A Tale of Tire Woes...SM100

Labor Day weekend marks my favorite race of the year, the annual meeting of the Moonstompers...Shenandoah 100. Most unfortunately this year, 2 great events were going on the same weekend. GoCross in Roanoke was upgraded to a UCI race but was moved up to the same weekend forcing dirt lovers to pick between the two. Thanks to USAC refusing to upgrade me past a Cat3 last year I opted for the completely slacker option of participating and completely sandbagging the Cat 3/4 race on Saturday. Ride to Fallon from the house, do a few laps, ride home. Legs loosened, check. Yes, I won and beat up on a bunch of kids in the process. No shame. I blame USAC. But I'll be racing in the more appropriate field from here on out during cross season, don't worry.

Stomper Ridge at Stokesville
(and the sweet Cutaway kit bags being put to great use!)

The next morning it was the usual early wake up for the dawn start. Unlike the last 100, I was a good girl and made sure I was well rested going in and I really felt good. I positioned myself forward from where I did last year to try to keep as close to the lead group as possible leading into the first singletrack climb. I avoided the back up there last year, but this year I was hoping to get through that early enough to be able to catch on with some stronger guys for the road sections after. 4 miles in I was right where I wanted to be, nearing the narrowing of the first fire road when all of a sudden I went over a little seemingly nothing bump and "HIIIISSSS". Flat. Rear tire flat.

How I kept a long stream of profanities inside I'm not sure. I could see the spot the Stans was and tried to plug it but it was too close to the bead and I couldn't get the bacon in. I reinflated but it wouldn't seal. Meanwhile the stream of riders kept flowing by and I knew I was toast as far as positioning goes. Interestingly there were at least 6 other riders pulled over in the same spot with flats as well. WTH did we hit?! As I made the decision to put a tube in, fellow Deschutes team member and Moonstomper Rob Issem pulled over and lent a hand and with a quick double team effort I was back on and riding.

I worked hard and passed a bunch of people over the next 1-2 miles but then hit singletrack and not only slowed but stopped. Dead stop. Like not even walking. Stopped. I was dying inside with my level of frustration through the roof. Finally though, we cleared the climb and the main technical features and started the smoother descent. And then it happened, another "HIIIISSSS". The tube had blown. My tire had a 1/2" slice. I didn't have a second tube. I was certain I was done. Walking down, I was having to jump out of the way for all those riders I had passed on the fireroad and the climb as they came down.

Rob came up on me and incredibly stopped again. I just want to say that I was and still am so overwhelmed with his selflessness and sportsmanship for not only helping me once, but twice. He saw my frustration boil over and the tears that came. At that moment I was certain I was done for the day and would be getting my first ever DNF. Rob gave me his spare tube, quickly ate one of his GUs, and helped me patch the hole with his GU and my Honey Stinger wrapper. Then we inflated that tube as hard as we could. Please, please, please let this one hold.

Coming into Aid 1 in a very dark mental place.
Photo: Jack Anderson

We got rolling again, my confidence shattered. I was riding so cautiously, scared at any moment this tube was going to blow too. We were literally in dead last. We passed a couple folks on the rest of the descent into Aid 1. There, I saw Chris Scott who heard what had happened and offered me words of encouragement and I learned that several of the lead men had also suffered early flats as well. I put my head down and just vowed to try to make up what time that I could. We were so far back that the Lynn back up was starting to clear out and I was able to ride all the way to the first switchback before running into it. After a leisurely congo line up the rest of Lynn with discussions of RockStar 270 (yup, Rob was still right behind me!), I headed down Wolf still riding cautiously on my tube.

Safely to the bottom and to the fireroad, I kicked it into high gear. I finally was clear of the line and knew that it was time to make up what time I could. With my loss in position, my other loss was the complete lack of anyone to draft/trade pulls with on the road sections. The only thing I was doing was passing people and there was nothing to reduce my work.

Photo credit: Jack Looney

 

Quickly enough, Aid 2 was past and I was climbing, climbing and then onward towards Round 1 of Hankey and Dowells Draft. Finally the crowd had thinned and I could go my pace. I passed people steadily, moving up the field. Dowell's had some rather sketchy wet roots but I made it through without incident. Quickly through Aid 3 and on up 250 I went.

The rest went smoothly, I felt great on the Death Climb and part way up passed Julia Thumel and another lady. I knew Julia would be towards the top of the women's field so I knew I was getting back in the mix. At Aid 5 I heard I was probably 30 min behind the last woman to come through. I had a feeling that was something I wouldn't make up but all I could do was keep riding my hardest.

Love my Top Fuel, but down Wild Oak was definitely more fun last year with my Tall Boy even with the alloy frame vs carbon. More travel is just nice....Then it was through 6 and into a refreshing little rain shower just before Hankey Round #2. Then I was topped out and the final stretch flew by until suddenly I was descending into Stokesville and through the finish line. Final time 10:12:30, in 3rd place. I was stoked to see Laura at the finish and find out she had in fact won!! Meanwhile, if time estimates were correct I had made up a solid chunk of time just between Aid 5 and the finish with #2 just 12 minutes in front of me.

Overall, although it was not the time I had been hoping for, I am happy with what I was able to accomplish after the early struggles. I was so close to quitting mentally, partly frustration and partly just terrified my tire was going to blow again and I'd end up stranded with a real long hike! After Wolf I PR'd nearly the whole last 2/3 of the course.

Goal for next year: work on my repair skills. I am the first to admit they are not the strongest and this race really made me want to focus more on dialing them in. I've been lucky to not have too many huge mechanicals out on rides in the past, but the downside of that is I haven't been forced to learn to fix them.

Thanks so much to Chris Scott for putting on another AMAZING event. I can't wait for all the rad Shenandoah Mountain Touring events to start again in 2019. Definitely planning this fall to get back to Stokesville for some camping and some big backcountry days!

The rest of the evening was spent hanging out with the Stompers sharing race stories since I was lucky enough not to have to work until 4p on Monday....

So impressed by the nighttime finishers!!

Tire went flat again in camp. No joke.

A Heckler's Guide to Go Cross

Cross is no longer coming....Cross season is here! Both the VACx and UCI seasons kick off this coming weekend in Roanoke at Virginia's Blue Ridge Go Cross Race. This GoCross' first season as a UCI event which is really exciting both for racers and for the region. While the racers are really getting stoked for the weekend, the spectators should be getting equally as excited. So, since cyclocross is relatively new to Roanoke still here are some tips to help you through the weekend...

Why should I go? Lots of reasons...unlike many other types of bike races cyclocross is on a very small & concentrated course that makes it PERFECT for spectators. You can get right up next to the fence and really make your heckling/cheering heard. There's beer. And food. Heckling and cheering always more fun with both of these things. Finally, obstacles help create at least a little carnage.

Where should I go? And now, a breakdown of the course map from the spectator's standpoint...helping you to find your optimal heckling position!

1. The Sandpit. To meet UCI standards, 2 dump trucks full of sand were added this year to make the pit both wider, longer, and deeper. As such you can expect plenty of struggles around this area. Expect to see some impressive powering through by the pros and some epic fails by others. To improve spectating options there is a raised platform as well as some ground level seating to really get you a good view of the action.

2. The Flyover. Definitely fun to check out and watch some people get some air but don't expect too much carnage, it's really not that hard. Bonus? It's right by the finish line and food/beer.

3. Unicorn Corner. Named last year for some goober in a unicorn onesie (did we mention costumes are generally encouraged?) who even made Carla crack a smile mid lap. This spot is a little tougher to get to since it's on the other side of the course, is rather small, but gets you a great view of the log rollers both up and down and is shaded most of the day.

   

  

4. Far End. Tight, twisty turns through the trees are a good option if you want to get away from the main crowd a little. The trees also provide some shade and you're right by the start to watch that. It's also further out and let's be honest, you don't want to give the racers too long of a break from heckling...

5. The Stairs. Always a good place to watch. It's shortly after the start so especially the first lap folks are usually pretty stacked up on each other. Get ready to watch the coordinated, the highly uncoordinated, and prepare to laugh at cyclists who skipped arm day all year.

If none of these options appeal to you then roll right up to any spot on the course and cheer the racers on! Check out the GoCross schedule for other events such as a running race on Saturday and the Lil' Belgians Kids' Race for fun for all ages. 

Last but not least...to all those other dirt-loving hooligans who, like me are headed up to Stokesville for the other epic dirt event this weekend, good luck and have fun!! See y'all at Shenandoah 100....20th anniversary edition!!!! Also, there's a unicorn onesie up for grabs.

I'm not promising, but if you race @go_cross you might just get a good dose of unicorn heckles.

A post shared by Chris Merriam (@mrkrys66) on Oct 1, 2017 at 7:50pm PDT

Vacation and Pierre's Hole 100

The Monday after W101, Bryan and I flew out to Jackson, WY for 10 days of vacation, Pierre's Hole 100, and meet the parents (yikes!). Let's just say that the western mountains are a serious weakness of mine and I have zero ability to control my desire to play when I get out there. Tuesday in absolutely perfect "I just did a hundo and now I'm fresh to altitude" style did a 4hr ride up Cache/Game with Bryan. Recovery for the win. Yes, that's sarcasm. We spent the next few days doing a couple mellower rides up on the Pass, some SUPing on the Snake, and actually taking it easier before heading over to Teton Valley and Targhee on Friday for Pierre's Hole 100.

The night before the race we crashed down in Tetonia with my friend, Nan, who put together a rad lasagna dinner for a whole bunch of us who were crashing there before the race. Between the group we represented all three distance options. Bryan and I were the early risers the next morning and enjoyed some early dawn views of the Tetons driving up the canyon. We dropped our coolers for shared resupply at the feed zones, got dressed and soon enough it was 7a and we were off.

Sunset in Tetonia

Lap 1: I felt good starting off and although I could feel the altitude a little at the top of Peaked it wasn't that bad and soon enough I was headed back to a little lower elevation. I knew I was in 4th and just tried not to overdo it given it was my first time racing at altitude and knew the singletrack heavy course wouldn't give me the recovery of the fireroad-heavy courses I was used to.

Lap 2: I felt good starting the lap and then about halfway up Peaked I fell apart. My legs felt so heavy and I realized that this was about to be a VERY long day for me. At the second pass of Aid 2, I reached into the cooler to grab a refill of Infinit...only to find it had been stolen (accidentally) by a certain boy way up front of the men's pack... Oh well, I grabbed some water, some solid calories to make up for my lack of mix, and kept moving. (Note: we learned to better label our bottles to distinguish them for aid helpers next time.) I passed Nan out in Rick's Basin and although I was really starting to suffer was stoked to hear that Bryan had been in second when he passed her.

Women's Open Podium

Lap 3: Oh yeah, I'm definitely going to be way over 10 hours...probably real close to 11. I hurt. A lot. OK yup that hard Tuesday ride was dumb. Back-to-back hundos also probably dumb. Ah well. At least I was in one of my favorite places in the world with beautiful views that made the suffering better. Legs never did recover on this one and I finally crossed the finish in 11:02 in 4th. Long day. Bryan had crushed it and won in seconds over 8hrs. He was nice though and held the "I told you so" on my poor recovery behavior for about an hour....maybe 45 mins. ;)

Post-race: Turns out wildfire smoke and some dusty trails coupled with hours of exertion don't get along well with my asthma. Hadn't used my inhaler in over 2 years so I hadn't even brought it out with me. Took me a couple hours to realize that I really couldn't breathe and that was the reason I felt so bad even a while after. Thanks to the Gundersons, after some problem solving and huffing albuterol out of a cleaned out oil diffuser (no tubing for the nebulizer) and my airways relaxed.

The next few days we pretty much stayed off bikes. We hung out with my parents, Bryan played on the tractor, we hit up the hot springs (not quite at winter size but the river was juuuuust low enough for a solid pool for two), did some fishing, and checked out some alpine lakes on-foot in GTNP.

 

 

Wilderness 101

The final weekend in July marked both the end of a busy ED stretch, the start of 12 days of vacation, and the return to NUE races for me after a hiatus since April (thanks, residency). I made the trek up to Pennsylvania for my first crack at Shenandoah Mountain Touring's famous Wilderness 101. Lucky for me, I had company as Bryan came up with me. He wasn't racing having just done (and won) High Cascades the weekend before and clearly was smarter than me and taking it easy knowing Pierre's Hole was the following weekend.

Leading up to the race that area of PA was SUPER wet with something like 14" of rain over the preceding two weeks. Chris showed us some pictures of the race start and camping area fully underwater the day before. Pre-race night was a bit stressful as we swapped out my worn tires for fresh ones and definitely had some difficulty getting them to seat. Last time I ever switch tires right before a race. Lesson #1 learned. Fortunately, Bryan was a rockstar and finally got them seated and sealed. Huge thanks to Chris Scott for hooking us up with a little extra Stans because we definitely had to do a couple re-dos during the process. The AirBnB hosts made a super awesome dinner which they invited us to. 

Carla gave me some good beta regarding the start and I managed to stay with the lead group most of the way up the first climb until Bryan's glasses which I was borrowing due to the anticipated wet conditions fell off my helmet. Not wanting to lose his glasses I stopped and got them. Burnt several extra matches trying to catch back up which fortunately I was eventually able to once I hooked up with a couple of other racers but I suffered for it later. Lesson # 2: Leave your boyfriend's glasses and apologize later.
  

During the first 30mi rode with Vicki Barclay in the group and it was great catching up with her since I hadn't seen her since Tour de Burg last year.  Once we hit singletrack (her home trails) though she put time on me easily and I didn't see her again. By about mile 40 I was starting to feel my early hard effort and the next 30ish miles were a bit rough. Not terrible but also just didn't feel my normal. Bryan was cruising around the course on his gravel bike taking pictures (all pics here courtesy of him) and met up with and rode with me a couple times. No, no drafting....he just rode next to me.

 

At Aid 4, Bryan headed back to the start. I headed out onto the next climb and my legs started to come back. By the top I felt stronger and actually cruised for the next 30 miles with a brief stop at Aid 5 where I pounded like 3 PB&J after suddenly becoming really hungry coming down the descent into it. I caught and passed several riders who had dropped me earlier in the race and felt really strong all the way to the finish. I crossed the line at 8:21:21 in second place after making up significant time in the last third. Vicki won the women's race and Lindsey Carpenter took 5th taking a ton of time off her time from last year! Tons of TdB representation on the podium either full-pull or poachers :)
 

Thanks to Chris Scott and Shenandoah Mountain Touring for putting on such a great event....sooooo stoked for Shenandoah 100 in just a couple of weeks!!! 20th anniversary!

G.R.U.S.K. (Gravel Race Up Spruce Knob)

My last rotation of PGY2 finally wrapped up on June 30 and after a long 2 months of ICU I was itching to get back to racing. I'd had to work 28hr call every Sat/Sun which effectively took me out of racing for the entire rotation.  After a string of ED shifts to start PGY3 year, I finally had my first full weekend off. After I got off shift Friday morning I slept an hour and then headed up to Charlottesville. I spent Friday afternoon at Cutaway Bike Race Camp coaching young riders on race starts with the illustrious Gordon Wadsworth. Saturday morning I got up early, abandoned Bryan who was working bike camp, and drove the couple hours to the race in Circleville, WV. The race went out of a cool venue-- Experience Learning's Spruce Knob Mountain Center. Driving in I was surprised that I had ironically been here before back several years before when Stephanie and I went ski touring around Spruce Knob.

SKMC in winter

The venue was beautiful-- a high alpine field overlooking the valley. After a week of a brutal heat & humidity wave over the East I was beyond thrilled to get out of the car into 55 degrees and a little breeze. Added bonus: the Moonstomper kits had arrived at Cutaway late that week. Friday before camp I'd helped Bryan pack them to send out, and therefore had my fresh new kit to rock for the race :) Soon enough it was start time with a slow roll down the fire road out the venue to help keep things safe for everyone on a downhill gravel start.

Race start at Spruce Knob Mountain Center

At the bottom of the hill the race was on. The course was absolutely incredible. Early on was a super fun grassy fire road descent that I had a blast ripping down on my gravel bike. Then other than a couple short pavement sections it was miles of cruiser, high quality gravel and the temperatures maxed out in the low 80s. This course is probably 80%+ gravel and full of beautiful views. The summer wildflowers were in full swing and multiple times I crested what appeared to be a small roller to find myself at the top of a knoll looking out over a valley full of rolling mountains and fields. The way out of the big loop trended down and reached the low point at mile 31 with crossing the Cheat River and then we turned to return to Spruce Knob and began a long slow climb upward. In true rural WV style, a particularly sketchy moment of the race was nearly hitting a cow who jumped out into the road in front of me coming off a descent.

Spruce Knob is a long part gravel/part paved climb but remarkably gradual. The second place woman, Ellen Tarquinio, caught me early in the climb with a group and I enjoyed a little rest in the draft. Once the pitch steepened though, I managed to pull away (fortunately climbing is definitely one of my strengths). I had never been up Spruce and was blown away at the top by the views. Spruce Knob is the highest point in West Virginia (4,863') and it really felt like I was overlooking the whole state.

Spruce Knob Summit: 📸 R.J. Morrison Photos

 Then, it was back down Spruce Knob to a short climb back to Spruce Knob Mountain Center to the finish. Final time: 4:35:57.2 for 1st place in Women's Epic Division. The party was just starting though....I was thrilled to see a bunch of folks from Canaan Valley and elsewhere at the end! Todd Romero and his band were playing at the after party and Chip Chase had made the trek up for some riding and hanging out with folks. Sue Haywood also did the Epic route and I got to hear some serious slum tales from Le TdB last week. Alex Forte, Chris Howell, and Pat Norton were also up for the race.

After a few hours of socializing, a shower (!!bonus point of this race-- there are showers at the end!!), and awards (plus my first ever big check!), it was time to roll back to Charlottesville for another day of bike camp and the marathon race on Sunday morning.

Epic Women's Overall

The short: I can't recommend this race enough. Travis Olson, Mountain Trails LLC, and Mountain Top Realty did an amazing job with organizing this event. Logistics were on point, the course was not only stunning and a crazy high percentage of gravel, but also exceptionally well marked. Thanks to all for such a fun day-- I definitely want to do this race again!

2018 King & Queen of Spruce Knob

Cohutta 100 Recap

This weekend it was time to get back on the mountain bike for the second race in the NUE Series-- Cohutta 100. I took an incredibly mellow week leading up to the race #1 giving my legs/body the chance to recover from Bootlegger 100, and #2 try to work out the back spasm that didn't seem to want to go away. In a stroke of luck, I remembered that my mom had gotten me a professional massage at a local place a couple months back as a 'congrats-for-finishing-ortho-hell-now-please-be-happy-again.' I still hadn't used it. Mom +100000.

 

The weather gods in Roanoke cooperated with my recovery week and sent lots of rain to the area, so after riding only ~30 miles all week my legs were feeling quite rested going into the weekend. Riding the week before I had caught a stick and my shifting on my Top Fuel hadn't been exactly on point and in the pre-race inspection Jeff Cheng informed me that I had in fact bent the derailleur. Insert multiple profanities... Fortunately, in the flurry of 'help' texts Jeff Brown replied back that he had an Eagle derailleur for his new bike in the back that hadn't been put together yet and told me to take that. Saved! Only problem is it's a suuuuper nice one and all I could think was "must not break...must not break..." By Friday my back was improved however not gone. Driving down I discovered I could use one of my dogs' toys as a back massager while driving which actually did help loosen some residual knots.

At check in I met up with Alex Hashem, Roger Masse, and John Petrylak. Alex had brought a couple things for me from Harrisonburg and offered to let me crash at their place. I had spent ~2 hours on Thursday cleaning all the dog hair and grime out of my car and was set on sleeping in the (for once) clean back but having great company and a fully legal place to park I couldn't say no. Then I arrived and their house was freaking awesome and on top of a mountain. Alex chefed up a legit pancake dinner before bedtime.

Alarms went off at 4:30a and after the mandatory coffee/breakfast ritual we drove the 15 min to the the Ocoee Whitewater Center for the start. There was a morning inversion...60 degrees at the house but 40 degrees down low at the start. After the last couple of chilly starts where by 30 minutes in I was cursing my arm/leg warmers, I decided to try sucking up the cold, starting with no extra layers, and hoped the initial hill would warm me up.

Coming through Aid 1

It worked. The Cohutta 100 route has over 11k feet of climbing and it starts immediately with a 1.5 mile climb up the highway towards the singletrack. Although short it does its job remarkably well and separates the group before the trail. Although there were people around when we turned onto the trail not once did I feel cramped or stuck.

The first 18 miles were a blast. The trail was twisty and flowy with minimal technical features. I love some good rocky gnar, but smooth flow is just so much fun too. The sun rising through the valley mist just made it beautiful and I was the perfect level of cool comfortable.

All too soon there were cars above me and after a couple turns I was coming through Aid 1. Cohutta was described to me as "a gravel race with bonus singletrack," and Aid 1 marks the start of the so-called "Death March"-- a 68 mile gravel loop around the Cohutta Wilderness to return to Aid 1/6. Short climb, short descent, repeat....interspersed with flatter sections winding along beautiful creeks and rhododendron thickets. I popped into Aid 2 to refill my bottle with a longer section with lots of climbing coming up before Aid 3 near the top of the biggest climb. With the cooler weather my Camelbak full of Infinit was still in pretty good shape but I wanted a buffer.

Cohutta 100 route in October 2017

Suddenly just before Mile 35 I came down a hill into an intersection where there was a large sign to my right and although I didn't read it as I passed it as I started back to climbing I had a complete sense of deja vu....Wait no. Actually. Oh my gosh, I KNOW WHERE I AM!!! I was right where fellow Moonstompers Jeff, Ray and I had bikepacked in October! However, today was about 45 degrees warmer, there wasn't snow on the ground, and my bike was at least 20 lbs lighter. We had come up from the left at the intersection and continued the way I was now climbing. As I rode along I marveled at how pleasant this was not in 23 degree weather with 30 mph winds. This time I was welcoming the short descents that 6 months before I had been cursing as they chilled me to the bone. I definitely chuckled as I passed Jack's River Fields as memories surged of vehemently talking Ray out of stopping to build a fire in the middle of the road. Then another climb and there was Pinhotti/Mountaintown Creek to the left....brief moment of "man I wanna go that way! I bet that'd be a lot more fun without a loaded bike..." but I kept moving along towards Aid 3 and the unknown.

Pinhotti turn with a MUCH heavier bike

By the time I hit Aid 3 I was ready for a break from climbing but we weren't quite there yet. After a few more pitches though I was finally going down (mostly) and the miles ticked by. The best thing of all though? My back. The first half of the race my back had still not completely spasmed but was tight enough to remind me it was there and had kept me from wanting to push the watts. I had focused on trying something John had suggested the night before and purposefully getting up out of the saddle from time to time and riding standing even when I didn't have to. It definitely helped. But then suddenly, somewhere around Aid 3, my back completely relaxed. Why, after a week of a massage and taking it easy and stretching it picked like 50 miles into Cohutta to quit bothering me I have no clue, but hell, I'll take it!! From that point on I felt stronger and like I was able to push myself a little harder.

Between Aid 4/5 we started seeing Big Frog 65 riders. My second drop bag was at Aid 5, so I stopped got a quick chain lube while I grabbed my gear and headed out again. The final 10 miles of gravel are mostly a haze. I know there was definitely more climbing and a bunch of Jeeps but then I was coming through Aid 6 and all like "Wahoooooo singletrack!!!" I was so excited to be back on trail that my legs seemed to barely feel the fatigue and the small pitchy climbs didn't seem all that bad.

Then, about 4 miles out from the end I caught a stick. Suddenly lost the ability to access my low gears even though it still seemed to be doing OK in the higher ones. I stopped briefly, found a small chunk of stick that was stuck and pulled it out which improved but did not fix the shifting entirely. Cursing endlessly I rode it out in my higher gears glad that nothing was very steep and thinking about how expensive that derailleur is and praying it wasn't that that was damaged. At the final downhill I caught up with another 100-er who warned me that there were "some washed out sketchy spots coming up." Let's just say our idea of "washed out" and "sketchy" is very different. Then it was out into the campground and a little over a mile of pavement hammering to the finish line. Final time 8:04:58....damn just missed sub-8. Guess that just means I'll have to come back and do it again!

After some river soaking/ice bath, food, and rehydration it was awards. Got to share a podium again with Britt Mason as she rocked it for second. The Stokesville Lodge crew crushed it-- Roger 2nd in the 100 Master's, Alex 5th in 100 Men's Open, and me in 1st.  John got 7th in Big Frog 65. After awards it was back to the house for porch sitting, some IPA therapy, and Roger let me borrow his inflatable leg compressors.  Gosh I want a pair of those!

Sunday morning it was early out to grab drop bags and head home. Per usual Google Maps gave me a few route options and I couldn't help but notice that home via Asheville/Pisgah was only ~15 minutes slower. I mean...PISGAH! Now, "Pisgah Recovery" might be a giant oxymoron but I couldn't pass up a ride there. Nick Bragg gave me some great beta and I headed for a mellow ride at Bent Creek which is tamer than the backcountry riding there but still super fun. My shifting continued to have issues with the lowest gears so I just stayed out of them. Then back north to Roanoke where I arrived to exhausted black dogs who had apparently spent the day out biking with Steph, Mary Lou, Tammy and 4 of their best dog friends.

 

Cohutta wraps up the last race for me until July. I work next weekend, Steph and Daniel get married the following, and then I start Pulmonary Critical Care which takes me through the last 6.5 weeks of PGY2. 6 days a week, 30 hour call every Saturday/Sunday = no racing for me. Goals: lots of core work to avoid more back issues and maintain fitness to get back to it in July. Finally, master mechanic Jeff Cheng added a simple full turn of tension to the cable and my shifting appears fixed in the stand at least. Still need to test ride but JB, I may not owe you a new derailleur after all! Fingers crossed...

On a completely separate note, this fun feature on Carla and I came out last week. Thanks so much to Life Outside Magazine for such a cool article!!