Biker Up

"Biker Up!"

A shout of "Biker Up" is something you might hear out on the trails when one group of bikers encounters another group traveling in the opposite direction on the trail. It is a warning to everyone to look up and be aware of the oncoming traffic. Most of the time, there is a spot where two way traffic can carefully traverse the trail although sometimes there is only a narrow trail between rocks, trees, and 10 foot drops. Each encounter with other bikers is different and there are no rules of the trail that everyone observes. I usually just play it by ear and do what seems right and courteous when encountering other riders out on the trail. But, I don't often have to yell biker up because I am usually biking alone.

About once a week, I manage to hook up with a friend or two to ride the local trails but most of the time, I find that I have to suit up and go it alone which is actually not all that bad. I can pick my own course and pace and take off at a time that is convenient to me. And I can always listen to my iPod.

At the beginning of the year, I decided I would try to work up to biking the Shenandoah Mountain 100 at the end of the year. I worked hard on my rehab after double knee surgery, did some shorter races including two off road duos and 3 10K running races. Early in the year, I realized that I might actually be able to do the 100 but not without a lot of training.

In the last couple of months, that is exactly what I have done. I have done several 3 hour rides on both trails and road, lots of shorter interval training on the trails, and I have continued my strength training. Despite all this training and marked improvements in my overall fitness and bike fitness in particular, I had a rude awakening a couple of weeks ago when I went to the actual mountains to bike around Massanutten Mountain in preparation for the June 20th Massanutten Hoo Ha Mountain Bike Race.

After speaking with the people at Massanutten, I got permission to park and ride on the trails that make up the race. I rode for about 3 hours. Most of that 3 hours was spent climbing, climbing, climbing. And the course was very rocky. In fact there were long sections of "rock gardens" as the mountain bikers them. If you have never seen anyone riding on such trails, you might not believe that people actually ride these rocky trails. But we do. I actually did pretty well on the rocks and realized that all my training was really making a difference. But still, riding the technical trails down at the river, or riding the hills at Poor Farm don't compare to riding trails in the mountains. Of the 3 hours that I rode, I probably climbed for 2 and a half hours with 30 minutes of super fast downhill. The downhill is so fast that my hands started hurting because of my grip on the handle bars and brakes. When I finished, I had confirmed what I already suspected. Mountain biking in the mountains is very different from tooling around the local trails at sea level in Richmond.

That said, I was pretty excited about the race. Mostly because it was a great motivator and training tool for the race at the end of the summer. So the following weekend (this past Sunday), I went back to Massanutten to ride the course again. This time however, the course was marked so I could ride the whole thing as laid out for the race. It turns out I had already ridden much of the course the previous weekend but this time around I found a lot more of the course. After about an hour and a half of climbing, I found myself so drenched in sweat and out of breath that I had to take a brake. I stopped and got off my bike, drank some water, and checked the time. I felt pretty spent already and I still had some more climbing to go. I was rethinking the whole race. Maybe I was not ready after all.

After a few minutes break, I started on the climb again. Towards the top of the climb, I got to a very rocky section that was beyond my ability to ride so I had to push my bike through this section. If indeed I did race, I would have to pick up my bike and run this section. I finally made it to the top of the mountain and took another small break at the overlook where there were tourists parked and taking pictures. I ate a banana and after wiping down my riding glasses, took off again. The banana helped a lot. Plus most of the sustained climbing was behind me.

Riding down was easier on this second time through the course. Familiarity with the trail is always helpful and I was able to brake less and zoom a little. There were a few more shorter climbs and a really fun, fast section at the end. When I made it back to the car, I ran into a few people and we discussed the upcoming race. I felt ok so I decided that I would probably do the race. I did a "deck" change into some dry clothes and made my way home.

Later that night, I heard the weather man say that it was 96 degrees with a heat of index of 100 in Richmond during the day when I was riding in the mountains. It was probably not quite as hot where I was riding but knowing that it was super hot and very humid made me feel better about my performance. I decided that I would go ahead and definitely do the race. Earlier this evening, I signed up for the category 2 race which will be one 12 mile loop. I am not planning to place or even finish in the top 10 in my age group. But I will strive not to be last.

I am taking it easy this week trying to catch up on some sleep and get all my ducks in a row. The race is on Sunday and according to the long range forecast, it is going to be hot again. The race starts at 11:30 and while I will probably be lapped by some of the pros as they do their second loop, it should be a fun race.