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MTBMind.com » Recent Topics http://mtbmind.com/forums/ MTBMind.com » Recent Topics en-US Mon, 06 Sep 2010 05:11:08 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 <![CDATA[Search]]> q http://mtbmind.com/forums/search.php NE Race Redux on "Windham World Cup Race Vid/Race Report" http://mtbmind.com/forums/topic.php?id=70#post-276 Thu, 02 Sep 2010 01:22:04 +0000 NE Race Redux 276@http://mtbmind.com/forums/ Great racing over the weekend in the Catskills. Raced Cat 1 and shot vid. Check it out here:<div> </div><div><a href="http://neraceredux.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow">http://neraceredux.blogspot.com/</a> </div> davmaz on "Micheal Patrick" http://mtbmind.com/forums/topic.php?id=66#post-255 Mon, 23 Aug 2010 14:27:55 +0000 davmaz 255@http://mtbmind.com/forums/ I'm sorry to say I got some sad news about Mike while down here in NC; Sean Drew asked me to get word to you. Michael had surgery a couple of weeks ago, but it didn't go well. He's partially paralyzed, they weren't able to get all the tumor, and he may only have a few weeks left. He'd told Sean not too long ago that he wanted to be at Treasure Valley. Obviously, he won't be riding. But I'm going to see tomorrow, while I'm in Philly for the LIVESTRONG Challenge, if anyone at the LAF might be able to help with resources/transportation to get him to and from Treasure Valley. (That is, of course, if he's up for it and he has clearance.) But, as Sean described, he's getting closer to the end. If you want to get in touch with him, information, please let me know. I'll do my best to keep you abreast of the situation. >- Rica I just don't know what to say, Maz gofunburnman on "Treasure Valley Rally - Race Report" http://mtbmind.com/forums/topic.php?id=69#post-270 Mon, 30 Aug 2010 09:20:45 +0000 gofunburnman 270@http://mtbmind.com/forums/ In a single word - Fail. On the bright side I get to do a video race report because I have it all on tape. Enjoy. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVVIMvOo9Wc">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVVIMvOo9Wc</a> davmaz on "TRV on Sunday" http://mtbmind.com/forums/topic.php?id=67#post-264 Wed, 25 Aug 2010 13:37:15 +0000 davmaz 264@http://mtbmind.com/forums/ This is it the last EFTA (NECS) race of 2010. Who's going, Steve and crew Team Bum (love the name) promise a venue and course to remember. Maz will be there from Friday on thru Sunday. chrisg on "Hampshire 100 Video" http://mtbmind.com/forums/topic.php?id=68#post-266 Wed, 25 Aug 2010 19:40:54 +0000 chrisg 266@http://mtbmind.com/forums/ Here is a video courtesy of <a href="http://neraceredux.blogspot.com/">Steve Jurczak </a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iywQXwdYJMY&feature=player_embedded" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iywQXwdYJMY&feature=player_embedded</a> gofunburnman on "Peak Races Pittsfiled VT 6hr MTB Race - Report" http://mtbmind.com/forums/topic.php?id=65#post-254 Mon, 23 Aug 2010 03:03:54 +0000 gofunburnman 254@http://mtbmind.com/forums/ Big thanks to Jason, Andy and everybody else who put in work on the Green Mountain Trails network. The race was well organized and the course was awesome. I’m looking forward to seeing what you guys put together for next year. I drove up with Potter Friday afternoon. We picked up our race packets around 6 and then headed up Upper Michigan Rd to scout out a camping spot in the Green Mountain National Forest. The road got a little dicey near the end but the wagon made it scraping the bottom only once. About a ½ mile in we found a sweet little spot to set up camp for the night. We set up camp and headed back down to the General Store to grab some sandwiches for dinner. Afterwards dinner we met up with Rob Patton and head back up the hill. It was pretty cool Friday night which made for pretty good sleeping. Sat morning came and we headed back down to the General Store and met up with Chris for breakfast. Got over to Amee Farm with plenty of time to warm up and check out the first mile or so of the race course. A few of the guys that were volunteering spent the night riding the race course (their own version of the 6hr I guess) and reported over night there were 3 bears, a moose and one an angry porcupine out on the course. The length and amount of climbing per lap seemed to be a debatable topic but we were told it was somewhere around 8 ½ miles and 1400 ft of climbing (Potter clocked it at 9 miles and 1200 feet per lap). Any which way you measure it, this course was great. You essentially climb for around 40 minutes, then descend for 20 (well, at least your first lap you do. Unless you’re Ben Chase who averaged sub 60 minute laps on way to being the only rider doing 7 laps on the day) with close to 90% of it single track and what seemed like 100 switchbacks. The race was a lemans start with maybe a 100 yd run before we get to our bikes. I wanted to be near the front as we were told at least one person crashes every year on the table top at the bottom of the first little descent. I was sitting maybe 6th place when we crossed the bridge and started climbing. I proceeded to go backwards for most of the first part of the climb giving up another 10 or so places as I kept telling myself this was a long race. For me the climb got broken up into 4 sections. The first part was everything before we got dumped out onto the cart road. This section was the part of the climb that was the most fun. It was a combination of switchback climbing and long gradual climbing with some flowy little down hill sections mixed in. The cart road, on the other hand was the least amount of fun. It was ¼ to ½ mile with an extended section at around 15% that got the steepest right at the end. In my head I was referring to this last little section as “The Wall” because that’s what it felt like. Lap 1 it was a piece of cake. By lap 3 I wasn’t sure if I’d be riding or pushing on lap 4. Lap 4 I swear they somehow made it twice as long, but I still rode it. In the end and a bit to my surprise I rode it all 6 laps. At the end of the cart road the course crosses itself. On lap one The marshal that was there was telling people it was a mile to the top. I’m sure he was well intentioned, but after what seemed like at least a mile of climbing, I was no where near the top. Anyway, this put us on Luvin It trail which (looking at their map) consists of 26 or so switchbacks before you come out into the berry patch for the last little bit to the top. By the 3rd lap all the switch backs had kind of blurred together so I broke this up into the part before and after the one really muddy section on the climb which seemed to be a bout half way. There was, of course, that one spot where you see the trees starting to open up and you thought you where at the top, only to be greeted by yet another switchback. That’s right, you know the one I’m talking about. Back to the race. I had stopped hemorrhaging spots by the time we hit the cart road and had settled into what I hoped was a reasonable pace. I make it up to the top and start working my way back down. The first section we hit Is called the Labyrinth. In extreme contrast to the rest of the course this is full of tight, twisty, rooty goodness. It was very similar to some of the stuff we get here. I felt at home in it and started to ride hard and managed to pass someone for the first time. We then get dumped onto Warman. This trail started out as a flowy, flatish section but quickly turns into a collection of fast, high bermed switchbacks that demand your attention. In fact the entire downhill demanded your attention. Somewhere along here I saw the Team Bliss boys a few levels down and started to give chase. I caught them somewhere on Stonewall Trail. This was by far my favorite section of the course. It starts out with a flattish to uphill section, then a quick little switch back climb before you hit the crazy fast downhill bench cut into the side of the mountain. This led to another bermed switch back and more bench cut, then another… well you get the idea. Stonewall emptied at the point where the course crossed itself. After that some of the downhills got extremely steep and switchbacks not so friendly. I finally got by the group in front of me and just killed it the rest of the lap. I came through the pit area, grab the keys from the cooler and quickly run to the car. Yeah, that’s right, somewhere near the top of the climb on lap 1 I realized I hadn’t lubed the undercarriage before embarking on this endeavor. After I got back the guy setting up shop next to our cooler and I agreed that would be the most beneficial minute and a half of my entire day. I grabbed a fresh water bottle and I was off. Of couse, by this time most if not all of the people I had passed on that downhill had gone by and I had more work to do. Sure enough I would see them one or two levels up as we started climbing again. With so many switchbacks (have I used this word enough?) it was pretty easy to keep tabs on the people in front of or behind you. Those kids must have climbed like mountain goats that lap because by the time I hit the cart road, they were no where in site. I make it up to the top and start killing the downhill again. In fact the first two laps I was more or less going all out on the downhill. Not out of any strategy or anything, just that it was that much fun. I think I managed to get back the spots I lost at the end of lap one. My one truly scary moment in the whole race was on that final descent. I caught that last hump the wrong way and had one of those half off the bike out of control moments that scares the hell out of you, but somehow managed to save it. Lap 3 was pretty uneventful. I started lapping a few slower riders and got passed by a guy on a single speed. We chatted a bit on the cart road before he took off. He thought we were somewhere around 12th overall at that point. Lap3 three I actually tried to dial it back a touch on the downhill in hopes of saving a little something for the ensuing uphill. Lap 4 was by far my hardest lap both mentally and physically. I think my feeding schedule got a bit ahead of itself and my stomach started doing summersaults on the climb. I also did the math and realized that I was going to be doing 6 laps. Which, although this was my goal going in, didn’t seem like such a good idea. I started thinking that I still have a twelve hour race to do this year and why to I subject myself to this. Surprisingly, the one thing that didn’t enter my mind was stopping, just how much this was going to suck. When I came through the pit area this time I drank some plain water, filled one of the spent water bottles with just water and used the bathroom. By the time I was back on the climb I was feeling a million times better and feeling very positive about the next couple of hours. Outside of passing a few lapped riders I was pretty much alone on lap 4, and lap 5 was more of the same. Lap 6, last lap, it’s go time.. NOT. I just put it in a small gear and spun my way up. I made a couple half hearted attempts to “pick it up” but the legs were having none of that. The downhill was a different story with no impending uphill to save anything for. I was killing it pretty good when I over cooked that loose hair pin turn and had both hamstrings cramp as I tried to keep from crashing. I was trying to stretch the hammies out on the subsequent downhill when I proceeded to burp about half the air out of my front tire on one of the last really tight corners(at least I left these shenanigans to the end of the race). A single speeder that had been right behind me the whole lap caught and went by me like I was standing still on the final descent. I caught up to him crossing the field spun it up the last little climb without cramping and finished my 6 laps in 6:53 good for 10th place overall. 　 chrisg on "24 Hours of Great Glen Report" http://mtbmind.com/forums/topic.php?id=64#post-250 Tue, 17 Aug 2010 21:41:00 +0000 chrisg 250@http://mtbmind.com/forums/ Where to start this story... Well how about I spent literally 4 hours on my bike Friday afternoon while frantically trying to pack to leave by 3:30pm for the mountains.  What I thought was going to be a routine fork swap, tire mount, chain replacement, and seat post/saddle change turned out to be a full-time job. Let me start from the beginning....   I got some sweet new DT Swiss 1440 wheels and mounted Stans Crow 2.0 tires front and rear without an issue.  I also needed a new fork since my other one was a few years old and I think needs to be serviced so I called up Magura for a new Durin Race 100mm fork with remote lockout.  Removing my other fork would seem to be no problem for my mallet however the aluminum spacers for the stem were literally seized onto the forks steerer tube.  Holy hell this was not easy to remove. It was nearly 90 degrees outside and I was sweating my butt off trying to hammer that fork out... finally getting it down to the spacers and figuring out how to loosen the spacers enough to remove the fork! I put on the new fork, hooked up the remote lockout and quickly got myself some CARBON spacers... not sure if this make a difference.  1.5 hours into this I had to put on 2 new chains which take literally no less than 5 minutes with matching the length and such...     well for some reason the supplied SRAM power links did NOT connect with each other.  I tried different combination links from both chains and still a no go.  I finally went back to the links off the old chain and voila!!   2 hours into this project comes the fun part.   I wish I had pictures to share but didn't think of it.  All I wanted to do is put on a new seat post and seat and be done with it all.  The old seat post was a bit tough to slide out due to some friction so I wiped out the frame after removal and started to slide the new carbon post in.  I'm not sure if the Titec carbon posts are a little ticker than most posts because of the high gloss or what but the post got stuck with a LONG way to go until it reached my height.  I was twisting the seat trying to slide that post down further and used a little too much effort.... oops the seat clamp is now loosened from the post itself and would you look at that?  The darn thing came right off the post!  Now I have a carbon post stuck in my primary bike that I am determined to ride so I took to a metal object and started pounding the crap out of the post to get it seated into the frame.  This baby is NEVER coming out now and even though I splintered the carbon a bit, I got it low enough to match my height however had to epoxy the seat clamp back into the post hoping it would withstand 24 hours of riding.  Clint didn't think it would hold one lap... but it held the entire race!  Okay enough talk about the bike repair.  I got it fixed and we were headed up to the mountains to get there before dark so I can ride these tires that literally have no tread but are grippy as rock climbing shoes to see if they hold air.  We got up there and my rear tire was flat but that's because I didn't ride them yet and they weren't sealed..  Riding 20 minutes fixed this.  It's now race morning with the usual race prep and nerves.  There were a few names I know racing with me and know I would have a battle ahead based off last few years winning lap times.   I ate breakfast and then some lasagna around 11am to hold me over for quite a few hours into the race and then lived off my special concoction of race fuel including many many Hammer Endurolytes & Anti Fatigue caps (miracle pills right there!), powedered drink mix, Ensure Plus Choc Shakes, 1 liter of coke + 2 cans in for the last 3 laps, 2 bite sized snickers bars for the last 2 laps, 4 red bulls, oat meal, watermelon, eggs, bacon, chicken soup, chicken meatballs... and that may be it. This may be the first 24 hour race where I felt amazing the entire race minus the 2am lap.  Greg in second place was chasing me down since the moment I passed him on the first lap and never let go of me, holding within 10 min of me for pretty much the entire race.  I put a 25 min gap on him late at night but then I stopped for 15 min a few times to eat and use the potty.  From there the race was back on and literally was racing at speeds close to a short-distance xc race towards the last 4 laps of this race.  I was doing the math in my head while riding and had a feeling it would come down to 26 laps, but not 27.  My last 3 laps got progressively faster as my gf kept telling me Greg was doing 49-50 min laps and trying to catch me.  Does this guy know that I am not going to lose the lead now after having it for 23 hours??  I busted my butt around that course one last time running on pure adrenaline and made it in 49 minutes.  I surely must have looked like a psycho going around the course the last few laps but crossing the finish line first was well worth it. Perhaps me having a number 27 plate was ironic or foretelling my 27 lap future.. or maybe it had to do something with my birthday.  Here is a pic of me passing out on the ground after I came through... notice the accumulation of dirt on my legs from the past 24 hours.  <img src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs147.ash2/40705_1460965618494_1664049570_1070882_1831433_n.jpg" /> Thanks to everyone who helped me out during the race including the racers I passed and the ones who passed me shouting out encouragement.  My support crew was great even though I caught them sleeping around 3am but everything worked out as planned.  <img src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs388.snc4/45171_1460965978503_1664049570_1070889_2084729_n.jpg" /> Results: <a href="http://www.grannygear.com/realtime/public/gg_class.php?display_standings_flag=1&class=MZ">http://www.grannygear.com/realtime/public/gg_class.php?display_standings_flag=1&class=MZ</a> davmaz on "24 hour superstars" http://mtbmind.com/forums/topic.php?id=63#post-245 Mon, 16 Aug 2010 00:20:46 +0000 davmaz 245@http://mtbmind.com/forums/ 1st lets hear it for the Man himself Chris #1 solo rider overall. 2nd Lets hear it for the Master himself Derek #1 Master (50+) solo. 3rd Lets hear it for the Think Spring team, Brian Sr & Brian Jr 3rd place Men's Pair. 4th Lets hear it for the SmokinMan & the Bandits, The Capt, Jon, Clint, Dennis & Karin1st place in 5 Person Co-Ed and 4th overall. gofunburnman on "Great Glen" http://mtbmind.com/forums/topic.php?id=62#post-244 Fri, 13 Aug 2010 16:35:52 +0000 gofunburnman 244@http://mtbmind.com/forums/ Good luck everyone racing this weekend. gofunburnman on "Bradbury 12" http://mtbmind.com/forums/topic.php?id=57#post-214 Thu, 29 Jul 2010 16:21:16 +0000 gofunburnman 214@http://mtbmind.com/forums/ I signed up yesterday for the 12 hr solo. I saw Clint's name on the list and was just wondering who else was planning on doing it. chrisg on "Darkhorse 40 Race Report" http://mtbmind.com/forums/topic.php?id=60#post-231 Fri, 06 Aug 2010 02:10:32 +0000 chrisg 231@http://mtbmind.com/forums/ We headed down for the 3 hour drive to Newburg, NY on Saturday to camp out with the new puppy at the start of the race so we didn't have to drive down in the morning.  I managed to get a little preride in on some of the trails which were exactly like last year - super fast hard packed singletrack with sharp twisty turns, rolly hills, and very little road.  This race was slated to be 2 laps of 20 miles each.  Last year we did 4x10 mile laps and took me 3:20 something minutes for 3rd place. Last year we only had 4 elite riders signed up and 396 other riders.  This year we have almost 50 elite riders signed up and 350 other riders! Needless to say I knew the pace would be faster than last year, if that was even possible. I have been waiting for my new DT Swiss wheels to come in for the past month and did not receive them in time for the race, so had to use the ones I have on the bike now with a leaky rear rim - one spoke is gone and some air leaks through the spoke hole if not properly sealed.  Wouldn't you know I haven't had a problem for the past month but of course race day comes and it won't hold the air very well. Solution?  I put a tube in it and pray to god it doesn't pinch flat at these high speeds. The race starts - elite riders first - at a very fast pace, probably because I bolted off the front to try to get into position first into the singletrack knowing there is not much passing to be made once in there.  I was maybe 5th or 6th into the woods after the 30mph start on pavement and the race was on!  The pace was so fast I think I looked down at my computer and saw 18 and 20mph a lot of the times.  Very rare we were going under 16mph except for the small climbs.   A few guys got by me at the start but they were slowing us down a bit and I believe John Burns was behind me trying to tell me that I need to get around these 5 guys somehow.  After calling the line multiple times, no one moved over so I took to the right into the woods (literally in the leaves going very fast and thought this wasn't too safe) and passed all 5 guys to get us ahead and chasing the lead group.  Not more than 10 minutes after that, I hear these same 5 guys yelling and screaming in the distance and I thought that they were yelling at me saying I went the wrong way since a lot of arrows were sabotaged the night before... so I stopped dead in my tracks to turn around.  Well literally 3 seconds after I stopped a few guys came bombing down this singletrack swearing at me to get the F out of the way!  Are you kidding me right now?  I told them I thought you were yelling at me cause I was going the wrong way you F'er.  "You shouldn't stop in the middle of the trail a'hole"!  OMG I was quick to chase and we emptied out onto a road for a brief distance and they tried to block me from passing!!  The literally formed a diagonal line across the road to block me but I was coming from behind and fast ... literally blew right through them at 30mph and didn't look back. The first 20 miles go by and I completed the lap in 1:27 minutes.. holy crap that was fast.. 20 more to go and feeling great. I caught a few more people and with literally 6 more miles to go I caught the top 5 guys (well I think 4th and 5th place) and was about to pass them until my rear tire flatted!  Are you freaking kidding me??  Now??  I quickly changed it out and went to pump in the air but my Co2 valve for the cartridge wasn't puncturing the tip enough and no air was coming out!  F'er!!  I was so mad as a bunch of people started catching me now.  I finally gave up and started to ride on it knowing I was destroying the new tube.  Found a feed station with a floot pump and sure enough... no good! A course marshal eventually helped me out and gave me a new tube and air, but by this point I was already 20 minutes off the bike and the leaders were finished.   I cam close to just DNF'ing but just finished the race anyway in 29th place I think with a time of 3:34.. 30 minutes behind where I should have been.  So sad.. For those of you who have never been down there for this race.. it's completely worth it if you want super fast heart in your throat racing for 3+ hours.  The bbq after alone is worth it.  davmaz on "No racin' just riden'" http://mtbmind.com/forums/topic.php?id=61#post-232 Mon, 09 Aug 2010 13:53:25 +0000 davmaz 232@http://mtbmind.com/forums/ Friday Dawn and Maz rode Yudickey in Nashua, doing both sides. The side with Barbwire we found nice flow and relative sweet single track. On Barbwire itself I managed all but one stunt, we did that section twice. Broke for lunch and headed to other side across 111A. This side has three loops one being sweet, anouther being short but scary, stunts and the other being long and technical. They call the short and long Fireball. We did the long section of Fireball 1st, the short hero loop 2nd and the other loop last. The long section of Fireball beat me up. All and all excellent riding. Yesterday we did Hampstead with four other riders from Bensons ski & sport. Lost two riders, one of who was on her 1st mtb ride, after an hour. We showed them way back on paved rode and continued on. I left off the trail to the stunts and the stunts themselves. Again I missed a turn in and ended up doubling back but still managed most sections. Left off one loop and one trail with my buddy J starting to feel it and cramping up. Dawn having bent deraileur cage and sending chain between spokes and cassette a few times wasn't a good thing. We managed a 3 1/2 ride Friday and 2 1/2 hour yesterday, good few days without a race. gofunburnman on "Treasure Valley Rally - 2010 Course Preview" http://mtbmind.com/forums/topic.php?id=59#post-230 Thu, 05 Aug 2010 12:41:53 +0000 gofunburnman 230@http://mtbmind.com/forums/ Well I wasn't racing last Sunday, but did manage to spend some time out in Rutland helping put together some video. The fist section is a new trail that was put in to by-pass the swampy area (which is bone dry right now) just before you reach the midstate trail. This also had the unfortunate (or fortunate depending on you perspective) side effect of by-passing the rock garden climbs at the beginning of the midstate. Don't worry, there are still plenty of rocks (and climbing) out there for your riding enjoyment. Hope to see you there. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STyDguGC6Bo">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STyDguGC6Bo</a> Raineman on "Group Ride Sunday" http://mtbmind.com/forums/topic.php?id=54#post-200 Thu, 22 Jul 2010 14:50:13 +0000 Raineman 200@http://mtbmind.com/forums/ Sunday afternoon works for me. Suggest we do a Quarries/Mast Yard/Lehtinen combo from Concord, sticking to the smoothest quarries stuff so as not to get bogged down in the technical. A friendly fun ride which I guarantee you will enjoy. Starts with the work and gets easier as we go. If it is just a few of us, we can ride as the group agrees. 3.5-4 hours. Bear Brook>Fomba means getting carried away by deer flies, which are ridiculously thick there right now. We can do some grilling afterward, etc... 11 am Sunday at my place. The VT ride is 2.5 hours from Concord and I want to plug into a VT resource. I can do it in late October/ early November due to business travel and UNH commitment. davmaz on "Camden Maine weekend" http://mtbmind.com/forums/topic.php?id=58#post-218 Fri, 30 Jul 2010 00:16:12 +0000 davmaz 218@http://mtbmind.com/forums/ I'm gonna be at the Camden Snow Bowl this weekend, list of events; <a href="http://www.camdensnowbowl.com/sites/default/files/fat.tire_.info_.jpg" rel="nofollow">http://www.camdensnowbowl.com/sites/default/files/fat.tire_.info_.jpg</a> This year it's a weekend event with our (EFTA) race Sunday. Saturday looks like a real fun filled day. I will be putting my bmx pumping skills to the test on the 29-er in the Pump Track Contest. chrisg on "Warman Gap Recap!" http://mtbmind.com/forums/topic.php?id=55#post-210 Tue, 27 Jul 2010 01:04:23 +0000 chrisg 210@http://mtbmind.com/forums/ Well it's too bad that no mtbmind riders turned out to support this ride and get some really serious training in because you missed out on great weather and awesome riding.  I stayed nearby at a Sugarbush condo and made my way down to Pittsfield for the start at 6:30am.  Luckily the country store was open across the street and grabbed myself some really good egg sandwhiches!  So the ride plan was to do all 6 gaps on my mountain bike but that was being ambitious and depending on what kind of group was left with me after the 4th gap.    I was the only guy on a mountain bike (I put on some slicks) and I was completely fine with that knowing the dirt roads going down over Lincoln gap aren't exactly the safest on a road bike.  There were about 40 riders who started and a few really strong road racers that my girlfriend got to join in on the ride.  We started off nice and slow and I was worried about someone just going off the front and hammering... in which case I may be in trouble.  Sur enough someone attacked with 150 miles to go within the first 5 minutes and a bunch of us (myself included) went after him with the rest of the bunch right behind.  We caught up and found ourselves averaging 25-28mph the first 40-50 minutes of the ride until we started towards the first gap.  I was able to hold my own as the group split up into 2 up the first gap where I was stuck in the middle of both ends.  My disadvantage came on the decent where I couldn't go more than 40mph and was afraid my tires were going to burst.  Why?  Oh well I decided to make a pair of slick Bontranger's tubeless for the day to see if they held up.... crossing my fingers and praying to god on every decent! They had feed stations at the top of every gap with gatorade, water, Heed, PB & J, and whatever else you needed.  It was going to be a hopt day so I popped a few Endurolyte and Anti-Fatigue caps every hour to prevent any leg soreness and have to say they worked like a charm.  By the time Lincoln gap came (3rd one), I was a bit behind by a few minutes and was working with other groups of riders who weren't in our ride to try and bridge the gap.  People thought I was crazy to be on a mt bike and kept trying to lose me.... but you're going to have to go fast than 30mph to lose me on the flats.   We took route 100 from the second gap into Lincoln gap and was riding 22-25mph on my own for most of the way until I bumped into others and boosted up to 27 or 28 for a while.  A hard left up Lincoln gap road after more water and fuel and up I went.  It's a nice gradual climb until the last 1 mile or so when it becomes the longest steepest stretch of paved road in the US.  My mountain bike had no problem with gearing, although I lock out my granny gear so that was out of commission.   I caught up to about 15 people at the top of that climb, fueled again and then was down the backside onto gap 4.  Keep in mind we also stopped at a few country stores on route for additional liquids such as Red Bull.  Oh how that tastes so good cold and in the heat.  Lincoln gap is no joke and gap 4 is nothing to shrug off either.  By the top of gap 4 I had caught and passed about 15 people and was calling it quits after about 7.5 hours into it.  Although I did have to ride my bike all the way back down to my car which was parked in Pittsfield (Rt 100 all the way for 50 miles!!).  Holy shit the last 50 miles felt harder than the first 85.  I finall made it 2 hours later after hopping into the swimming holes along the way to cool off.  Temps were near 90 by that point.  They had a really amazing buffet dinner for us set up in the country store and homemade maple syrup milkshakes.  Yummmm!  9.5 hours of riding over 132 miles and 4 huge gaps.  Amazing Raineman on "VT MTB Festival" http://mtbmind.com/forums/topic.php?id=52#post-193 Tue, 20 Jul 2010 05:37:38 +0000 Raineman 193@http://mtbmind.com/forums/ Hardy the trailbuilder took a  mob of us out to the trails in Stowe VT as part of the festival. I really enjoyed it, a hot day on some absolutely great trails, long climbs and beautiful Vt forest scenery. Here's spme helmet hero video I hope you enjoy. <a href="http://www.vimeo.com/13476264" rel="nofollow">http://www.vimeo.com/13476264</a> The two waterfall photos on the video are from a couple of swimming holes in the area. Heaven. davmaz on "Ham-steading" http://mtbmind.com/forums/topic.php?id=53#post-195 Wed, 21 Jul 2010 13:06:24 +0000 davmaz 195@http://mtbmind.com/forums/ Other than covering, not racing, the EFTA events and riding Maz-a-bee-ski I've been riding my new favorite away from home spot Hampstead. It has been quite a few years since riding there and at that time it was pretty much beat up and not much fun. Looking at new rides for Dawn and myself I went back there and "holy crap" what a pleasent surprise  trails groomed and new sweet single track. I have been there quite a few times since and finding even more nice trails. With the trails being about mid point, less than 1/2 hour ride for the both of us, we love it. Yesterday I found the stunts that were built many years ago. I would now call them Maz level "old, rotted  and broken down. The trail winding around that portion of woods was down right nasty and made Maz-a-bee-ski seem like a paved highway, loved every bit of it, except the hilly climb. Raineman on "Ultimate XC Race Report" http://mtbmind.com/forums/topic.php?id=50#post-168 Tue, 29 Jun 2010 14:53:31 +0000 Raineman 168@http://mtbmind.com/forums/ I'll post a proper race report in a day or two, but for now I'll share that EFTA's own Paul Simoes schooled the locals, winning the 100K race in 7 1/2 hours. Most commonly used word to describe the race: Brutal. P.S. Everyone in the MTBMind finished on a day when the sun, the climbing, and the rugged nature of the course tested every competitors will. dang on "something to think about." http://mtbmind.com/forums/topic.php?id=51#post-185 Mon, 05 Jul 2010 18:51:40 +0000 dang 185@http://mtbmind.com/forums/ I don't want this to erupt into a religous debate or poignant sob story but just some events and timing in my life to ponder if you were to describe me when I was a kid, they'd say that's the kid always on his bike.Same applies now. I'm the guy always riding his bike. sometimes my riding messes up things in my life. it's what I do. we all know what I mean or maybe you don't. well some events forced me to change.here's a quick recap.  on the last sunday in Jan I broke my ankle mtbing. not too bad. on tues A.M. I got a call from my sister that my mother was unresponsive in the ICU.She was very sick. due to my ankle I didn't work for a few weeks and couldn't ride much and  had plenty of time to help my mother and be with her.By April 1 we were both getting stronger and  I thought I might be ready to mtb in the woods but that Thurs my co-worker severely broke my left foot and my response to him was this will allow me to help my mother when she goes home Mon. she was home for less than a week ... and I was going to be disabled for 2 months . I have never ever had so much idle time in my life but it was perfect timing. I could spend as much time with my mother, whose pancreatic cancer had spread, and not really worry about anything. And she didn't have to worry about my not working because my worker's comp pay was based on a prevailing wage and 60% tax free was equal to my normal pay . the last 3 months have been difficult. everything. the foot,my mother's health, my fighting sisters. I was forced to not ride as much because the pain was crippling and I could only think about my mother possibly being alone. I tried to ride with my cycling shoe 2 weeks ago and no luck. I was able to ride for the first time with a cycling shoe and low pain Sat June 26 the day my mother passed away. you say:" why would you go riding on such a day?" that's how I survive life's stress and as I sometimes did this last month regardlessly just cry and pedal on... my ride last night was almost normal but... . just some timing and events in my life I had to share. mtbmind on "Warman 6-Gap Century Plus & VT MTB 6-Hour Relay" http://mtbmind.com/forums/topic.php?id=46#post-152 Wed, 16 Jun 2010 21:35:52 +0000 mtbmind 152@http://mtbmind.com/forums/ What's up everyone?  You may have received my e-mail last week talking about the VT 6-hour MTB Challenge since MTBMind.com is helping with promoting.  I have worked out an arrangement with the race director/promoter of Peak Races (<a href="http://www.peakraces.com/">http://www.peakraces.com</a>) and he has granted everyone $10 off registration for both the Warman Century Plus Road Ride on July 17th, and also for the 6 hour MTB Challenge on Aug 22nd.  *****The code to receive $10 off registration is MTB Mind***** These are 2 separate events that are both extremely challenging and will be great training for other races coming up in the near future such as the World Cup and VT 50.  Warman Century Plus Road Ride - July 17th 6:30am <h3>What:</h3> Get ready for the ride of your life, The 6 Gap, as told by Bruce Saxton and as remembered by the late and great Chet "The Jet" Warman. I had the pleasure of accompanying Chet several times on this ride. It is a ride you will never forget and once you overcome the pain you'll want to do it again. Riders will be able to choose between riding 2, 4, or 6 gaps. Money raised from the ride will be dedicated to a memorial fund for aspiring racers who can't afford a bike. Nancy, Chet's sister, is in charge of the Chet Warman Memorial Fund. <h3>Course:</h3> The Gaps are mountain passes located in Vermont's Green Mountains just north of the Killington/Pittsfield region and go as far north as the Sugarbush Ski Resort. The Gaps feature long steep climbs and twisting high speed descents. All 6 Gaps either start or end in close proximity along route 100. More info and registration: <a href="http://www.peakraces.com/warman/">http://www.peakraces.com/&lt;wbr&gt;warman/</a> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Pittsfield Six Hour Relay - Aug 22nd 9:00 a.m. We hope you'll join us for the 3rd Annual Pittsfield 666 Mountain Bike Race. We've consulted with some of New Englands best mountain bikers and developed a course that is challenging for all riders. Our goal is to have a tough course but one that you will enjoy for 6 hours. The 6-8 mile course will feature mixed terrain with lots of climbing. We have added a new 2.5 mile downhill since last year and new rolling singletrack on the top of the mountain and a new rolling traverse around the backside. New this year 1st to the top on the first lap wins King of The Hill for male and female! $525 cash purse for the top male and female with combined King of the Hill cash bonus!! The first 200 people will receive the discount so get your entry in asap. More info and registration: <a href="http://www.peakraces.com/bikerace/">http://www.peakraces.com/&lt;wbr&gt;bikerace/</a> *****The code to receive $10 off registration is MTB Mind***** That should do it for now!  I will be heading up to VT to help design the 6-hour relay course in a few weeks and get video footage up on MTBMind.com soon.  It'll be a race not to miss. Please pass it along or post the info on your blog/Facebook about discount offer.  Thank you, Chris Gagnon Co-Owner & Founder MTBMind.com dang on "helment cams what's everyone using?" http://mtbmind.com/forums/topic.php?id=49#post-164 Wed, 23 Jun 2010 03:07:50 +0000 dang 164@http://mtbmind.com/forums/ there seems to be more than a few riders here that have and use helment cameras. what's out there to buy?  anything one system to avoid? the race videos have been great. gofunburnman on "Pinnacle Race Reports" http://mtbmind.com/forums/topic.php?id=45#post-150 Mon, 14 Jun 2010 15:03:46 +0000 gofunburnman 150@http://mtbmind.com/forums/ Best Pinnacle course in the 4 yrs I’ve been doing it. It was nice to see all the switchbacks back in the climb and the single track off the top of the Pinnacle was a great addition.  As for my race, it was going great for the first lap or so. I got caught up in traffic a bit on the climb and lost contact with the lead 5 or 6 from my group but coming off the top of the Pinnacle I was pretty much riding in the clear and was able to make up the lost time on the pump track leading to the downhill. By the time we hit the plummet I’d caught back to Bob and Luke and felt like I had a god race in the works. I was still feeling strong on the second climb when I noticed my rear tire seemed to be bottoming out on things it shouldn’t be. I stopped and gave it a shot of air and could hear the faint hissing coming from a spot on the sidewall. I spent a little time knocking it around trying to get the Stan’s to seal it but wasn’t cooperating. I gave up and got back on hoping (stupidly) that somehow things would somehow work out. They didn’t. Although the tire seemed to be holding I was definitely running at pressure lower than I’m used to which didn’t agree with my line through that rocky dip by the water tank. This time I put a hole in it that wasn’t getting sealed. It’s been a while since I’ve had to change a flat in a race and let’s just say it took a little bit longer than I would have liked. (side note: I put a lot of miles in commuting sometimes all the way into Boston and sometimes I get flats. I had more people ask me if I needed anything in the however many minutes it took me to change this one flat than I’ve had in the 4 yrs and 10 or so flats I’ve had commuting. Just wanted to say thanks.) Anyway, I finally get back on and, feeling fresh from my little rest, gun it up the fire road climb and back into the single track. The one advantage of flatting is you get the brief period where you legs have forgotten how tired they are and you get to pass a ton of people as it’s a lot more fun to pass, than be passed. This lasted for me back to the top of the Pinnacle. Somewhere in there I briefly entertained thoughts of just hanging out with Clint and enjoying 2 more trips downhill, but hey, if I didn’t think burying myself to the point of exhaustion and verge of cramping/puking was “fun” I would be racing so off I went. Besides, you have to believe you can get back in it or you never will. I kept a good pace going the rest of lap two, but caught a glimpse of Scott Hood on the uphill as I came out of the downhill single track. Damn that’s going to be a lot to make up in one lap. Lap 3 was a combination of hammering what I could and some conservative riding in the rocky sections and bridge transitions. A 16g CO2 just doesn’t inflate a 29er quite as hard as I’d normally run tubes and I didn’t want to be deprived of a 3rd trip downhill. I never did catch back up to Scott or any of the other leaders in my group who all finished minutes ahead of me. I ended up in 8th missing breaking 2 hrs. by just a couple seconds, oh well. As disappointing as it is to have flatted on a day I had legs, I’ve still had a smile on my face all day. That course is just so much fun. Thanks again, Brian, and everyone else involved in putting it on. mtbmind on "Pinnacle Challenge -2010" http://mtbmind.com/forums/topic.php?id=48#post-161 Sun, 20 Jun 2010 14:12:25 +0000 mtbmind 161@http://mtbmind.com/forums/ <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPTvVWW4foc" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPTvVWW4foc</a> chrisg on "4 hour training ride today at Willowdale" http://mtbmind.com/forums/topic.php?id=47#post-160 Sat, 19 Jun 2010 18:02:34 +0000 chrisg 160@http://mtbmind.com/forums/ I am heading up to Willowdale for a 4 hour training ride at near race pace.  If anyone is interested in tagging along I should be there around 4pm.  No breaks and not waiting for anyone who can't keep up.  Chris Raineman on "The Pinnacle Preview Video" http://mtbmind.com/forums/topic.php?id=41#post-136 Fri, 11 Jun 2010 02:30:37 +0000 Raineman 136@http://mtbmind.com/forums/ Pre-rode the course last night with Brian Currier. Have a taste. <a href="http://www.vimeo.com/12474770" rel="nofollow">http://www.vimeo.com/12474770</a> Al mtbmind on "Vermont 30 Mile MTB Challenge" http://mtbmind.com/forums/topic.php?id=44#post-148 Sat, 12 Jun 2010 14:38:37 +0000 mtbmind 148@http://mtbmind.com/forums/ This race is relatively new on everyone's radar and in its 3rd year of production.  I had the pleasure of meeting the founder of meeting the founder of Peak Races (Joe Desena) who puts on a wide range of ultra-endurance races including The Death Race, however the Vermont 30 Mile Challenge is for mountain bikers and on some of the best trails in New England -- the kind of trails like the Pinnacle, Willowdale, and Dalton have in common. <img src="http://www.mtbmind.com/images/peakraces.png" /> Joe has consulted with MTBMind and has relied on us to help deliver an exceptional turn out for this years event.  Race the relay or race it solo, at $40 to enter you get a t-shirt, pig roast, and your chance to win some serious cash money...  $375 cash prize for the top male AND female, not to mention $150 on top of that for King of the Hill winner male AND female.  $375 + $150 = $525 for a measly $40 entry. Anyway, here are all the race specifics: <a href="http://www.peakraces.com/bikerace/">http://www.peakraces.com/bikerace/</a> Pre-Registration: <a href="http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=10540&tab=a3">http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=10540&tab=a3</a> Trail Map: <a href="http://www.greenmountaintrails.com/">http://www.greenmountaintrails.com/</a> For those of you doing the VT 50 a few weeks after, this is the perfect race to get your climbing legs in top form as there is some seriousness to these hills.   There ought to be if the average person takes 6 hours to complete only 30 miles.  Ouch! <embed src="http://rideguidebike.mobilerider.com/embed/small_wide/891/18589/" wmode="window" width="701" height="448">  mtbmind on "Big Ring Rumpus Race Video" http://mtbmind.com/forums/topic.php?id=43#post-146 Sat, 12 Jun 2010 13:38:12 +0000 mtbmind 146@http://mtbmind.com/forums/ Here is a little video I have to credit <a href="http://wellonabigbikeya.blogspot.com/2010/06/cycling-videos-on-cyclingdirt-bring.html">Thom Parsons</a> for filming last weekend.  He caught a lot of the first-lap action with Jesse Anthony & Daniel Vaillancourt showing up with their road skills.  http://vimeo.com/12352836 davmaz on "Missing since Willowdale" http://mtbmind.com/forums/topic.php?id=39#post-131 Tue, 08 Jun 2010 19:48:51 +0000 davmaz 131@http://mtbmind.com/forums/ With Denis and Kelly helping me load up at Willowdale I didn't take stock in what was loaded. I noticed this past week my floor pump is missing this is no big thing. Today when I went to work on some bikes I could not find my Park workstand this is a big thing. If someone has it please let me know. Thanks, Maz chrisg on "Karen Potter Killing it at Trans-Sylvania Epic!" http://mtbmind.com/forums/topic.php?id=40#post-134 Wed, 09 Jun 2010 02:50:04 +0000 chrisg 134@http://mtbmind.com/forums/ <a href="http://mtbracenews.com/media/articleimage/cropped/img6585789189032316615.jpg"><img title="" src="http://mtbracenews.com/media/articleimage/cropped/img6585789189032316615.jpg" /></a> 2010 Inaugural Transylvania Stage Race written by: Karen Potter First off I want to send out a big thank you to Mike Kuhn and Ray Adams for putting on a wonderful stage race. It was very well organized and everything ran smoothly as far as I could tell. The volunteers were great. Even Mike and Ray’s parents were instrumental in seeing this stage race come together. Their parents even made some of the prizes – like the very cool and unique handmade TSE coaster – I love it!  The photographer, A.E. Landes Photography was great too. Abe put together a slide show each evening of the day’s stage. Mike and Ray had some great schwag for prizes for everyone who finished as well as for daily stage winners. I hope they can continue to secure good sponsorship for this race, which I imagine they will be able too since it seemed to be a big hit this inaugural year.  The TSE was a great first stage race for me to enter into this new format of racing. Granted, half way through, I was thinking I wasn’t going to survive, but that had nothing to do with how the race was put on. It was tough but doable and with some really fun stages to boot.  <div>Finishing out the week, I’d say maybe, just maybe, it was a tad short, although that’s because I am done now and at home looking at a couple of nice rest weeks before my next 100 miler. But I really don’t feel ‘wrecked’ like I anticipated feeling finishing this race. There was good variety in the stages, although, I wasn’t particularly keen on the long ‘roady’ day, but it was a break from the rocky, rough terrain of PA. And unfortunately my most tired day, Stage 4 at Raystown, was some of the most fun, fastest trail riding I’ve done in a while – smooth, giant pump track like terrain. It was sweet. I would love to go back there to ride those trails on fresh legs.</div> There are some wonderful trail systems in PA. We got to ride lots of them in this race and hopefully even more of them next year. I won’t lie – it is rocky, but mostly it’s just purely true mountain biking in my book. And my competition was pretty tough but I was pleased to hang in there in 2nd place with some really experienced endurance racers, and make lots of new riding friends.