Arctic MTB Trifecta AKA Climb, Climb and Climb

The Arctic MTB (Local Mountain bike race club) who run the summer race series also put on an end of series race. This was formally known as the State Champs but this year they changed things up a little and put on an event called the Trifecta.
The Trifecta consisted of three races, a hill climb in town on the Hillside trails on Thursday evening, a XC race on Saturday morning in Girdwood (local DH Ski resort) and a dirt crit on Saturday afternoon in Girdwood again.
The hill climb was a similar course to previous years with an added flat sprint to the timing area in the trail head at the top of the climb.  This caught a few people out who were expecting the finish line in a different place.

Once again I was playing with the big boys and girls and racing in Expert class, luckily someone has to finish last and for the first round I can say it was not me :)
Results Trifecta Race #1
Normally I would put up a GPS track of the event however this time my GPS had a little I don't want to work situation so I will just put up the comments from a friend who raced and did much better than me. This is pretty much how I felt

"It's been a while since I've done a short race hard enough to taste blood and feel like my lungs were bleeding!! Kinda awesome to be to that point again!!" - Andy Duenow

Saturday rolled around quickly and I didn't feel that great for the first ride in the morning.  The course they picked had a mixture of single track, paved trails, ski trails both wood chip and gravel and then a really primitive section of single track which was rooty and not so much fun to ride on.  Although the course was a great lap at times it did feel like all we did was climb. 
The lap was 4.6 miles long with 917ft of elevation change. 

This was my race tracking, as can be seen in my activity title I came in last place, I guess someone has to :D.  My speed really suffered throughout the race, I think the problem was I didn't fuel well throughout the event.  On the plus side I didn't get lapped, though it was close.  I did get passed by some of the riders in the category below me though which is never good for moral.
Results Trifecta Race #2



After the first race I got some food at the excellent bake shop then relaxed with some fellow racers, then got more food.  We were offered the opportunity to use the chair lifts at a discount but I really didn't feel up to riding DH and then racing in the evening.
At 6pm the racing kicked off again, this time it was a dirt crit.  This event was a short course event where we rode for 40min plus 1 lap.
The lap was up a DH trail, along a ski trail then descend via another DH trail back through the start and repeat.
The lap was 0.8miles long with 303ft of climbing, and we thought we had climbed a lot in the XC race in the morning!

Dirt Crit, waiting to start - Photo Credit Amber Stull 

If you look at the Strava file we basically climbed for 2/3 of the lap time then tried to recover on the descent. It was a fun ride but definitely type two fun.  I managed 7 laps, the winner of the race lapped me twice as did one other rider I think and managed 9 laps I guess a few other riders also managed 9 laps as I was passed by a couple of riders, on the plus side I didn't finish last.
Results Trifecta Race #3



I am very glad I was able to race and although I finished last (Results last of people who completed all three events) in Expert category overall I would still race expert again.  I had a lot of time riding on my own but when I was near people it was fun racing them/trying to keep up.
I am looking forward to seeing if I can improve my performances during the winter season and on into next season.  But for now my MTB racing is over for this year, time to service my bike and focus on Cyclo cross which is rapidly approaching.
Thanks again to Amanda and Fiona for all the support throughout this year, I really couldn't have ridden/raced as much as I have managed without Amanda's tremendous support with looking after Fiona.   

post race analysis for my first MTB race of the season....

This year has been a busy one for me with lots of cycling but no much full on racing.  After the soggy bottom a couple of weeks ago I finally managed to get myself to an MTB race this season.

Last year I raced the full season and coming into the final round I felt strong, this year was a little different.   I can safely say I didn't have my race legs under me.   As we lined up for the start I began to wonder what I had let myself in for.  I had decided it was a great idea to race in the expert category (three laps rather than two), given the longer rides I had been doing I figured the longer ride would possibly work in my favour.  What I had neglected to take into consideration is the pace the expert riders all ride at.
We lined up and there were the usual suspects (Will, Jamie, Josh, Tim etc) on the front row, I lined up a little further back. Then we were off, the pace can best be described as very very fast, I was pedalling as hard as I could and people were just pulling away from me.  Previously when I raced sport or single speed I would expect to at least be pacing myself at the front of the pack if not leading it, and that is the big difference between Expert and everyone else, these guys are FAST! I don't just mean they have a fast start, they start fast and maintain their speed throughout the race too.
Without making new segments I looked for a good example of how fast they are compared to me.

The Sisson Climb is a ski trail climb 0.4 miles long, not particularly steep or technical.

My segment times were as follows
Lap 1 - 2:40
Lap 2 - 2:54
Lap 3 - 3:10
Josh, who came second in the race had the following times
Lap 1 - 2:13
Lap 2 - 2:17
Lap 3 - 2:16
On this segment alone I lost 1min 58 seconds

Clearly I need to work on my hill climbing and If I am honest technical skills, descending and fitness in general if I ever want to make the top ten.

How did I do overall?
The results can be found here and I will say although someone has to be last this time it was not me, though it was pretty close.
Did I have a good time, absolutely.  I can honestly say that I couldn't have ridden any faster for the ride.

This is my heartrate profile for the race

Heartrate for XC race

or to put that into numbers

Lap 1 - 181bpm

Lap 2 - 181bpm

Lap 3 - 179bpm

On the third lap I was cramping up a little going up the sisson climb which was not so much fun and I managed to crash going into a single track section on the first lap.  I raced the majority of the race with Megan who won the womens race and is a very strong rider.

Immediately after the race I thought my second lap was going to have been my fastest however it turned out that my first lap was my fastest, even with a fall, I guess trying to catch up with people will do that.
Rough lap times taken from Strava
Lap 1 - 28:52
Lap 2 - 29:45
Lap 3 - 31:43

Finally do I think I made the right decision to ride in the expert group finishing over 13min 50seconds back on the eventual winner... Yes I do, I had a great time racing and realised that I really have missed racing this year.  Besides someone has to finish almost last.   Next time I will improve and maybe one day with a little more focused training I will make a top ten finish.

Flat out and in the pain zone - Photo Credit Joshua Estes

And the long events continue

After completing my super randonneur award it was time for me to put some racing into my legs... I decided to race the Soggy Bottom - An Alaskan 100mile off road race.

From the Alaskan Endurance Association facebook page.  The Soggy Bottom 100 was created 12 or so years ago to challenge local mountain bike riders to a 100 miles of continuous riding in some awesome terrain. Sure the route was different, but core premise of the Soggy remained the same, challenge the local riders to achieve higher levels of mental and physical endurance while riding a bike through stunning scenic and challenging terrain.
The challenge remains as it should, despite several shorter race options that are now available.

I roped a couple of friends into riding with me so at least whilst I was suffering I wouldn't be alone.  Thank you to Oscar and Chuck for riding with me and a big thanks to Chuck's wife and kids for supporting the three of us whilst doing this event.

As with any longer distance event there should be a certain amount of endurance that goes into it.  I think that everyone attending this years event found this endurance whilst trying to get to the start, sadly a vehicle collision on the highway closed the road for almost 11hours.  We set off from Anchorage around 8pm only to discover the road to Hope was still closed with no word on opening.  Oscar and I made the decision to try again in the morning.
At 05:45 Oscar picked me up and we were off to Hope which is around 1.5hours drive away from Anchorage.  Oscar had negotiated a place to stay (Thanks Tony) so that when we finished we wouldn't have to drive home and could enjoy the atmosphere at the event.

The Soggy Bottom can be thought of as three distinct legs.
The petite bottom as two Hope, Cooper Landing, Hope - note this is still an 80+ mile event and not for inexperienced cyclists.

Leg one is Hope to Cooper Landing, this is approximately 43 miles.

Leg two goes from Cooper Landing to Devil Pass trail head and is approximately 26 miles

Leg three takes riders from Devils Pass Trail head back to Hope. Segment is approximately 35 miles

As we were preparing gear in the morning before the start a bear was spotted by the river, here is a really bad shot of it climbing a tree, although bears are common in the area it is pretty rare (afaik) to see one, hopefully this would mean we wouldn't see one for the rest of the day.

really crappy bear picture

At 9am the relay racers lined up at the start and headed off for the first leg over to Cooper Landing,

Getting ready to race

And they are off

The Soggy Bottom and Petite bottom (Hope to Cooper Landing to Hope) racers set off at 09:04, as I was riding I don't have any pictures of the start but I stole a few from friends on facebook

Start - Photo Credit Laura Fox

The race starts with around 4.5miles of road to the Resurrection Pass trail head then the climbing begins. 

Aero is everything! Is this Enduro?

 As we joined the trail Oscar, Chuck and I were at the front of the third group on the trail, we were a big group as can be seen in the picture below.

Starting the Res climb

Still going up!

Still climbing

 As the trail climbed up, 24 miles from the start to the summit the group split down into smaller and smaller number of people.

Climbing with smiles

Still climbing

Group had thinned by now 

One of the steep climbs out of the creeks

 The climb is rewarding though as you get to ride some fantastic single track, as can be seen the weather is also fantastic at this point.

single track sweetness

 After you exit the trees you get to the high alpine trail, this is where if the weather is bad it can be really miserable, fortunately today was not one of those days.

Awesome scenery 

Then we came across the Chewbacca bacon station, these fantastic people took a 12mile ride in to bring all racers the goodness of bacon...

WTF - photo credit Michael Braun

From looking at this blog you will start to think this ride is all climbing and nice weather.... well that is only half the story, we did get some rain which turned the trails pretty slick and then with the warm weather made it really muggy.  We also got to ride some fantastic downhills but alas my one handed camera skills are not up to photos of that, but trust me this ride has some of the best descents Alaska has to offer.

And then the rain started

 After a quick pit stop at Cooper Landing we headed back to the trails and more climbing, at least the rain was cooling us off at this point.

Climbing out of Cooper Landing in the rain

Climbing

Lake singletrack

 I think all riders will agree the summer route by swan lake is a hike your bike section, I also think most would have a few choice words with the trail planner too.

Sometimes you have to walk

 After the hike your bike section the trail becomes a lot more rideable and soon you are up to the trail intersection (Resurrection, Coopers and Devils).  These wonderful people were out making sure everyone took the right trail, for the full soggy experience it can be summarised take the trail to the right at all times.

Support/timing crew

This is the top of the best descent of the whole race IMHO, descending Devils Pass. It is fun fast and great place to recover the legs as for around 5 of the 10 ish miles you don't have to pedal :D, well perhaps the really fast guys do but I took the opportunity to relax my legs, at least for some of the trail.  The one caveat with this descent is that it is narrow in places and the uphill rider has the right of way which means your flow can be interrupted.

More sweet single track - Devils Pass

A shot of Oscar and I coming into the Devils Point checkpoint.

Tongue out to cool off 

The flipside to a sweet descent on an out and back course is the climb that inevitably follows.

Climbing again

 There is another version of this photo floating around that shows our thoughts on the last climb.

Top of the last big climb

More sweet single track

Spot the riders

We crested Resurrection pass at 2600ft and started our descent back down to Hope 20ft and 24 miles away.  At the top of the descent after a very fast section we caught back up with Tony, helping out another person on the trail.  This one had a huge split in her tyre sidewall and the Park Tyre Boots were not adhering to the sidewall (we think Stans is the problem).  Luckily Chuck had some Alaskan fix it favourite Duct Tape and we left Tony pumping things back up.

Stans doesn't work when you tear a sidewall

The descent continued for the three of us until after a stream crossing Chuck and I came across Oscar stopped.  He had nearly run into a bear (brown) and two cubs.  They had gone off into the woods but Oscar insisted he needed to pee whilst Chuck and I urged him it would be wise to back the hell away from the situation as the bear was barking at her cubs/us.  We hung around for about 5 min deciding what to do.  It was decided that Oscar would ride through first (as a decoy) and I would follow with Chuck since we both had bear spray.  Following close encounters of the bear kind we continued along the trail at a good clip with lots of  "Hey Bear" calls.

SOB hill

There are 7 large bridges across creeks and after number 6 we end up getting to a wall of torture, I am reliably informed its called son of a bitch hill and at mile 99 of the race I am inclined to agree with that.

At mile 99.1

At mile 101 we rejoin the road network and its pretty much downhill and easy pedalling to the finish.

Finally the road

Finish line in sight - Photo Credit Vastyl Mangold

At least we are smiling - Photo Credit Vastyl Mangold

So what did I think of my first Soggy Bottom.  It was hard (we finished in 13hrs 15min, most importantly before closing) and I once again couldn't have done so well without some great friends to ride with.  I see areas where I could improve if I were to complete the full version again. We were lucky with the weather, it could have been much worse like it has been in the past where the race really became a ride for survival not a joy ride that the above pictures seem to indicate.  All in all I had a blast.

A huge thankyou must go out to Carlos and his support crew without whom this event would not be the success it is. 

Until next time, ride safe all!

Nick