Ohio Cycling Disorder (OCD)

Marji Gesick 100  -  #findyourlimitsanddestroythem I signed up for the Marji Gesick 100 before it was announced the race would be a part of the NUE series. The challenge intrigued me and after the inclusion into the NUE was announced I contacted the Race Director (not sure if it was Todd or Danny that responded) to find out if the nature of the race was going to change and be a kinder and gentler Marji Gesick 100 (those who have raced Hampshire 100 know what I mean). They confirmed that it would not be changing … cool … I’m in. Before signing up, I asked my dad if he was interested in taking a trip with me while I head to Michigan to race the MG100. I don’t do many 1-on-1 activities with my father and I saw this as a neat opportunity. My father has been following my racing for a few years now and will attend the Mohican 100 because it is so close to home. I wasn’t sure if he would be up for the long drive and sitting around most of the day during the race. I was pleas...

2015 6 Hours of Brady's Run Race Report The  6 Hours of Brady's Run  was an unscheduled race that I decided to participate in, sort of at the last minute. The determining factors were, in order of importance, the "OK" from my wife (always important), the recovery from the Cohutta 100 two weeks prior, and the weather forecast (only concern was the heat as they forecast upper 80's). Got the "OK" to go, recovery was looking good, and the forecast, while hot, looked great! So I was all in. Where: Beaver Falls, PA When: 5/9/2015 (my birthday ;-) Photos Credit:  Mike Briggs  (great guy and photographer extraordinaire) I drove to Bear Falls, PA the morning of the event since it was only 1:36 drive time and the race started at 10am. I have never ridden the course and of course did a bit of research by reviewing the course on their web site, reading other race reports, and watching youtube videos. The format of the race is to complete as many laps of...

2015 Cohutta 100 Race Report The  Cohutta 100  is the second race in the National Ultra Endurance 2015 series and is held in TN. This race starts at the Occee river where they held the 1996 Kayak Olympic Competitions. This would be my first into the series for this year and Dave Jolin's second. They changed the course slightly so it really is tough to determine a true personal record ('PR') compared to previous years. The two days prior to the race were absolutely gorgeous, so both Thursday and Friday before the race we headed out for some easy riding to enjoy the weather and dry trails. The forecast for the day of the race? Not so much. Oh man, it's-'a-'coming! The race directors were toying with the idea to shorten the race due to the impending severe storms, but in the end made the call the day before the race to keep the course as originally laid out. Your gonna get wet and muddy, that's MTB'ing. If the storms get bad, head for shelter, ...

Barry-Roubaix 2015 Race It was COLD! The starting temperature of  Barry-Roubaix  was roughly 20 degrees and that may be generous. I raced the 36-mile Fixed Gear again, same as last, however unlike last year they bundled us with the SS'ers which means we had to race them for podium position. Ouch. There were 40 in that category and we went off in wave 4 at roughly 10:06, sent off waves ever two minutes with the two big 62-mile groups going off first and second. As usual it was a pretty fast start and trying to keep up with SS'ers that can coast on the descents, and pick up speed, is not an easy task on a fixed gear bike. The course was in awesome shape! No ice and no snow to speak of, so of course at such low temperatures everything was frozen. At the start you hit the three sisters within 1.5 miles and once you clear those you are pretty much warmed up, well ... as warm as you are going to get. They put Sager road back into the course this year and honestly...

Race Information Where : Leadville, CO (2-mile High City) When : August 10th, 2013 Distance : 104 (every bit of 104 miles) Starting Elevation : 10,200' Total Climbing Elevation : 11,800' Racers : 1500+ (with a mass start) Starting Position : Red Corral (3rd from the front of the pack) I was a bit nervous at the start of this race. I knew I had put in the training time, but you just never know what is going to happen. My legs felt a bit sorer than they had all week long which was very frustrating and not how you want to feel before the start of the race. Still, you try to put that out of your mind and focus on what you are about to embark on. The start of this race is a mass start meaning that all 1500+ racers leave the start line at the same time. Based on my qualifying time at the Wilmington Whiteface 100k race (5:19, but I was sick with a cold, fever, and hopped up on cold meds) it placed me in the 3rd corral. This is obviously way better than being placed in th...