Training Log Archive: Bash

Post-race breakfast buffet with 'Bent and FB, then long drive home from Ohio. The only thing that really hurts is the outside soleus muscle on my left leg, which got painful in the race.

Ride from Mohican Adventures parking lot to the race start.

Mohican Mountain Bike 100K race
Mohican State Park, Ohio

'Bent and I had a great time at last year's race and decided to return for another tough day of training. FB joined us this time and upped the ante by entering the 100 miler.

After a relaxed sunset dinner on the beautiful patio at Mohican Lodge, we set our alarm for 4:50 a.m. We had to find parking, get Richard's bike assembled and ride to the start line on the main street of Loudonville by 6:45 a.m.

The opening ceremonies lasted 10+ minutes and it was great to see all the support from the locals. The RD told us that a huge number of volunteers came from a local church that gets a donation in return. What a cool idea! The pastor accepted the cheque and prayed for our safety, which was also a really good idea.

I started in the last few rows of 600+ riders since I was approaching it as a tour, not a race. It's an awesome opportunity to ride a challenging, scenic 100K loop with food, drink and bike mechanics at four aid stations. There's no point pretending I'm a real mountain bike racer.

The race started with a gentle, neutralized cruise down Main St. as all the riders tried not to run into one another. After crossing a bridge under construction, we were turned loose at the base of a long, steep, paved hill that climbs 90 m in 1 km. Local residents came out to cheer for us at 7 a.m. so of course we all did our best to put on a good show.

After 7 km of hilly road riding, we entered the forest and hit some very muddy trails worthy of an adventure race. There weren't too many mud puddles to ride through but there were stretches of soft, gummy mud where it was easy to slide on corners or run out of traction while wallowing through. Last year the race course was dry and a couple of course records were set so it was a completely different experience this time.

After we joined the main Mohican mountain bike loop, there were fewer stretches of goopy mud but the trail was still wet so traction wasn't consistent and the off-angle roots and mossy rocks could be treacherous. My AR tires weren't the best for these conditions.

After we entered the forest, there was about 45 km of single and double track through beautiful, hilly terrain. After that, it was a mix of trails and quiet roads, most gravel. Many of the trails in the 2nd half were less bike-friendly than the initial section on the Mohican State Park mountain bike trail although we returned to it for the final 6-7 km of the race. There were some very steep hike-a-bikes in the woods and some of the roads were surprisingly steep too.

Like last time, the aid stations were well-organized and super friendly. Volunteers radioed ahead so that other volunteers could meet us with our drop bags the second we got off our bikes. (I'd packed eLoad and sunscreen.) There was a good choice of food and someone was always ready to help refill our water.

Speaking of which, I decided to work really hard on hydration and electrolytes today after last week's lightheadedness at the Storm finish line. It took extra time to keep refilling one bladder and emptying the other one but it worked and I felt bombproof - none of the fatigue from last week and I felt fine at the finish - ready to take my finisher's glass to the beer truck.

The other riders were friendly - even the speedy 100 milers who passed me later in the race. I recognized one of them from Storm The Trent and he slowed down to chat with me for a couple of minutes.

In a race that was relatively uneventful, of course something crazy had to happen. I started noticing occasional blasts of sound like someone talking quickly on a radio in a language I didn't recognize. Was there a course marshal nearby? After it happened half a dozen times over 20 minutes, I realized it must be from my phone. Had I been hacked? Cellular data is expensive for us in the U.S. Was this using data? I discovered that my phone had somehow decided to go into Settings - Accessibility - Voice Over and it was testing Arabic, the first language on its list. So I was a foreigner in an open carry state that voted for Trump and I'd been blasting Arabic out of my jersey pocket in a crowd of total strangers. Some people think it's the bike riding that's risky!

I shut down all the apps but my phone wasn't finished with me. About 15 minutes later as I started some steep downhill switchbacks, it started playing a bouncy, festive version of "The Holly and the Ivy". I shut that down at the bottom of the hill, and as its grand finale, it played all the different text tones that are available in its Settings, one after the other. I'm not sure why this ride was pushing my phone's buttons so much but it's spent plenty of time rattling around in sweaty pockets and it has never started talking to me before.

There were a couple of factors in my favour this year: it was partly cloudy and both my wheels stayed on for the entire race. However, I haven't done much riding this spring and the course was slower with the mud and wet roots. So I came in half an hour behind last year but around the same position in the pack.

'Bent had a major bike breakdown that caused a delay but with the help of a volunteer bike mechanic / miracle worker, he had a good finish. FB was the star of the day, finishing the gruelling 100 mile race and somehow mustering the strength to quench his thirst with a beer. (Or two.)

Another fun weekend in beautiful Mohican State Park! I highly recommend this race; it's well suited for AR training with all its hills and variety in terrain.

Drove to Ohio for the Mohican Mountain Bike 100. In a complete coincidence, the lodge assigned us an adjoining room with FB! Apparently the trails are muddy so it may be more of an AR style ride than last year. I’ll just be happy if my wheels stay on this time. :)

Adjusted the seat on my mountain bike and tested it by riding to Palgrave East and deliberately aiming for every rock, root and drop-off. I was off the bike half a dozen times to readjust the seat. The first two failures saw it tipping backward at a 45 degree angle. I finally appreciated how tight that screw needs to be! Success - the seat remained rock solid and flat for the last 25 minutes of my ride.

When I got home, I noticed that the seat pointed a little to the left so I took it all apart and started over. Eventually I fixed it by rotating the seat post a little. It seems OK now but in spite of all that bumping around, this latest configuration is completely untested. Mohican 100K is Saturday so I was hoping to just lube the chain and start packing my bike gear. I may do that anyway. I'm now an expert at fixing my bike seat if the need should arise on the race course!

I had a meeting in Collingwood and afterward went to Blue Mountain to try to climb 500 m in an hour on the Straight Up trail. It was very hot in the open sun so I got some much-needed heat acclimation too. When I was getting ready for the Canadian Death Race, I did a lot of hot weather training and I expect I should do the same for Fat Dog.

There were no crowds on this trail on a week day but I ran into Stacie Smith at the top and chatted about the upcoming Everest Challenge at Blue. Then I tried the pool at Tree Hugger ABC for the first time. Nice! Although I hope they cool down the water temperature in the summer. I was still coughing and sneezing a bit today but I'm feeling much more energetic.

Cold is in my lungs today - boo.