Shenandoah 100 2012 preparation

The 2012 Shenandoah 100 is this weekend.  I tested all of the bike configurations yesterday on my ride with Pat.  The machine is ready.
But there are tons of other things to prepare.  Here is the checklist that Pat and I created and are using:
Ultra Race Checklist

Notice the "upload course to Garmin Edge 500".  I did this for my Iron Cross Recon rides.  I would have been horribly lost without it.  So why not use the feature for racing ultras too?  It can show me how much further I have to the finish, my estimated finish time, the profile of the course ahead, and breadcrumbs to show the pathway (and get back on course if you're off course).  The breadcrumbs aren't a map, so at forks in the course it can be difficult to tell which way to go.  It's not perfect, just awesome :)

Steps I used to upload the Shenandoah 100 course to my Garmin:

1. Find the course on Strava.  Literally I typed "Shenandoah 100 strava" into Google and found Brain P's ride from last year.  I was looking for a better course recording than Danny Atkin's because it looks like Danny's recording from last year was a little off on some of the roads.  This was an indicator to me to look for a more precise recording.
2. Go to this Strava Export Tool. I pasted the Strava ride URL into the bar and selected TCX.  Click export and expect to wait a while because this is a looooong course.
3. Download the TCX file from the page that is displayed on completion.
4. Log-in to Garmin Connect.
5. Click upload.  And selection Manual upload.  And select the TCX file.
6. Do the quick edit so that you can name the course whatever you like ("Shenandoah 100").
7. Make sure your Garmin is plugged into your computer.  And select "upload to device".
8. Then follow these instructions for loading/riding the course.  Note that you don't have to start where the course starts.  You can "start the course" while you are off course or at a different point on the course and then Garmin will tell you when you have reached the course and will guide you from that point.

Iron Cross 2012, course recon

In my previous post I had decided to recon the 2012 Iron Cross course on my single speed mountain bike with ultra cross tires.  Well really I was riding the 2011 course which I assume will be similar.  And by ultra cross tires I mean a Continental 35mm Speed King cx tire on the front and a Scwalbe Marathon Mondial 35mm with double defense on the back (tubeless).

The Schwalbe Marathon Mondial setup tubeless was the tire that I was really wanting to test.  If it held well I plan to buy another for the race.  I also wanted to test my SS gear selection.  I went with 32x17 since I am new to single speeding and I wasn't sure how brutal the hills would be.

Overall I would say the course is generally tame but with a few fun and super challenging sections.  Maybe 45 miles tame and 15 miles of fun/tough stuff.  So maybe it is a "bad" course for a single speeder compared to something like Hilly Billy Roubaix which is almost constantly epic :)

There is a lot of paved road.  Then lots of well maintained gravel road with long, usually gradual climbs. So a tall gear would be great in those sections.  But then there is some Michaux single track where a shorter gear is good.

The course has some really nice parts.  The Lippenconte (sp?) trail section is classic Michaux single track with giant rocks and scenic woods.  In this video you can see me entering the trail and climbing a pretty technical initial section:

Other than this initial climb, there is one other dicey downhill section.  The rest of the trail is smoother single track.


Then after a long section of road including route 30, you climb a long gravel hill back into Michaux.  No extreme grades, just long.  And you find yourself at the reservoir (not the best video):

 Not too far from the reservoir is the killer run-up.  You have a semi-technical double track trail climb to get to it.  The first video is approaching it (looks like a giant wall in front of you).  The second video is me "hiking" it.

That run-up is going to really separate things.  And it is probably THE biggest decider in the race.  It is max heart rate action for well over 10 minutes.

That concluded day 1 recon.  Onto day 2 recon this time riding with The Goat (Greg Saylor).

There is a bunch of gravel road riding from mile 25 probably to 40ish.  That includes some more paved road.  Goat was on gears and was nearly sleeping as I spun out on my SS through this section.  Then we had a long climb on gravel roads again.  I made this video as we crested the top:

Then near the end of the course is a longish single track section that was so much fun i forgot to stop the video:

In terms of gearing I would say that 32x17 was too short. 32x16 is probably what i will ride if I do SS.  Decisions.  I'm probably not going to podium in the open.  And i risk hurting my CX bike on the single track.  I'll have a good shot for the podium in SS and there is less risk of mechanicals.  But the course is pretty tame except for a few great MTB sections.  I guess in the heat of racing the tame sections won't be too boring.  So I'll probably go SS.

To win this race I think you have to ride a cyclocross bike with fast rolling tires.  That was definitely not true at Hilly Billy Roubaix where it seemed that mountain bikes and cyclocross bikes were equal.

This recon ride would have been impossible without the breadcrumbs course feature in my Garmin 500.  Lifesaver! http://www.blog.ultracycle.net/2010/05/courses-on-the-garmin-edge-500

I'm looking forward to it!

Iron Cross 2012, Setup

I am trying various combinations of tires/bikes.  At Hilly Billy 2012 I used the Continental Cyclocross Plus because I wanted a bomb-proof tire and was more focused on finishing the longest/hardest race that I had ever attempted.  Well they were definitely bomb proof but the 800 grams of tire is a bit sluggish and probably over kill.  Time to optimize!

Here is the chat to Master mountain bike jedi Danny Atkins:
me:  oh man.  put a cx tire (front) and touring tire (back) on my SS mtb because i'm going to ride the iron cross course the next 2 days

tried it out on my home cx course at ccbc.

that was just fun.

might never ride my cx bike off road again

 Dan:  oh awesome!

haha

curious why a touring tire?

 me:  for real, why!

i'll tell u why

because the only way to get a puncture resistant, low rolling resistant, 29'r or 700 sized tire that isn't too fat.... get a touring a tire.  i got the shwalbe mondial.

the only killer... they aren't so hot at going tubeless

i'm hoping they still have air when i get home today

tested them last night

 Dan:  that's an interesting choice

how did it do?

 me:  but they are about 250 grams lighter than the tires i rode at hilly billy.  so that is the big advantage.  yet they are still very puncture resistant.

it went great

as long as they are still holding air tubeless today

check out my little g+ post:

dear cyclocross bike, sorry but I found something else. Oh, it's name? single speed ultra cross Mountain bike.

 

and iron cross is more fast rolling roads than hilly billy

so it is a faster tire

struggling to come up with a solution for the front tire tho

mondial's don't have enough tread i feel like to be a front tire

just used a 700x35 cx tire.

which feels great

but now i've lost the puncture resistance in the front

 Sent at 8:07 AM on Friday

 Dan:  why not go with another one of those contis?

 me:  800 grams

trying to go like 550 grams

mondial is 580 but the tread aint good enough

 Dan:  i see

 me:  so maybe even 650 in the front

just not 800!

and the tread life is horrible on the conti cx plus

the mondial should last forever

 Sent at 8:11 AM on Friday

 me:  if the mondial does well in my test rides today and tomorrow. i may go with it as a front tire too.

 Sent at 8:13 AM on Friday

 me:  actually, ya that is the plan.  mondial for the front too if it can survive tubeless in the back this weekend.

 Sent at 8:17 AM on Friday

 Dan:  what pressure will you run them at

 me:  i did 55psi at hilly billy.  but will probably try to go 45ish today/tomorrow on the mondial

what do u think?

 Dan:  no idea

ha, i really dont know...touring tires aren't my thing

 me:  ya, me neither.  the mondial is THE road/off road touring tire

used to be called something else. marathon extreme or something.  anyway.. i'm a little extreme

 Dan:  oh yeah the marathon is ringing some bells

 Sent at 8:21 AM on Friday

 

So let the test begin!

Westside Worlds 2012/08/08

A group unofficial leaderboard
B group unofficial leaderboard


The unofficial Westside Worlds ride came to an unofficial end.

It will unofficially continue on without the cross racers.

Super year!

Westside Worlds 2012/08/01

A group unofficial leaderboard
B group unofficial leaderboard
My Strava data


The unofficial Westside Worlds ride is still seeing new faces and turnout is pretty amazing for this late in the season.  Thats awesome!

The A group ride was tough and a whole lot of fun.  Next week is possibly the last WsW of the year (CX BABY!).

Iron Cross 2012, Idea

Hilly Billy Roubaix 2012 was so awesome that Iron Cross 2012 is a near must.

Time to begin prepping.

Here is some sweet video from 2011, courtesy of cylcingdirt.org.

killer trail section:

http://www.cyclingdirt.org/coverage/240312-NoTubes-Iron-Cross-2011/video/509694-Iron-Cross-Leaders-on-Lippencote-Descent 

highlight video:

http://www.cyclingdirt.org/coverage/240312-NoTubes-Iron-Cross-2011/video/509803-Iron-Cross-Highlights-2011 

last year's winner was a roadie/duathlete/triathlete:

http://www.cyclingdirt.org/coverage/240312-NoTubes-Iron-Cross-2011/video/509681-Iron-Cross-Dereck-Treadwell-1st 

pflug second:

http://www.cyclingdirt.org/coverage/240312-NoTubes-Iron-Cross-2011/video/509693-Iron-Cross-Gerry-Pflug-2nd 

gunnar shogren "40x19 SS"

http://www.cyclingdirt.org/coverage/240312-NoTubes-Iron-Cross-2011/video/509682-Iron-Cross-Gunnar-Shogren-2nd-SS