Race Report: 2012 True Grit - 100

Each stripe in the upper left represents one lap around Barrel Rolls.  Getting all 4 as quickly as possible became a constant obsession later on in the race.  I was only free to exit the endless trail of slick rock, dirt, and sand once I had obtained all 4 stripes.

I took on the True Grit again this year.  Last year was kind of a mess with the rain, cold weather, and mud which forced an early end to 95% of the participants so I was hoping for a little redemption this year.  The weather reports all showed what looked like a repeat of bad weather with a 50% chance of rain and 35mph wind gusts - all of this turned out to be overstated and the riding conditions were dry and almost as close to perfect as one could expect.  Also unlike last year, the promoters created a double-evil 100-mile course that consisted of a second lap on the 50-mile course (shown below).  To make things more interesting I opted to race the 100-miles on a single-speed.  I say opted because I *did* have a choice, sort of.  I could race single-speed or not race at all, as the only mountain bike I have right now is 1x1.  I didn't mind too much though.  I've been wanting to race an endurance event on a single-speed and this looked as good as any to start with.  The only downside to that choice was the 100-mile race didn't have a single-speed category so I would have to battle it out with the geared racers in the open category.  Having pedaled most of the course on my single-speed a few weeks earlier for Camp Lynda, I felt pretty comfortable about taking the plunge and the gear ratio I ended up racing (32x19, 29" wheels).

We started racing 2 hours before the well attended 50-mile event, our event having a total of 14 racers toe the line (13 dudes and Amanda Carey).  We started in the dark with Amanda the only one sensible enough to bring a light but she and the other top contenders quickly pulled away shortly after hitting the pavement.  I hit the first dirt road in the dark with a few other riders, two of which were also on SS.  Once the eyes adjusted there was enough light to see contour of the road and the trail. By the time the first big climb was over and we were pointed downhill there was enough light to see and race at maximum speed.  Probably my best last-min choice of the day was to swap out tinted lenses for clear lenses on my Oakley Jawbones.

Lap 1 felt great on the bike.  I found myself again where I usually end up, not quite fast enough to hang with the leaders, and not quite slow enough to ride with the chasers, but riding my pace and feeling good.  I was sitting in 6th place, had my tunes, my CarboRocket, snappy legs, a 110mm Cannondale Lefty eating up the bumps and delivering a great ride on some sweet single-track through Zen.  As I hit the bottom of Zen on my first lap I had the first of what turned out to be 7-10 brief but frustrating mechanicals.  My bottom-bracket had loosened just enough that I could throw the chain if I hit a section of trail just right, but it was tight enough to keep the chain on during any kind of climbing.  I debated over the next 20-30 min, and numerous stops to reset my chain, whether I should just take the time to pull out the tools and tighten it back up. I finally pulled over and took a 5-min hit fixing that issue on the back side headed toward Stucki.  Fortunately this was good enough to keep the chain on for the duration of the race and it never plagued me again.  The second (and last) setback of the race also occurred about 10 min later on Stucki.  While riding along on the main course there was a distinct detour with tape and a sign pointing riders to a sharp right.  It seemed odd to me but it looked legit with a lot of tire tracks so I took it.  After a few more min of riding the trail markings dried up and I soon ran into Jonathan Davis leading a group of three back up the trail.  After a quick discussion we concluded this was a mistake and headed back toward the main trail and Barrel Rolls.  On the way back up the trail we picked up Amanda and one other rider and rode as a group until we splintered back into our respective pace on the main course.  In total I spend 20-min off course, Jon Davis spent close to 40-min and I suspect Amanda was 10-15min off. I finished my laps on the Barrel Rolls and started lap 2 feeling very good.  The legs felt good which boosted confidence to hit the wash and do it all over again.

Lap 2 was uneventful, I rode at a good pace, there was a lot of wind on Zen on the climbs and I felt like a Jeep in low-range 4wd.  I walked the technical sections (up and down) and generally rode as fast as I could playing it safe.  It is important to have respect for these trails especially when you are riding tired.  They are technical, demanding, and never let up.  After 4-5+ hours battling them, one wrong move could have you eating rock, dirt, and cacti, and walking defeated off the course.  I lost my music on mile 65.  While this wouldn't seem like a big deal, it was like loosing a riding partner that had been there coaxing me on for the first 6 hours.  The tunes were replaced by the desolate sounds of the desert, the wind, my chain rolling over the rings, and my breathing.  Oh, and the most annoying song I had listened to all day, despite my efforts to purge my iPod of such, was repeating over and over in my head.  But I pressed on, ever stalwart, and ended up finishing in 5th place with a time of 9:21:02.


LeBoeuf: Never doubt the Texas Ranger.
[Cogburn rides off and LeBoeuf shouts after]
LeBoeuf: Ever stalwart!

Course map and elevation profile taken from my Garmin. The horizontal line across the middle is a 20min detour taken due to a bad course marking. 6 other riders made the same wrong turn costing valuable minutes for everyone and DNF for one.

Lap1 on Zen - Crawling Spider Photography

Lap 2 cranking up one of many climbs - Crawling Spider Photography

Tired race bikes ready to sleep on the long drive back to Highland, Draper, and Heber.

Caption by Adam: "Jeff finished the Grit 100. And now he is writhing in pain in the car."

2012 True Grit 100 Bike

     

I'm getting ready to tackle 100-miles of single-speed racing this Saturday at the 2nd True Grit bike race in St. George, Utah.  This will be my first race on a single-speed so I am excited and frankly a little uneasy about how it is going to go.  One thing is for sure, I am 100% confident in the ride I have put together.

What do you think?

Frame: Niner One9 (XL)
Fork: Cannondale Lefty PBR Carbon 110mm  (modified by Project 321)
Steer: Project 321
Crank: Shimano XTR M960 modified for a SS by me
Chainring: Homebrewed Components Aluminum 32T
Cog: Niner 18T
Wheels: Stan's ZTR Crest 29" with Stan's 3.30 hubs
Stem: FSA
Bars: Bonrager Carbon
Grips: Ergon GS2
Seatpost: Bontrager Carbon
Seat: Fi'zi:k
Tires: Schwalbe Racing Ralphs 2.25
Pedals: Crankbrothers Eggbeater 3
Brakes: SRAM X0
Weight: Don't know

Camp Lynda V5

Starting off on the 50-mile True Grit course.

Last Saturday I met up for the day with 70+ other people to ride some amazing trails in St George, Utah.  The event is known in the mountain biking community as Camp Lynda put on by the the dynamic duo of Lynda Wallenfels and Dave Harris of LWCoaching.  This was my first year attending ( and only 1/3 of the camp at that) but I had a good time.  I chose to ride a single-speed for the day which turned out better than I expected.  It was a good excuse to get out and meet some new people and ride some of Utah's finest trails.  I'll definitely be back next year!


Strava and Video below. Enjoy!




 

Some Winter Racing

Lambert Park - Alpine, Utah

I got up a little early today, assembled something that would pass for a race-worthy single-speed and headed down the hill to Alpine at 8:45am to catch the 10th annual Frozen Hog MTB snow criterium.  They didn't actually have a single-speed race category so I was a little out-geared by the competition but only slightly.  The course was just over 3 miles and had a good mix of uphill, downhill, and icy corners.  I had bad placement into the singletrack after the Le Mans start and paid for that dearly burning my legs off trying to get by people that took the run a little more seriously.  In hindsight I should have ran a lot faster and spent less time heckling Keith Payne.  I think it is fair to say you can't really go into a race wanting to just "have fun" and expect to get really good results.  The truth be told, I don't think I can race for fun, I am WAY to competitive.  The fun start quickly turned into a serious game of chasing rabbits and trying to avoid traffic jams.  In the end I did have some good fun, chased some rabbits, and ended up 7th.

Icy trails and traffic jams.

One of the few flat sections. Nothing to do but spin and look at the scenery.

THE Bike

I bought my first (and possibly last) ever road bike in 2010. Prior to that I had only ridden mountain bikes and didn't see much need to have a bike that could only go on the road.  After all, I could just ride my mountain bike on the road AND on the dirt right?  When I started to take training and racing a little more seriously I quickly realized the advantage of having a road bike.  It is a necessary tool for those group rides, hill intervals, and perhaps most used by me, the indoor trainer.  So I acquired one at the next opportunity. Shortly after I put together my new Blue RC8, I realized what the hype was all about.  Up to that point I had been riding an sporty SUV (mountain bike) but this new baby, this bad boy, this was a precision instrument of speed and aerodynamics, this was a sports car.  It accelerated like a dream and hugged the road around corners and scared the beans out of me doing so.  So I was converted, I had a road bike and liked it too.  I spent a lot of time on it, I shaved my legs, and grew to love riding skinny tires. Then I started commuting to work a little more and wouldn't you know it, the best route to work had some single track, some double track, dirt bike paths, and some pavement.  I didn't want to ride my mountain bike to work, that would be overkill and cause unnecessary wear.  On the flip side, my road bike was taking a beating and getting too dirty for a sports car.  If only there was a hybrid sort of bike that could go where my mountain bike did and not loose too much of the sports car feel.  I needed the cycling equivalent of a rally car.

Enter the Cyclocross Bike.

When I was looking at my first road bike I contemplated a 'cross bike as an alternative option and almost pulled the trigger.  I didn't have plans to do any Cyclocross racing so it didn't really seem like a good fit.  The thought never occurred to me that I could have just put road tires on it.  Later I met a few people that did just that and they were happy with that option but there was one thing that bothered me: brakes.  I didn't like cantilever brakes or the idea I needed special wheels that would only work on a road / 'cross bike.  I liked the disc brakes on my 29" MTB and my Stan's wheels are light enough to run on a 'cross bike but those darn canti brakes!  If only there was a 'cross bike that I could run my MTB disc wheels on.  Then I could use a wheel from my 'cross bike or mountain bike in a pinch if needed.  Versatility, that's really what I wanted.

Enter the Specialized CruX Disc.

The second I saw this bike frame I was hooked.  Problem solved. The perfect training, commuting, everything but mountain biking bike.  I can run my Stan's ZTR Crest MTB wheels, disc brakes, and reuse the rest of the parts from my road bike.  Best of all:  I can race Cyclocross this fall.

I've never killed this many birds with one stone.

Now the question becomes what is THE bike for July 2012??