2013 Oak Ass 50/100

Last year around this time Pete, Lee, and myself were headed back from Iowa.

I don't remember where we were but the topic of discussion was the possibility of a hundred mile mountain bike race at Oak Mountain State Park, here in Birmingham, AL.

The possibility was exciting and I knew people would be into it, I had even heard rumors of guys who used to go out to Oak Mountain to try and knock out 6 laps of the old 17 mile loop.

The event was called the Oak Ass and I don't know much more than that. I do know there were very few finishers...

Back to the present, some time has passed since our drive back from Iowa, plenty of planning has been done, and I am happy to announce Oak Ass is BACK!

Thanks to Kenny Griffin of Chainbuster Racing there will be an Oak Ass 50 and 100 mile mountain bike race November 23, 2013.

Link to the Chainbuster Oak Ass page with all the good details HERE.

Strava file of the race course is HERE

If you have questions join the Facebook group HERE and someone can probably help

Looks like a good time with camping, some good chili, and lots of great prizes including a giveaway of a brand new Niner frame.

The race course is super fun. Jacob and I rode it Saturday and had a great time. Each lap has two big climbs, some shorter rollers, and tons of stereo typically twisty and awesome Southeast singletrack.

Thanks to everyone involved with this, especially BUMP. BUMP does a ton of great work to maintain the extensive trail system at Oak Mountain. There have been some trail additions the past few years and more to come.

Better start training if you are going to attempt this one, the course is a beast. Hope to see some of you out of towners come on over for this one.

Randy Johnson would be proud.

Maybe. If he likes bright green singlespeed bikes that is.

I have been riding the same On One Scandal for three years and there is nothing wrong with it. I just wanted a new bike and the IRS also wanted me to have one this year so there you have it.

After a significant time obsessing over geometry I pulled the trigger on a Kona Big Unit. Vince at Edgewood Cycles is the man to see if you want one of these.

I built it up quick like with a non tapered Niner fork and quickly realized it would not work. Not in the compatibility sense, that part was fine. The bulbous head tube and svelte steerer tube had some serious Hot Dog in the Hallway Syndrome happening and a tapered fork was the only cure. I rode it once with the Niner fork and it was fine but, what the hell I figured, might as well have some squish if I am getting a new fork.

I sold my old Reba easily and got a killer deal on a newish Fox with all the nice stuff, QR15 axle included.

The build is about all the same stuff I always use, nothing exciting and lots of black parts:

Kona Big Unit Scandium frame
Fox Float 120 fork
Cane Creek headset
Industry Nine/Stans wheels
Maxxis tires
Shimano XT brakes
Niner carbon bar with ESI grips
Thomson post and WTB saddle
Sugino crank with surly ring
Endless Bikes cog and KMC 610 chain

Hasty build with Niner fork

It rides pretty awesome, although I am having trouble with the Fox fork. It is a tough adjustment after 2 years on the Niner fork and I have a bit of trouble with all my new decisions I can make regarding lines to take on trails. For someone that takes fifteen minutes to pick out beer, more choices are not always a good thing. Whatever, I'll knock it back to 100mm and keep riding it. I rode one for years, surely I will adapt like all creatures do.

120 millimeters. Sorta overkill

Here are some pics below Chris Olney took with his Go Pro. Damn those take good pictures. I don't so much want one as I do to always ride with people that have one. They are cool.

About the tapered head tube and through axle...I dunno. It works fine but I can't tell much difference in stiffness unless the comparison is being made to an old Sid or something. I am happy to be current with standards which will last at least six months before something better comes out. Thanks to the bike industry for continually finding solutions to problems I didn't realize my mountain bike had.

I am signed up for Skyway Epic and trying to get in some sort of shape. I can get going well on anything twisty or downhill but my climbing is shit. I feel the way pugs sound when they exert themselves. I won't be in shape in a month but I will be by the end of the summer which is coming up on Oak Ass 100 time. Yeah, it is still gonna happen and some people better at that organizing stuff than me are gonna make it happen. Keep an ear out, exciting news soon...

I have been going to the gym with Melissa for a few months and actually like it. I have some thoughts on the how and why of it but it is much different from the thoughts of Friel...I'll post up more of that soon.

Also on the brain is some stuff involving Keith Bontrager old "Anti KOPS" article. Remember that shit? It's old! Very interesting though and I have worked through some of the how and why of it. I have some diagrams and whatnot but need someone better than me with math to make a relevant calculation.

Going up or coming down?

Hard to tell in this pic

Cool pic thanks to Chris Olney and his GoPro at JCC

I will upload some more tonight or tomorrow and do some writing about bikes and whatnot

"A trash bag and a Bulls Starter jacket."

"A trash bag and a Bulls Starter jacket." -Lee Neal, when asked by Pete what to wear in severe riding conditions.

I think I had a Bulls Starter jacket when I was ten, big time school bus cool factor then.

Although some might laugh at the proposition, it DOES get cold in Alabama in the winter. Not Minnesota or Iowa cold, but we definitely have some chilly months in the year. The only thing bike riders around here bitch about more than the heat is the cold. Maybe it is because we don't have enough of it to actually know what to do when it arrives.

My friend Scott recently did a post on his website about his cold weather gear for the Tour Divide that you can check out here: Bears, bears, and some clothing stuff.

I was inspired to write down part of my own setup after talking to Pete about what he needed to get setup with to ride through the winter as he gets ready for Trans Iowa.

I am going to go from the top down with this because that is what popped in my head first.

Noggin:
Any helmet that has room underneath for a hat or balaclava. Being warm is pointless if you can't get a helmet on.
Gore Windstopper hat below 40F and a Smartwool neck gaiter goes on in the low 30s
Smith Pivlock glasses have broad coverage. Protect your eyes in the cold, it can do really odd things to your vision.

Torso:
Bici Coop Racing kit for starters. Gotta represent, brah.
Defeet SS Wool base and Swiftwick arm warmers go on under 60F.
Twin Six wind vest with mesh back under 55F.
Montane windshirt goes on at 40F when the arms start getting cold. This is good down to about 25F!
Patagonia Nanopuff as emergency insulation, I've never been cold enough to ride in it but its nice to have.
Patagonia Torrentshell hooded rain jacket for full on storms. The windshirt has a DWR coating that can handle showers but the real deal is nice if the weather totally goes to shit.

Hands:
Meh, hands are tough. I can use normal long fingered gloves down to 50F.
Outdoor Research Vert gloves go on after that, these are thin softshell gloves that are warm down to 35F.
I have some MLD Event rain mitts that can go on if it storms or gets super cold BUT have not used them much yet. Bringing two pairs of gloves is actually a really good system as you always have a dry pair to put on!

Legs:
This part is easy. Start off with bib shorts.
Knee warmers go on at 60F. I have some Pearls that are decent but want some wool ones.
Tights or Rivendell knickers below 40F. I have been down to 20F like this without issue.
Patagonia Torrentshell rain pants chopped to knickers if it comes a big ol' storm.

Feet:
The worst part of all. Feet are nothing more than dumb hands, especially when it comes to staying warm and dry. I wear wool socks all year round. If I am racing in the cold I just wear normal shoes and let my feet stay wet and cold, it doesn't bother me much. For other riding I have a kickass pair of Shimano MW81 winter boots. If it is below 35F I use a wool sock plus GoLite nylon VBL sock to prevent sweat from soaking the insulation of the boot. Pretty simple.

All of this has worked really well and is still warm enough if it gets wet, which it will, from sweat or rain. There is no such thing as a "breathable waterproof" anything for exercising so don't obsess over finding it. Find things that are warm when damp. The things described above have a very flexible temp range. I have pondered getting one of Gore's Windstopper jackets and tons of people like them but I feel like I have more control over ventilation and whatnot with the windshirt setup. A typical layering setup is described as base, insulation, then some sort of shell. I feel like this is poor advice if you are working hard on a bike. You just end up sweating through all the precious stay warm stuff and BOOM, you're cold again.

Jeez, that was way longer than I expected. Kudos to anyone that read through all that!

Just some transiowa ponderings.

Well, how about that, it is Trans Iowa registration time again.

I finished last year but missed the time cut by an hour or so. I thought I would be mentally tortured by this but it really didn't happen. The urge to go back has slowly decreased over the past few months. I am at peace with the race now and don't feel like I HAVE to go again...

I would like to do TI again but I want to have a year with the option to race in the summer. I miss out on this every year due to recovery from some sort of behemoth of a late spring race. Time for something different.

Lee is going back as well as plenty of other folks I met and rode with last year. Pete, our crew from last year, has mentioned going but I don't know anything definite. I might go back to help crew. Who knows.

For those of you thinking about doing it, fucking do it already. Otherwise, you will forever wonder about it. How hard is it? What can my body handle? My mind? Does all farm country look the same? Either go do the same rides you always do next year or go take on something bigger than all of it. Plenty of people simply aren't interested in this sort of race. That is probably a good thing.

Yes, there are plenty of "buts". I think what scares most people away from Trans Iowa is failure. It sure is common there. It really is a great race. Guitar Ted and the volunteers work so hard. It is amazing. Mark, thanks for putting on this race year after year. I know it is hard to plan and work out the kinks, but it really is one of a kind. Hardest one I've done, that is for sure!

Guitar Ted has plenty of equipment and bike tips on his website for the race and they are great. Here are some of my own thoughts that might help those interested.

Bike Choice:
Cross or MTB. Take whatever you trust and are comfortable on. I did a cross bike last year but would take a mtb with a rigid fork and 1.8 tubeless tires if I went again. Mud clearance is a big issue. I remember being with Scott McConnell on a B Road 315 miles in and digging mud out of a cross bike while he rolled his mtb right on through... It is dark and scary and you need to be as comfortable as possible given the highly probable shit conditions you will be in. Singlespeed people...go easy, the hills are STEEP. Think low 50s for gear inches. I think a 32/17 would be perfect on a 29er. Unless you want to win, then knock yourself out.

Food:
Learn to eat crappy gas station food. I was already great at this so it was a non issue. If you are going to implode without 1.25 Honey Stinger LA edition waffles per hour you might have an issue.

Clothing:
Everybody knows what to wear when its hot. Some know when its cold or wet. The trick is getting a combo of stuff that will work together in many conditions and not be redundant. Experiment. Read about stuff hikers use, they have it figured out.

Lights:
Like the bike, go with what you know. I made a huge mistake here and kept my awesome lights on the bar instead of my helmet like I am used to. If I went again I would do one of my Ayup lights on the helmet with an emergency light on the bar.

Training:
Get out in the wind and cold and roll. It will not be pleasant every time. Test your gear, make sure it doesn't suck! The longest ride I did before TI was 9 hours and that was plenty. Ideal training would be at least 12 hours a week with a 12 hour MTB race a month before TI. Unless you are a really good technical rider spend plenty of time on hard trails, it takes a whole different kind of fitness.

Racing:
Let's say you actually get in and go to Iowa to race. Try and get some sleep two night before the race since you won't get much the night before. I failed miserably at this and had some disturbing night riding moments.

Be very careful about who you ride with. Negativity spreads to everyone around. People that get really quiet all of a sudden are probably bonked or about to. Make friends and talk to those around you. You will know quickly if they will be a good riding buddy. The goal is to be around people who want to FINISH.

You have to be moving pretty quick to get to the checkpoints on time. 10 MPH average sounds like nothing until you are in two inches of peanut butter gravel with a 40 mph wind in your face.

B Roads are as hard as you make them. Don't ride through them, just pick the bike up and start walking no matter how "not that bad" it looks. It is that bad, really.

The party starts in late April. Get some: Trans Iowa V9

Learning the Turkish Get Up and other fun stuff.

Yeah, wtf. I know.

Weird title.

Weird content also. How about that?

I have been riding again every day and am feeling better. Doc said I might have a torn medial meniscus but didn't feel it warranted surgery at this point so as he said..."Go ride." We will see I guess.

I have been following orders and have also been paying close attention to ways my body functions other than riding a bike all day.

I bought a 16 kilogram kettlebell a couple weeks ago and it has been a great workout. If you want one in the Birmingham area go holler at Grant at Wright Exercise Equipment. Relates to riding quite well I think. Swings are great for posterior chain strength which is lacking in many cyclists. Basically think of an explosive movement that counteracts riding and desk posture.

This is Tim Ferris with a great instructional on the swing.

He says do 'em 75 reps 3 days weekly. I've been doing 100 or so daily. Get tired from them and it gives the same "after ride" tiredness that feels so great.

Another goodie is the Turkish Get Up. These are a real bitch to learn and have a big penalty if you fuck it up with the weight overhead so yeah, practice carefully. Maybe with a shoe to start?

Gray Cook has one of the best instructionals I have seen.

Fun, right? Best way I have found to discover how far reaching my weaknesses and assymetries actually are.

One last bit of fun. The frog stretch could be referred to, as yoga people say, a hip opener. Much like Jerry Rice could be referred to as a decent football player or Mitt Romney as well off.

Point is, these will destroy you. Have fun.

Late edit: While I was at it I should have added this. It is a daily joint mobility routine by Steve Maxwell. I'm not sure about some of the spinal flexion movements early in the AM (look up the research by Stuart McGill on this issue) but I like the general feel of it.

Steve Maxwell's Daily Dozen

Endurance Racing Preparation

Here is a good article on how to race a mountain bike all day and only be as miserable as you absolutely have to by Gerry Pflug from the Salsa Cycles site.

Endurance Racing Preparation

Gerry has been doing this stuff a long time and wins a bunch so I figure he knows what he is doing.