Cable Off Road Classic…

…just getting back from a hot May morning of MTB racing.  While there are WORS & MNSCS races on the backside of the weekend, most people I talk too will say it’s hard to pass up the Cable Off Road Classic.  It’s got a mix of everything and amazing terrain to work with.

Maybe a better race recap later, managed an 8th place overall finish today.   A few questionable race choices otherwise came in on respectable terms for the first race of the season. 

So great to see so many friends & familiar faces.  I remember 10 yrs ago going to these races and thinking… damn, I don’t know a soul here.  Now it’s the other way around, like who I don’t know to say Hi to or catch up.  It’s a great sport in that regard, many great friendships you get to build.  Today.. let’s see, saw…Nate (I’m-the-sucker-who-didn’t-race -today) Lille, Nate Klump, Tom Carpenter (& Marie), Chad Sova, Mike Bushey, Todd  & Di McFadden, Scottie & Sara Kylander Johnson, TG, Charlie Tri, Marcy Madson, Jamie Sajdak,  Brian Hammond, CJ Faulkner, Barry Tungseth, Tom Gaier, Mike Gregor, Steve Spangle, Cam Wilcox, Bob & Tony Ferrara, Matt Hudson, Bart Rodberg, Kevin(to-big-of-a-single-speed-gear-today)Roytek, Aaron Sturgis, Matt Dale, the Endersbe’s(thanks for the helmets!) and I know I’m still missing a bunch of others.

Interesting for some perhaps in that I had two power meters running on the bike today!  The Saris Cycle-ops SL+ MTB disc brake hub power meter & the Quarq Quatro crankset power meter, each running a separate cycling computer, the Cycle-Ops using the Joule, and the Quarq using a Garmin 500.  The Garmin & the Quarq are recent additions, so I wanted to see how they stack up against each other.  I’ll try to post more on it later but in short, they should have near identical readouts when it comes to distance, altitude, & most importantly power.  However I found the Quarq to be 3-5% higher in the numbers it recorded than the Cycle-ops.  In the 1:46 hr race I  had average power of 243watts & Normalized power of 279 watts with the Quarq -- but 237 & 272 respectively with the Cycle-Ops… next time I’m doing a 20min threshold test… I’m using the the Quarq…bigger numbers.  Only wish that was true & made a guy faster.  Better bragging numbers I guess.

A quick summary or assessment I have about the various Power meter tools/devices.  I like the Cycleops Joule 2.0 head unit quite a bit better than the Garmin 500.   Primarily because one screen carries ever bit of info you want, Garmin 500 doesn’t have the same amount.  A lot of times preference what you are used to.  Previously I didn’t like the Joule because the readout was smaller than the previous Cycleops Powertap computer head unit.  But again you adjust.  Also I like to use the Cycleops Power Agent Software for it’s simplicity, though WKO+ & TrainingPeaks.com are very good once you get around to figuring out how it works.

I like the fact the Quarq is a crankset application vs. wheel/hub application but until the reliability of it’s power numbers is better.  I gotta give the edge to the Cycleops. 

Question?  So is the powertap wheel/hub all the much heavier?  Why would I race it?  Well some would say first it’s not the overall wheel weight that matter most but the moment of inertia of the wheel,  (google or wikipedia it, if you want to know more).  Boils down more to rim weight & what’s rotating.  I’ve got some light Stan’s Crest rims & compared to stock Bontrager RXL’s so I didn’t feel on a course with more rolling hills than outright climbs it would matter that much.   Got the same place as last year… so couldn’t matter that much.  This year on a hard tail 29er (Gary Fisher Superfly), last year on a full suspension 29er (Gary Fisher Superfly 100).   Anyways I’m digressing.

More on the race later…. more on power meters & comparisons later… Gotta get out & enjoy the evening with family & friends, great to see so many of you racing today!!!

Strada Fango recap…

…more than a week later, I’ve finally recovered from all that was the 60 mile spring classic the Strada Fango.

The race organized just a month or more out out from the Apr 29th start went off seemingly without a hitch.  Headed up by Noah Michaelsen & crew of volunteers, through & around the New Auburn forests, countryside.  Rolling hills, rocky 4 wheeler trails, single track, gravel roads & a climb up “Mt Flambeau”?

A late start from home, after our dogs had a run in with a porcupine carcass, a had me making the 130mile drive in record time.  (More on the porcupine carcass story later…)

After a phone call & some txt messages, the host was gracious enough to hold things up an extra 5-10minutes, enough for me to unpack the bike, strap on the camel back & get to the start line.   What appeared to be over 50 riders on Mt bikes and ‘cross bikes rolled off the start for what would be a 4+hr effort.

Being a somewhat informal event, course markings where of ribbon  tapings at critical junctions (& a backup map).   While this made the event manageable in setup, it was effective enough in getting riders navigated through unfamiliar terrain & surroundings.

The initial miles with Noah taking the lead was a moderate, which having no warmup I really appreciated.   It wasn’t until Todd Mcfadden, who we left at the start had caught up and went to the front did things pick up and the parts of the group started to break apart like a meteor entering the earth’s atmosphere.  With myself, Nate Lillie adding in some pulls, it was soon it was down to 8, then ultimately five, with Kevin Roytek and Trevor Koss making the cut. 

It continued that way for the first half hour of the race.  Todd continued to push things especially when the rocky terrain of the 4 wheeler trails gave the advantage to his full suspension 26” Trek Top Fuel.  Trevor would stay pretty close, with Nate & I following.  Kevin would drop just a bit off the pace after a few climbs. 

An hour into the race, Nate had dropped back to Kevin and it was just Trevor, myself & Todd with a minute or more lead.  My day was quickly set to change… after a sandy downhill, I shifted on a rocky section and somehow my chain dropped.  Ugh!  In disbelief initially I see Trevor & Todd roll away, thinking “Man!  I do not want to expend the energy necessary right now to catch those guys.”   The chain didn’t hook up as I was rolling up the hill, so I came to a dead stop, had to dismount and put it on. 

So the chase was on to the two rabbits that had disappear into the forests, around each corner & turn I kept hoping I start to see them.  After 5 or 10 minutes of this I finally caught sight of them & pushed it over a large rocky section and being less than  30yds back, I heard the unmistakable “psssssst”, my rear tire had taken a hit & it was losing air. 

It was then I was lamenting not getting around to putting a followup cup of Stan’s sealant.   Generally I like to do the initial tubeless sealing of tires with CaffeLatex sealant (I like better how it takes care of the small air leaks), but then followup with Stans which does a better job of sealing puncture. 

Within a 100 yards I knew the sealant wasn’t taking.  I’d caught up to Trevor & Todd by then & told them I’d flatted.  That pretty much “sealed” my fate for the day.  I got off the bike started to use the hand pump, in hopes the hole would eventually seal.  (I really dislike putting in tubes if there’s anyway I can without doing it I will)  So 20minutes & a lot of racers go buy, Brian Kelley, Noah, and many other each offer up some help, before I finally decide to pull out the tube and get going again.  Thanks to two guys in particular as I needed an extra patch and a better working pump to finish the job (thanks again, good trail karma out to you).

After that I was on a mission to make it a good hard training effort and see if I could catch anyone as I think every last person had passed me by then.

Though I did catch a few guys from time time to time, there wasn’t going to be a chance of seeing Trevor, Todd, Nate or Kevin again.

The hours and scenery went by not without challenges or frustration that comes from a race that doesn’t go your way and I rolled into the finish about 4 1/2hrs after starting.

After the race, was probably the best part of it to catch up with a lot of guys I’d not seen in several months & get to meet some new faces.  Not to mention hearing other stories of how the race played out for  some of the other racers. 

Definitely a good time had, sure appreciate Noah & all the parties involved in putting it together.  Looking forward to give it a go again next year.

Strada Fango Spring Classic!

60miles…

29 mi Gravel
15 mi ATV
3 mi Singletrack
4 mi Paved
7 mi Ski trail/doubletrack

Right up my alley… I mean dirt road..

Can’t help but love it.  Feeling the groove of the SuperFly & putting on the new Quarq physics to work Sunday 4/29… New Auburn, WI

First race of the season.

Must have morrrre Power!!!

So let’s see where are we these days..…  busted tooth & crown that costs that of a ‘cross bike (dangit!), major wattage increases, and sick every other week… it all ain’t making much sense but it’s appears to be working.  Coach Gordy must be pulling rainbows out of my butt.

So after being a long time PowerTap user, I made the leap over to another power meter device – adding it to the line up.  The Quarq S2275 MTB Power meter… hey, look if it’s good enough for Julian, Jose & Jaroslav, why don’t I give it a try?

I wanted to try a power measuring device for both MTB racing & Cyclocross racing that didn’t involve wheels and a bikes rotating weight.   The crankset based Quark power meter weighs in very competitively with their non powermeter cranksets.  So thanks to many efforts of Whitey at The Ski Hut I’m giving it a go!  Looking forward to it. 

 

Also recently, I had the need & opportunity to deck out an old bike with all new drive train parts.  Don’t think I’ve ever done a full replacement before.   Considering my 2012 MTB is on backorder and may not be in til June it was sorta necessary.  So the ‘08 Gary Fisher Superfly took on a new look… along with the 39/26 Quark chainrings/crankset, I trying out a KMC chain, with new Shimano XT 10 speed derailleur, rear shifter & cassette… From a 3x9, to a 2x10.  It wasn’t bad before but now it feels like new!  I like the 2x10 but for gravel & fire lane roads, just a slightly bigger chainring would be nice.  But considering even the best in the country only use a 39 chainring on single track it should be plenty adequate for that application.

What’s it mean when….

So like more than a few hard core MTB racers I’ve been back to hitting the training this winter.  Starting a month later than normal because cyclo-cross ran into January this year. 

We all have our “top secret” training methods, but I gotta say coach Gordy has served up a particular useful dish of pain the past 5 weeks.  It’s perhaps unconventional considering commonly accepted training principals… but I gotta say it’s working.

I did some higher end “threshold” work today, that after 3 1/2hrs of endurance riding & some lesser intervals yesterday(Saturday)… here’s the crazy thing… my watts/output in the final (of 4) 10min intervals today… nearly matched my all time best 10min wattage recorded last November.  That with a lower HR too.  Wild.

Seems I could actually have some gas in the tank to move the horsepower this year!? 

Hasn’t been all roses though, I’ve been sick three times with a cold or stomach ailment since the end of January & had to ease up on training.   Gotta remember one missed workout never ruins a season, heck one missed week ain’t usually going to ruin a season.

Also there’s a point when you are getting back into training (at least for me) that you wonder how the hell you’ll ever raced the Chequamegon 40, or some race like it, as fast as you do ….when in February often it feels like a 2:30 - 3hr ride alone is tough enough to finish, let alone race all out.  That was how I felt most of this past month.. .finally the past couple days the fitness has come around where I feel racing the 40 is finally feels like a physical reality again.

At least March is finally here.. .with it’s nearly foot & half of snow… at least in Ashland… no worries… it’ll be gone in a week & half …maybe..

Counting on stuff… product reviews… sharing what’s worked.. & what hasn’t..

Year after year equipment & bike manufacturers come out with ideas & product of what they feel makes your life better.

I shop like anyone else, looking for the silver bullet of what’s gonna be that perfect piece of equipment, be it bike, components, etc.  I’m also curious what other riders/racers experiences have taught them.  Not the “endorsement” answers of how great something is justified because a rider put down a whole lotta dough so they feel obligated to call it great.  Or a sponsored rider who for all intents & purposes had better say the stuff he/she rides is great. 

What’s the real experience?

No one, no matter how much they ride, has the all extensive answers of what works but I thought to share some my own experiences given the probably 50,000 miles I’ve put on equipment over the past decade.

I judge a product all the way around but if I had a bias it’s for something that doesn’t require much if any maintenance & is durable… bikes can be fun to fix & work on… but they are made for riding.  And no one these days seems to have an excess amount of time to always take care of bikes.

What sticks out?

--Saddles:  At the cost of my own dime, I’ve had amazingly great experience with italian saddle maker Fizik .  Introduced to them after a bike fitting & analysis of my riding style after a bad case of patella tendonitis in my knees.  The curvature & design supports proper hip & back alignment when riding better than any other saddle I’ve had.  My suggestion never underestimate the value of a great saddle for your riding, training or racing.   If you have problems that are directly or indirectly related to the saddle you’re riding, I’d not hesitate suggesting giving Fizik saddles a try.  Everybody’s backside is shaped differently of course but don’t discount how much the right saddle can improve your biking experience.

 

--Wheel hubs:  What makes my list here my come at a surprise...  Cycleops Powertap hubs – for all the componentry, electronics you’d think it’d take a lot of T.L.C. to keep them running smoothly.  On the contrary, it’s been one of the smoothest, low/no maintenance wheel/hub ever!  You get spoiled having to do almost nothing with it.  It costs a bit, but you would have power metering device, and save time & money in the long run in my opinion.

--honorable mention on wheelsets: would go to Bontrager Race X lite wheels, older model hubs (read into this..DT Swiss made ones) pretty long lasting & durable.  Wheels/rims can stay true year after year after year.   I’ve not had luck with the new carbon ones yet however.

 

--Brakes (hydraulic):  For low to no maintenance, sorry SRAM/Avid product fans… it ain’t you.  Shimano & Haynes have given me the best experience in that department.  To the point even if SRAM improves their product..I’m not overly interested in trying them again.  I think that’s a hugely point that important for manufacturers to consider before sending a product out.  You give a cyclist a bad or less than satisfactory experience with a product if not once but certainly twice, it’ll be hard to pull them back to giving it a try again.

 

--Shifters/cables: I think shifters come down to personal preference and you can’t do them wrong.  However cables?  Do yourself a favor, when you need to replace some… put on Gore Ride On cables  -- they are a sealed cable, super smooth, and a huge probability they are the last set of cables you’ll ever have to replace on the bike. (Again back to my bias… get it down once & never have to deal with it again… leaves more time to ride.)  Sure they cost more, but this is one thing where I say if you’re not going to regret spending more on.  Ever.

 

Nothing much else comes to mind right now…  Fizik saddles, Cycleop Powertap hubs & Gore Ride On cables…. very good stuff.

This year I’ll be giving two or three new products a try.  Including Quarq Power meter cranks, possibly a Enve Carbon MTB tubeless wheelset. 

Another day I’ll lean more into what I’ve not had such good experience with.  Right not I got a tooth to fix……“bling is the thing”…

Black ice…

Black ice + pavement + bike = trip to the dentist…. thinking to install some serious gold bling to flash in that smile of mine at the races this season…