Gettin' wet in the Midwest: Mohican 100

It was Midwest mountain biking at its best.  The perfectly designed fast flowy trails of Mohican State Park set the stage for a day of wet, sloppy, and fun riding in the surrounding rural areas of mid-Ohio.  The rains that soaked the area on Friday afternoon and evening put the trails in almost perfect, if not a little wet and wild, conditions.  Riding up and down was constantly a battle, as every off-camber root and rock was just a launching pad throwing your bike this way or that.  The race was a perfect mix of great singletrack, backcountry rugged trails, muddy horse trails, ATV paths, dirt roads, rail trail, and local farm property.  At one point it took us through a horse corral!  All of this was intermixed in perfect fashion as to never get tedious or boring.

Here is how my race panned out:

Starting line.  Obligatory family salute.

 

This was my first attempt at a 100-mile race.  Ahem.  This was the first time I’ve ever ridden 100 miles in a day.  I made the voyage from Boulder, CO.  Only 6 days before Mohican I was out punishing myself in Gunnison, CO at the Gunnison Growler.  I felt strong and fresh at the Growler, finishing 2nd in Singlespeed.  As the start went off in downtown Loudonville I was feeling confident, although it became evident early on that my legs were going to struggle.  Going up the initial climb out of town, and subsequent climbing out towards the state park, I thought I was somewhere inside the top 15 riders.  Little did I know that the top guys must have been propelled by jet-fuel as they were already out of sight even early on.  In Colorado I can generally climb with the best, but these Midwestern slayers are FAST!  I struggled to put down the power that they were capable of.  I was having tons of fun on the perfectly flowing singletrack that encompasses the first 30 miles of the course, but also struggling to hold onto the bike in the wet conditions.  I felt as though I was riding through the rainforest in the lush green, wet and dense forests.  

I rolled into Aid 1 feeling fresh, and was greeted by my family.  They told me I was in 5^th.  What the f*ck!  I had some work to do.  After aid 2 I was able to hook up with singlespeeder Nathan Annon and Jason Suppan and we increased our pace, mostly because of the tow from Suppan, closing the gap on the field, riding into aid 3 together. After aid station 3 I was alone the rest of the day.  I did get a tow from women's champion Cheryl Sornson and her riding partner the last couple of miles of the rail trail going into aid 4.  In the end it was a great introduction to 100-milers and the NUE Series.  Nothing beats the quality of trails in the Midwest, and it is always a treat to come back and ride here.  I finished 6^th in singlespeed, and 15^th overall!  Gerry Pflug was both the singlespeed and overall winner!  This is nuts; the dude is an absolute machine.  Coming into the race I was hoping for a better result in the singlespeed field, but this just shows how strong these guys are.  Anyone doubting the competition in the singlespeed class need only look at the overall results.  In two weeks I'll be at the Lumberjack 100 for more Midwest singletrack slaying action!

I took a lot of notes and tried to learn as much as possible in my first “ultra endurance” race.  I had a lot of good advice from friends and fellow racers coming into this race that I tried to use.  Some of the best came from women’s NUE Champion Amanda Carey.  She told me that there will always be, no matter how good of a day you’re having, a point where you start feeling like shit and just don’t want to be out there anymore.  Usually this feeling lasts for a period of time, and hopefully you come out of it.  She also talked about staying positive, as any negativity will just pull you down, and keeping the mind occupied.  This is the whole mental side of the game, which is one of the biggest battles.  In the physical sense it comes down to trying to keep food in the system, stay hydrated, and go strong even when you think you’re spent.

One of the most positive aspects of this race was my ability to sustain and overcome the mental battles that can break you down, especially in an 8-hour effort!  My biggest focus was staying positive throughout.  A good friend left me with this quote the day before the race, “The question of Pleasure.  There is no question.  It is all Pleasure.  We decided and are lucky to be here.”  That stuck with me the entire day.  There were certainly a few points when I started to get negative, and I remembered this quote, realizing that I was out in a beautiful place doing what I love to do.  I never once questioned my being out there or not finishing.  The hardest point of the race was going into Aid 3, and the following hour.  This was about the halfway point, and I was struggling physically.  Throughout this time I just took my licks and tried to keep moving forward, and eventually I would come out of it.  Ripping singletrack down to Aid 5, with only 16 miles left, I had a smile on my face and was feeling better and more positive than ever.  I was having fun, 90 miles and 7 hours in!!

A big lesson I learned, in terms of racing this style of race, was the advantage of having someone else to ride with.  I rode solo for most of the day, but in the brief moments that I had partners, and we were able to work together, our pace increased drastically.  One of the most mundane parts of the race was about 10-15 miles of rail trail.  I maintained the same pace the entire way, until I got passed by women’s Champion Cheryl Sornson and her male riding partner.  At this point I latched onto their mini-train and rode the last 4 miles in their tow, instantly increasing my pace by 4 mph.  This is huge!  Find someone to work with, and you can, together, be way faster.

Looking forward to the Lumberjack 100 in two weeks, and more racing to come.  Cheers.