Salty Dog 6 Hour Enduro

GPS Data: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/33876534

I don’t really know what pushed me into wanting to do this race. Most of my team talked about how fun it was last year and how this was one of their favorite events of the year. It’s hard to imagine how riding a bike for 6 hours straight can be fun…but there must be something to if it sold out last year. This year the rider limit was capped at 400 and after I heard how popular it was, I was registered way back in March….which was a good decision because it completely sold out the following week.

For me this wasn’t so much a race…but a test to my training plan this year. I was never a big fan of endure races and my last one did not really go the way I had planned, but my team seems to love them and about 90% of the team signed up to do this…so it was pretty much already guaranteed to be a great time.

The race was in Salmon Arm, BC so it was probably going to be better weather then what we were getting in Calgary and my first out –of-province race. This was also going to be my first solo endure race. I managed to hook up with Mark on my team to drive up and Pat also tagged along for the ride. We left right after work so arrived just a little after 10pm in Salmon Arm where we promptly retired to our rooms for the night as we had a pretty full day planned for Saturday.

Saturday we went to pick up race packages and pre-ride the course. We met up with Jeff Nielsen and crew again then looked around Skookum Cycle which was a pretty small bike shop. We went down to the course after and met up with three other Deadgoats for the pre-ride. Gerry led us up through the first single-track climb which was smooth, tight and twisty. After that we continued on to the second section on single-track which is where we apparently missed a turn because we wound up climbing a gravel road for what seemed like forever to the first section of downhill. The first downhill was pretty technical with some North Shore style stunts littered throughout…which were thankfully marked so you didn’t go off by accident and a couple steep rock garden sections. After the first downhill we ended up back on the road we just climbed and then we climbed up to the second single-track descent section. The second descent was a little less technical with a super flowy switch back section at the bottom. After crossing the road again there was a small climb before an ultra-fast double-track section. This was pretty straight near the top with a couple switchbacks thrown in and then a couple steep descents back into the feed zone/lap section.

After finishing up the lap we found we had missed approx. 4km so we went headed out for another lap to see where we made the wrong turn. In the second section it turns out we missed a hard right turn…which we almost missed again but I was able to call back Mark and waiting for Linda to catch up so she wouldn’t miss it either. The second climb was a really nice climb with a few steep sections and then after getting to the top we did a really nice flowy single-track descent. After the descent we got spit out a double-track climb which wasn’t really steep but it was pretty long. It was really exposed so I was concerned about having the climb this the next day with the sun and potentially running out of water. We got to the top and did the descent once again where I felt a little more comfortable now that I knew what to expect.

Race day a bunch of us who were staying at the hotel woke up fairly early and went for breakfast. The sky was overcast and it looked like it might rain…which was actually a pretty sing considering how hot the day before was. After breakfast we checked out of the hotel and headed down to the race site. IT was pretty crazy with over 600 riders running around preparing for the race and getting setup. After listening to the pre-race info and announcement we headed down the road...about a 1km away from the trailhead for the mass start.

I seeded myself in the second fastest group as the first part of the course was mostly climbing and I didn’t want to get stuck behind people walking their bikes. After a few moments the race started and we headed out in staggered groups towards the gravel road climb. The first climb of the race was mostly on gravel road as the single-track would have been way too congested and this was a good way of stringing out the riders. The gravel climb went all the way up the road to about the second climbing section where we were strung out pretty good. After going through the first section I felt a little stiff and the quads were burning a little…but I figured I just needed to warm-up a little. My heart rate was pretty high…pretty much at 90% so I knew I needed to get it under control and try to pace myself.

I found Ted in the pack of riders and rode with him for a little bit of the climb. Ted stayed behind me pretty much the entire way down the single-track which was good because he pushed me a little to take the sections faster as he almost ran into me a couple times. My plan was to change water bottles every lap and stretch every other lap. Near the bottom of the descent into the feed zone, my front tire washed out during a hard turn into a slight climb and I ended up having a minor spill, I picked myself up and moved my bike to avoid getting killed by the huge line of riders bombing down the section then rejoined in a slight gap. After finishing off the first lap, I checked my water bottle which was still about ¾ full so I flew by the feed station and went out for a second lap. My legs felt way better on the second lap and now I was able to ride within myself as things started to string out. MY goal for the day was to complete at least 6 laps so I would beat my Giver-8-er record from last year.

After lap 2, I stopped for a 5 minutes to change water bottles, stretch and eat a little bit of food. It was going to be a long day and I wanted to make sure I had enough energy to keep going. The downhill was really rough so it was taking its on my body. Every lap, my triceps were killing me, my fingers were getting numb and my back was tightening up. This was my second ride on my newly upgraded Faze and tubeless wheels so I was a little concerned how they would hold up. Every lap I checked my pressure but it seems fine though it was hard to notice the benefits of having a full suspension bike on the really bumpy.

Around lap 5, Lyndon asked me how I was holding up and I told him I was starting to get a little tired. He yelled back for me to keep going and I was still doing great. We helped push each other up the climb most of the race and it was great having a teammate to ride with and push me a little harder. After lap 5 I figured I had time to go out for another lap…so I took a short break and headed out again…I wanted to get in 6 laps. During lap 6, I caught up to Tim who was on his 7th lap and said he was feeling pretty tired…we was also debating pulling the plug when he finished up the lap. I was getting pretty cross-eyed but still felt I could keep going. I managed to keep a smile on the face up to now (I was out riding my bike on awesome single-track in BC…how could I not smile?) so I figured I wasn’t tired enough yet.

I finished up my 6th lap and got back to the feed zone with Tim. I asked how much time was remaining and someone told me about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Tim said he felt he could hammer out another lap and so asked me if I’d go out for another. I was tired but I figured I had enough energy to hammer out one more so I grabbed my last water full water bottle and set out to do my 7th lap with Tim pulling me along.

The climb felt hard but surprisingly my legs did not feel like jelly as I thought they would after having biked 65km and climbing a over 2km. I lost Tim on the first single-track descent but was able to catch up to him and Lyndon on the climb. Lyndon was also completing his 7th lap so I felt pretty good being able to hold pace with them as we climbed the double-track. I did the last descent with no issues and was a little slow but managed to push out one more smile for the course marshal as I did the final technical descent back to the feed zone.

I finished my race at exactly 6 hours so didn’t have time to do another lap although I felt that I had enough energy for an 8th lap if only I had another hour but I still felt awesome about the race. I didn’t have any major crashes…and the one I did have was so minor it probably shouldn’t even count. I felt I got a little better technically and it was a true show of winter training. I never thought last year I’d be able to do a 6 hour endure…let alone hammer roughly 73km out on a mountain bike.

Result: 29/84 in my age category

This was by far one of my better mountain bike races. I felt great during the entire race and my bike worked flawlessly. The tubeless held up and really helped me during many of the technical climbs. I cleaned all the sections and even landed a drop that I took by accident. I finished up in results close to my teammates so that felt great as well. This race wasn’t really about results but rather having fun and seeing where my endurance was at. I signed up for the Bow80 this year so wanted to make sure I would have the fitness to finish it.

Velocity Stage Race: Day 2 – Stage 3 – Road Race

Today the race was going to be back in Fort Saskatchewan. It started a little bit later than usual so we got to get in some extra sleep. My legs felt OK but now I was trying to steer my focus away from my how my crit went the day before. I had to remind myself that it’s only the first race of the season and races don’t always go your way.

My category was set for 3 X 24KM laps on a mostly flat road which was good for the first road race of the season. It wasn’t really the distance that worried me this time around…but rather the huge number of riders in my category, many of which had no road racing experience. As I looked around, all the teams were bunched together, discussing some sort of strategy for the race. I was the only member of my team at the race so I just chatted with a few other lonely riders and listened in on a couple of other teams strategies.

Finally after standing around for about 20 minutes, we had a neutral rollout to the start/finish line. I was at the front and was in the right gear this time so managed to have a really good spot for the start of the race. As the lead car pulled off to indicate the race was on, right out of the gate there was an attack by the ERTC team then a Juventus junior tried bridge up. Because the race had just started we decided to let them go. A few kilometers into the race, we started to reel back in the ERTC/Juventus riders one by one. There was one significant attack by the a few Juventus guys but they would only stay away for a few kilometers and slowly get reeled in…the pack pretty much decided that we weren’t going to chase down anyone just yet.

As we entered into the second lap, I was still more or less at the front. I wouls drop back a few places every once in a while by would sooner or later find myself way up at the front again.The rest of the lap pretty much flowed the same as the last lap…lots of tempo changes and I was doing more work at the front then I probably should have been doing. On the straight before the last turn, I came pretty close to causing a crash. I was sitting on a guys wheel and his tempo was all over the place. To avoid running into his back wheel I had to swerve a few times which almost caused the riders behind me to run into my back wheel. Someone yelled my number…so I pulled through to try and find a better wheel to follow.

Third lap things started to heat up a little. An ERTC guy attacked just before…or even into the feed zone but no one followed. I was still near the front and getting really worried that I was started to burn myself out and would be tired to sprint. After we went around turn one, the guys from Juventus I had spent a good amount of time pulling with said he was tired of doing all the work and was going to slow the pace down. As we went over a slight rise…I could see why…off in the distance I could see 3 Juventus riders off in the distance ahead of the lone ERTC member. They had a made a break earlier on and their teammates was blocking. I was actually quite surprised to see some sort of strategy at work in a cat 5 race. A lot of people didn’t even know about the breakaway so no was willing to come up to the front and push the pace a little harder.

We got to the second last turn where I heard the screeching of metal and saw the pack split up. There was a crash at the front of the pack so everyone was swerving to avoid running over the fallen riders. I slammed on my brakes and veered off to the right as I was about to hit another rider. My only exit was a gravel ditch on the right side of the highway. I rode in the ditch and then alongside the highway for about 50 meters or so with the main pack to my left, then I did a quick bunny hop back onto the pavement and rejoined the pack. That was the first crash I had ever seen in a road race so I’m glad I was able to react and get back in the race. I got back to my position at the front and prepared for a pack sprint. About 4 kilometers away from the start finish I could see a Juventus rider up ahead so I decided to launch a solo attack so I wouldn’t be caught in a bunch sprint. I tagged Mark on the shoulder but he didn’t get my sign so I went out ahead of the pack by myself. I looked back an a couple riders had grabbed my wheel so my attack had been shut down. As we caught up to the Juventus rider…he looked totally spent. He was soft pedaling and could not go anymore…he had blown up while in the breakaway group.

We went around the last turn and it was onto the final stretch. The pace really picked up and things were starting to get a little sketch. I was fully conscious of the center line rule so was trying to keep my pace while avoiding following any wheels. I got stuck in the middle of the pack with no escape root so I just sprinted as hard as I could…I pushed hard but it seemed like I had burned my match when I tried my attack but as we got closer to the line people started blowing up so I had gained few positions. The sprint was really sketch with so many guys in the bunch but as I crossed the finish line I was sure I had placed in the top 20…so I was pretty happy about that.

Result: 10/51

A top 10 result to start of off the season really pushed my confidence up. I’m glad I was able to place this well because I was really wondering where all my training had gone after the previous days…but it seems I’m feeling a lot stronger in my races then last year. I stayed with the pack the entire way, mostly at the front and was in the pack sprint.

Velocity Stage Race: Day 1 - Stage 2 - Criterium

This was the first time I've ever done two races in a day so wasn't sure how my legs should be feeling. Thankfully the time trial was a really short one so recovery wasn't too much of an issue. Since this crit was the first one of the season I was glad it was a little shorter than the normal for our category.

The course was held at the Alberta Research Park in south Edmonton and looked like it was going to be a fairly technical course with plenty of turns. I noticed that the TT time had been posted so I rode over to take a look before I pre-rode the course. My result wasn’t as great as I would have liked it to be…but I wasn’t too hung up on it...it was my first TT ever and I had gone out as hard as I could.
Then I decided to do a few laps of the course to scout lines and such. The course was a really nice course with lots of turns and narrow sections in the first half. The second half was a long curving road right into a headwind then into a fairly long straightway to the Start/Finish line.
After a few laps on the course, I got out the trainer to spin the legs a little bit while the juniors raced. The legs were still feeling pretty good despite the hard effort I had done in the morning. After the junior race finished up I quickly changed wheels to my race set and walked over to the Start/Finish so I could start in a good place. I managed to get into the second row at the front which was pretty good so I could try to sit in for a bit and then see where I’m at.

I was fairly relaxed at the start and not too worried about how the crit would go, which was probably my biggest mistake. Really the only thing in my mind was to try to stay with the main pack and not get dropped. The race started and then it hit me...I was in my hardest gear when I switched wheel sets and forgot to check my gearing. All of a sudden I was trying to clip in with my cranks barely turning and the swarms of riders accelerating past me. In literally 5 seconds I was already near the back of the pack. I finally clipped in, shifted and accelerated to try and stay with the pack.
During the lap I managed to gain a bunch of spots and managed to conserve some energy through the strong headwinds. 4th lap in I managed to do a power sprint going into the straightway and get all the way to the front of the pack. I picked out Andrew and Mark in the pack so my goal was to try and sit in with them as Mark is a very powerful rider and Andrew is a very smart racer in the crits. As we went around the second S bend, Mark got pushed of fthe track by another rider taking the turn to wide. There was a major surge by the pack and I was trying hard to stay on a wheel. I knew that if I dropped a wheel I would be in trouble. The next lap I was already starting to redline and had trouble staying on a wheel. I let the gap open up too much and soon I was fighting off a headwind while trying to go as hard as I could. 15 minutes in I had already dropped a wheel and the main pack started getting away from me.

As I did another lap I saw another rider that had been dropped so I drafted him for a bit. Going into the next lap I called out that we could switch off trying to take pulls and try to get back to the pack. As we struggled through the wind another group caught up to us and soon we had a pace line of about 6 riders. I yelled back for everyone to take short pulls so we could try and close the distance to the main group.

Around the second last lap we heard the bell ring for final lap so I went out hard. What I had not realized is that we had just been lapped by a couple riders from Juventus and that we actually still had 2 laps to go. I went out hard the final lap and did the final spring for the finish line. Unfortunately most of us were pretty confused on whether or not we were still racing or not. There wasn’t much the organizers could do because Juventus had lapped up on the final lap at the finish line so they couldn’t really pull any riders out.

After the race…the results were pretty messed up. It was probably pretty hard to keep track of 51 riders on the course at the same time. After some discussions with the commisaires…the results were reviewed and corrected…although I still have a feeling they are not 100% correct.

I finished the crit without getting pulled but was pretty disappointed that I dropped a wheel and ended up getting lapped again. Although this time it was pretty much near the end of the race so not as bad as it could have been.

Oh well...first race of the season and there was still one race remaining.

- Kyle

Photo credit: Thomas Yip

Velocity Stage Race: Day 1 - ITT

I can’t believe how fast time flies. 6 months ago I was sad after ‘cross provincials that racing was done for the season but it was finally time to see if I would come back stronger this year after training a lot more and having more focus this year.

The stages consisted of a 10km Individual Time Trial and crit on the first day and road race on the second day.

The weather forecast wasn’t looking particularly great as we headed for a weekend in Fort Saskatchewan so that was probably the only concern as we left Calgary. When we finally arrived in Edmonton to pick our race packages, I finally remember what I had forgotten…out of all things I totally forgot to pack my base layers. Seeing as it was going to be pretty chilly outside the next morning we drove from Velocity back south to United Cycle so I could buy a base layer.

When we finally arrived at our hotel in Fort Sask. we called it a night pretty soon after checking in. It was going to be a long day the next day with a race in the morning and afternoon so we had to get as much sleep as possible.

The next morning we woke up pretty early so we could get breakfast in on time and then drove to the site for the time trial. This would be my first outdoor time trial. I have done a few 20km TTs on an ergometer for a University of Calgary study I was participating in during the winter so I had a rough idea of the time I was going to shoot for. We all pulled out our trainers to warm-up which I will admit was better than my usual warm-up of riding up and down the road because we got to chat with all the people we had not seen in a while. It always amazes how cycling is so social and how we always have a great time just chatting even though we are usually in direct competition during the races.

As I finished off my warm-up and stretching I rolled over to the start line with a couple minutes to spare before my start time. When it was finally time for me to go, I was amazingly more relaxed then I’ve ever been before a race. The scene for my first time trial was pretty amazing though…I wish I had a camera. The road ahead was obscured by a thick fog so that I could barely see more then about 500m ahead and the air was cool but not freezing. The commissaire said “go” and I took off down the road determined to try and catch the rider 30 seconds in front of me. I got my bike into gear and then there were only three thoughts in my mind; cadence, controlled breathing and “where the hell do I turn?”

I got to turn one where out of nowhere a figure appeared in the fog to indicate my first turn. As I turned I did a quick peek back and could see the next person who started after me in the distance. The next section was pretty rough…it was the Prairie Roubaix all over again. It was really hard to maintain tempo with my bike bouncing all over. I could see the rider in front of me in the distance so I changed gears and tried to push a little harder. I made the next turn and sprinted out before getting back to tempo. There was a slight hill in the horizon and I could see the other rider slowing down a little. Then I got passed by the rider behind me. The rider had a TT bike so I knew I had no chance trying to catch back up to him. Then as I got a little further, Mark J., who started a minute behind me rode by me like I was standing still. I went around the last corner and went out a little harder still but was passed by yet another rider on a TT bike. I was watching my GPS for the last KM where I was going to go all out. My computer said I was only 9km in then the sign for 500m flew by me. I immediately slammed my cassette down and sprinted hard for the finish line.

Finished up my first TT ever and felt OK about it. It seemed the guys on TT bikes were just blowing by me and I was just using my regular road bike. I was glad I was able to maintain some sort of tempo and a fairly good speed throughout but TT are all about experience and knowing your thresholds. As I’ve never done a real TT before I didn’t really know my thresholds or how much a TT should hurt. All I know is my HR was pretty much maxed the entire time…and it hurt.

- Kyle