Stony Creek Time Trial

Ahhh....racing, I vaguely remember what it feels like. So what do I do, I sign up for a time trial where the pain is very temporary, the Stony Creek Time Trail to be exact. It's part of the Tailwind TT Series.
Stony is a quandry of sorts, with a lot of fast two track that requires gears to go fast throw in some twisty singletrack that requires skillz and timing and then add some good size climbs that require power....all of which is hard to satisfy with a singlespeed. So you pick a gear and plan to suffer, but everyone suffers in a time trial, if they aren't, they're not going fast enough!
My start time is 12:16, I line up to some young buck (20 years younger to be exact) and Gordon counts down from 5 and we are off. I clip in promptly and and off down the slight hill and the young buck is right behind me, he immediately asks if I'm fast, I answer, "I use to be." So with that information he decides to pass me and I hop on his wheel and let him pull me all the way out on the grass against the wind. (I may be slow, but I'm not stupid). We reach the creek crossing and with the days prior pre-ride of the course I am able to go easy before the crossing and then close the gap he has made immediately afterward as I catch him thru the water. We lead out, pass one of the 30 second guys that were in front of us and keep the mini train rolling. We hit the big climb before the singletrack and I am still on his rear wheel like Biscuit all over the latest bike tire offering. We spin together for a little while longer, he asks a few questions like my name and how many races I have under my belt this year, then we catch the other 30 second guy. On a series of smaller climbs we catch and pass a few beginners giving positive reinforcement to each. For now I am content to ride at his pace as I am drafting the whole time. As we enter the Pines singletrack section I hit the gas and go around him as his paced slowed somewhat. I check the heartrate monitor and the HR is at 170, a little high, but managable. I don't know if this cat is fast in the singletrack or not and I'm not waiting to find out, hence my decision to pass. Come to find out, he's fully capable and stays with me the whole way to the point when we pass someone, I tell them two are coming around. We hit the two track and I am still pulling, I slow slightly and he does too, he does not want to pull, but then again, I wouldn't either. I am happy to do more work and lead in to the second singletrack section aptly named The Rollercoaster. I try a little to drop him, but his skillz are one of a seasoned rider so I throttle back a little and keep a good heart rate. It's all about me now and my survival.
We exit he Rollercoaster and he says, "I'll lead for a little while" which I graciously accept. He leads the entire two track section back and I draft as much as possible. A 30 second rider who started behind us catches us just before the first creek crossing on the way back. Again, with my day's prior pre-ride I know exactly what to do. As I dismount and do my cyclo-cross imitation I am promptly behind the young buck again with the 30 second guy behind me, but the young buck faulters and I am forced to stop my smooth transtion from runner with a bike to full on biker. I collect my thoughts, tell the 30 second guy he can go around as I know he is faster then I and they are off...alot more then I would have liked as my mojo was disrupted. But fear not, another creek crossing is coming up and I know for sure I will be able to catch them again! Without worry I am able to do just that and we are all out of the last creek crossing as a tight knit trio, the young buck first, fast 30 second guy second and me happily in third letting them do all the work. We pass a few beginners and turn on the the grassy return. But alas, my little world is about to fall apart as the young buck throws a few more shovels of coal on and starts to pull away. I am sure the fast 30 second guy will follow but he does not and I am at the road crossing unable to pass. As soon as we cross the road the young buck gives it all he has and pulls away. Once we past the bridge I hit the gas and go around him and try to catch the young buck but this effort is futile as he has also saved some for the last sprint and beats me by 3 seconds.
I am happy with my effort, I had a blast actually working with someone during the entire race, tactics can be fun and breaks up the mind-numbing-racing-by-yourself stuff. I finished in 9th place with a 53:21 and only 24 seconds divided 6th place from 9th place! Lots of fun!!!

thanks, Jay Jones

The Ruby Race

Well like almost every race this year, we where greeted with another course soaked by the night rain. Ruby, unlike other courses becomes this greasy, muddy single track on one side of the river then, a sandy rooted track on the other side of the river. This is a perfect combination for our bikes chains, bottom brackets and more! The CycleTherapy shop is going to love us!

We had four riders out at Ruby and each one of us had at least one wreck or bike part that need to be replaced due to the conditions. Our elite rider Mark P. lost the bolt for his rear brake making a already difficult race become more challenging. But, with his skills he was able to claim 4th overall. Derek H. had a good ride but it to included challenges that you don't face on a normal DRY race day but, of the four of us that raced the most amazing story was our rider Forbes D.

There is a downhill section that follows a really tight switchback and on this steep downhill ( a place I wreck during the Sunday pre-ride) Mr. D. decided to do a little trail blazing. The result was a front wheel that resembled a taco. His bike was useless, he, on the other hand, was still in the race. He managed to get his bike across the river and take 1st place in his age group!

We would like to give special thanks to Forbes family for coming out to cheer for him and the team! It was a real boost! Also, thanks to Team Sandbag and Tailwind for another eventfull race!

Stony Creek Marathon

When I woke up, the first thing I did was look out the window. Much to my dismay, I saw it had rained last night. My first thought was, every race this season has had a storm come through making the track muddy. Regardless of the conditions, this race was for double points and I had to do it.

When I arrived at Stony Creek the turnout of racers was impressive. Our team alone had seven riders.

The muddy conditions did improve after the race started, well not until the third lap. As my group took off I stayed back in third knowing that the first little climb would be crowded with riders. This little conservation of energy allowed me to pass the first and second place riders to grab first place about two miles into the race. The first lap went flawless. It was not until the short climb at the begining of the course of the second lap that I started getting "chain suck". By the second hill climb I had lost my shifting in the front. Luckily the guy who was in second place came by and applied some oil to the chain, enough to get back to the start.

When I got to our pit area I was lucky that some of the family members where there and helped clean all the mud out, spray down the chain and oil it. Within a few minutes I was off on the third lap!!

This lap went "ok" but I started to cramp in the back of my legs. Too much thought put into the mechanical issues and not enough thought put into drinking liquids slowed my pace down greatly. As I got back to the pit area all I could think about was holding on to second place. I made my bottle switch, did a quick spray of cleaner on the chain and I was off on the last lap.

In the roller coaster I was beginning to feel the lack of energy, a couple of my teammates passed me as I was standing to the side of the track trying to muster some energy, they offered to help but I was too far gone and only had 4 or 5 miles to the finish. Then everything feel apart!

About three miles from the finish I moved over to let some faster riders pass and wham.... flat tire! No problem, fix the tire and finish, right! I was using my CO2 to fill the tube and snap.... the valve froze on my spare tube and snapped off letting all the air out. Just about that time the third place rider passed me.

I had no choice but to hike in and try to finish the race and obtain some point. The end result of the marathon for me was a fourth place finish. But on a better note the team took several first place finishes! Congrats to Brian, Montana, Forest, Lisa, Derek, Mark, and Mark for finishing... Great job!
Some Pics!