fight. I just did not have it in me to reel Jeff in. I got close a couple times, but he finished 2-minutes ahead of me. I found out later on that he realized who had ridden up behind up (or close to being right behind him) and found that extra bit of hammer-time to put a good gap on me. Props to Jeff. Good friend, great mountain biker, and just an all-around super guy!!

BTW, if you are looking for a solid coach to help elevate your game, look up Jeff! He is the coach behind Evolution Training Cyclings (FaceBook). This guy knows his stuff and has led many racers to very successful seasons!!

There's a pulley in there somewhere.

Jeff and I finished 1st and 2nd respectively in what I believe to be respectable times of 5:41 (Jeff) and 5:43 (me) for a total of 6-maps. There just wasn't enough time left on the clock for a 7th lap and honestly, I was cooked. Major thanks to Kenny, the KSD crew, any and all volunteers that help put on this race, and the folks that run Camp Tuscazoar for such a great event! The race puts out cash prices along with local Ohio Maple Syrup (YUMMY), and a very cool custom patch. There were also sponsors like DirtRag that ponied up some sweet bottles and socks at the very start. Definitely snagged a new bottle and a pair of socks. Had some awesome stickers as well but I totally blanked and missed out on those. #oldmanbrain

For what it is worth, it took me a solid 25-minutes to just spray off the bike and then another 30-40 minutes to wash it and clean the drive train. What a mess!! Again, the trails were overall in good shape, but the mud just kept collecting all over the bike.

No, the trails were NOT that wet!!

Lastly, I have to call this to everyone's attention. The week before the race while Kenny was putting in serious trail-work time he got his car stuck and had to be pulled out. DUDE! You're driving a Subaru ... how did you get it stuck?!?! You're gonna drive me to buy a 4x4 for my next vehicle instead of a new Subaru. LOL

As always, none of this would be possible without the help of Rescue Racings incredibly pawsome team sponsors!!

Chamois Butt'r for such a great product that keeps me moving on the long hauls with no negative after effects that tend to be discovered in the post-event shower!! #winning

Infint Nutrition for making the tastiest, most effective custom sports nutrition ever that keeps me fueled and charging hard towards the finish line!

Maxxis Tires kept me so grounded with the best traction around!! Absolutely love the tires and grip I get on the trails. Go-to setup for this race was the beefy Forekaster (2.35) and a Rekon (2.25) on the rear. Awesome hook-up!!

Of course, tires are no good without a set of incredible wheels to run them on and the custom built wheels from Industry Nine are simply rock solid (see what I did there?) and roll like I am floating on clouds!! I love my Ultralight 240s with Torch Hubs!!

When it comes to tubeless sealant I have shifted all my tubeless setups to TruckerCo! I have tried Stans, it just balls up, I have tried Orange, several punctures have not sealed for me, and now TruckerCo. The first puncture I ever experienced was sealed by TruckerCo! Well ... nuf said ... it just works!!

Props to XPedo for having such incredibly light and durable pedals with the M-Force 8 Ti MTB pedals! These things fit like a glove with my shoes and are SUPER CRAZY smooth!!

Of course, if it wasn't for my favorite morning brew from Christopher Bean Coffee, that I look forward to EVERY morning, to get my energy level cranked up past level ten on the energy meter, then I'd be hitting the starting like looking like a zombie. So many flavors to choose from and all roasted at the time of the order!!

Order of 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc from left to right.