I finished the mini-movie....check it out!

Go to http://vimeo.com/user3630122/videos

A kind word...

I received this email from a fellow fighter (Garret Moore) who recently lost his sister to cancer. I'd like to share it with you.

Mike congratulations you are the best. I don’t know of any other thing a person could do to represent the victims and their families. My mom stopped by this morning and she was a little down about losing my sister. We talked about the race and what you did and it lifted her spirits quite a bit. Just a little note that what you have done works in many ways touching the lives of all the people who have been through this nightmare.

Thanks
Root

Cool Twenty Ten.....The Race Recap

 

Here we go; let's start with Friday. I left Santa Rosa around 9:30 and arrived at the venue just before noon. I met up with Team Manager and event Promoter Jim Northey to get the low down on our pit area. I was the first person on team Global Biorhythm Events (GBE) to get there, so I got to secure the best pit area on the course. I off -loaded my truck and discovered that my 10 X 10 EZ-up wasn't so easy by myself with the wind howling. Things were coming together slowly but surely. I started to stress out a little when the primo trailer spots were being snatched left and right, but that all changed when Mike and Kerri Self arrived with their 35' travel trailer just in time. The next hour was spent dialing in the trailer and the pit tent. I finally sat down just before 2pm and enjoyed my favorite lunch; garden green salad with all the fixings topped with two cans of tuna fish.

After lunch I donned my brand new GBE kit and went out to check out the course. As I rolled out, my friend and teammate Zol Whitman, was also planning on doing a pre-ride. We hit the course together and discussed race tactics as we committed the course to memory. This was going to be Zol's first 24hr solo race. The course was great; about a dozen or so muddy sections, but altogether a fast course. I got back to the trailer, finished dialing in the tent, and then finally got to relax. I had my standard ops pre-race dinner meal of spaghetti, salad, and bread. The night came on fast and before I knew it, it was dark. I got to bed early and although I was anxious about the race, I got a great night sleep.

Race day came and as I ate my breakfast I was able to finally embrace the moment. I had been training for this race since November. The goal of this race was first and foremost to raise as much money as I could in an effort to fight cancer the only way I knew how. Then I wanted to win the Pro Solo SS division. I felt relaxed and not stressed out at all. 24Hr mountain bike racing is so much more mental than physical. Don't get me wrong; there's a HUGE physical component, but never under estimate the mental side. I recall after my last 24hr race in July, I had a kind of aversion to night time. For a few weeks, whenever I went outside during the night I was reminded of the pain that I experienced in the race during the night. It's so lonely and your mind starts to really mess with you. I mean, why would anyone choose to ride their bike for 24 hrs straight? Let's not go there. Anyway, I knew all the pain and sleep deprivation was ahead of me, but I also knew I was going to get through it. I had a great pit crew and support system, and I was ready to battle.

The rest of the morning went by super fast as it always does and before I knew it, it was time to line up. 3-2-1 and we were off starting to ride our bikes for hours and hours and hours. Before we hit the dirt, Brad Cole, the one guy I had to keep a close eye on as he was and is a fierce competitor, rolled next to me. We encouraged each other on what was certainly going to be another epic battle. I say another because the last time we raced each other in a 24hr event we went neck and neck for the entire race. I sqeaked out the win, but only by a mere 20 minutes. I knew he was coming to this race ready to even things up.

The race started off fast as usual, but I was able to keep a tight reign on my excursion level, yet was still able to start putting minutes on Brad and the rest of the SS Solo Field. I felt great and just kept ticking out the laps. The weather was ideal, my pit crew was on point, my legs were fresh, and I was mentally unbeatable. My split times to Brad was hovering in the mid-teens so we kept the pits to under ½ a minute and waited for the night. The first 10 to 12 hours of a 24hr race can be misleading. The real race starts when it gets dark. You've got to race hard to get to the dark, but it's what you can do during the dark that counts. It was apparent early into the night hours that Brad was once again on his A-game.

The hours and laps started to all blend together and because I wasn't wearing a watch, I had no idea what time it was or what lap I was on. I just kept turning the cranks over. I recall during the cold night hours when I was approaching the end of a lap, I noticed that my rear tire felt low. I had so many things on my mind as to what I wanted to tell John and Mike to get ready for my next return that I completely forgot to check my tire in the pits. I rolled out quickly and got a ways down the trail before I was rudely reminded that my rear tire was indeed low. I stopped and confirmed that I had a leak but that the tire sealant might have done it's job in sealing the leak although my tire was still dangerously low. I had a choice to make, I could use my CO2 to inflate the tire and see if it held or keep riding and try to make it to the feed station at the halfway point and hope that they had a floor pump to use. If I used the CO2, I would run the risk of not being able to fix a possible secondary flat. I didn't want to stop, as my lead to Brad was only around 14 minutes. Every time I sat down on the saddle I felt the squishy rear tire splashing all over the place. Consequently, I spent the first part of this lap out of the saddle. It was hard on my legs but I actually gained some time. I got to the feed station and grabbed their floor pump and filled up my tire. It held and I was able to sit down and peddle away the rest of the lap. Crisis averted.

The following lap presented some other mechanical issues. On the final hill of this lap, I was caught by my friend and overall race leader in the Pro Class, Dezmin Wilder. We rode together and talked about the race. His pace was a bit stronger than mine, but I managed to stay with him. However, while doing so, I noticed my bike started to give me grief in a hurry. The chain needed replacement, the brake pads were also needing a change, and the bike was overall very muddy. I rolled into the pit and quickly jumped on a good friend of mine, Jay Bretz's bike. I couldn't get the saddle height dialed in and unfortunately turned a slow lap. I was able to give the GBE Team Wrench, Peter, time to give my bike some love. I was back on my bike for the remainder of the race.

I think it was around 4 in the morning when I was just praying for the sun to come up. A while later, I rode up to another GBE teammate, Sean McDevitt. It was at the beginning of a lap that he said, “This is our last night lap.” I was elated. There's a point in 24hr racing when sun comes up and you just get a renewed boost of energy. You can see the trail again in the dawn light and it starts to feel normal again. At this point in the race, I started to try and do the math in an effort to figure out how many more laps I had to do. It didn't help that I had no idea what my laps times were as well as what time it actually was. On one hand I wanted exact inform so I could figure it out, but on the other hand, I didn't want to know for fear of what the math might going to conclude.

My lead over Brad was not getting bigger, it was actually narrowing. Brad was getting stronger and it appeared like I was fading. I broke down and asked a fellow racer what time it was. He said it was almost 9:00am. Immediately I did the math. I knew my laps were over in an hour, but by how much I just wasn't sure. The pre-ride I did the day before was 1 hour and 5 minutes. So I knew it was more than that. Anyway, I figured I had two more laps in addition to the one I was halfway through. I got pumped up and started to race again. Two laps! I can do that.

I rolled through the pits and John said I was 17 minutes up on Brad. Great! The next lap I came through John said I had 14 minutes. No big deal, he got three minutes on my last lap. I am now on what I think is my last lap and I start to put the hammer down. When you're on your last lap of a 24hr race you can dig pretty deep. Each hill you climb you mentally check it off. I got to the halfway point right before the feed station and I saw Mike Self on his bike riding up to me. I actually thought to myself, “Mike's going to tell me that Brad didn't go out on his last lap and I can just cruise to the finish and win the race.” That's NOT what Mike told me. He in fact said, “Mike, you're doing great. You've got one more lap after this one.” I'm thinking no way, there's not enough time based on the time I thought it was. Or better yet, based on what time that fellow racer told me it was. I quickly found out that time I was given was off by one hour. That meant Mike was giving me accurate intel. I had one more lap after this one if I wanted to contest the win.

I had to mentally get over the fact that if I wanted to win this race I had to do ONE more lap. That was hard to do. I had moved on and was ready for it to be over. I was tired and the fight to stay in it was diminishing rapidly. I also had a little bit of a physical problem brewing. The nerves in both hands were firing like crazy and I could barely hold on to the handle bar. My pace dropped off on the final hill as I started to think to myself that 2^nd place wasn't so bad. After all, my first priority of this race was to raise money to fight cancer. My mind was going a mile a minute which was mentally and physically draining. I just flat didn't want to go out again. I got to the pits and my brother John was there saying, “Let's go, get out there and do one more lap, you've got 13 minutes on Brad!” I said, “J, I'm done, I can't safely ride my bike. My wrists are on fire. The sharp pain is killing me.” I started to ride with my forearms on the grips. This was point in the race when my twin brother knew what I needed to hear and I was going to do whatever he said. He said, “Mike you've trained so hard for this WIN, do this for Dad!” With no more words said, I turned and left on my last lap.

The weather was getting warmer and warmer and now knowing that the faster I went, the faster the race would be over and the pain would go away. I dug really deep and buried myself on every hill. I turned myself inside out as I fought through the pain that was now radiating into my arms. I attacked every hill with a vengeance.

I got to the halfway point and saw John riding up to me. He gave me words of encouragement and told me that I had 13 minutes on Brad at the start of the lap. If I kept a solid tempo he wouldn't be able to catch me. On the last big hill climb at the end of the lap I began to start to talk to myself out loud. I knew that if I was to get to the top of the hill without him in sight, I'd have it. “Come on, keep going, don't stop, don't walk, you can ride up this hill.” I got to the top and turned back to see nothing but the open trail. I descended like a rock from the sky. I saw the finish line and eased off the pedals and coasted to my second straight 24 hr Solo SS Win.

It's over!

Well, it's day one after the big race.  The race was a HUGE success.  I will post a race report with all the details but I wanted to give you a quick update.  I won the Pro Solo SS category and was also the second fastest overall.  I completed 19 laps covering 11.5 miles and 1500' elevation gain per lap.  As a result of the generous donations I was able to collect over $3200 to help fight cancer.

When I get a moment to process all that took place, I will post again.  Right now I need to rest.

1 week out...

The Coolest 24hr Race Against Cancer is only one short week away.  I am getting super excited about this event.  The conditions don't appear to be AS BAD as last year but either way, I'll be there!  I want to say "thank you" to all who have supported me financially.  I will post a picture of the collage as soon as it is done.  I keep getting more pictures so I am waiting until the last minute to put it together.  I consider it a huge privilege to be racing in honor of so many people who are either fighting cancer now or whom have lost their battle.

Stay tuned, more posts to follow.....

Boggs V in the bag, not the race I was hoping for.......

The alarm clock woke me from a coma at 5:20 in the AM. I crept downstairs and quietly fixed up some scrambled eggs, turkey, toast, and coffee trying not to wake up the grommets. Loaded up the bike and fellow racer and friend Adam was outside waiting for his ride. We headed over to Brian Staby’s house to pick him up and then head to Boggs. It was chilly cold out but not raining. The first glitch to my plans came when we were forced to wait for Adam’s friend whom we'll call Larry The Late Guy.  Larry wanted to caravan with us to the venue. Needless to say, I was frustrated with the delayed arrival time. We arrived after 7 and the time seemed to tick away at a rapid rate as I scrambled to get registered, find a solo pit location, and meet up with the film crew for the documentary. My pre-race rituals were totally thrown out and I barely made it to the starting line.

Carlos (the event promoter) declared a “neutral” roll out start up the fire road. The first selection was made as the relay team racers set a solid pace up the climb. I found myself getting unhitched as a result of the single-speed. No worries, I was racing those guys anyway. I just wanted to get out to the single track in the front group to keep out of traffic. I was successful and hit the single track in perfect position. In what seemed like only a few minutes I was already at the fire road hill climb at the finish of the lap. I rolled past the eventual Pro Winner Kevin Smallman and we exchanged pleasantries. For a second I thought this should not be happening but I felt solid and kept turning it over.

As I rolled through the start/finish of lap one I knew that I was the first solo in the entire field to go through and I felt untouchable. So where did everything go wrong? Well, sometime during my first lap I started to not feel my fingers in both hands. I didn’t realize the negative implications of this issue until I made an attempt to get some necessary calories to keep fueled. I could barely reach into my back jersey pocket and literally could not grab the food. This was a problem. I knew that I HAD to eat to stay in this race. I had the lead and felt awesome but if I wasn’t able to replenish the calories the infamous BONK was going to get me. I knew this yet I continued to hammer away. It also wasn’t helpful that I wasn’t drinking either. I usually tape GU packets to my top tube but because of being rushed during the pre-race prep I forgot to do it.

I think it was on lap 6 that my fuel tank’s idiot light (no pun intended) began to flash brightly. I had just lost the wheel of the eventual Pro SS Winner Matthias Behrends and I then got passed by Yuri and Sully (Sean Sullivan). It all happened so fast that I was left in their wake thinking, “Wait, what just happened?” I needed to get food on board. I pulled over and after fumbling for what seemed like ten minutes trying to get my stump like hands to work, I finally got some calories. I dejectedly rolled on and lost the mental fight to continue on. I didn’t know if they were only 3 minutes up or 20. Before finishing the lap I stopped off at fellow racer Keith Flood’s pit and discussed my issues with his pit guy Kurt Pickle. He gave me some food and encouraged me to stray in it. I reluctantly went out on my 7th lap. By this time, my mind was my enemy. My body and legs actually felt great (the calories had been successfully converted to fuel) but I just lost the mental fight. I put in a respectable 1 hour lap and then rolled into Keith’s pit once again. This time I told them that I was done. I powered a bunch of their food and became a spectator.

Kurt came over and wanted me to go out on one more lap with Keith when he got back. Keith was in 2nd or 3rd place in the Solo Sport Division but only had it by a few minutes. He needed to do one more lap and fast. Kurt wanted me to stay with him and encourage him along. I agreed and then waited for his arrival. I think I waited about 35 minutes before he rolled through. His last two laps were around 1hr 10 minutes. We rolled out together and I actually felt amazing. I wanted to just hammer away and look for other SSers to put the hurt on. However, I didn’t. I stayed with Keith the entire lap yelling at him to “Turn yourself inside out” and “Come on, this is your last lap, make it count.” We passed a number of geared and SS riders and rolled through the finish in just over 1 hour. Keith was able to not only stand on the podium for the first time in a long time, but he was successful in getting 1st place by a mere 6 minutes.

I finished the race with my head held high. I didn’t land a coveted spot on the podium but I was able to help my friend accomplish a long time goal. I learned a lot from this race and I am confident that it will make me better on the next one. I think that if I had had a designated Pit person giving me food and split times, the race would have had a different outcome.

Anyway, I am hungry for the next endurance test……the Coolest 24hr Race Against Cancer on May 1st-2nd. Stay tuned…….

The plot thickens....

So here we are, sitting on a little over a week until Boggs 8hr XC and the weather pattern looks grim. All models are showing copious amount of wet stuff falling from the sky starting on Monday and lasting through Saturday. I've been able to pre-ride the course on three different days in the last two weeks logging 4hrs each visit. I'd say that I know course quite well. It's going to be very interesting to see if the inclement weather keeps racers from showing up. My hope is that all arrive ready to battle for 8hours and 45 minutes. I don't know what the deal is with endurance races.  Boggs V is listed as an 8hr XC race but we will be racing for almost 9 hours????? Not sure why they don't just have us actually race for 8hrs? Anyway, I can't wait to see how it will all shake out. Stay tuned.....