Toughest Sport?

Before a recent telecommunications group meeting we were discussing sports and which is the hardest.  Most of the attending folk played sports like football, baseball, soccer and some ran.  One guy said that he just completed a 10K run and it was the hardest thing he had ever done.  Of course he had just given up smoking and was trying to get himself in shape.

I chimed in and said that I honestly thought motorcycle racing was one of the hardest sports.  They all laughed and said "it doesn't take much to twist a throttle Chris".   I laughed also and we started the meeting.  After the meeting and while eating lunch the subject was brought back up.  One of the members had played some college football.  He talked about some of this training, injuries and some games.  I did play some football and enjoyed the time I participated.  While I related to him and the effort it takes to be good at a sport, I did not appreciate getting hit by 250 lb linebackers.  Especially when at the time I was hardly 150 lbs when wet.  So we continued on with this discussion. Everyone talked of their sporting experience and why they thought their sport was the hardest. 

What is the toughest sport?  This weekend I got a chance to compare  two of my favorite sports.

Saturday we headed to Knobby Hill MX Park. On tap was a day of riding and especially working with Christopher.  At the end of the day I had logged 40 laps.  That works out to be 44 miles on a motocross track. 

Sunday was 40 miles of gravel down in Pleasant Hill, MO.  Christopher was supposed to come with me, but he was so sore from riding at Knobby Hill that he opted to stay home and go for an easy ride with his mom. 

I have competed in a number of sports including Motocross, baseball, football, tennis, triathlons (Ironman distance to sprints to Xterra) running (50 mile Ultra trail runs to 5k and everything between), adventure racing, hare scrambles and of course all forms of cycling.  So what sport is the hardest?  For me it would depend what effort you put forth. 

I can remember finishing my first hare scrambles race in Florida.  I was a MX guy back then and used to 20 to 30 minute events.  I was not used to 2 to 3 hours of racing in a whooped out sandy course with part of the course traversing into flooded river bottom with roots, mud and what seemed like bottomless quicksand that would suck your bike in.  You would then spend 10 minutes trying to pull your 215 lb (which now weighed nearly 250 lbs due to the mud) motorcycle out and get going again.  It was one of the hardest events I have ever completed.  Not because I was just "twisting the throttle" but because I put everything my body had into that event.  I finished that race and could not even get off my bike.  I fell to the ground totally exhausted and made a promise to myself never race a hare scrambles again.  That was nearly 25 years ago.  I have since broken that promise. I guess with time you do forget the pain :-)  

What was the hardest this weekend?  40 laps on the MX track for sure.  I am feeling it now.   Just as I know I will be feeling some serious pain come next Sunday at the Missouri State Cyclocross Championships and this next Spring at the Cohutta 100.  One lasts less than an hour and the other 10+ hours.  Both different but each can be just as tough as the other if you put out that extraordinary effort.

Super Gravel Grinder Week

Lots of fun gravel rides.....and a lot of Black birds also....

This past weekend Tim Greene hosted the Black Sunday Gravel Grinder.  One of our most popular rides ever.  For the second week in a row we were greeted at the end of the ride by large amounts of Black birds.  Check out the recap here: http://gravelgrinders.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-black-sunday-recap.html

Wednesday is the Full Moon Monty gravel grinder on the Little Blue Trace Trail.  Always a fun ride made especially fun because it is at night.  That is right, charge those lights and come on out for a good time on the very beginner friendly LBTT.  

Complete info: http://gravelgrinders.blogspot.com/2012/11/full-moon-monty-v2.html


I heard there is gravel in those darn hills. Sunday the Midwest Gravel Grinder group will host the Pleasant Hill Thrill.  A new ride on a very fun course.  Maybe we will see some more Black birds.....

More info: http://gravelgrinders.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-pleasant-hill-thrill.html

Gone Soft

Honey, I think I have gone soft....

This past weekend I officially began my training for the 2013 season.  You say, "but Chris it is still November".  Yes, but planning for a successful season actually begins many months, if not years before.

First step was setting some goals.  More on those later.  Next was some fitness test to find out where I currently stand.  I decided to got ahead and race round #5 of Boss Cross.  Joe Fox got permission to use English Landing Park again after last years floods.  Back in 2001 I promoted the first race ever held there - CrossLogic Cyclocross Challenge. Here are some pics from those events.  I enjoy racing there and I routinely ride through the park during training rides so despite not being in "race shape" and unsure if my hip would be o.k. with the dismounts  I lined up with the Masters division.

After Saturday I found out I was not standing at all and nearly got ran over during the first lap.  I forgot how fast cross starts are.  I knew I had "gone soft" when the lactic acid started to creep in my muscles and I had no drive to push through the pain. 

I settled in my own pace and slowly dropped back toward the rear of the pack.  My teammate Dave Wathen kept his tired on the rim and kicked my arse in the process. 

I wish I could tell you I am o.k. with "going soft".  O.K. with dropping back in the group on gravel rides.  O.K. with my son out climbing me on every ride.  But I am not.  I am still coming to terms with this new soft me.

One thing I can tell you is I am o.k. with being injury free.  I can tell you it is really nice to wake up in the morning with no pain.  For the first time in many years I do not have any pain to speak of.  I worked my butt off to rehab my shoulder last year and my hip a few months ago.  If I do start developing any, I take care of it.  For example, my IT Band gets a little tight from time to time.  In the past I would just keep training and make everything worse.  Now I continually monitor my body (mind and sole also) and do what is right for me long term.

My main goal next year is to remain injury free and to train within reason to accomplish my goals. As I get ready for 2013 this new me might be a little hard to work with and still reach my goals.   Can I train enough and still be competitive and injury free?  Time will tell....  

Grinders begin with the Gobbler

Gravel Grinder season is upon us.   One of my favorite grinders from last year was the Gobbler Grinder.  This year we are moving it the weekend before Thanksgiving instead of after. 

I am really looking forward to this years season for three reasons.  First, my son Christopher is planning on riding a few with us so he can be in top shape for next years MTB season.  Second, Carolynn and I are going to break out the tandem and she is also going to join us.  Lastly, I am beginning a new chapter in my life and will be working with a few select athletes this year.  More to come on that soon.

As usual, complete details on gravel rides at  http://gravelgrinders.blogspot.com/

On Any Sunday

A free weekend at last.  Nothing planned and I was really looking forward to some serious R & R.   Both my body and mind needed some rest - still not over the little flu I got back before Burning at the Bluffs 12 hour.

What to do on this Sunday?  I asked Christopher what he wanted to do.  His answer, "What else, go ride".  Only this time it was back to the motorized version of two wheel fun and a return visit to Warrensburg for myself.

Some of you may remember the Midwest Fat Tire Championship Series used to pay Warrensburg a visit.  We raced Mountain Bikes on both the "East" and "West" sides of the road.  The East side has some very cool trails that back up to the Knob Noster State Park. (Speaking of Knob Noster, they are having a race this weekend  - Possum Scramble). The West side was generally used when when it rained a lot and the creek crossing got flooded due to heavy rain.

A blast from the past.  Check out the below photos of the powerful Bikes and Boards racing team.  Four of the key members of our team back then in action at Warrensburg.

John Oberrider, Chris Locke, Brian Bass and Damian Almanza

Brain Bass before the post race beer.

Damian Leading as usual

John O chasing the dream

Chris Locke chasing Andy Brewer

It has been a month since our last ride on the motorcycles so both Christopher and I were a little rusty.  When we arrived at the race site I was surprised to see a several very muddy bikes.  Some of which were being pulled in because they were flooded out.  Warrensburg only got a couple of inches of rain earlier in the week and I honestly thought that the trails should be in prime conditions.  It was then that I remembered the famous creek crossings that Warrensburg is famous for.  Not as famous as the Black Water 100 or anything, but close :-)

Before we unloaded the bikes we walked down to the creek crossings and watch some other riders navigate the muddy mess.  I actually wanted to just head back to Grain Valley and just ride on the MX track - Christopher needs some serious corning practice anyways.  I was also concerned about his ability to make a lap on this course.  The last time he rode mud on a motorcycle was 4 years ago.  We were out behind the house in a construction area during the winter and he got off course in a big way and sunk his bike into the mud.  It took us an hour to get his bike out and him going again.  It do not want to talk about the choir of  cleaning up that motorcycle in 35 degree weather.  I can still feel the pain in my frozen fingers.  None the less, he decided he still wanted to ride and give it a try.  Sure, Dad will clean up everything anyway right?

At 1:00 pm we head out for our recon lap.   The creek crossing and mud run sections were in the first and last mile of the course.  The worst two being in the first mile right after the start.  As we approached the first mud pit I honestly did not think Christopher was going to be able to make it through.  It was very gnarly with some very deep ruts. For sure he would end up like the guy below picking up his WR250 out of the mud.   (I wish I had my Go Pro on because the footage would have been great.  With all the mud talk and all I totally forgot to put it on my helmet - Update: found the above video from #99 in Christopher's class. As you can see the start is critical along with the ability to ride mud :-)).  To my surprise, he followed me with easy as we took some good lines and got through with limited problems.  Aside from the mud holes, the Warrensburg course is very cool with mostly flowing single track.  There were no open fields and very limited places to pass safely.

 

We got back to our pit with only 19 minutes to get ready for the 2:00 pm start.  This put a lot of pressure on me to put some tear-offs on our goggles, fuel the bikes and try to refuel my body for the 2+ hour event.  I lined up with a minute to spare.  Poor Christopher had to line up on the second row of his class because of the large number of Trail Riders.

The start today was going to be critical.  I did not want to get behind a field full of riders going through mud and on single track trail with no place to pass.  My goal was top 3 and that is what I got.  I rolled through the first turn in 3rd and quickly moved up to 2nd place.  We hit the first mud hole and I took an outside line to take the lead only to see out of the corner of my eye a rider cutting off 1/2 the mud hole via a short cut.  I grabbed a hand full of throttle and got him back before the next muddy hill.  Poor Christopher did not fair as well as I.  He ended up outside the top 20 and had to play follow the lead for the majority of the race.  His ability to pass is not there yet.  He can ride a lot faster than he races, but just has a problem passing.  If he got in the top 5 I bet he could stay there the entire race.  Of course he would still not try and pass, but we will work on that.  He really wanted a top 10 finish before the Hare Scrambles season ended and I feel sorry that he could not make that happen.

As for me I was just not riding that well today.  Sure I was in the lead and quickly started catching the back markers in the other classes, but I just was not my self today.  When we caught up to the 600/700's guys I was having a very hard time seeing through the dust and from the glare of the sun.  You can not pass if you can not see.  Which several guys found out the hard way.  Every couple of minutes someone would try to pass and crash. After a handful of crashes and near missing on my part I started getting some serious arm pump due to riding tight.   Before I knew it I had fallen back to 3rd place in my class and was even passed by some other riders that I had passed earlier in the lap.  I got mad at myself and pushed it the last part of the lap to be 2nd at the line only 2 seconds behind the leader - Randy Lust.   I got by Randy on the second lap and put in an o.k. lap and maintained the lead on the 2nd lap but only had a 10 second lead.  Normally at the point in a race I would put in some solid laps and increase my lead.  Just as I had done the previous two rounds.  Not this day.  Fatigue really set in and I kept thinking that I was just not over my cold yet.  Add some arm pump in and you get what we got here on Sunday.  I got passed by Jimmie O'dell for the lead and he proceeded to check out mainly because I started to slow.   

I really  wanted this race to end on the 4th lap, but we came in under the 2 hour time and had to go out for a final lap.  This is when I ran into Christopher parked along the trail.  I stopped to check on him and assist.  I thought for sure he got water sucked into the carb or something from the mud.  But no, he was "just resting"  Muscling that motorcycle in the mud is kind of tiring.  He said he did not feel safe riding when he could not grip the handle bars anymore.  Smart kid because you can hurt yourself very quickly if you are not on top of your game.  The stop allowed 3rd place Randy Lusk to close in on me and make the pass for 2nd.  I had nothing for Randy the last lap and had to settle for 3rd place on the day.  Congrats to both Jimmie and Randy for great rides.  This will be the last Hare Scrambles for the season.  It was good to get in a final event and see where I stand for next year.  I have the speed, I just need to bring my A game for next season and get back into top shape. 

I asked Christopher if he enjoyed the day.  He said very much so.  That is what it is all about.  Having fun and enjoying life to its fullest.  One Any Sunday you will find us out riding and having a great time.