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| (photo credit: Cycling Dirt Coverage, Thom Parsons) |
Just IN time
Back in January I registered for the
Mohican 100 in the single speed class, the only reason I registered so early was to
save a little cash. But 4 weeks before the race I had a set back and broke my
single speed frame. With the race getting closer I was getting a little
impatient and wasn’t sure if I’d get a
new SS frame in time or just race the geared class.
Finally on Wednesday before the race Top Gear was able to get
me a Niner SIR frame. I had some mixed emotions about getting the SIR frame.
Steel mountain bikes look really cool with their skinny tubes and ride really
nice and are built to last a few years. But downside is it’s a little heavier
than alum or plastic and I’m really not a big EBB fan, I’d prefer sliders. When I went to pick it up the Mavic SLR 29er
wheelset that I’ve been expecting was in too.
I hurried home and built it up but still wasn’t sure if I’d
race it on Saturday or not. Racing a hundred miler is hard enough and doing it
on a bike that I’ve never ridden had me nervous. I decided to ride it on
Thursday and if I liked it and didn’t have any trouble I’d race it and if I had
any problems or if it didn’t feel good I’d change classes and race my Superfly
100. Thursday when I got home I headed out on the trails and to my pleasant
surprise it felt great and no issues so that made my decision easy.
Saturday morning as the gun went off the pace seemed fast but
I managed to get into the first bit of trails in good position. I was riding with all the fast single speed racers
early and there wasn’t much separation. (I’m not going to mention any names
because I don’t want to miss anyone) It
wasn’t until I left aid station #2 and was on the road that I was all alone for
the first time. I could see a few people ahead of me and some people behind me
but it was hard to tell who any of them were. It didn’t take too long before Ernesto Marenchin caught me but
to my surprise I was able to stick on his wheel. When we got to the single
track in Mohican Wilderness I was having a blast on the rocky trails. I left
aid station #3 pretty quik and finished the rest of the trail section at
Mohican Wilderness and was back on the road. I’m not really sure when it was but I was in a
small group with Ernesto and Andy Gorski. We hit the rail trail and I was able
to stay with them. Before I knew it we were at the swing bridge. After a quick
stop I was back on the bike. I got to
the last aid station and had a cup of coke and seen a sign: 5 miles to the
finish. The last 5 miles was pretty much all single track and went pretty fast.
In the end I had a great day, got to ride some really fun trails,
rode with a few friends, didn’t suffer any mechanical issues like last year and
even won the SS class. For complete
coverage check out:
I have to say thanks to TOP Gear Bicycle Shop for getting me an
awesome bike just IN time for the race.
