Murphy Menace 50

A first time and not widely publicized 50 mile mountain bike race rolled at Murphy Hanrehan last Saturday morning. I took it as another opportunity to try endurance racing...and it was nearly 100% singletrack, so plenty of fun was to be had. The plan next year is to try to expand this race to 150-200 entries.

My form is certainly much better than when I did the Sandwich 50 this spring, and I finished the race at a good pace with plenty left in the tank (the course is easy peasy compared to Afton!). The only bummer was that my front chainring appears to be shot, as the new chain meshed so pourly that I could not stand up with any power the entire race. Other than that, the top fuel was the perfect bike for the day keeping me fresh, and the super light EC90 wheels made all the seated accelerations tolerable.

Peace.

More Love

The Andrew Morris benefit at the Famous Daves in Janesville (Andrew's daddy is the GM there) blew me away. It was hard to hold back tears when we first arrived. So many people care for Andrew and his family.

We had a great weekend hanging out w/ our family and Ben even made the 15 hour non-stop drive back for the weekend. You would think that would wear Ben out, but I only used 2 cogs on our ride Saturday so clearly it did not.

An update on Andrew: He still loves to swing on his new Rainbow Playsystems swingset several times a day, and he and Daddy make frequent trips to the grocery store to buy "Queen-car Patta" (Lightning Mcqueen Mac n Cheese). They had over 10 boxes of it in their pantry. Other than that, it seems that he mostly sleeps due to the heavy dose of pain meds. His breathing has become labored in recent days, which is really hard for everyone to see. He is still drinking but not really eating (thus the build up of Queen-car patta). Our hope is that he does not suffer too much.

16,000+ = tired

I decided to go out and do the 8 hour race self supported at the Salsa 24. I rode for 7.5 hours before I called it "good enough," as I was getting tired and had accomplished my goal of testing the endurace racing waters. I am unsure of the exact numbers, but I was told that the lap was 7.5 miles long and ~1500-1600 feet of climbing putting the race total for me at 16000+ feet of climbing and ~80 miles.
I felt strong through about 6 hours, and then I started to fade a little. This is better than I expected given my rides in the summer don't get much longer than the XC races on the weekends...many are significantly shorter like Buck Races or casual rides w/ friends and family. I only cramped twice on Saturday and both times were on the Manhandler climb (bottom to top up the ski hill), so my nutrition plan of Salted Nut Rolls, Gu Brew, Gu, Honey Stinger waffles, and endurolytes worked just fine. I even had to stop and pee once, which was a good sign!

Today, I am still a little tired (even my Madone felt slow on the commute in) and am intersted to see how long this recovery will take. The TT at Murphy on Wed will tell me somthing. After that it is off to Madison to visit my Nephew and attend a benefit for him on Sunday (i.e as I mentioned last entry, no Border Battle unfortunately).

Equipement wise, I went with the Bonntrager XR2 tires at Afton. It is a more durable, versatile, and slightly heavier tire. It worked well because I didn't have to worry about traction in the slippery first laps or side wall cuts in the later laps when my riding got a little sloppier.

Cheers!

5 in 11.. or 6 in14

There has been lots of racing going on lately contrary to what I expected. It has been a wait and see game with Andrew, and he is now at home under hospice care, which has been much more peaceful for my sister and her family. While we did not expect him to last this long, he still continues to have some happy times and that strong cardiovascular system has kept him going.

Why so much racing? Well, I am home here in the Cities waiting for the inevitable, so I might as well race. It clears my mind.
This has ended up being a strenous stretch, maybe my toughest yet quantity wise, and it is not over. I did 6 mtbk races in the past 14 days. For the most part, none of them had drafting, coasting, or tactics involves...it was go from the gun and rest when you are done. I mentioned Elk River and the Andrew Morris Benefit Race at Buck Hill already. In addition I have hit Time Trials at Murphy Hanrehan (a 10 mile singletrack course <8 miles from my house) and the MNMBS up at Lester Park.
The Murphy TT's have been great, but I am perplexed on how to break 38 minutes out there. The twisty single track has been the limiter, not legs and lungs. Freewheel puts on a great show with a kids TT and food and drinks after the adult TT. There is one left next week so come on out!
Lester Park is a true gem of a race (or just ride) course...much like Maplelag with rocks, roots, steep ups, bridges, etc. It is a must ride for any midwest mountain biker if you find yourself in Duluth. I would suggest printing off a map prior to riding, as it can be confusing when it isn't marked for racing.

Next up, maybe some endurance racing this weekend...
It looks like I will miss the Border Battle unfortunately, as we will likely be headed to Janesville next weekend to see Andrew and Family.

Thank You MN Mountain Bikers

Thank you again for all the support at the Andrew Morris benefit at Buck Hill this past Thursday. Also a super special thanks goes to Dawn and Pat, who orchestrated this event. Over $3000 was raised for my sister's family. While the generous donations will not heal Andrew, it will ease the stress on the family, and I am hoping help pay for a family healing vacation after all this is done.

We sure had a great time Thursday, and the adult race on kids bikes was harder on me (especially my calves) than the adult race I think! Even worse, I suffered a demoralizing defeat to a trash talking Tyson Meyer riding a pink bike. My manhood definitely took a hit from that=)

I will leave you with this (I didn't want to be long winded on Thursday and it can be tough to hear): Andrew's favorite past time during the past weeks has been walks with his daddy, Joe. ~10 miles of it per day! Well, last week, he just got fed up with walks on pavement, and now DEMANDS all walks be on dirt and wooded singletrack=)

Friends

The outpouring of support for Andrew and his family has been unreal. Thank you all so much.

Andrew continues to worsen and is now on a pretty heavy constant drip of morphine. That said, his waking hours are pleasant for the most part with long walks, swinging, and playing cars. He is on a steady diet of cake and fried food...that is what the little man wants so that is what he gets!

For those that haven't heard, this Thursday night's Buck Hill race is a benefit for Andrew and his family. I hope to see you all out there, as we celebrate his short life.

Finally, some of you may have heard Jenn tell Andrew's story on 98.5 KTIS this past week. It was followed by the heart wrenching song, "He's My Son" by Mark Schultz. Powerful.

Sunday I won a tough one for you Andrew....

Heavy Heart

If I looked like I was suffering at last Sundays race, I was...in more that one way.

I will make this brief. My Sister and Brother inlaw's son, Andrew Morris, was diagnosed with terminal cancer (sarcoma) this past Friday evening. What makes this so tough is that only 3 weeks ago this wonderful little rambunctious 2.5 year old had no sypmtoms and was living a normal life. At that point he developed a bump on his head. He did bump it and it just looked like a normal "egg" bruise. It didn't go away and 2 doctors visits later, he was given a blood test (about 10 days ago) that showed very low platelets. Since then it has a blur of tests and doctors visits. Thursday I got a call right after the Buck Hill race informing me that he had cancer. Friday, they were planning Chemo, and by Friday night, it was determined that it had spread too far and there was no chance for treatment. Now he has only weeks left...Andrew was born the same week Jen and I lost Ty.

I am putting this on my blog so you can pray for Andrew, his parents Bri and Joe, and his 4 year old sister Aubrey. Please pray for minimal suffering for Andrew and strength for his family.

There is a donation account set up for those that want (please don't feel obligate, money will be used for mounting medical bills beyond what insurance covers along with funeral expenses):

Ways to Donate:

1) Cash or Checks made out to: Andrew Morris Fund (mail to: Becca Moore 626 East State Street, #1505 Milwaukee, WI 53202)

2) Donate via PayPal

3) Stop at any Associated Bank and let the teller know you would like to make a donation to the Andrew Morris Fund

If you don't see me at the races, it is because I am tending to this devastating situation.

Hug those that are close to you, especially your kids if you have them, extra tight tonite....

12 laps

Between the Thurs night series and the Sunday race it was 12 laps for me at out "new style world cup" course here in the Twin Cities. The temps were warm in the low 90s, but the real suffering came from the 75 degree dew points which pushed the heat index way up. I like warm weather racing, but I don't remember suffering from heat like that in a while.
From the gun I made sure I got through the sandy uphill start near the front. I pushed it but not so much that I was going to blow like I did a few weeks ago racing w/ Jack and Jeff Hall. Jeff was on my wheel going into lap two (of 6) but constant pressure had him slowly falling back. Laps 3-5 were lessons in the art of passing. Everyone was great out there, and a little give and take allowed me to get by without impacting those that I was lapping too much.
The short 1:10 race was plenty for me given the conditions, and I didn't stop sweating until we went inside around 6pm (the kids and pool time at our house was on order as soon as we got home=)

As is typical from a really hot race, my stomach is was a little screwed up through Monday. I am ashamed to say that I couldn't even finish my Qdoba burrito at lunch Monday. I didn't give up however, and a late afternoon effort got me through the remainder of the big white turd.

Du Lac is on tap this coming weekend. I am going to take my Remedy up and try the DH race on Saturday and follow with the XC on Sunday. Jen and I are going SANS kids to camp somewhere Sat night and then have a hotel near Canal Park for 2 nights. We are definitely looking forward to a little time to ourselves=)

Stuff I like...

I have been meaning to do a somewhat random honest list of bike stuff I like independent of sponsorships and obligations.

I like:

• Technical trails - why I started mountain biking a lot more than road biking
• Technical races - makes racing way more fun
• Road biking in Wisconsin - best roads I have ridden, period
• Road biking for recovery - nothing finer than an easy'ish spin on a nice hot day
• Really sweet road bikes - My new Madone 6.9 ssl is off the charts awesome.
• Off road time trials - super painful but just you vs. trail
• Technical climbs - sometimes I can even forget that I am climbing (like Stairway at Red Wing)
• Moab, Utah - the town, the people... oh, and the trails.
• Trying new kinds tires - most important part of a mountain bike and so many great options
• Bell Helmets - the Volt just fits me... I forget I am wearing it
• 1 by 10 (or 9) - less is more...simpler is better
• Reliable hubs - in my experience, DT Swiss are the best out there
• Stiff and light wheels - Of course right? But at least there are options out there now (see my last post)
• Dual suspension - why would you want to get kicked around by a hardtail? I stand by the Top Fuel as being the best I have ridden.
• Disc brakes - have you tried a bike with canti's lately? How did we ever survive on those
• 6" trail bikes - if you haven't ridden the latest generation of 6" bikes, you are missing out. They pedal well and are a joy to ride. Every brand has one now, but I prefer the Trek Remedy.
• 24 hour team races - yeah they hurt, but it is fun to experience a team competition with the mountain biking world
• Tacky trails - not dusty dry, just that perfect tack (some in MN call this wet) that you get about 8 hours after a light rain.
• Riding with my son - so fun now that he is on 2 wheels. He keeps asking when he gets his first dual suspension...
• Camping and Riding vacations - I don't fit them in often, but vaca's don't get any better than that
• Bontrager shoes - For my feet they are the best I have tried.
• UST Tubeless system - I burped the stans rims, a lot, the UST is just safer and more reliable
• Sram XX cassette - awesome engineering and craftsmanship
• XTR brakes (the new ones) - tiny little levers with so much power
• XTR shifters (all of them) - they are just buttery smooth
• Aluminum cranksets - Shimano has this down...this is a place on the bike where Al just makes more sense than carbon
• Carbon frames - this is a place where carbon makes more sense than Al
• Fat bikes - snow bikes are so fun...I heard Surly is making an even fatter 4.5" tire (vs current 3.8"), WOW!
• Riser bars - better than a skinny flat bar w/ bar ends for most types of trails and riding
• Gu and Gu Brew - about the only thing my stomach can take no matter the conditions
• Tray mount hitch rack - I have a Cycle On Pro and LOVE it.
• Craftsman C3 Pump - Not intended to be a bike tool but fills tires up fast and reads out to the nearest .1 PSI
• Egg Beater pedals - been on em for a long time..the lightest and easiest to clip in. The new ones have better shoe lug engagement too.
• Fox RP23 shock and RLC fork - set it and forget it....none of that lockout stuff
• Carbon fiber rims - I used to think it was silly until I tried them. They are more durable than Al (downside is that if you do break them, they are more expensive to replace).
• Gadget free mountain bike handlebars - no computers, just a front brake rear brake, and rear shifter
• Compact road bars - I am not super flexible so the compact reach makes the drops more comfortable.
• Trunk and rack for bike commuting - gets everything off my back
• Commuting on a mtbk - when road construction season hits I am ready, when snow hits I am ready. For the other 3 days of the year, road bikes are better for commuting.
• Clear or white water bottles in the summer, black ones in teh winter - if you don't know why buy the dummy's guide to basic physics
• White or mostly white helmets - again, the physics thing
• Oakley Jaw Bones - Jen hates em, I love em. We have agreed to disagree.
• Watching downhillers - they have bigger ones that me
• Watching trials riders - looks like so much fun...I wish I could do that. They too have bigger ones.
• Bike shops run by people who ride bikes - those that ride and ride hard really know what you need
• Bike shops with mechanics who mountain bike - mountain bikes need a special kind of love
• Bontrager Saddles - I switched from Selle after I was encouraged to try them...I won't go back
• Mt. Borah pro bibs - they make our team gear, but my family members buy their standard bibs too because they are reasonably priced, very comfortable and last a long time
• MNMBS vibe - good competition, dedicated series officials, tough courses, and just the right level of intensity...everyone is having a good time
• Weekday races - keeps me fit and makes summer a race and recover (on casual rides) cycle
• Having a timing chip on the back of the number plate - no ankle bracelet but still automated timing
• Good quality unbiased comparative bike and component testing - gotta have the Gage R&R, test setup/equipement, and test procedure (including sample size) listed though... I almost never find this stuff.

Hmm... that is all for now. Have a great 4th!

RW

MNMBS visited the nice river town of Red Wing Sunday. This may be my favorite MNMBS course, and even if you don't race it should be at the top of your list for a weekend mtbking visit! The singletrack is twisty with plenty of technical stuff to keep you on your toes. That got topped off with running us on the a downhill course (SO SWEET!) and the gnarl of the Stairway to Heaven climb.

As an aside, I missed out on the Pro XCT over in Wisco due to the required Friday registration requirement (Pros had to be present by 5:30 Fri, which wasn't in the cards this year work and family wise). I likely would have raced if I could have cruised over there Sat AM, done the race, and headed home. It sounded like a good time other than the token bottle necks at the start. I have fond memories of that course for sure!

Back to Red Wing...I fought "it" (my body) for the first 2 laps but was able to pull a gap despite laying the bike over once and a bobble on the Stairway climb. The course was mostly super grippy tack, but the first lap had a few surprise slick corners along w/ the aforementioned downhill course that needed exploring. By the 3rd lap I got in my groove and even felt like I was going good for a while. I didn't cramp, which in the high humidity is always key to success. By the end I pulled a pretty good gap for the win.

Equipment wise, I had a new secret weapon...EC90 XC wheels. Thanks Easton and Freewheel! The dang things are slightly less than 1300 grams but w/ out the compromises in stiffeness and durability that you get w/ other lightweight wheels. They are made to be ridden hard every day not just raced on occasionally and delicately!
Also, the top fuel was awesome. I have the suspension fully dialed at this point. I use very close to the Trek recommended air pressure. I run the new Kashima RP23 on full platform, then I lockout out the Fox RLC fork but turn the compression damping and lockout threshold as low as they go. This provides for a firm and balanced (front to rear) racing platform but allows for sufficient bump compliance when the trail gets rough.

While there is no racing planned for me this weekend, my family is collecting at my parents house. Ben will be there so I will probably come out of the weekend w/ enhanced fitness.

To that end, Ben raced this past weekend up at Crested Butte. The course, part of the MSC series, was a 1 lap 38 mile beast...mountain bike racing in its most raw form. I think they should do a world cup on a course like that!