2016 Salsa Warbird Carbon short-term review

I received my Salsa Warbird Carbon just over a month ago and have finally logged 500 miles. Before i review a bike, i like to get at least a few hundred miles on it, and get it dialed in the way i like. My first impressions of the bike were great; i love the look of the frame, the color scheme is sweet, and the build kit is on or slightly above par for what i would expect at that price. It's nice to get a bike that comes with a Thomson cockpit right off the bat, that's one less thing i'm inclined to swap out haha!

The Salsa Cowbell 2 handlebars were one of the things i was really looking forward to trying out on this bike. The traditional drop bars aren't exactly comfortable over the course of a couple hundred miles, and having the drops flare out so there's more room for your forearms is a bonus. I like the extra width and stability, and being a gravel/backroad bike it isn't a concern like it may be for cross or road racing. I also like the way the levers mount up and feel on these bars, overall i'm very happy with the comfort and control they afford.

The SRAM rival groupset was something i was curious to see in person. To be honest, i would have expected Force on a "top level" bike, but i was quickly convinced after a few rides that it would be an unnecessary expense to add. The 2x11 groupset has all the good trickle down technology that once only came on Red and Force level parts; front derailleur with Yaw, zero loss shifters, hydro disc brakes with centerline rotors, wi-fli rear derailleurs, well you get the point. Something i take into consideration too is the cost of replacement for the parts and relative benefit of upgrading to the next level group. For this bike, my main concern is to have a reliable drivetrain and braking for the most grueling of terrain and race courses, and the Rival delivers on that front. I'd much rather replace a Rival rear derailleur than a Red one, and i feel that the Rival is a more robust design with the use of alloy over carbon. The one change i made was to go to a 1x front setup on my ride. If i head out to the mountains, i'll throw the 2x back on, but for the majority of what i do i don;t find it necessary. Overall, i like the feel of the Rival setup, the Hydro brakes feel great, the shifting is crisp and after a bout with a gravel road wipeout the front shifters are solid!

DT Swiss wheels come as standard equipment on this model, and they're a nice robust build to handle the rigor they're intended for. I personally ride Velocity USA Ailerons laced to Industry 9 hubs, so i swapped to those fairly early on, but i like having the DT Swiss wheels setup with a different tire option so i can switch between narrow (32-35C) and wider (40-44C) tires if conditions or terrain call for it. I setup the stock wheels tubeless with WTB Nano 40c tires, and i run Kenda Small block 8 32c tires tubeless on my Ailerons.

As far as the frameset goes, i like the pop of color that the white offers to my stable, and the green/black/gray banding gives some additional color to tie bottle cages, handlebar tape and other accessories into. Having dual thru axles is a great call on a bike like this, and i very much like the DT Swiss style thru axles with the ratcheting adjustment for the handles, i feel like they have less moving parts than their other thru axle brethren and do the job quite nicely. A big bonus on this frameset is the ample tire and mud clearance! At DK200 this year i very much wish i had the room for mud and wider tires that this frame affords. With the 40c tires there's still more clearance than there is on my cross bike with 32c tires! The compliance built into the flattened chainstays is a very welcome design element on those long days in the saddle. The tube shapes are clean and are easy to strap light batteries, framebags and other accessories to. Having the ability to carry three water bottles is nice as well, and not a feature you find on many bikes. I was skeptical when gravel specific bikes first came out, and figured my cross bike wasn't far off, but i have found that this is far from the truth. The geometry of this bike is far more stable and confidence inspiring than my cross bike on harrowing descents and long stretches of loose gravel. I suppose if you only find yourself riding gravel from time to time then a cross bike will do the trick, but for as often as i find myself riding two-tracks, fire-roads, gravel and the ilk i find it very nice to have a steed built for the task!

Marji Gesick 100 - A ripping good time in the UP!

After doing several long races this spring and summer i thought i had said goodbye to endurance races for the rest of the year, but when i heard about the Marji Gesick 100 i quickly knew that was out the window. I love riding in Marquette and the surrounding area, the wide variety of terrain from rocky to roots to steep climbs and fast descents offer a bit of something for everyone. This race promised all of that and more; starting near Harlow Lake, stopping at the north trails, buzzing through town and into the south trails, winding up to Ishpeming and  ripping through many of the trails up there it promised to be epic! Packet pickup was held at Blackrocks brewery, which is always a good idea (beers and bike talk, what more could you ask for?), and the information was dolled out aplenty. Despite what would seem to be a logistical nightmare Todd, Danny and team assured us all it would be just fine.

Jenny and I made the trip up to rendezvous with other Grand Rapids folks Thursday evening before the race (huge thanks to Danielle for having us at her awesome crash pad and all the GRBC folks who made it up to hang out with). After an awesome breakfast at Donckers we headed out to Harlow lake to locate the start area and pre-ride the first section of trails. This was a great idea... the first section climbs nearly right out of the gate and winds through a mature forest plagued with roots and rocks. It was helpful to see the terrain in the daylight and know what to expect because the race start at 7:30 would be dark in the deep woods. Although the first 8-10 miles of the race proved to be challenging, we knew that it would only get tougher from there....

Once we were set of the first section of the race we elected to head down to the South Trails to scope out which gnarly lines would be included and where to cough up a lung. After cruising to the eastern trailhead on the bike path the course took us immediately up to the top of Marquette mountain on the gravel road. Once again, this was good to know as the ride through town would be a good recovery section beforehand and the best place to down some nutrition. After the summit the course dumped directly into "scary trail" and was certainly hair raising but left a grin on my face from ear to ear. From there the course stays in the south trails for quite sometime and there's an aid station position around mile 35 at the major trailhead.

Friday only allotted time for pre-riding those two sections before packet pickup and "recovery" beverage time. It's nice to gather at Blackrocks in a low key environment and trade info on the course before the race. Evan Simula had some great local knowledge of the area, and advised us that the majority of the work would need to be done in Ishpeming and to save our energy. As expected, Evan was 100% correct. The section from Marquette to Ishpeming doesn't allow for much "recovery" as it basically climbs the entire way, winds through sandy ORV trails and hits a few climbs along it's route. The aid station at Jackson park was awesome, the support crew did a fantastic job of attending to needs, cheering folks on, keeping the mood light and providing updates on the riders on course. After my race was over, i relied very much on this crew to provide me with updates on friends, teammates and of course my favorite rider, Jenny!

The sections in Ishpeming were challenging enough on their own, let alone after 6 plus hours in the saddle. It was critical to take ones time plodding through the rocky terrain and staying fueled along the way. After the last pit stop at mile 80 i wish i could say it was all downhill but that would be a terrible lie. Some of the final sections found us doing battle with rocky strewn two tracks and some fast descending singletrack. The final climb was a doozy but well worth the effort to complete the journey at the top of Jasper Knob. After nearly 100 miles and 11,000 feet worth of climbing it was a sight for sore eyes.

Now, here's a few insiders tips and lessons learned at the MJ100:

• I would highly recommend full suspension if you've got it, i love my hardtail, but by the end of the day i was pretty shelled.
• Ride some durable rubber for this route, go with something wider (2.25" plus) and with substantial protection from rocks and punctures.
• If you've got a GPS such as a Garmin, load the course on there. The crew does an awesome job marking the trails, but there's always some yahoos that tear signs down. The markings to Carroll Jackson trail were all missing and many riders missed that section. I would have rode past it without having the course in front of me.
• Carry plenty of food and water, the pace is slow and you end up pretty far away from aid stations at some points.
• Go into the race prepared for an excellent adventure, don't focus on time/pace/metrics but rather approach it as a journey to be completed and enjoyed. The course uses some phenomenal terrain and it would be a shame to miss even a second of it!
• Bring extra chamois cream....
• Make arrangements/logistics to have a drop bag of clothes at the finish and access to a vehicle at some point. I spent much too long in my chamois riding my bike from the finish to the after party and to Jackson park. Thankfully others were prepared (Nate and Kim with the van and clothes and Evan with the enormous cooler of goodies) and i'm a good mooch.
• Pre-ride some sections that look confusing or that you've never ridden, it helps to be familiar with the terrain and what to expect.
• Have a good light for the start, it's dark in those woods and there's a couple of roots....\
• If you're running a 1x drivetrain size your front ring as if you'd be climbing Alpe d'Huez....
• Have fun, it's an experience of a lifetime!!!!

Huge thanks to Todd, his wife, Danny and Chris (aka Walter), and all of the other support staff. These fine folks made an amazing race that gives back to the trails they love!

Using Strava for good, not evil... How to make a route on Strava!

Love it or hate it, Strava is one of the most popular cycling applications out there today. It's as simple or as in depth as you want to make it, and personally i use the many facets of it almost daily. Whether you like to record your rides or not, Strava has another big upside that i think gets left out a lot; route planning/building tools! There's several applications out there that you can use to build routes to upload on your GPS, but i find the Strava one to be the most useful and intuitive while providing many cool layers to aid in planning your next journey! 

Folks that know me know that i make lots of routes and enjoy doing so. I've made routes for weekend rides, group rides, recreated race routes, bikepacking routes... well, you get the idea. I'll also get people asking me to either make them routes or suggest ways to make routes so i figured i'd write up a quick blog post on how i create them (there's many ways and i'm sure not everyone will agree, but this is how i do it).

First off, when i open up the route builder, the first thing i like to do is turn on the Terrain layer and Heatmap. I like to see the topography of where i'm going to ride so i can plan accordingly (i like hills). The Heatmap is what sets the Strava builder apart from other tools. Basically Strava takes all of the user data it acquires and it shows "heat" intensity on roads/trails that people ride according to frequency (side note: this feature is available regardless of whther or not you are a premium member). Here's what the map looks like with those two layers turned on:

You can see the popular trails lit up in red along with the frequently used roads. I find the Heatmaps most useful when i'm planning routes for places i've never ridden like China haha! It's also a good way to search around an area you like to ride for little secret trails, paths, etc... 

As you draw a route, the builder estimates the mileage and elevation for your proposed route. The default for the drawing tool is an automatic snap which follows the known routes/trails/paths that Google has on their basemap. You may find that some of the trails or roads won't let you click or trace a route onto them, and that's where the manual mode comes into play. On the top toolbar you'll find the manual mode which you can toggle on to manually draw your route on the map. I find that i have to use this when trying to route over trails (Big M, Ski Hill, NCT, etc..).

Once you've drawn your route it's pretty easy to load it onto your device of choice, or if you have the Strava application for your smartphone you can run the route right from there. I have a Garmin 810 so that's what i frequently load files onto. So, you;ve got your route, you've clicked the Save button in the upper right hand corner, given it a cheeky name, and here's what you'll see:

Underneath that surprisingly creative name you've dubbed your desired journey you'll find a button that says "Export". If you click on this a dialogue box will open up that will allow you to select what GPS device you're using and how to load it onto said device:

While the Garmin GPS units may at first seem to be a box full of black magic, they're really quite simple when you break them down. If you plug your Garmin into your computer, Windows File explorer should pop up and show the Garmin as basically a glorified USB stick. Click on the folder called "Garmin" and then click on the folder titled "NewFiles" and that's where you drop that file that you saved from Strava and boom, done! When you turn the Garmin on you should find the route in your courses. One common mistake a lot of people make is to first, not read the directions shown on the screenshot above, and second, to open the "Garmin" folder and see a folder titled "Courses" and assume that's when you put your course file you downloaded. While that seems like it should make sense and work just fine, alas, it does not and you will be sans route if you try it that way. Probably something with the Garmin needing to digest the file in the "Newfiles" folder like a cow chews cud...

If you want more info on how to load stuff on Garmin devices, how the different ones function, how to use your smartphone, etc.. I would suggest Googling DC Rainmaker and searching through his massive amount of info on such subjects. 

Flats happen, don't be sad about stuff

If your tire is setup tubeless and it's still leaking days before a race do yourself a favor and just put one of those antiquated devices called a "tube" into it and call it a day. Many times, against my better judgement i have gone into races with something or another out of sorts whether it's with my bike, myself, clothing or nutrition. This past weekend was no exception, and i paid for it haha! The Michigan Mountain Mayhem Gravel Grinder is a pretty sweet event up in Boyne City, and goes through some beautiful countryside terrain (read hills). It typically draws all kinds of folks for one reason or another be it the sizable cash purse or the promise of good food and cold beers at the finish.

After a healthy warm-up and with the legs feeling good the 60 mile pack headed out onto the pavement to begin battle over the many hills. I'd love to report on the attacks, who was making what moves and what all went down, but the last i saw of the front group was a half mile into the race. Guy behind me says "hey, your tire is loosing air and stans!"... At this point there are a few options; head back to the start and get some warm clothes on and kick back, hang out with some folks and cruise the race as a tour, or the least common sense approach of attack and push relentlessly for seemingly no reason at all. Naturally, being a glutton for punishment i chose the latter approach. Frustration can mount quickly when one has to stop on four separate occasions to and air be it via pump or CO2 to ones tire. I guess the big thing to keep in mind is that it's all for fun, and to challenge yourself. There's not much point in getting bent about poor preparation or luck, just roll with it and give it hell!

It's often asked what the toughest part of competing in endurance events is and my opinion is that the mental aspect is for sure the most difficult. It's easy to get angry, frustrated or demoralized during an event that you've prepared so long for and looked forward to, and understandable in most cases. The thing is, you never know what can happen during a race, who else will suffer from mechanical or physical issues let alone the many other variables. Stick to the plan, use the adversity to fuel yourself and you might be surprised at what you can do. I would have to say that some of my most memorable race results or even just solo rides took place during adverse conditions or with many issues present.

The challenge; next time the chips are down, you've flatted, dropped a chain, wiped out, lost the pack, etc... push yourself to go harder than ever, pretend you're on the attack off the front, use each person you come on as fuel to go faster, don't stop and suck wheel, speed up and fly by! You might be surprised by the mental boost, maybe some increased confidence in your abilities or just the satisfaction that you emptied the tank. Challenge yourself to push beyond those "limits" either you'll amaze yourself at the result or blow up in a glorious ball of flames and either circumstance is something to be proud of!

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes....

So i haven't done a great job at keeping this blog up to date.... I'm going to attempt at blogging more frequently by cutting down on the length of the posts and just throwing stuff on here i find interesting and others may as well.

This year has been pretty sweet so far, and the beginning of my thirties seems to be going well. I've changed teams to Grand Rapids Bicycle Company and Salsa Cycles! For the winter, i am joining forces with team 45NRTH! I've had several people ask "why the change?" or "when did this happen?". The answer is pretty straightforward, and it has nothing to do with any drama or issue with past sponsorship. Sometime ago i was notified by Redline that they would be eliminating the sponsorship for the mountain and cyclocross team folks, and that got things churning about "what next?". I've always been fond of racing for Freewheeler and have zero complaints about the team or the fine folks over there, they've been nothing short of awesome and i've always felt like a part of the family!

So, onto what's new! Really, the ball seemed to get rolling a bit after Dirty Kanza, and kept rolling from there. I took a look at who i race with, where i travel to, and what types of events i enjoy the most. Frequently i have traveled with the GR fatbike crew over the winters and during the summer with many of the endurance folks from the area. It seemed that i spent most of my time with many of the GRBC team riders and was having a good time doing so. Also, after some conversations i found myself a proud member of team 45NRTH for this coming winter season. As more and more conversations opened up i found myself talking with GRBC about joining the team and finding a suitable bike sponsor. Bikepacking, endurance racing, gravel, and pretty much any crazy adventure by bike races are what i love the most. Key words: adventure by bike... So, once Salsa Cycles came into the picture it was pretty much a done deal!

Now that the updates are out there, i'd like to focus on where this blog will go. I'd prefer it to be less about myself and more about the fun races and trips i have the fine fortune of being able to attend. The plan is to post up fun notes/routes/ideas about gravel and mountain bike riding, cool new gear, bikepacking, and fun races (basically all the stuff i find interesting on the interwebs). I'll try to keep the boring stuff to a minimum...

Lumberjack, Sweat Shaker, Boyne Marathon and fat bike fun!

The summer has been flying by, especially with the demands of training, no shortage of good weather and lots of fun stuff to do! After TS Epic my main focus was a good recovery period followed by a build stage to prep myself for Lumberjack. Unfortunately, as i have heard to be the case with many others, i came down with an intestinal bug post TS Epic which threw a wrench in the works. I was already down in weight and feeling exhausted, add to that the inability to keep food in me and you have a recipe for an unpleasant week or two. Already having been at a good race weight, losing 10 pounds destroyed my energy levels and will to train. It was a full two weeks or more before i felt ready to handle any sort of serious riding or racing. Lucky for me i had a full 3 weeks after TS Epic to prepare for Lumberjack because i needed every day of it!

My first workout to speak of after Pennsylvania was the 8 hours of Cannonsburg. Eric Wolting of Freewheeler Racing was kind enough to team up with me despite my lack of enthusiasm and race legs. Each lap at the ski area took an exorbitant amount of effort compared to what i'm used to, and i was more than happy to sit tight for an hour or so at a time to recover and try to get some energy back. I had been following the BRAT diet for the entire week post Trans-Sylvania and needless to say was a little low on fuel. Despite the rough day a good time was had, followed by a top step on the podium for Team Redline/ Freewheeler Racing.

Beautiful day at the Cannonsburg Ski area!

Jenny and I got some fun rides in the week following Cannonsburg, and it was nice to start eating real people food and to feel awake for the majority of the day. I was getting impatient with the limited ride time, and had the usual panicked feeling of how much fitness i was losing every second i missed on the bike (which usually just turns out to be a good thing in the end). To qualm my fears though i got out with a few rides with my Bissell buddies and could feel my legs coming back, if ever so slightly. I was also distracted by the prospect of an awesome gravel century that was looming on Saturday the 14th. I love to plan new bike routes, and through in unique terrain and challenges, and i was particularly proud of the route i had cooked up to the NW of Grand Rapids. It included many miles of scenic gravel countryside, some two-tracks and some creek crossings as it would turn out (Sorry guys haha!). Since the terrain was so remote i used my half-day friday to plant two coolers stocked with beverages, chamois cream, snacks and water at the 25 and 75 mile markers roughly as we had planned to stop in Ravenna at mile 50. The ride turned out to be a big success thanks to the good company of my friends, and was excellent training for Lumberjack since i rode it on my Redline D680. To top it all off, the ever awesome Minnema family played host to a cookout and pool party post-ride where our families/friends joined for a relaxed afternoon.

Awesome group of friends!

Cooler stop number 1

Looming large on monday was the moment of truth... had i lost half my fitness as i had speculated/obsessed over the past two weeks or was i doing just fine? The moment of truth for me was the race of truth as the Time Trial is often referred to; a person, their bike, the road and the clock. I have ridden the Ada TT many, many times so i know exactly what to expect, and with reasonable weather conditions what my time reflects in correlation to my fitness. I realize that a 15 mile TT doesn't tell me how well i'm gonna do at a 100 mile MTB race, but it tells me where my cardio fitness falls. I left the starter at my usual pace, fully expecting to feel deflated after a mile or two, but was surprised that after i hit the 3 mile mark i was feeling pretty good. Also helping to motivate me was having Tom Burke start 30 seconds behind me. I knew he would ride me down but the question was where? At the turn i could spot him coming my way, but i still had a pretty good gap and my legs felt fresh. I kept the pace high and my torso low as to cheat the wind as best as possible. It wasn't until the last two miles that i really started to get that feeling of wanting to pass out at a moments notice. Half a mile out i could hear that familiar sound of an aero setup rolling at high speed. It was a sprint to the finish and i stood up to really gut it out but there was nothing left. I rolled down to the end of the road gasping for air and continued along the bike path trying to compose myself and not drool too much in front of the park patrons. I waited some time before looking down at my Garmin, but finally decide to reveal the results of the litmus test; was i going to be relegated to DFL at Lumberjack or would i come in on form?!?! The time was 32:47, and a PR as it turned out at 27.5 MPH. I felt the cool rush of relief wash over, it was true, i could still ride my bike.

It's important to be a cool operator and not show your hand before a bike race, and i'd like to think i'm usually the laid back type before a race, not too stressed, just ready to go, but no matter what anyone says, i don't think that it ever changes from your first race to your hundredth; that fear/anxiety of being prepared. There are sponsors to provide results for, friends and family that anticipate that podium finish, and other racers that look forward to being slower than you...err, wait, maybe not that last part so much haha! Nonetheless, a little validation can go a long ways leading up to a big race. Lumberjack 100 may not be the Tour De France, but it would be my first NUE event and there would be fast folks there vying for the title. I'm very fortunate in that i have an awesome support system in the form of teammates, family, friends and Jenny. I have a dog that needs to be watched, check that off the list, my mom drives from Grand Ledge to pick her up and watch her for the weekend! I need a place to stay and cook food before and after a long race, check that off the list, the Brower family opened up their cabin for us to stay and relax. I need a support crew for nutrition and any mishaps that may occur, check that off the list, my teammates setup the tents, have tables ready and are ready to provide any support i need (they even rebuilt some guys fork during the race...). I need someone to provide all of that from one time to another, to share fun pre and post rides with, and provide encouragement, check that off the list, Jenny is at the ready! And i can't leave out my main sponsor Redline that keeps me ready with the best gear, kit and support and Freewheeler Bike Shop which is the best shop around. Very lucky indeed...

Thanks Browers and Freewheeler Family!

The conditions for Lumberjack couldn't have been any better in my opinion. A light rain fell consistently the day before helping to knock down the dust and sandy spots. The temperature the morning of was pleasantly cool and the weather looked to be clear for a long day of bike racing. The actual starting line is just up the road from the trailhead a couple miles to make it a true 100 mile course, and to allow folks to jockey for position. To keep things interesting, Rick and Scott put a cash prime up for grabs for the first person up the first major climb. I had no interest in burning a match just a few miles into the start so i selectively held position behind those jostling for cash through the first few miles. As can be expected, the pace settled down pretty quickly after the first long climb and folks began to group into packs. I estimated i was in the 10-15th position range at the midway point of the first lap and was sitting in at the back of a group that was holding the pace i wanted. After some time though it became tedious to yoyo on the back while the different riding styles would expand and contract the conga line. As we finished the more open and flowy outer sections and came into the heart of the trail i decided to come up front and do a little pace making to liven things up. By the end of the first lap we were whittled down to a group of 4 or so and had picked up Gerry Pflug and Jan Roubal. We also had a powerhouse rider in the form of singlespeed and Gordon Wadsworth. Thus began the remained of what my race would consist of; working with a strong group of 3 other guys to keep the pace high and each other company. Not much changed coming into the third lap, and i felt pretty well if not a bit thirsty. This should have been an indicator to up my fluid stores but i grabbed my two bottles and headed out. In hindsight, this was to be my only major mistake of the day and ended up costing me a shot at 3rd place on the podium. Jorden and Christian were well up the road and showed no sign of coming back barring any major issues. My troubles were confirmed as i approached the aid station and was down to the last half of my second bottle. It was a tough pill to swallow letting the group i had worked so well with ride away towards the finish, but i knew better than to try and ride the last hour plus in the swelling temperatures and humidity. Leaving the aid station i picked the pace up, and tried to strategically gain ground where possible but it was to no avail. The minute plus i lost filling up my bottles was enough to keep the three away and keep me isolated for the remainder of the race. Was i bummed to not have a crack at 3rd place? Of course i was, but all things considered i had never expected to be where i was anyhow. My goal was to be under 7:30 (the stretch was to be under 7:00), and a finishing time of 6:49 put me well under that goal. Add to that the fact that i actually felt aware of my surrounding post-race and was able to recover reasonably well in the following days and i chalk the 5th place finish up to a victory in my book.

Lumberjack podium

Sweat shaker was next in line after lumberjack, and the 2 hour race was a pleasant surprise after spending nearly 7 hours on the bike in the previous outing. The start was lightning fast with Jorden going hard from the get go. I've relented on trying to match the initial surge and focused more on pacing well through the singletrack and trying to use handling and time to my advantage. After the first lap, Jorden had put about a minute into me and i knew i would have to start grabbing that time back if i was going to have a shot. After the second lap, the differential had come down but i still didn't have him in sight. And winding up the third lap it was obvious that victory would be elusive. I ended up missing the sharp end of the race by about 39 seconds. It was a fun race and i prefer the tight singletrack and "rough" course.

Boyne Marathon would be my first time ever riding the trails at Boyne which had me excited because i love to explore new trails and terrain. I also love long winding climbs that seemingly never end and bomber descents. I elected to head up the day before after work to scout the course and stretch the legs out. A friend of mine at work was kind enough to lend me his place in Mancelona for the evening so i didn't have to go through the extra trouble of setting up camp and whatnot. After i pre-rode the course i got even more excited for the race. It was going to be a tough one with lots of climbing, loose ascents and an awesome downhill section! Four laps wasn't going to be easy, but it was sure going to be a good time. There were familiar faces at the line, but the starting list lacked the Grayling Giant who was busy riding races in other places. I figured since he wasn't there it was a good a time as any to adopt the rocket-launch from the line tactic. From the word Go! i dropped the hammer and didn't let up a hair until the top of the first long climb to grab a swig of water. The tactic had worked, and i had gained a significant lead on my opponents. The question was just how long could i hold the pace and would i pay dearly for it later? I can thank TS Epic for my indoctrination into the world of enduro racing, and the descending skill set i had gained. After the first lap i had a pretty healthy lead. I spent the following 3 laps monitoring my fluids and pace to avoid any cramping or other malady that may take away my lead position. Luck was on my side and i rolled into the finish numero uno.

Boyne looming large

Don't tell me my business TV, it's only one to help me sleep before the race!

Boyne podium

I wish i had the motivation to write about all of the awesome interactions with good people i've had at these races, and the great training and group rides i am blessed to be a part of every week, but alas "ain't nobody got time fo dat" as the viral video goes... Kidding aside, one of the best parts of racing and training is the awesome people, camaraderie shared and stories that come from the gatherings. These are the things that i love the most about bike racing and that keep me coming back time after time for the abuse.

Trans-Sylvania Epic: There's harder races but i haven't done one of them yet....

The Trans-Sylvania Mountain Bike Epic is often referred to as Singletrack Summer Camp, and it definitely lives up to both references! The race is headquartered at the Seven Mountains Scout Camp just outside of State College, PA and is hunkered down next to a scenic river at the base of the mountains. This was my first “major” event with the Redline Team and I was seriously excited and nervous at the same time; I had never ridden East Coast Rocks, legit enduro, or competed for 7 days straight before. The race runs from Sunday to the following Saturday, and the stages vary from day to day with different terrain, various enduro segments and distances. I made the trek from Grand Rapids to State College early Saturday and arrived in the afternoon. The Redline tents were already setup and Justin and Tim were settled in. The accommodations were fitting for a summer camp; a large bunkhouse with community bathrooms and kitchen and giant porch. We were bunked at the Eagle Lodge with a bunch of pretty cool MTB folks which gave it a fun atmosphere to help reduce the race day tensions. Justin gave me the low down on the stage 1 course and I decided it would be best to preview it Sunday morning before the time trial.

Redline tent setup

Stage 1:

The first stage Sunday was a time trial that would serve as a Launchpad for the GC contenders.
Singletrack constituted a fair portion of the TT with some gravel roads, two tracks, and ATV trails sprinkled in for good measure. Right off the bat we were sent into some newish singletrack that reminded me of home, somewhat loamy in spots, tight and twisty. From there all bets were off. The terrain changed quickly to a technical trail along the creek and then climbed slowly up into the surrounding hills. The first real rocky downhill caught me off guard a bit with my jacked up seatpost and whatnot, and I quickly appreciated why so many bikes were sporting dropper posts! All in all the TT was a boat load of fun, and challenging to boot with a lengthy enduro segment. I was happy to only relinquish a few minutes to the more studly riders and hit the chow hut for dinner. Every night the post dinner ritual was reliving the day’s events via pictures and videos and then proceeding into the next stage preview.

The bunkhouse at the start of the week...

Stage 2:

The second stage was slated to be one of the most difficult stages of the week and it certainly lived up to that expectation. It started modestly enough with gravel roads winding up and down through the mountains, but before long it hit the rocky singletrack that PA is famous for. I felt strong and was in good position when my compatriot behind me said “hey bro your tire is pissing Stans”. Sure enough I had a healthy gash in the sidewall and there was no amount of Stans that was going to resurrect my rear tire. After getting a tube in I was back rolling and only slightly perturbed. I made it to the aid station without issue and reloaded on CO2 and more tubes just in case… little did I know that the extra stuff I grabbed would barely get me through. The next enduro segment was a steep rocky chute loaded with rim and tire mangling rock. Two flats later I limped out of the segment and aired the tire well over 30 psi to help avoid pinching anymore tubes. I made it quite a ways before I felt the rear end give out and get squirrely in a rock garden. After this final flat it simply became a salvage mission; I had lost nearly an hour fixing tires/wheels and now I just needed to finish the stage. Lucky for me there was an epic demoralizing climb near the end complete with rattlesnake and river crossing, and the cherry on top was riding that horrendous creek trail from stage one backwards to the finish. What a long day…

Au revoir old tire setup

Stage 3:

Stage 3 brought out all the brahs that were ready to fully ‘send anything at the drop of a seatpost. I have to admit that I was excited to ride all of the big climbs at whatever pace I pleased since only the 5 timed segments counted towards the GC (which I was well out of at this point) and the stage. The first segment went off swimmingly and it felt nice to have some heavy duty Kenda rubber under me for the day to bomb the descents. At the end of the first segment a couple of us were informed that we were the first ones through, which was concerning as a pack of about 15 guys had steamed out of the gate to get to the first segment and fully ‘send it. Turns out they didn’t turn, and were somewhere’s off course in the PA woods, no biggie right? Well, at least it left the few of us near the front the freedom to fully bomb as we pleased, me to roll around in the rhododendrons on the second segment and a leisurely stop at the aid station to sip cold soda and get the details on the fourth ominous segment titled “wildcat”. Despite the majority of the riding being untimed it certainly wasn’t the rest day it was made out to be, because it’s hard to rest much when you’re climbing 4-5K feet in a day. I made it to Wildcat with much anticipation for what lay ahead, and the entrance reminded me of riding off the side of a gravel road down a sheer mountainside (probably because that’s what it basically is…). I felt good at first and just let off the brakes and held on for all I was worth. The full suspension Redline D880 was taking the hits like a champ, but much to my chagrin I completely cased a big rock and felt the rear end go soft. It should be noted that Wildcat is either rideable when being hit at higher speed or you’re gonna be walking it, there’s no in-between coasting as the ledges that lead into the rock garden and creek are best handled at speed with your eyes closed… So, with that in mind, and knowing the clock was ticking, I just decided to chance it and wrap it up riding the flat tire and rim the rest of the way. Needless to say I’m writing this, so I made it through unscathed but it was questionable. I have to admit I kind of took a liking to this new-to-me endurbro riding. I got to see a few people fly by me and show me how it’s really done (ahem, Michael Broderick). And I was happy to learn at dinner that my teammate Justin had fully ‘sent each segment and himself onto the podium for the stage!

Hanging out at Tussey, Endurbro racing is tough stuff

Stage 4:

Not much to report here, all I have to say is that the “road” stage is pretty much a flat out lie haha! There was more than enough two-track and singletrack to go around for the day, but I guess there was about 2 miles of pavement… and an epic hike a bike on Fisherman’s Creek “trail”. I use quotes around trail because it’s mostly orienteering through boulders and whatnot. The highlight of the day was riding through the famous railway tunnel with Justin and being greeted by vampires with cold beer handups at the end!

The Redline D680, singletrack rocket

Stage 5:

I had heard plenty of horror stories are the previous years’ stages at R.B. Winter park and was somewhat concerned that the trails that had been handing my arse to me the past few days were considered “modern” and well maintained in comparison to the “rustic” trails I was about to experience. It was all for naught though, as the selected trails were much more manageable than what had been used previously. The riding was simply beautiful; trails paralleling babbling brooks nestled deep in the hills, overgrown grassy two tracks with smooth clay beds, baby head riddled trails that I could actually keep rhythm on, and scenic gravel road climbs with a few enduro segments so keep things interesting. The only folly on the day was an overzealous descent leading to a Lefty style rear derailleur (you only need one half of the derailleur cage right? I think the pulleys are made to take cantilever loads…). I saw the rock, I hit the rock and the rock didn’t move. Thankfully I was able to limp the last few miles and roll the last enduro segment without hiking. Pizza and camaraderie finished off the day along with a healthy nap at the bunkhouse upon arrival back at camp.

Something isn't right here

Stage 6:

Tussey Mountain offers up some pretty impressive views of the surrounding countryside, the only problem is I have maybe 2 seconds to take it all in while otherwise navigating the rock and boulder strewn trail. Stage 6 is one of the longest stages alongside stage 2 and offers up plenty of climbing, descending and rocks to keep one busy for the better part of 3 to 4 hours. The weather was ideal for the race, if not a bit warm and the roll out across the highway to the starting line helped to warm the legs up a bit. Good legs were a must for this stage as I knew there was a 6 mile long climb lurking in the distance. Being from Michigan I’m lucky if I can find a climb up north that lasts a mile and a couple hundred feet let alone 6-7 miles and well over a thousand! The first enduro came and went uneventfully, and then we droned on for sometime through a lowland area filled with Rhododendrons and rocks. There were times that I found myself cursing not so subtly at and about the rocks, but alas they gave way to some gravel and I was able to regain some semblance of sanity. We hit some flowy sinlgetrack which put a big smile back on my face and before I knew it I was staring down the climb. It started out innocent enough, on gravel road and at a reasonable angle, but surely the road turned away and we continued onward to a two track. Some folks back when were kind enough to line the two track with rounded rocks to help increase the longevity of the two track, so that was good… As time wore on it became more grass and less dirt. It seemed as if it were never going to end, but finally it relented and we hit a plateau if just for a minute before descending the backside of the mountain. Unfortunately, a fellow rider found out the hard way, as I almost did, that the water bars cut into the backside descent were dangerous at speed. Matt Ferrari was just ahead of me and took a good spill which led to him damaging his hip and having to withdraw from the race. I was saddened to hear this as we had spent some time chatting on stage 3 and I found him to be an amicable fellow. He made an appearance on the last day of the race to assure folks he would be on the mend soon. The remainder of the stage was a grind, up to Tussey Ridge, assailed by rocks, and back down managing to only crash and get stunned for a minute or so once. It was a good day for some of my compatriots at Eagle Lodge, with Rich “Dicky” Dillen taking the stage win for SS, and a rough day for others.

Tom McDaniel keeping the steeds in impeccable condition

Stage 7:

The battles earlier in the week left me yearning for stage 7 to come and go, and for the pain to end, but on the morning of stage 7 I felt a particular sadness creep in that the week-long biking extravaganza would soon come to an end, as all good things must. The stage itself was a good time, I felt good on the bike, it was short enough to not put me in the depths of the hurt locker, but long enough to wax philosophically on what it means to MTB in the east coast, and how I felt about it all. It was a tough week, and stage 7 was a good way to bid adieu to the trials and tribulations of the earlier stages. In perspective it’s just riding a bike, but the competitive spirit always manages to morph it into something much more. I felt that on the final stage I could finally ride confidently among the rocks, roots, descents and climbs much more so that on day 1. IT was a good feeling at the end of the stage to know that I would be leaving PA with new skills, knowledge and techniques for handling the haggard terrain. Basically I had fun!

The start of Stage 8, that's all i'm allowed by law to show you

Stage 8:

If you don’t know, then you should probably sign up for the race and live it for yourself. There’s not much else I can tell you…

...and the bunkhouse at the end of the week

Acknowledgements:

The TS Epic pushed me to new limits as a competitive mountain biker, and much was gained through the experience, but it’s important to mention that it wouldn’t be nearly what it was without all the great support of sponsors, friends and family. Tim Rutledge of Redline Bikes and Tom McDaniel made a terrific support team throughout the race, and both having decades of racing experience really helped to shine a light on how much I have to learn. Justin Lindine is an all-around great guy and team mate to learn from. I came in ready to go thanks to Dr. Jason Ross at Train Out Pain chiropractic, and can’t recommend him enough, both before and after treatments were awesome! My mom was kind enough to board my dog for the week at the retirement home for dogs (14 YO Doberman, 15 YO black lab and 10 YO korgi). Jenny had a nice send-off evening for me with beers and good food overlooking GR. My GR training buddies and Freewheeler teammates for keeping me in decent shape. And of course my friends and family kept me motivated with kind words and thoughts on facebook and via text message. My Redline D880 and D680 worked great in the rough terrain, the Kenda Tires were much better replacements for what I was running, and my Wolftooth Components Shimano GC made climbing some of the steeper stuff possible. Big thanks to everyone!

Links:

Look whos got a legit team profile...

Angry's take on TS Epic

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