MBAA - White Tank Whirlwind - Race Report

MBAA White Tank Whirlwind

February 8, 2014

Scott Thomas

  White Tanks.  Well for those in AZ this is in the far west part of the Phoenix metro valley and to be completely honest after racing it I won’t be making the drive over there for just a Saturday ride.  It’s about a hour and 15 minute drive from my house. 

  So showing up there Saturday morning once again I’m shocked by the amount of people that MBAA is getting to come out to these short sprint style races, but I like it.  So the same old same old.  Check in.  Get my gear ready.  Relax a little.  Chat with some other friends racing.

  As a little preface to this course.  I’ve never ridden it before.  Not 100% uncommon for me and I spoke to several friends who either pre-rode the course or rode it for fun.  Not sure why the hell you would do that though.

  10:32am the race starts.  Always a scramble trying to get good placement, but this course was nice as the first mile or so was nice double-track.  A little rocky, but not to bad that you couldn’t pass.

  Then we make a left turn up to the technical section of the course.  The first lap (of two) this didn’t seem so bad.  Really boulder rocky with a few drops.  The first lap was extremely crowded.

  Once out of that mile and a half section we dump back onto some rollers before hitting the switchback climb.  The climb wasn’t bad.  I heard they did some trail work the week before and smoothed out part of it.  It was a nice climb with no real technical side to it and then we dropped into about a half mile section of some good twists and drops.

  Wrapping up that little downhill we are back on some single track just before the remaining 2 miles or so of double track that just rolls.  This area is good to make up ground if your able too.  Wrapping up my second lap about a mile and a half from the finish pro-rider Chloe Woodruff passed me.  I somehow found some energy to try and keep up with her.  I didn’t do to bad and kept her within about 100 yards or so.

  So the one word description of the race for me would be uneasy.  Not sure, but the technical sections put me on the edge.  I still finished in the top 15, so not complaining to much, but I have had much better.  Old Pueblo is next.

  Big thanks to:  Poc (helmet, gloves), Crank Brothers (pedals, wheels), GU Energy (Roctane brew, Roctane GU, Chomps), Serfas (Shoes, eyewear, shorts, saddle, saddle bag, mini tool), Stan's NoTubes (sealant), Polar Bottle (water bottles), Geigerrig (hydration pack).

MBAA McDowell Meltdown - Race Report

MBAA McDowell Meltdown
January 18, 2014
Scott Thomas

  Unlike last week this race was very simple and not a lot of prep work to load gear and planning for fueling.  Got up Saturday morning unlike last week kind of slept in till about 7am then grabbed my bike and headed to Fountain Hills, AZ, which is where McDowell Mtn Park is.  I was surprised by the amount of people there with campers.  This was a short sprint race.

  I knew my start time was 10:32am, so getting there at 8:30ish gave me lots of time.  I checked in and grabbed my bib.  Ran into a few guys I knew that came down from Prescott to race.  Then made it back to the car (1/2 mile away) to slowly start getting ready.  Time slowly pasted and finally I just got bored and headed over to the start line.

  10:32am (well 10:25am) racers started staging in our age categories and getting ready.  Whistle blows and we are off.  I am extremely familiar with this course as it is the course for the 24 Hours of Fury that I have done a few times.  Things were tight heading out and everyone finding their position.

  I felt really good and thought I could make up some ground on people as the course went on.  There is a part of this course I hate and I think I hate it more now that I don't have a full suspension, but the South Ridge is a nasty rocky area.  Well I lost even more ground on that stretch.

  Finishing my big loop I pushed on and a little faster and harder into the last 3 miles.  The last bit was the fun part of the course.  Some short rollers with a little switch backs.  Finished and really didn't see my time.  I was a bit discouraged.  I felt the first half of the race to wasn't pushing hard enough to get good positioning and knew I had people pass me.

  Hung out for a bit at the race and watch a friend's daughter finish her first mountain bike race.  Then packed up and heading in.  Stopped in Fountain Hills for some food to refuel a little and thought I would just check and see how bad I really did do.

  15th.  Wow.  I figured I would be a lot further down in the pack than that.  I looked at my lap splits and saw that my first big loop was around 52-53 minutes.  That's faster than I have ever done it before.  Went and looked at the times a little more yesterday (Sunday) and the times and rankings updated and I took 14th.

  Big thanks to:  Poc (helmet, gloves), Crank Brothers (pedals, wheels), GU Energy (Roctane brew, Roctane GU, Chomps), Serfas (Shoes, eyewear, shorts, saddle, saddle bag, mini tool), Stan's NoTubes (sealant), Polar Bottle (water bottles), Geigerrig (hydration pack).

12 Hours at Papago - Race Report

12 Hours at Papago
January 11, 2014
Scott Thomas

  So a typical solo race for me.  Pack up all my gear on Friday.  Saturday morning 5am hits and my alarm goes off.  Couldn’t have been soon enough.  I was up several time throughout the night, so I think I had a little bit of race butterflies, which is usual for me, but oh well.  Go up and got semi ready, loaded my bike and packed up my last few water bottles.  Head down to Tempe from far east Mesa (15-20 minute drive).  Remembered I needed to stop and get bananas on the way, so a quick detour for that and then on to the race.

  I was a bit surprised when I showed up at 5:45am as to how many people there were there and already set up.  Luckily they have an area set up for us solo racers to set up.  I quickly unloaded my gear out of my car and then went to find a parking spot.  Got all of my gear arranged and ready for the day.

  6:50am hits and it’s time to head for the start line.  A few additional quick comments from the race director and then the Nation Anthem.  It’s a LeMan’s start, so nothing like 200 runners in bike shoes for 100 yards on asphalt.  At the start it was still dark, so we started with lights.

  Having never ridden this course before I tried to watch the riders in front of me as much as possible.  So the goods and the bads for not pre-riding a course before the race.  Goods you keep your eyes open and go as fast as you can and hope for the best.  Bads you don’t know all the drops and spots you should gear down before you hit them.  A few drops and one or two spots I wish I had geared down better.

  This course is 7.2 miles roughly.  The first 1-3/4 or so is the more rocky rollers with some drops and a few climbs.  Then you hit the recovery part of the course that is flat canals for about 3 miles before dropping back into the rollers to the finish.

  So my first lap went well, but when I came thru I didn’t see the time clock to see what my time was.  I figured that I needed to average 51 minutes a lap to make my 14 lap goal.  At the end of my second lap I saw the clock and I was at 1:25.  So I kept pushing.  I felt good.  I had 4 laps done in the first 3 hours.  At this pace I figured I would have 18 laps or so.

  Well for all the endurance racers out there not all of us keep that starting pace.  I finished my 7th lap right at the 5 hour mark.  This was half way and I was an hour ahead of scheduled pace.  So I stopped for about 10-15 minutes to fuel and really take a break.  Headed back out for 8.

  When I came in from 8 I looked at my splits on Chronotrack and noticed that it was only showing me having 7 laps.  So upon finishing 9 I stopped and they had it correct on-site, but wrong on-line.  I briefly stopped after 9 and then hit 10 and 11.  During my 11th lap I had a few gear shifting issues.  The course seemed dusty with more of a light fine dust.  I had already lubed my chain a few times throughout the day with ProGold.

  Coming in from 11th lap I stopped and cleaned my chain a little and lubed it again.  Resting just a few before heading out for 12.  While out on 12 I ended up dropping my chain twice.  Between the wear of the 80+ miles at this point and the frustration of the mechanical issues I was done.  I finished 12 and came in and stopped.

  At the end I finished 12 laps (86.4 miles) and 24th out of 76 in my category.  Naturally I beat myself up the yesterday the day after the race for not making a quick fix and going out for lap 13 & 14.  First race of the year not to bad.  Next one will be better.

  Thanks to Serfas (shoes, eyewear, saddle, lights, saddle bag, tires, shorts), POC Sports (gloves & helmet), GU (Roctane brew, Roctane GU, Chomps), ProGold (Lube), Geigerrig (Hydration pack), Polar Bottle (water bottles), Stan’s Notubes (Stan’s Sealant), Crank Brothers (wheels & pedals).

CLICK HERE FOR PICTURES.

2014 K-Blue Racing Jersey

Below are the final proofs of what the 2014 K-Blue Racing jerseys and arm warmers will look like.

Rebecca's Private Idaho Race Report

Rebecca's Private Idaho (RPI)
Sun Valley, ID
September 1, 2013
Drew Watkins

  RPI 100 was a true Gravel Grinder with lots of Cyclocross riders and a handful of Mountain Bikers. Along with the infamous Rebecca Rusch were guys like Levi Leipheimer and T. Burke Swindlehurst with two courses..."The Big Potato" 100 miler and the "Small Fry" 56 miler. I choose the "Small Fry" due to a little lack in time for training leading up to the race.
  Both courses had and out and back climb of about 1500 foot elevation in about 7 miles.  The winds kicked up on the way back causing a strong head wind...but the course was fully supported complete with Baked Potatoes and PBR's...not to be confused with PB&J. All in all the crowd and festivities were amazing and will be a "must do" every year for this Idaho resident. I don't have any desire to ride Cyclocross at this juncture...but never say never.

A big thanks and shout out to Scott Sorenson at Stelekon for the redesign of K-Blue's new logo.  Thanks Scott.

Prescott 6er

Prescott 6er
Scott Thomas
Saturday Oct. 12, 2013
Prescott, AZ

  So this race is pretty self explanatory like my last one (12 hours at Night), except this one being 6 hours during the day.  This race is very similar to the 12HAN.  It is located at the same park in Prescott (Miller Park) and has several parts that are shared by both races.  This is a 9 1/2 mile loop and you have 6 hours to do as many laps as you can.  Note you can't finish until after the 6 hour point or you have to be out on your last lap prior to 5:59:59.

  Coming into this race I did a little research.  I knew Ryan Geiger would be there again.  He is defending champ from last year.  I had never raced against Ryan head to head (or that I know of).  I watched Ryan race a few years ago at 24 Hours of Fury at McDowell Mtn Park.  I knew he was fast then.  Outside of Ryan racing it I wasn't aware of the field coming in.  I was very surprised when showing up Saturday morning and seeing the crowd of racers.

  As typical I got there early enough to set up a transition area, warm up and not feel rushed.  This race was a mass start.  About 8:50 everyone started to line up for a little pre-race meeting and get their place for the start.  I think there were about 70 or so of us total starting and I found a good little spot in the middle.

  The race starts with a modified 4-1/2 mile loop and then a full 9-1/2 mile loop.  So 9am hits and the whistle blows.  We are off.  Knowing the area from 12HAN I felt really good.  Then in this modified loop there is a long climb.  Everyone is gunning for their position and I knew I had to get into a decent spot, because after this climb it goes into a long tight single track area.  The elevation of Prescott that morning wasn't helping me find that spot, but I did okay.

  Coming in from the modified loop you cross the start line and head out on your first full 9-1/2 mile loop.  Again knowing this course from 12HAN I knew this was heading into my fast fire-road section and the grind of the incline would be my friend all day and were I would make up ground.  Pulling off the fire-road area we hit some single track for a ways and then into my worst enemy from 12HAN and that is Rocky Road.  I used this to my advantage as much as I could as I feel I am a stronger climber than many.

  Coming off of Rocky Road we hit a fast decent and then comes the hard climb.  This was not part of 12HAN, and it was an Ass-Kicker of a short climb.  Once we hit the top of that it was where the 4-1/2 mile had tied in, so I was back to some good single track.

  Lap 1 came easy and then 2.  Lap 3 wasn't to bad and then leading into 4 Rocky Road was wearing on me.  Coming in from 4 I was dragging for sure, but knew I needed one more.  I took a quick 2-4 minute break and fueled and headed out again.   Lap 5 was tough.  I hadn't ridden all week leading up to this race and I should have.

  Lessons learned this race:  Train up to the day before the race.  No matter what your brain is telling you, you can do more.  And again the best outlook from my daughter "At least you weren't like 100th place Dad."

  Great race.  I'll do it again.
 
  Thanks to all of our sponsors and everyone else's support.  POC Sports.  Geigerrig.  GU Enengy.  Yankz!  Mike's Bike Chalet.  Stan's NoTubes.  Polar Water Bottles.  Geax.