Putting Out A Feeler......25 Hours in Frog Hollow

Me neither and I've hit mine on rocks really hard!

 

Lap 1 was the rear.....pinch

Lap 2 was the front.....pinch

I plugged the front. The rear held with just sealant.

I'm gonna go with user error more so than it being the tire's fault. Other than that....these tires rocked out there.

 

The square edge rocks they had out there....going mach chicken. When the front one pinched...I though I popped a few spokes.

 

I learned my lesson with a bead pinch. Thought I could go just a little lower. Nope.

 

The pressures I can run here....I could not run out there.

 

Mmmmm , bacon!

 

Post Race Recap, Thoughts, Ramblings....


So this idea of racing got thrown together somewhat quickly...if you read the beginning of this thread. It seemed like a long way away when we registered....and felt that way for a while, then BOOM...it was here.

We had 4 SS's racing the 4 Person (Men's) Class as they didn't have a separate SS team class.

The roster consisted of myself, @Faust29 @SS Barby @singlespeedrider

I've done 12 & 24 hr races on teams before so I had a good idea of what we had gotten ourselves into. Not sure the others did.



Suz and I hit the road before sunrise on Friday. Wanted to get out to the venue, get camp set up and get a pre ride in. We'd get into town about 11am.....smooth drive.

We had to make a quick stop for ice and Suz asked what was for lunch.....there was no question about it:


From there is was a short drive to get to Sheep Bridge Rd.....which turned out to be 3.5 miles of car/suspension rattling washboarded out dirt road....I think my eyes are still bouncing around in my eye sockets. (turns out the road from the other side was much shorter...about a mile). We were semi directed at the venue where out camping options were....so we headed down the first road. This ended up being where all the "not so smart" people paid for premium campsites @ $20 for a specific 20x30' site. We'd end up at the very end of the road.....perfect, should be nice and quiet down here. More on this later. The other 3 would roll in a little while later and get set up. We didn't pay extra for camp spot and actually got to spread out and had waaaayyy more room.


As it was starting to get late in the day, we finally geared up for a recon lap to see what we were actually gonna be riding. @SS Barby led the charge....and charged the castle we did. We were also kinda trying to get a benchmark for lap times. The pace was fast...like race pace fast.....but it was fun. The course was 13.5 miles and 1100' of climbing. The majority of the climbing is done in the first 5 miles mostly on double track and dirt road. There were no big sustained climbs...just a constant barrage of short'n'punchy. At mile 5 we'd start the Jem Trail....this would be a fast and flowy singletrack that quickly takes us into a couple of small drops followed by the Jem Drop....2 switchbacks with some chunk and ruts....probably the hardest spot on the course. I never saw a rider in front of me ride it....always saw riders walking it. This is followed by more spun out fast and flowy ST. For those that have ridden in SW Utah, think Bear Claw Poppy flowy. We'd end up on a boring dirt road section for a little bit before getting into the chunk. We are talking Hurricane Rim Trail....a lighter version of Zen and Barrel Roll....both up and down. Rock slabs with big square edges. Rock slabs with sharp pointy edges. Ledges up and down. The ups would hurt alot later in the weekend. This puts us into a fast descent down to the final climb. A new freshly cut singletrack with 2 switchbacks...one pretty tight, that ends up going right next to our campsite....yeah, there would be a fair amount of heckling going on from or camp. Then a flat 1/8th mile on 2 week old winding singletrack with zero flow to the finish line. Our casual pace gave us 1:18.....hmmm laps are gonna be a bit longer than anticipated. Afterwards dinner and an evening of war stories around the fire.

Saturday morning, John took point and the #1 position on the team....which means he got to do the LeMans start. This would also mean he got to ride that washboarded out dirt road for about 1.5 miles before re entering the standard course. He finish his lap at just about an hour and easily within the Top 15 or so.

My Laps:

1. Sh!t....it's finally here and I'm finally racing. John put me in a good position....the course was still open as the really fast guys were already out front and the rest of everyday peeps were behind me. This also meant I had to push....hard. The first 5 miles of the course were not great....just not exciting. Fortunately it only took about 30 minutes to knock that out. I pushed as hard as I could on Jem and Cryptobionic....taking in the fast and flow. At mile 7.5 I tagged a rock with the back tire that I hit last night on the recon ride....this time the tire would start to go low. Uh-oh....I went racer mentality....no tube, no plugs...just a single Co2. Pinched it at the bead.....got the sealant sloshed around and hit it with air. It seemed to hold, 2 mins I was back on. Continued to push. Into Hurricane Rim Trail around mile 9.5 the tire was low again. I had to back off the pace a little bit. It would hold, albeit about 9 psi when I put the pump on it after my lap. Turned out I pegged the HR @ 192, but turned a 1:13(1:10moving time).

2. This was the fiasco lap. This was the lap that occured while John was out on course with his convertible bike. Again, my pace was pegged. Trying to make up some lost time. Legs were heavy after Lap 1. It was still daylight, and I had very little traffic to deal with. However at mile 8.5 I hit a square edged rock going mach chicken....the front tire hit it....and I thought I heard metal pinging and failing.....followed by getting sprayed with sealant. Fnck pinched the front tire. However this lap I was prepared. Because of the rear tire I came out better prepared, pump and tire plugs. The plugs worked great, but the pump was giving me issues. There was a team camping about 30 seconds down the road, so I asked for a floor pump....the abliged, and I was back on my way. Again I had to baby it a little bit through the chunky section. 1:15



3. This was my first night lap. It was cool but not cold. I headed out in sun sleeves and was fine. The first 5 miles were a chore. Climbing felt much slower. Legs felt much heavier. I wasn't attacking the punchy climbs like I had the first couple laps. Jem & Cryptobionic were a freaking blast in the dark by light. Again little to no traffic. I was doing the passing, not being passed. I can't describe how quiet it was out there by myself. With much more air in my tires, I was able to got back to attacking the chunk. However these sections were much tougher by light. The climbing on Hurricane Rim was becoming quite laborious, but I was still cleaning everything. Came across the line with 1:19

4. I was able to get about 1:45 of sleep before this lap. Not sure it helped. With heavy legs I sprinted out again. This lap had lots of Solo riders out on the first 5 miles. Was fun giving them encouragement. Still cleaned the Jem drop and had some rabbits to chase on the fast and flowy Jem. The dirt road at mile 9 had a stout headwind. I was finally getting Hurricane Rim dialed in on the descents....the chunky climbs felt like they were just getting slower and slower....but they were just hard to navigate in the dark, on the SS. I was happy to get through it clean. 1:19 I will say that the desert at night is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.

5. Initailly I figured this lap would occur after sunrise....but because of an earlier issue my laps got shifted to Position #1. Mark had a rough lap before me, but i got out just before sunrise. It was fitting that I got to witness the desert sunrise out on course. I knew this was gonna be my last lap. Legs were heavy, but i was able to push. By the time I got to the Jem Drop, the sun was up and lights not needed. More of the same the rest of the way, but a little more traffic on the back half of the course. The switchbacks below our camp were getting really really loose and silty. 1:19 Consistency.


When we got word John broke his bike, we had to scramble to get the next rider out. When I finished that lap and got back to camp. Steve was out on course, so we decided that John would continue on my bike for his laps, but we had to shuffle the order to keep someone else between his and my laps to give time for mounting the number plate/lights/etc.

As I mentioned earlier, the timing system sucked. Lap times were slow or not entered into the system. Even though we finished with 19 laps.....officially they only recorded 17. This dropped us in the overall standings quite a bit. Our 19 laps puts us in the top 50%.

The course was fun. It was harder than it should have been. It had a little bit of everything. There were some sections that I really dreaded, and some sections I wished were just miles longer.

My tire issues were more user error than the tire's fault. I guess 17/19 were too low for the constant square edged rocks. Otherwise, they were what I hoped they would be....fast. No issues with washing out or lack of traction.....especially considering how loose and silty it had become through out the race.

Most of the racers were friendly. Did some heckling....received some heckling.

It was over just like that.

After the race was completed and camp was broken down and packed up.....Suz and I headed out for parade lap. It was a fun course and wanted her to get a lap in. Social/Smell the Roses loop. Legs felt great when the HR wasn't pegged.

We had a great time. Team was great. Good group to race and hang out with for the weekend. Everyone gave everything they had. Quit was never an option given the early hiccup we had....we just made it work.
Thanks to @Faust29 @SS Barby @singlespeedrider for joining me.

Oh, yeah....we stopped for tacos on the way out of town as well.

 

What are you gonna do with this tire now?

 

Run it til it doesn't hold air anymore.

 

I totally agree on the tires. It has been a long time since I have ridden a XC style tire tread. I think those were so fast and did a great job hooking up in turns. At the top of JEM, it was so fast and flowy and they never broke loose on me. As far as cornering goes, they did just as good of a job as the Rekon, in my opinion.

 

I had user error at the back end of the bike at least 4 times on my two night laps... The kind of error that makes a loud "pop"as the sidewall comes off the rock. I held my breath a few times waiting for the flat, but it never came. Special Ed for the win!

But... They are also heavier tires. I think the Slaughter Grid is 845 grams and the Eliminator Grid on the Front is 900 grams.

 

Next time you want Mexican in Hurricane, I suggest stopping at Teotihuacan https://www.facebook.com/Teotihuacan-Mexican-Food-106968228153585/ which is in the same complex with the Lonny Boys BBQ establishment. They used to run the Lil' Red Wagon food truck next to the pizza place on the main drag across from Dairy Queen.

 

I like when I got done with my one day lap and everyone asked about the heat. “Uhm what heat, I’m from Phoenix!!” 80° was a nice cool stroll in the dirt.
Can you see my excitement at 1 am.

 

Wow... It doesn't seem like a week ago.

Just some thoughts...

• As far as training: I now know that I have no clue how to train for multiple rides in the same day. I survived, but it wasn't pretty. At home, I can go out and pedal uphill for hours on end. That is nothing like turning short intense laps (13.5/1300) multiple times on short rest. It is a completely different animal. Need to do some research...
• Gearing: Because the course was relatively flat, I fell into the "smaller cog" trap. I've toyed with a 20 tooth cog in the San Gabes, but if I'm being honest with myself, it's too hard to turn for long efforts... I should have swapped out for my normal 21 tooth around the third lap. On the 5th lap, I had to walk one of the steep pitches on the initial 5.5 mile climb. The legs were done with the steep stuff.
• Camping: The bed of the truck worked well. I had an air pad and sleeping bag. On Friday night, the wind was howling, but the truck was parked (coincidentally) so that the bed formed a wind break, and the gusts went over my head. That was pretty cool- howling wind and starry skies above. During the race, laps 3 and 4 were in the dark for me. Getting the bike and bottle prepared at the end of the prior lap was a good strategy. That let me push the envelope of sleep for the next lap... Getting out of the sleeping bag to get ready was rough. Warm and toasty to teeth chattering and shivering in seconds.
• Nutrition: I pre-cooked a half dozen hamburgers for the trip so they would be easy to warm up on the camp stove. This worked really well... In the morning, oatmeal and pour-over coffee hit the spot. I also went through a couple apples here and there. A half hour or so before each lap, I consumed a half bottle of Tailwind, and then topped off the bottle to take on course. My first lap (12:11 PM) was warm, and I consumed most of a bottle. This was my fastest lap, but I knew it was too fast if I was going to make all 5. All other laps were around a 1/2 bottle or less. After each lap, I drank an Ensure and ate a little. My only outside food was a rice bowl for dinner after lap 2 (4:50 PM)- white rice, beef and vegetables. Thankfully it was light on the sauce and easy on the stomach. Lap 2 was my worst feeling lap, and I think the rice bowl brought me back to life for Lap 3 (9:43 PM).
• The Bike: Other than my poor choice of gearing, the bike was boring. It just worked. I gave the tires a squeeze before the first lap, and brushed the dirt off the chain after every lap... That was it. I was a little nervous running on a rear wheel that I had just built and really hadn't ridden. But the wheel held, and was still straight at the end, even after several rim strikes. At one point I thought my rear tire had sealant on the sidewall, but it turned out to be my leaky Santa Cruz water bottle dripping Tailwind all over. We were camped near a road crossing at the end of the race, and we listened to creaky bikes all weekend. The Chameleon was silent from start to finish. For the race, I swapped on the XTR pedals, so I would have a larger platform for a little more support. This seemed to work well, even though it was probably just a mental boost.
• Tires: I've been running a Slaughter in the rear for some time in the Gabes. In-Cycle had one in stock last week in the GRID casing and I threw it on the rear. I love this tire... It rolls fast with an almost bald center tread, and it's tough as nails. In the loose stuff, it has zero braking traction. This is a plus if your goal is to go faster... Several rock strikes and it's still alive. I was unsure about the course, so I left my normal Eliminator 2.3 on the front. It's a meaty 900+ gram tire. If I were doing this race again, I'd go to something a little lighter, like the Ground Control I had in the truck as a spare. But- no burps, no flats, no air loss at all, and more than enough traction.

This was a fun group tp camp and ride with, and I'd do it again... Even with the broken bike, things kept chugging along and there was no drama.

 

Training for something like this is different. Having a strong base is good. Fortunately, we have this. But long rides with long sustained climbs don’t help too much. Shorter high intensity rides probably help more. Also doing multiple rides in a day definitely help, or at least gives a better sense of why it will be like.

I agree on the gearing….I thought about going harder based on the numbers for the course. However once we did the pre ride, it was clear that I was on the correct gear. Yes, I got spun out on the Upper Jem sections….but I wa able to keep going later in the lap/laps. Not sure how the legs would have reacted for the techy climbs the final 1/3rd going harder.

camping was all about comfort. I slept a little bit, but think I would have been ok, with less sleep. For me, it was more about maintaining my contacts…now wearing them too long or them drying out.

the nutrition was not the issue I thought it would be. We pre cooked pasta for Friday and Saturday night, so those 2 meals were covered. I really didn’t eat lunch on Saturday, but snacked a little in between laps. I don’t want to intake anything heavy. It looks like i succeeded with that. My intention was ti do Tailwind…which I did 1/2 scoop in about 10 oz. of water the first lap. It was warm, but I still didn’t drink it all, until the lap was complete. All laps after that were about 1/2 bottle with a Nuun or Hammer Fizz electrolyte tab in it. Never had a twinge of a cramp on course. Did have a slight twinge in the tent while changing clothes, but never manifested. I did drink a 1/3-1/2 bottle of chocolate milk after each lap.

Bike wise, my chain did get creaky, but it was working overtime. I was brushing/wiping the chain each lap. I did finally have to relube the chain, which helped a bit, but the Dumonde didn’t have time to thoroughly dry. My tires issues were user error. The low pressures I can get away with locally, took a hit with the square edge hits out there….in addition to not knowing the course. With more time, I feel I could get back down in pressure with better trail knowledge.

the biggest benefit for me was chasing out of my cycling clothes after each lap. Not sitting around in my bibs, etc was much more comfortable. I also tried to go with fresh clothes as much as possible. Goes back to being about comfort.

I’ve done plenty of 5 person teams, so I have a sense of what to expect, but the courses were always shorter, so down time ended up being a big the same. I felt like my lap times were consistent….if you take out the flats.

I enjoyed the racing aspect more than I thought I would. Perhaps it reignited that fire.

 

What gearing did the four of you run, and did anyone change it up between laps?

 

i kept to my normal 34 x 22…..I had a 21 & 19 with me, but never swapped it.

 

I went with 32 x 20. The 20 is still on the bike, but will be coming off shortly for the 21.

 

That's what happens when you pay $$ to go ride around in circles all day

Please tell me all of you have ridden Gooseberry? And Little Creek?

But yeah, there is a ton of great riding in that little area. New trails just opened on the east side of Zion as well, and Cedar City has been building new stuff like crazy. It is definitely a great area to stop off at when passing through.

Glad you guys had a good time

 

I ran 32:19 that is my go to out here. Maybe easing it up would have helped.

 

Ho, man.

 

I figured out why we got short changed on 2 of our laps.

Steve’s 2nd Lap was rolled into John’s 2nd full lap, but we only got credit for 1.

John’s 3rd Lap was rolled into Mark’s 3rd Lap, but we only got credit for 1.

 

Shenanigans! Do over!

 

It was our California license plates.

 

We’re you guys talking the smack indiscriminately? Perhaps you insulted someone associated with the scoreboard.

 

What California plate? I got rid of that POS before I was completely moved.

 

I ran a 32X18, the first lap and a half which is what I run for everything. I never change my gear, except the next 4 laps I ran a 34X22 (see Jason's post above). Oh, I didn't change gears, that's right I changed bikes. My laps were pretty consistent, except the 2nd lap.
1st lap was a 1:02
2nd lap = a 2:10ish ( I got to do all the climbing but none of the descent or finish the lap, Jason had to finish it for me)
2nd full lap = 1:05
3, 4 laps =1:08
last lap = 1:11.
At least those are the times of my Suunto GPS watch, that I cant seem to download on my computer.

I agree with Jason, for this race if you had some higher intensity rides going into it that would be more beneficial than longer extended climbs because it really was a hammer and coast type of course with short steep climbs. One of hardest things that happened to be physically was walking back from the broken bike incident (4.5 miles). My chamois gave me a horrible rash for the rest of the race. My crash on the 4th lap in the dark, hurts more now then it did then. I look like I was in a boxing match with black and blue bruises all over my body.

 

Sounds like John was the overall issue in the whole race. You guys would've probably won if you didn't bring that disaster!

 

It took them 9 hrs to get your 1st lap posted.

 

You know if it were anyone besides you or Faustie or Mark, Zilla woulda killed ‘em.