I was introduced to the sport of cycling in the dirt. Albeit I was a weekend warrior, I rode nothing but trails; tarmac didn’t excite me much at the time. However, around 2000 or so the purchase of a CX bike to diversify my training lead me to the line of 7 years worth of skinny tired racing with neglect to my dirty roots.
In 2007 I decided to return to the dirt and try my hand at what I thought at the time to be monumentally impossible: 100 mile MTB racing. My maiden event was the Lumberjack 100. I had no idea what I was doing nor did I have any delusions of grandeur that I would be competitive amongst the sea of seasoned endurance junkies to the likes of Chris Eatough, Mike Simonson, Robert Herriman, Harlan Price, and so on. When I completed the Lumberjack in 2007 a sea of change began to surface from my psyche that lead me to mentally reevaluate what my conception of bike racing was. I had a marginal result at best, cracking the top 25, but found myself more personally gratified with this accomplishment than any other road race I had ever won or podiumed at. I viewed the race as an event; an experience if you will that went beyond my previously narrow notions of what racing was and what it meant to me. The distance and challenge alone forced me to learn something about myself.
This sea of change continued to grow and eventually lead me down the path of 12/24hr racing and mileage obsession. The time in the saddle became something more to me than just a means to a finish line but rather an educational journey in suffering that was more than worth the price of admission. Needless to say, this all started with the Lumberjack 100. I remember running into Mike Simonson just before the start the 2007 Lumberjack. He asked me how I was feeling and I replied, “I’m feeling like I probably bit off a bit more than I can chew”. He responded, “What? You were born to do this…have a good race”. Perhaps he knew something then that I didn’t know.
I hadn’t returned to the Lumberjack until this year. In this race’s 6th year, it sold out in less than 12 hrs. I consider myself lucky to of gotten a last minute entry. Returning to the sandy trails of Manistee, I considered myself to be much more experienced and seasoned than I was in 2007, I was ready and willing to be competitive.
Being deemed the Michigan Ultra Single Speed Championships, I decided to race on one gear. I have such a beautiful Gary Fisher Superfly SS, it would be a shame to never allow it to do what it does best: race. Being my first single speed 100miler, I went into the race wagering I was not going to be able to best the one-geared endurance stylings of Gerry Pflug (Salsa Bikes) or Matthew Ferrari (Freeze Thaw Cycles). However, I was confident I had a decent chance at finishing at the top of the Michigan racers in this category, which would crown me the Ultra Single Speed State Champion.
Prepping for this race made me realize the eternal mental struggle all Single Speeders go through…the ever-illusive “perfect gear ratio” for the job. I racked my brain for countless hours debating back and forth on what gear to run. I consulted with Harlan Price, Robert Herrimen, Cullen Watkins, Mike Simonson, and everyone who was within earshot of me in the days leading up to this event. I eventually went with a 58inch gear, which I tried out on all my local challenging climbs and it seemed doable. However, late Friday night just before the race, I decided to gamble and switch it to a slightly smaller gear (32-17), about a 54.5-inch gear. This gear seemed to be perfect. I was able to stay with the geared riders on the flats and able to power up almost all the climbs without any vital organs exploding.
Lap one was fast for me. I was sitting at the tail end of the chase train off the leaders. Pflug and Ferrari had made the cut up the road and I was content with this. I focused on simply trying to hang onto the train of geared riders I was with which was about the 9th-15th placed riders. My fellow teammate Jay Moncel, atop a geared Top Fuel did a great job of making sure I hung onto his wheel. He helped keep my pace high the first two laps and even stopped with me at an aid station so he could pace me back up to the group, I was grateful! However, sometime on lap 2, I managed to let two more single speeders slip away up the trail in an effort to allow myself to settle into a sustainable high pace that didn’t feel over my head. I could of followed them but was willing to take a gamble that I would only get faster and hopefully they would only get slower.
My gamble paid off as I managed to catch and pass Ron Sanborn, the 3rd place rider and highest placed Michigan Single Speeder, around mile 82. I watched him for a minute or so when I rolled up to him. I was feeling good and wanted to assess his current state before I attempted to pass him. After concluding that it seemed I had a bit more legs left in me than he did, I called a pass and tried to put the most convincing effort by him that communicated the notion I wasn’t worth chasing…I had too much left. This attack was very ill timed however. Soon after I got out of his sight I rolled to the last aid station of the day. I was completely without fluid, but was unwilling to stop for a feed with the fear he may catch me and we would have to have a shoot out in the final miles; this is something that is not my strength.
For the last 15 miles I went into suffer mode. I tried to silence my mind and not think about my lack of fluid or how bad my legs were hurting. I could of sworn there were more hills added in the last 15 miles than the previous laps. I dug deep into the motivational reserves and found the strength to try and defend my position until the line.
The gamble eventually paid off as I rolled in at a time of 7hrs 30min. and in 3rd place claiming the Michigan Ultra Single Speed title.
Being more prone to the 12/24 hour format of racing I admittedly haven’t figured out the 100 mile pacing yet. Typically, I go out too conservative and feel like I could keep racing at the finish if I had to. However, on this day, I wouldn’t have wanted to ride another mile. This left me with the content feeling that I left everything out on the trail. Whether I took first or last place, knowing this makes me satisfied with my effort.
Singlespeed Cat.
1 Gerry Pflug (Salsa/spk/pro Bikes)
2 Matthew Ferrari (Freeze Thaw Cycles-Hubcap Cycles)
3 Tim Finkel (Gary Fisher 29er Crew/WSC/ACFSTORES.Com)
4 Ron Sanborn (McLain Cycle & Fitness)
5 Jorden Wakeley (Racing Greyhounds)
Full results here.
