In 2018, I was close to getting a sub-8 hour time when I rolled through the finish in 8-hours and 6-minutes. It quickly became a goal of mine to go under 8-hours at Mohican. Knowing that my body is still not quick as snappy coming off, only two weeks ago, the Everest Challenge I had no clue how I would feel for Mohican. Everything "seemed ok", but I had not done any long rides since Everesting, so who know honestly what would happen when I got into the meat of the race.
This is the 9th year I have towed the line at the Mohican Endurance race. Totes cray-cray. The course has changed here and there through the years, but for the most part, the real crux of the course has remained the same. It is a local favorite of mine because not only do I have much familiarization with the course itself, but getting to line up with my friends, and teammates, is always a great experience and frankly what this stuff is all about.
The temperatures were incredibly kind at a mild 60* at the start so it was a full gun show for me. Ok, perhaps lil'pea shooter show ... but I was sporting my Jakroo Rescue Racing kit with the sleeveless jersey. I got to line up with a longtime friend, David Jolin, a very much out of towner friend, Alan Miner, and one my newest friends and super fast youngster Joe Urbanowicz (keep an eye on this kid ... he is one fast and extremely skilled mountain biker and trail runner!!). During my warmup, I got to briefly chat with the ever talented Jocylen Linscott and also caught a glimpse of a recent Rescue Racing, and mechanic extraordinaire, Jacob Gordon. There were a ton of other friends lining up as well and it was just an awesome scene as usual in the middle of Loudonville.
 |
| Mohican 100 Start Line - Always a cool scene |
After a handful of honorable mentions of the "whose who" on the starting line and a great duo rendition of the National Anthem, Ryan gave the countdown and we were off on a neutral, slow roll start to the, quite hateful, Tanneyhill Road Climb. When the race starts there is really zero warm-up before hitting this steep, nasty, little climb and about halfway up the lead vehicle gave the signal that the neutral start was over annnnnd .... I got shelled. Quickly. As I have said many times, I do not have a Jet Engine where I can wind it up quickly and launch off the start line. It is something I am working on, however, I got shelled to the middle/back of the pack quickly today. Worse than usual. It is what it is and I just rolled with it because I knew that once I got the old diesel engine warmed up I'd make some solid headway.
After roughly 7-ish miles we enter the Mohican Start Park single track and that is when I knew I was going to be in trouble on time getting to the first aid station. It was a proverbial parking lot situation, heavy construction, piles up ... just terrible. I got in line behind a slew of riders that were quick obviously not comfortable on the single track. The simplest little roots or rocks were challenging these folks and THAT is the problem with not having a Jet Engine at the start of these races. Now, I am not the best single track rider but I can ride everything at Mohican and am getting fairly good at track standing but I can only track stand so long before I have to come off the pedals and I can't count on both hands how many times that happened from when we entered the trails until aid station #1. Funny thing is this, I rode up behind a few local riders and asked to pass through. They were super kind and let me through, except it got tight in this section between some trees and I came off the pedals then slowed them up. I was so mad at myself, but these guys were awesome, laughed it off, gave me sh** for it of course, and said I could drop off some beer at their cabin as payment. LOL ... good times. This was right before the first aid station and as I pulled into aid #1 my awesome wife was there to greet me with a smile and my two fresh bottles of my favorite custom Infinit Nutrition mix. I was frustrated, to say the least, she could tell because I was 12-minutes off my 2018 pace. Grabbed my two bottles and I charged back out onto the trail to see if I could make up time.
 |
The Pit of Despair (aka The Waterbar section)
Photo (and heckling) creds to Corianne Kocarek |
Nope, nope, nope. Continuing the theme from when we entered the single track, it was a train wreck of cyclists moving at a snail's pace until things finally opened up around mile 19 and I managed to get around a few riders that thankfully could sense I was all over their wheel. There was a fresh cut section of trail this year that was put in to get us around the Big Ass Hill, as it has been coined, and this trail was actually really nice and flowy. I hope this is a new section we are allowed to ride permanently because I have to say that it was a blast. It does, however, lead into some bridal trails and one particular section, the Water bars section, has become a great place for hecklers. The Knobby Side Down crew has typically been there year after year with blow horns, heckling, encouraging, and generally having a blast watching the racers attempt to cleanly ride the most unclean section of the race. It is quite the spectacle and honestly, well before I even got to this section I could hear they hooting and hollering from miles away. I did NOT make it down all the way w/o having to come off the pedals and dismount. It was either take the risk of falling into the pile of whatever the "mud" was or run and get thru it so that I did not have to smell like "mud/horse-poo" the rest of the day. After this section of trail, and I use that term quite loosely, we cross the road and quickly enter another poo-infested bridal trail that is always a mess. A quick hike-a-bike up this climb and I was back on the pedals with little or no one in my way. Time to make up some time!!
 |
| Newly revamped Wilderness Rock Garden |
I managed to bridge the gap to my teammate, David Jolin, by the time I rolled into aid station #2. I had enough fluid to just keep rolling but decided that a quick coke shot and a couple of those small tasty chocolate chip cookies might put me in a better mindset. Yummy!! Gave some quick props to Dave and off I went on to aid station #3. Between aid #2 and #3 there is some paved roads, gravel roads, and some really fun single track named Wilderness. I have ridden the Wilderness trails quite a bit over the years however this year a Knobby Side Down team member, local single speed phenom, and friend Josh Kuntz had taken time to restore a section of trail that had not been in the race for a number of years. In fact, as I understand it the trail had not been maintained in a long time and Josh not only worked hard to clean up the trail for riding but convinced Ryan, the race director, to put it back into the Mohican 100 race. Major props to Josh because of this section of trail is SUPER fun. What makes it fun? ROCKS!!!! Not just any rocks, but BIG ROCKS!! I had been nervously looking forward to taking a shot at this section to see if I could ride it cleanly having not seen it in several years. Most of the riders that I came upon were walking it and as I called out "Rider Back" they quickly gave way which allowed me to choose the line I wanted. I made it roughly 85-90% of the way thru this section before biffing it hard in between two rather large rocks when my front wheel got stuck and OTB (Over The Bars) I went! It was comical more than anything and I was laughing the whole time. I honestly surprised myself at how well I rode this section sight unseen, so that was a HUGE lift to my mental spirit and I was smiling all the way to aid #3.
 |
| 100k and 100 mile Split at Aid #3 |
Last year I rolled into aid #3 in 4.5 hours and this year ... well ... I was only down three minutes at this point so I had made some solid improvement since being 12-minutes behind when I had reached aid #1. Very cool. Met Angie who had my bottles in hand and food all ready to go. At this point, I had eaten one GU packet, at the start of the race, and drank two bottles of fluid so I needed to get something into me or I was doomed later on. My latest craving has been mixed nuts (pecans, cashews, almonds) and sea salt potato chips (these were cooked in Avocado Oil). Funny thing is that I am NOT a chip kinda guy. I just don't eat them (less it is in the form of salsa and ships) but on races, they really hit the spot and the salt is incredibly satisfying for me. After shoving handfuls of chips and mixed nuts into my pie hole I managed to blurt out "I love you" to my wife, shot thru the aid station ... but not before grabbing another shot of coke, and off I went onto aid station 3.5 and then Glenmont, aid #4.
 |
| Joe after finishing the Mohican 100 |
Getting to aid #3.5 isn't bad at all, other than 2-miles of single track thru the remaining sections of the Wilderness trail, it is mostly paved and gravel roads. Aid #3.5 sits in the middle of Camp Mohaven when a few years ago Ryan had added some fresh cut trails. It was hateful at the time because it was so very loamy but it had improved over the years the more it gets ridden in. It was also at aid #3.5 a few years ago that I grabbed a cup of heed nutrition and dumped it over my head thinking it was water. DOH!! That was pretty funny actually. The folks at this aid station are always super nice and very much appreciated. This was also my second sighting of Josh, another Rescue Racing teammate, that I had seen in the Mohican State Park trails. I couldn't figure out how he got ahead of me until he told me he was just out riding different parts of the course for training. It was great to see another familiar face and RR teammate on course though. Man these kits look awesome!! So ... I downed another shot of coke (I was digging the coke today), thanked the volunteers, and off I shot to finish off the Mohaven trails. It was along some of the rather steep ups and downs that I came up behind Joe Urbanowicz. We both hike-a-biked a couple of the steeper climbs but that last short steep climb I decided to put some power down and attempt to clean it. Yup, nailed it!! I managed to clean the climb and Joe got on my wheel for a bit as we carved our way thru and out of the Mohaven trails.
 |
Holmes Country Trail
Photo creds to Brian Schworm |
The last final bit of section to get to Glenmont at aid #4 is the Holmes Country Trail. This trail used to be all gravel however it is all paved now so it is a total TT section. Most of the trail is a false flat until the final 4-ish miles so you are definitely working hard for just over half of the 10-mile section. It is mind-numbing for single-speeders and every year I seem to pass 1-2 SSers thru this section. This year was no different. Along the way, I caught up to three other riders who were working together to get thru this section. At this point, I just wanted to make up spots and haul ass! All three of them latched onto my wheel and honestly, I was not in the mood to pull three riders with me. I played a bit of yo-yo'ing with them for a mile or so where they would latch back onto my wheel, then I would let off the gas and pull to the side, but this did not last long. Finally, I just decided that I would ride my own pace regardless if they were on my wheel or not. I mean, I caught them so it was likely that I was able to shell them off the back at some point. Fortunately for me, it did not take long, my pace was faster than they could hang on and I managed to drop all three of them. Later on, after the race, I come to realize that one of the riders was a friend Roy Chaves whom I have come to respect and have raced with quite a bit over the years. He's a great guy but was struggling a bit on this day. Before completing this section I came upon another rider, Joe (sorry Joe I did not catch your last name), and he was wearing a familiar kit from the Bike Authority team. I had never met Joe before and as I initially approached him I noticed he kept looking back and I was like ... crap ... someone else looking for a tow. #craptastic Well ... as I got closed Joe dropped his water bottle and as it rolled away I picked up my pace and shot passed him. He smiled and I had thought I got clear of him. SOn of a gun if he didn't put the hammer down and catch back up to me. Surprised the crap outta me as it took a serious effort for him to make up that time from a dead stop as I was moving at over 20mph at that point. After learning his name and chatting with him for a second, I felt like he certainly earned a tow so I let him grab my wheel and we worked together to finish off the remaining miles of the Holes County Trail. As we rolled into Glenmont a familiar face and voice yelled out some encouraging words from his vehicle, Marc Mancini. Marc's a great guy and a heck of a cyclist. Looking forward to seeing him in a few weeks at the Funk Bottoms Gravel race ... if I make it there. LOL
Rolled into aid #4 and yet again ... my awesome wife Angie was there with my nutrition. Man, she is always on point, with a smile on her face, knowing full well she never knows what to expect out of me. I love to hit aid #4 because it means there are only 25-miles left and at this point unless there is a major mechanical issue, I am going to complete the race come hell or high water. Grabbed my final two bottles of nutrition, a hand full of mixed nuts, and then rolled over to the aid station for another shot of coke. While I was there one of the volunteers asked if I needed any lube on my chain ... ummm ... hellz yay man!! He was awesome and applied the same lube I have been running, Squirt. Joe was getting his things in order and we both left at the same time. I didn't know how long we would ride together and was mentally prepared to just let him go. Yes, I was getting to that point where my body was tired and I was starting to just not care anymore. This happens on these ultra-endurance events so I was not terribly surprised. I was not in a dark place, but just tired and fatigued. Well ... as the roads ebb'd and flowed up and down at some point I dropped Joe and never saw him again. I wasn't trying to drop him, it just happened while I was setting my own pace at my own comfort level.
 |
| Photo snagged from the Internet. Likely during the Fall. |
Approaching aid #4.5, there is a small amount of double and single track that dumps out with a very quick descent followed by a very quick and steep ascent to a suspension bridge back over the Mohican River. I have only ever cleaned this up and down one time in the 9-years of racing this event and this year was not the one time. Judicious use of my dropped on the descent meant that I cleanly road that part, but I just did not have the proper line for climbing back out of the gully and quickly dismounted, hiked to the suspension bridge and then rode over the bridge to aid #4.5. A quick stop to grab ... yup ... a shot of coke and couple slices of tasty watermelon and I was off to tackle the last big-ish climb of the day, Valley Stream. This is where the 100 mile and 100k races converge to the finish line. On the whole, Valley Stream is not a bad climb at all, but at almost 90-miles in ... any bump in the road becomes a challenge. I stuck it into the big-cookie on the year and just spun up the climb all the while passing slower cyclists and quite a few walkers. Nonetheless, I ALWAYS cheer them all on because in the end we all just want to finish and we all have different goals. The cool thing is that mountain bikers of all walks of life will always cheer you on regardless of how slow or fast you are. Its what I love about this particular cycling discipline. As I approach the top of the climb, at snail's pace, I see and hear the all too familiar voices of the Knobby Side Down crew. Dang, these folks have gotten around on the course a LOT today!! It was great to see Kenny and his wife Corianne cheering on the riders, giving them high-fives, and out supporting the event. Class acts, all of them!!
On my way to the final bit of trail before hitting the road on to aid #5 I came upon Jeff Mandell. Now, Jeff and I have raced against each other over quite a few years and have become accustomed to seeing each other on the course and are always within 5-minutes of each other. I have a TON of respect for Jeff as a person and as a cyclist and he is one of those guys that I love to catch up with and chat with on the course. He works VERY hard and it shows in his racing and finish times. Jeff and I rode together from that point on, thru aid #5, and into the last bit of single track in the Mohican State Park. As we rolled into (and blasted thru) aid #5 I did my usual, throw-my-empty-water-bottle-at-the-wife-move, yelled out I didn't need anything, threw her a smile, and mashed my way into the single-track. Jeff and I exchanged a few thoughts on how each of us was feeling at that moment, something along the lines of "I'm cooked" ... well ... "I'm fried". LOL REgardless, we both motored fairly well along the trail but at some point, I started to pull away. This was not because I wanted to but rather simply because my legs were either feeling great or just numb. Whatever it was I was having a blast on this last bit of single-track and I began to charge hard up the trail. Passing rider after rider, mostly 100k stragglers, and I surprised myself at how quickly I got to the steel bridge that leads to the finish line. I pushed with everything I had left in me and crossed the line in 8:07:49. I was only ONE MINUTE slower than last year and with the mud-bog sections we had this year along with getting caught up in all the riff-raff at the beginning of the race, I am happy with my result.
In the end, I placed 13th in the Open Mens category so this was my second best finish for this race. After coming off the Everest Challenge two weeks ago, I simply cannot be disappointed with this result even though I did not reach my sub-8 hour goal.
A couple other items of interest, at least to me, is that I track my HRV (Heart Rate Variability) every morning. It is a number that essentially boils down to how well my body is recovered or how much my body is stressed. On race mornings (or big training rides) I do not look at the HRV number because I dod not want it to be something that I am thinking about all day and I just want to ride based on how I feel. Well, the two days prior to this race my HRV has been in the dumpster at a 4 (that's low and the recommendation is that I should be doing easy efforts). Usually, my HRV will bounce back into the green again, but not this day. Looking at my HRV after the race, it was yet another low score of a 4 (and today it was a 4 yet again). That is four days in a row of a very low HRV. I think my body is trying to tell me something.
 |
| Heart rate graph from the race. |
Also of interest is my HR for the race. Usually, on these endurance events towards the last 25% of the race, I will have a slow drop in my HR due to the length of the race and due to general fatigue. For whatever reason, I did not have the HR fade that I usually have and my HR stayed consistent for the entire day. Honestly, I am not sure what to make of that, but I think it is a good thing. Perhaps it was a bump from the Everesting Challenge a couple weeks ago because relatively speaking this was ONLY an 8-hour event while the EC was 17.5 hours. #perspective
 |
| David Jolin, Alan Minor, and myself. |
Finally, major kudos, props, and congrats to all of my Rescue Racing brethren for there races!! David Jolin had a super solid race and achieved a well-earned 4th place in the Marathon Masters division. Jacob Gordon had a HECK of a day not because of his race result but because he is simply a stand-up guy that stopped his raced to help several other racers that were in dire need of medical attention. Incredibly generous, kind, and I cannot say enough nice words to express just how awesome this was for him to do!! Jocylen Linscott, the single speeder that crushed the 24-hours of Pueblo Solo Womens division, had a heck of a day battling her own demons and finished 7th in the women's SS category. Dang, that takes some serious strength and mental fortitude!! Total badass right there!! Alan Minor, al the way from Nova Scotia, Canada (eh? LOL), took on and completed the 100-mile race. I didn't catch his finish time or placement, but this guy is tenacious, to say the least, and always gets the job done. Way to go Alan!!
 |
Done and Dusted.
Photo creds to my BFF and awesome wife, Angie. |
As always, none of this would be possible without the help of
Rescue Racings incredibly pawsome team sponsors!!
Jakroo for the pajama-like feels of the Rescue Racing kit!! Dang, this thing is so comfortable and on these really long days in the saddle, there is just nothing else that compares to it. Love my Jaroo kits!!
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 Ardent Race (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!!
Happy trails.
Comments
Post a Comment