Mentioning the DINO Kickapoo Race and Trying to Figure Out What The Heck Is Wrong

I won’t spend much time on the DINO race at Kickapoo State Park. We arrived in Danville, Illinois Friday evening to pre-ride the DINO course at Kickapoo. Rain was threatening all around, but the course was dry as a bone.  It was a fun, easy ride on the monster 11 mile course. I took a hard spill on a switch back on the “Heaven and Hell” section, a steep descent followed by a steep climb. Nothing broken, but my pride was tarnished.

The race was the next morning and I was feeling pretty good. I got a decent start, despite the horrendous ¾ mile start over a recently mowed lane of ruts and bumps. Things seemed ok, but I could tell the engine wasn’t quite there, as in the past few races. Coming into the descent where I crashed during the pre-ride I panicked and dismounted and walked the switchback. Yeah…not very cool. Later, I crashed as I was trying to get a drink. By this time I was nearly last in my age group and just focused on trying to get done.

Hey look, a log. And me.
Photo: Willam Snyder

On the lap I grabbed a water bottle and gel and felt a little better. Problem was, the leaders were well away from me and I rode mostly alone. I rolled in several minutes down from everyone and not feeling too great. To add icing to the cake, my front tire went flat soon after the race. So much for going tubeless!

So….some race report, huh? The trip back and the few days after involved a lot of consideration of my situation. It seems everything started to go weird at the North Vernon race when I crashed badly and DNF’ed. I think the leg injury and pain (someone suggested it was deep tissue bruising due to the lingering bruise and pain) was worse than I wanted to believe, which slowed me down in the next few races. Further, I think there was a bit of timidity there too. I had been pushing the pace at North Vernon when I crashed, and perhaps I’m just a little gun shy.

So how do you solve issues like these? Besides flying off a switchback during a pre-ride? You get a road bike. Well, not really a road bike, but a reincarnation of my venerable Access 29er, only now with drop bars and slick tires. A whole blog posting could be dedicated to the build of this thing…and probably will. But, for now just a preview. I slapped some road shifters onto a road bar, and then married that with my Access frame. I matched the shifters with a rear derailleur which turns out is not perfectly compatible (stupid Dyna Sys), meaning I can only get to 8 of the 10 gears. But still, the bike is faster than riding my Orbea on the road, and is a lot easier on the expensive tubeless tires.

Since building the bike two weeks ago, I have put in over 8 hours of riding each week, which for me, is quite a bit considering my soul crushing job and need to mow the lawn. And they have been longer rides, too. And you know what? I feel better. I went on only my 4^th dirt mtb ride in the past 40 days this weekend at Ft. Ben and felt very good. It was fun, I was handling the little tech sections, etc. The speed wasn’t there, but I typically don’t go fast at Ft Ben anyway, since you’re constantly dodging hikers, joggers, and parents with their 10 kids who thought hiking a 3 mile trail was a good idea.

This weekend is the final DINO race at Southwestway. Probably the closest thing to a home course for me, since I ride it frequently and have raced there (day and night) several times. There is a new course set up which adds a new climb and descent, but otherwise, I’ve ridden everything there. I pre-rode the course Friday night with one of my fellow racers, and it is going to be a good course. Nothing too new, but on the south side of the park there is the addition of a steep downhill followed by a very steep climb up from the river bank to the hill. It was rough going, but I’m glad I tried it out before the race. So…onto the season finale. And then cross season starts…

Bike Racing and Mountain Climbing

Whew. It has been a whirlwind few weeks. A few things to cover, namely the Versailles DINO race. As detailed in our last episode, the race in North Vernon left me without a saddle and in some pain. While initially things felt mostly good, the leg continued to bother me. This may have contributed to what I can only call a mid season slump.

For some reason I was lacking the spark in my rides. When I needed to go fast, it just wasn’t there. Not sure how else to describe it, but the whole training side of things did not happen. I would wake up some mornings before work for a ride, and instead just roll over and go back to sleep.  Just not feeling like getting on the bike. Then, the Tuesday before Versailles, I had a bout of a stomach illness which knocked me on my heels. I won’t go into details, but I have never been that sick before. No sleep in the early morning hours followed by terrible weakness once the sun rose. An impending vacation required me to go to work, but I still took a half day, and by mid morning I was feeling somewhat better, but still very tired.

That night I had a softball game, and my wife and some of our friends commented that I didn’t look that good, and that I seemed abnormally thin. So…the rest of the week I was trying to recover from that adventure, but not with much success. My rides were slow, heart rates low, and there wasn’t any fire. I drank lots of water and started to feel better before the weekend. Day of the race I was feeling just ok. I got to Versailles early and pre-rode some of the course. While the course is hilly, Versailles does not have sustained climbing. Most of the elevation gain is rather gradual and not terribly noticeable. The one exception is a climb up a gravel fire road which is somewhat longer, but not enough for my tastes, and a short climbing section near the beginning.

We had a decent sized 30-39 group and the start went well. Due to my fun sickly week, I was going to hold back a bit and work my way up over the course of the 16-17 mile race. I went into the woods at about 7^th or 8^th position. The pace was slower than I would have liked, and once on Cliffside, a racer two places up faltered on the waterfall crossing, which required some effort to avoid. 

The only photo I have from the race. I'm just under the 'S' in Start looking down the row at all the
racers who are about to beat me. Photo: DINO

Once on the Grandview trail, I passed another rider and then set off in earnest to catch Bryan D. whom I kept spotting through the trees. Not too long afterward, Brian W. caught me and passed me. I tried to keep with him, but the power just wasn’t there. I kept him in sight for awhile, until the twisty and vegetation covered back portion of Grandview. All of the sudden I came around a corner and found both Bryan and Brian in a pile. Apparently they had mixed it up and while they seemed ok, they were still trying to get their bikes in order. I passed them, but they were just too strong and just before a downhill, I allowed them both to pass.

Soon thereafter we came to the gravel climb I mentioned above. I pushed as hard as I could, and spotted both B & B (easier than typing their names again) ahead. I closed, and during the downhill following the climb and got around Bryan D. when he downhilled off the trail for a bit. He got going again and was behind me, while Brian W. was within sight ahead.  Thus ended the first lap.

I was starting to feel good. I was not in the top three, but I felt that if I could keep Brian W. in sight, things would work out. My only concern was my cornering. It seemed like my front tire pressure was too low, and I was having issues with it washing out as I ran into corners and turns. This bit me on the Cliffside Trail during the second lap. I got a bit close to the edge of the trail, and I suddenly started to lose traction. Glancing down at my front tire it looked like it was doing its best to run off the rim. Again, air pressure was a bit low. I actually started to go off the cliff which gives Cliffside its name. I managed to stop the unexpected downhill run, but I was off the trail on the downslope and in a tangle of weeds. Bryan D. came riding up and passed me before I could get back on the trail, and then I was off again.

I was pissed about the unexpected detour but figured both B & B were not too far ahead. After getting off the cliffy part of Cliffside, I tried to use my new gel flask. In my continuing war to stop my gels from falling off when taped to my top tube, I bought a flask and figured it would be easier to take gels. Eh. Not so much. I took one swig, and before I could take a second, I hit a root on a relatively easy section of trail and the flask bounced out of my hand. My reaction was an out loud, and very little kid sounding “aw man,” but I continued onward.

After this, not much happened. My legs were never really there, and my cornering issues continued. I could spot a few riders ahead of my at times, but couldn’t close. In the end, I came in at 6^th place in the age group, and 25^th overall. My worst finish in quite some time (aside from the DNF at North Vernon).

Seemed like a lot of others had rough days. Some racers typically at the head of the standings were down, while others had nasty crashes or mechanicals or flats due to the numerous rocks on the course.

So what happened? I think I can trace it back to the illness on Tuesday. That was rough and my body took a hit. While I was recovering, I didn’t bounce back as quickly as I would have liked and I think it hit me hard. Like I said, I seem to be a rough mid season patch now. Motivation is down and the results aren’t there. Something needs to happen to right the ship, get the train back on the tracks, etc.

Now for something not cycling related. The day after the race my wife and I left for vacation. You might recall the last vacation in 2012. Yeah, not exactly a yearly thing for me. Like Vermont two years ago, we spent a week in Maine, splitting our time between Bar Harbor and Portland. It was a great week, and while there was a bit of biking, generally other activities were pursued.

For one, we climbed Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park. Topping out at just over 1,500 feet, it is no Mount Mansfield (4,400) but the hike up (and down again) was tough. Lots of boulder hoping and steep grades. The reward was a kicking ass on the hike while others drove to the top, and taking some great photos.

Marsh near the trail head. Lump of rock in the background is Dorr Mountain

Junction of the Canon Brook Trail and the South Ridge Trail. Hike to
summit was above the treeline from here on out.

 

Summit!

 

I think all vacations from here on out should include a mountain climb if possible.