By Gabor Csonka,on July 4th,2011 02:24 Thanks for the well-tattooed super nice dude from Fernie who gave up his campsite last night to us. We could have a bit of a campfire and had Carthy,Paul,Rick and Travis over for a bit. Also thanks for BC Parks for the free cakes. Back to riding. Early morning start again at 8am,this time from main street,which is pretty cool (main street is,8am isn’t). I was not at all in racing mode,but really was looking forward to some good trail riding. I kind of decided that if the course is not fun,I would just go and find some fun trails on my own. I stood by the start line again expecting the usual 9km of flat road and was pleasantly surprised that after a few km we headed uphill on a double track. Then we headed up on Hyper Ventilation. Unfortunately I was behind lots of riders at this point and could not really keep my own climbing speed. I suspected many of the riders ahead of me were fighting for solo or team positions. I did not want to disturb their fight with my clunky single-speed pacing. So I stopped few times and waited for a gap that allowed me to do my own pace. Hyper Ventilation is a fantastic climb,and with Hyper Extension you got an equally fantastic downhill to it. I had a blast on the way down. Did not have to go too fast,just at the pace I enjoyed the most. The rest of the course was some super fun single-track. Steep,but fun climbs,awesome downhills. Good stuff. Few takeaways from my first stage race experience: - Stage races are not held on specifically designed race courses. They connect many fun little (or big) trails and to do so there are often gravel roads or pavement and sometimes they are long and flat. That sucks if you are on single-speed. If you want to be competitive on a stage race,bring gears. Enough said.
- The more awesome trails an area has,the more course marshals you will need to avoid racers getting lost. In Fernie you need a LOT of course marshals. Chaos in day 1 an 2 can be avoided by getting lots more volunteers.
- The Beenpod on 2nd Avenue has the best chocolate I tasted in North America. Beats any high end chocolate I can get in Calgary. They also have good coffee roasted on the spot. It is much easier to kill me with chocolate than it is with a weapon. Specially with their chocolate.
- Mountain bikers like to ride in the dirt. So if you happen to organize a race where the start/finish is in a town (great thing),try to get them out to the dirt as quickly as possible. Don’t send them out riding on boring pavement and dirt roads unless you have not other choice. Specially not at the end of the race course.
- Pancake flat lead out roads are really good to get rid of single-speeders,they are not good for breaking up the peloton. Use long wide climbs instead.
- Big Bang Bagels has awesome bagels,but their coffee is mediocre.
- Despite all the steep climbs my knees held up well and they do not hurt – thanks goes to Bogi for mastering my IT-Band stretching massage.
- Kids eat more junk,sleep less and cause more trouble when camping. They also have more fun.
- I finished in the top 300 in Furious3 this year.
By Gabor Csonka,on July 2nd,2011 21:55 Bike orienteering on awesome trails. That sums up my day for the most part. Lined up at 8 am to start with the first wave of riders. We took the long way (again) to the first single-track,not sure why. But today I did not care much. I was just spinning my confy 150rpm and slowly fallen back to the back of the first 100 riders. After about 9km of unexciting pavement and gravel we started some really sweet single-track climb. The only issue was that now I was stuck behind about 80 riders,some of whom could not ride the climb very well. Bogi keeps telling me stories about some mean sport riders (mostly guys) who would not let her pass on ABA races. I got to ride with them today. One of them even reminded me that I shall not pass because I won’t be able to keep up and we should be just walking up here in single file like ducks after their mom. Really? Once I left behind my mean friend in baggie shorts I had a ton of fun on some of the most awesome single-tracks. Mushroom Head,Gorby,Old Goat to name a few. Except,maybe we were not supposed to do Old Goat at all. Not sure as about 10-15 of us ended up riding Gorby downhill against the traffic of climbing riders. By design? I don’t think so. We were told we took a wrong turn somewhere and should head for Dem Bones climb. I was shaking my head a bit,but deep inside I could not care less. We are on some super fun trails finally. On Dem Bones and Mushroom Head climb I was able to catch and pass the same people again who I passed on Gorby. Social ride. We got lost again at the top,due to confusing marking and started our traverse towards the Swine Flu and Mad Cow trails. Bogi told me about these trails she rode last year and I was really looking forward to them. They did not disappoint. After a hard and long climb I had a blast on the downhill. Super fun trail. Got lost again a bit before we hit the pavement and the gravel road back to town. You think the 9 km of flat gravel and pavement is unexciting as a start of a 45km mountain bike race? It is way less exciting when the last 9km of the race is the same stuff. And we even had to climb back from the train tracks (100m from the finish) and do another 4km of gravel pavement before we could finish….Why? When I crossed the finish line I learned that some of the leaders are still out there…. possibly lost. When they got in we checked our GPS and the distances were anywhere between 45km and 62km,depending how each rider chosen to do their orienteering course. I am hoping for some sweet single-track riding for tomorrow. By Gabor Csonka,on July 1st,2011 22:19 Frustrating 1st day in Fernie. I have a problem with my expectations and they need to be reset. The race course today was well expected for many,but very surprising to me. Remember;I never done a stage race before. So it took us about 10km of mostly flat pavement and gravel road to get into the first single-track. I choose my own tool and deserve to suffer on my single speed on flat roads,but 10km? On a mountain bike race? In Fernie? I handled the first few km fine and was able to pass over a 100 riders on a climb,but after a short downhill it was nearly flat again. Hoping for the best after the next turn…but the next turn only exposed another flat section,and another,and another … Good results were out of question by this time,but there is still a lot of reasons to do this race. That is to have fun on those awesome single-tracks of Fernie. But my motivator #2 (fun singe tracks) was destroyed as well when after few short sections of single-track we were on gravel roads again. Luckily some of the roads were climbs,so I was able to get into some good rhythm. When we were instructed to go down this super long gravel road (similarly to ride Georgetown in Canmore downhill,but about 5x longer…) I felt like I lost my stage racing spirit for good. Then we had some really good climbing on the fantastic Hyperventilation trail,but from the top we had to descend on this fairly straight down type of single-track that was definitely better than the gravel road,but not nearly as much fun as 90% of the trails around here. I kept asking myself “Why This trail?” After a bit more gravel and pavement we were back at the finish line. Stage 1 completed in less then 2.5 hours. At the finish I chatted with many of my friends about the course and they seemed OK with it. I found out from Devin that this is pretty typical stage race course. Maybe I am just not ready for stage racing yet…. or at all. As for tomorrow I will push my “Reset Expectation”button. Once I do that I will have a good day. By Gabor Csonka,on June 28th,2011 04:29  I had mixed feelings about this race as many of my friends refused to sign up due to it’s high cost and the fact that it is another “lap race” in the Nordic Center. For those who say it is too expensive I have to agree. The Trans Rockies guys know how to organize very professional events,no doubt. This event is no exception. But they need to bring the registration under $100 and it will become a very popular race.
Onto the “lap race” format… Yes it is a lap race. BUT this course was one of the most fun courses I have ever ridden in the Nordic Center. The climbs (lot of them) are super nice grade and mostly easy (as easy as 400m/12km climbing at CNC can get) and the downhills are almost all super fun and flowy single-track. Once you make it up the top of Ziggi’s,It is a blast all the way down. The only sketchy part was Georgetown downhill,but they are planning to replace that with a new single-track next year. For the first time this year I felt strong and healthy before this race. I have lost 20lbs since April,did some long races and started doing some high intensity work. Everything felt right to have a good race. Our friends helped again with baby-sitting and allowed both Bogi and me to race. She did the 50km solo event,I did the 100km race. After the start I was riding with the usual suspects,Ryan D,Simon W,Patrick H and Mike B. Ryan got away a bit in the first few laps but we were able to real him in. I felt good and attacked in lap 4 on my favorite climb the Ziggi’s. Was able to get a good gap at the top and tried to do the long sing track downhill as fast as I could. As a result I was able to establish a few minutes lead. For the rest of the race I was able to ride my own pace and ended up winning the 100km event in 6:17. Houston Peschl and Simon Williams finished 2nd and 3rd,Patrick powered his single speed to 4th place.  2011 The North Face Rundles Revenge Podium Bogi also had a ton of fun and finished 2nd in her category. This was the first race day ever where our entire family raced. Both Soma and Flora did the kids race.
I have to compliment my good old pink single speed. Third muddy race in a row with no mechanicals or even pre-race tune up (too many kids,no time for bikes).
The Fox Talas Terralogic fork is the most awesome fork I have ever ridden. It is also the most expensive fork,but BowCycle gave me such a nice deal that I could not resist… so worth it. So as for ss bike maintenance … Just hose it,clean the chain,lube the chain,race it … then hose it,clean the chain,lube the chain and race it… I love single speeds. By Gabor Csonka,on June 28th,2011 03:52 One of Those races… I was standing at the Iron Maiden XC start line along with familiar faces. I did not feel healthy and definitely didn’t feel strong,but the first 30 minutes of the race was one of my worst starts ever. At 500m into the race I felt like my legs are just simply not working while everyone was passing me. At 600m I looked back and saw no one behind me. At 800m I completely lost sight of the entire field! Wow! So it will be “one of those races”. Kind of assumed that I am either even more out of shape than I thought or I am getting sick with the bug I got from my kids. The bug scenario fitted my ego better so I went with it and tried to hang on and finish the race. I was able to catch some riders by the end of the first lap,but I had no power in my legs to pick up the pace. Finishing the race in safe mode I rolled into the less than stellar 2nd to last place in the elite man’s field. Bogi had a strong race and finished 3rd in expert women. Super cool was the kids race as over 100 little rippers battled the cold rainy weather and slippery single-track. Soma had a solid race and were able to ride most of the course nicely. Felt a little better on Sunday morning ahead of Organ Grinder 5hr enduro. Even got my mocha and giant muffin at Beamers Coffee. We were able to find baby sitters,so we had enough time to eat before the race and even warm up a bit. Not quite possible when the kids are around. The race start was a bit slower so I did not loose site of the entire filed this time. The course was greasy,but I was able to ride everything in most laps. I remember 2 years ago when it was wet,I would run down on both the Devonian drop and the Ass-Whooper loosing tons of time. The Specialized 2.1 Captain Controls at 20psi gave me a lot of traction and confidence this time. I am slowly becoming a rider who can even ride stuff in the Canadian Rockies…. The race went OK until hour #4,and then I started to have leg power. Weird,but true. I was able to pass 4-5 guys in the last 2 laps,but was not fast enough to go out for a 7th lap. Good enough for 8th place overall. Bogi bonked hard in her last laps and finished 5th in Masters women. Here is how I would describe the Organ Grinder race to someone: - Must be one of the best organized MTB event in Alberta
- The most/best racing for your dollars
- Hard course,with tons of climbing
- Challenging technical sections
- Everyone hates Georgetown climb,but it is part of the deal
Ed,Amy and all the volunteers did an absolutely amazing job (again). Thanks! By Gabor Csonka,on June 10th,2011 04:00 I think I had my first official high intensity workout of the year. And it hurt as it should. Thanks to ATB Financial and Xterra Canada we now have a weekly MTB series at COP. Two laps of full out hammering on the steep little climbs and sweet single-track. We had great turnout for round 1,it was also good to chat with good friends before and after the race. If you did not make it today, make sure you be there next Thursday at 6:30pm. Two races up this weekend at Canmore. Lets hope the body holds together. By Gabor Csonka,on May 31st,2011 03:56 “If the mountain won’t come to Muhammad then Muhammad must go to the mountain.” In other words if you were lazy and got really fat over the winter,you better build an 18.3lbs bike in the spring. By Gabor Csonka,on May 30th,2011 03:44  The 2011 single-speed solo trophies got the same new home. First I have to thank the Deadgoats for the excellent race. Not only they managed to end the Calgary monsoon,but they must have spent all night at the COP course drying the sweet single-track with hairdryers and heat-guns. That is the only way the course could have dried up so well for race day. The night before we dusted off Bogi’s 15 year old carbon composite trek MTB frame as well as finished the build work of Carthy’s rigid ss. So both girls decided to attack the super hard course on their old 26″rigid single-speeds. That is already pretty awesome thing. I decided to put on Specialized Captain 2.0s running at about 20psi today, combined with my lowest ever gear. I have to admit they worked fantastic. On most laps I could ride absolutely everything. For the first half of the race I had an awesome fight with Patrick the 2009 solos ss winner. He would be just a few hundred meters behind me for about 4 hours. I was going at a faster than comfortable pace and wondered whether or not he is riding above or below his. I just hoped that he was pushing a little hard,otherwise he would have just rode by me later in the race. I really enjoyed the first 4 hours of the race. By hour 5 I was getting tired,but Patrick seem to have slowed down a bit as I lost sight of him. I was riding my own pace for the last few laps until the very last one. I was muscling the very first single-track climb of the lap when my chain broke. I use very heavy track chains,they never broken before. Having about 7k left I had to make a decision:run back 1.5k to the pit and try to fix the chain or run around the course for 7k. Legs felt OK so I started running ahead to finish my last lap. At this point I had no clue how much of a gap I had on Patrick,so it become a pretty exciting last lap. Managed to scooter the the downhills,run the flats and walk the climbs at just good enough speed so I still won single-speed solo category. Not by much though… Bogi had an awesome race. Not only she won the solo single-speed women category,but she enjoyed her good old rigid single-speed more than ever. The first thing she told me at the finish:“Now I want a real single-speed bike!”. I translate that to a “29er carbon ss bike”. Awesome.  In case you were wondering... No the seat post is not the best place to keep your chain Carthy finished 3rd on her first ever ss ride. Here are some statistics: | Time: | 07:36:59 | | Distance: | 103.87 km | | Elevation Gain: | 2,645 m | | Calories: | 6,296 C | | Avg Temperature: | 18.3 °C |
After a big breakfast,3 bananas,6 Clif shots,8 bottles of Accelerade/water,3 liters of water/tea at the finish,I was still 3lbs lighter then I was in the morning!!! Too bad it’s mostly water loss…. Just keep riding. By Gabor Csonka,on May 23rd,2011 17:02  Stan's Raven 29 tire Good first XC races in Edmonton this weekend. Thanks goes to Hardcore bikes for doing a great job organizing the race. A 5 minute TT on Saturday morning,a 30 minute dirt crit in the afternoon and the main XC race on Sunday. My goal this weekend was to try to put in three short hard effort rides,as I have not done anything like that in over 6 months. The Saturday races felt good,the courses were fun,I could have stayed with the leaders longer in the crit had I not crashed in the the first lap. Early season clumsiness - totally expected. Sunday I felt better than expected. Felt so good I totally ignored the weather forecast promising thunder showers in the afternoon. I left my Stan’s Raven tires on as they seemed awesome in dry conditions. Had some good chats with friends just before start,then the count down,off we went and I found myself leading the elite race half way in the first lap. What? Something is wrong. I am not in shape for this pace so probably won’t last the entire race. No worries,the goal was to put in a hard effort and that is exactly what I was doing. Rode the the first three laps in top 3 position,then the rain started. In about a lap or so the single-track become very slippery,and soon I could not ride anything with my semi-slick tires. Had about 10-12 small crashes,and rode my bike like a 3 year old child whose training wheels were just taken off. From 2nd place I gradually (and literally) slipped back to last place. So from the speed I was able to maintain in the first few laps I give the Raven a 9 out of 10 in dry conditions. However I will stay away from it in wet and slippery conditions for sure. The girls did much better than I. They ruled. Bogi took 1st place in Expert (If you want to tease her just call her the “Expert series leader”). Britta took 2nd in Novice after a good fight for the win. Sport was probably the most competitive category. Shawna taking 2nd, Leanne 4th and Carthy 5th place. I am off to BowCycle to find some mud tires….. By Gabor Csonka,on May 19th,2011 03:17 I have not been updating my blog for a long time as I was very busy with work and family stuff. But today I got my butt kicked so well,that it needs to go into the cyber history book. I decided to join the Wednesday JAM ride,a ride with some of the really fast roadies in Calgary. While riding at 68.6 km/h –way outside of my comfort zone- on Old Banff Coach road I quickly I reassured myself that I will never do a road-race again in my life. The ride is similar to the infamous Mafia ride north of Chicago,that I did many times around 2004. The group is much smaller,but the speed is similar. Anyways,you might want to ask how long I could stay with the group? Well until the very first climb. That’s it. Had a decent solo 68km ride to home. Will try again next week….. | |
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