We wear the gold ribbon in support of children with cancer

Vassago Cycles has teamed up with Dirty Spokes to support the Taylor Brooks Foundation. We at Vassago Cycles are very passionate about childhood cancer and raising awareness to an amazing foundation that does not receive half the research funds it needs. It has become a mission we are proud to be part of.

Vassago Cycles has donated a frame that will be raffled between now and October 11th, 2008 at the Dirty Spokes 12/6 Hour Mountain Bike Race - Georgia International Horse Park, Conyers, Ga (ALL proceeds from the raffle go to the Taylor Brooks Foundation). Raffle tickets are $10.00 and can be purchased through the Dirty Spokes web site.

We urge you to read the story of mountain bike racer Jeff Brooks and his wife. their daughter lost her fight against cancer on April 1, 2008.

We wish the Brooks family all the best and our thoughts are with you.

The race started a few minutes after 11am and I quickly found my heart rate rising as I ran approx. a quarter of a mile up the road to find that my bike wasn’t where I left it. I continued to run another 25 yards or so and found my bike in the road waiting for me. The LeMans start actually worked as planned and broke up the front pack fairly well. I finished my first of 10, planned 11 mile loops and returned to the staging area where I was supposed to dismount at the orange line and walk through the taped area. I overshot the tape by about 4 feet and the fine young gentleman who was helping out asked me to return to the line and walk through again. I did. (Second rule broken). I quickly picked up another water bottle ate a gel and started # 2.

Lap two went well and my legs and lungs were feeling good. I knew I needed to pace myself due to the lack of riding I’ve been able to do since the Winter. I realized the week of this race that I hadn’t ridden a ride longer than 4 hours since participating in the Dragon’s Back the month before. I had been riding shorter interval rides and some 2 hour tempo rides due to my work and family schedule. Weekends have been held to 3 to 4 hour rides and knew this would eventulally catch up with me no matter how strong I felt starting. At the end of lap two I broke my third rule. I was heading towards my tent to pick up another bottle when some sreamed at me for being on the wrong side of the cones. Riders are supposed to stay on t he right. My tent was on the left. (I broke this rule every lap but after lap two I waited until I was closer to the tent). I ate, grabbed a bottle and started another.

As I started lap 3, I realized Brian had a few minutes on me and I used this to motivate me to keep up a good pace. I caught him quickly, but not because I was riding faster. As I was heading down one of the two semi-technical sections of the course a stick was sucked up between my cassette and spokes, locking my rear wheel and bringing me to a quick stop. As I stood there trying to pull the wedged wood from my wheel I looked up a saw Brian about five feet ahead of me looking for his eye (Not literally, he lost a contact and was trying to get it back in as about a dozen riders squeezed between us while navigating the trail. He eventully found his eye and used it to assist me with getting my bike back up to speed. This would be the last and only mechanical I would have in the race. Once again, the Vassago frame, White Brothers Rigid fork, Bike29 built wheels and WTB parts carried me through another full day of riding in the same dependable fashion they did last season. Oh yeah, at the end of lap 3 I broke my 4th rule. I had my mp3 player on and was asked to take it off. I managed to do the right thing for the remainder of the race. Sorry, for the all the mishaps. They want happen again….

Laps 4 through 8 were uneventful and blended together the way they do in all these “hamster wheel” races. However, I enjoyed this course. It was well marked, dry, fast and became more and more challenging as the hours ticked by. This course was divided into several different sections, each a little different in it’s own way. This assisted with decreasing the monotony as the laps added up. I was also able to chat with and meet many riders lap after lap. Some much more serious than others. The course cleared up tremendously after the 6 hour riders finished and the night laps were quiet and peaceful.

I finished lap 8 around 9:30pm and by this time I had realized that I didn’t have 2 more laps in me. I would have to settle for 9 of the planned 10 and hoped I could get motivated enough to do this. My legs and body were tired, but my mind was awake and trying to convince them to keep going. I stopped and ate some food and checked the postings. After realizing another lap would make a difference in where I finished, I parked the rigid 1×9 Bandersnatch and left on the Jaberwockey SS for my 9th and final lap at 10:15. Finishing up in 6th Place, Solo Open Male and 11th Overall, with a little over 99 miles and 9 hours and 41 minutes of actual riding time.

This was a well organized race and a pleasure to participate in. Thanks to the promoters for the work they put into this event. Congratulations to Chris Janiszewski 1st Place Solo Open w/12 laps, Danielle Musto 1st Place Solo Open Female w/11 laps, and Eli Geske 1st Place Solo Open SS w/10 laps. Congratulations also to teammate Brian Archer who finished 3rd in the Open SS class w/8 laps. (Both, Eli and Brian were riding Vassago’s OptimusTi SS).

We quickly checked in, chatted with Kris and Misty of Vassago as we got our gear together and then lined up for what would be the hardest race I’ve ever done. Here’s where I should thank the female who pointed out that my bike was the prettiest bike she had ever seen. I must say, I agree. That pink Bandersnatch is a pretty bike and it stayed that way for the first 30 or 40 seconds of the race. Anyway, I’m not sure if that’s the kind of thing you want pointed out at the starting line of a XXC race in front of a bunch of macho male mtn bike riders. There were approximately 50 riders in our class who lined up to start the race and fortunately, non of them made any comments (that I could hear). From my understanding, 13 of these racers DNF’d. That’s a pretty high percentage and instead of giving you a play by play of my ride I’m going to tell you why I thought about joining that group of riders on more than one occasion.

This was the most technical course I’ve ever ridden. The 36 miles seemed like 66 and the 8,000 feet of climbing was continuous. There wasn’t much down time or time to recover. The hills were steep, the mud was deep and the rolling hills on the ridgeline were covered in sharp, jagged, moving rocks. As if the rocks and mud weren’t enough, they were covered with leaves that were sometimes so deep that your feet would be buried on your downstroke. Approximately 5 of the 35 miles of the race was not ridden but pushed and this was often in piles of leaves that would come up to your knees. Did I mention that the mud was so tacky that it almost pulled my shoes off my feet when I was walking to the tent to sign up for the race. This is what several sections of the first 3 or 4 mile climb was covered with. Finally, there was the fog. On the ridgline, which was approx. 9 miles long, the fog was so thick that it was sometimes impossible to look more than 15 feet ahead and pick a line. In fact ,when you combined this with the leaves it often made it difficult to distinguish where the trail was. I got lost once and had to hike back up the mountain to find the trail again. Get the picture yet…..

I rolled across the finish line 5 hours and 37 minutes after the start in 24th place. Mentally and physically, I dropped out of this race about 4 hours before that. At that point, I decided to just enjoy the ride as much as I could and try to finish the course. This race turned out to be the most challenging “ride” I have ever completed. It took my body two weeks to fully recover and my ego is still in the process.

This race was well organized and had a grass roots feel that I always enjoy. The course was well marked and the volunteers were great. Congratulations to the First place Female, Michelle Co and the First place Male, Shawn Altizer. Michelle finsihed in 6:10 and Shawnin 4:09. Fellow teammate, Jeremy Arnold finished in 18th place about 17 minutes before I did (on a SS). Great job guys.

If any of you are looking for a race that will challenge you more mentally and physically than the ORAMM, the SWANK, or the 24 Hours of Pisgah, try this one next year…..

This week I find myself training for this race on a road bike in Litchfield, SC. I always enjoy the break from the mountain riding when I come here to ride, and this week is no different. It’s not often I get to ride 8 out of 10 days and better yet, it’s even less often that my body will hold up to ride 8 out of 10 days. That’s the beauty of riding a road bike on the coast. I’ve been able to ride multiple miles and control the fatigue by rotating, distance, intervals and tempo rides with recovery rides. I find it more difficult to do this in Asheville due to the terrain and the urge to ride a SS on trails when given the opportunity to choose.

Anyway, I don’t know if training for a technical mountain bike race with multiple climbs, in the flatlands, on a road bike, is a good idea, but we’ll find out in 2 weeks. In the meantime, I have two more days of riding in the flatlands with gears. Tune in after the Dragon’s Back to see how things turned out.

The Build: I’m 6′ 3″ and 175lbs. The 20inch Jaberwocky frame fits perfectly. My wheels were built by George at Bike29. He put together some Stans NoTubes Arch rims with double butted spokes and WTB Single Duty hubs. I placed a WTB ExiWolf in the rear and WeirWolf in the front. I started with the WTB Rock Solid fork which I later traded out for the 80mm Magic and placed the Rock solid on my Bandersnatch . A WTB Silverado saddle, Team headset and lock on grips were also added. Truvativ 180 SS cranks and Crank Brothers Candy pedals finished off the drive train. Other parts included On-One fleegle bars and Thompson post and stem. The bike weighed in around 27lbs with the Magic Fork and 25lbs with the Rock Solid.

The Ride: This bike was a little stiffer than my 06 Bandersnatch and seemed to handle even better. I’ve never been more comfortable on technical descents and tight single track. On the downhills you just point and go. This bike eats up rocky and rooty trails and quicky and effortlessly drives through mud and snow. Technical climbing is made easier with 29inch wheels and a tubeless WTB ExiWolf rear tire. Climbing was a little more effecient with the Rock Solid but I traded it for the Magic in order to get a little more enjoyment out of the long technical descents Pisgah Forest has to offer. I’ve since ridden approx 600 miles on the Bandersnatch set up as a 1X9 with the Rock Solid and love this set up. It makes riding gears enjoyable. Both these forks are a great compliment to the Wet Cat Geometry of the Vassago bikes and I couldn’t imagine a better fit. The steel frame and tubless tire combination is the best feeling ride I’ve ever had. After spening a season on these two bikes I’ve realized that I can ride as fast or faster than I ever imagined with full suspension.

Durability: Last year I rode approx. 2000 off road technical miles on this bike and everything is holding up well. The WTB hubs, headset, grips and saddle still ride like new. The Crank Brothers pedals have stayed tight held up to numerous encounters with rocks and trees in the forest and the frame seems to be getting better. The paint remains seamless and chip free despite all my mishaps on the trail. The WTB tires have worn well and continue to hold air with tire pressures at 20 to 23 lbs. Both White Brothers forks continue to function well and have required no maintenance.

The Verdict: If you’re looking for a new bike, I suggest you try a Vassago before spending hard earned cash on products that are over priced and under perform. Check the Vassago web site for dealers near you. Several stores are carrying demo bikes and if one is in your area, try it, you’ll like….

The race sold out with 100 riders signing up long before the event and 97 of those who planned ahead showed up for the running start. Approximately 25 riders out of those 97 took off like they were running the 100 yard dash at the local track meet. I started somewhere behind those guys (and girls). After running about a third of a mile of rooty, rocky single track in hard sole race shoes, the ride started.

We quickly started a fairly long steep climb on some technical single track traveling away from the campground. I had ridden my Bandersnatch 100 miles the week before at the TreeShaker and had hoped my legs would heal enough to feel well this week on the Jabberwocky (Vassago SS/Stay tuned for a full review and pics). I quickly realized I was at about 80% and decided to pace the begining of the ride knowing there were several hours left to go. Arriving at the first rest stop, I realized I was somewhere in the top 25 and my legs were starting to feel better. Rest stop 1 and 2 were the same so I skipped this stop and rode on.

This section of the race was rolling SS and double track that was covered with leaves and rocks. It was hard to get into any kind of a groove on the SS in these conditions, but the 29 inch wheels and steel frame definately took off the edge and flowed well through the loose rocks and roots. I rode on, trading spots with several other riders who I would continue to see throughout the race. I arrived back at the rest stop, checked my back pack for a water level, quickly grabbed some food and rode on.

This part of the race was the hardest of the day. The ups were long with intervals of steep sections. For the first time in the race I was forced to walk the SS. This happened on 3 occassions and I shared each one with other single speeders. After reaching the top and briefly riding a ridge line I started my descent down Farlow Gap. In my opinion, this is the hardest trail to ride in the Forest. The beginning and end of this trail is ridable and I rode most of it out, gaining several spots. After approaching the middle section of the trail and seeing 2 riders go down hard I decided to play it safe and walk where it was questionable. In my mind it was questionable for about a mile. This was slow walking with loose rocks, leaf covered roots and steep slippery drops. The trail dumps you out on the easiest and fastest part of the race with a short section of road and double track that took me back to the last rest stop. I quickly ate a few bites and filled up with some water.

The end of the race was much easier than I had heard and I was disapointed in myself for not knowing this. From rest stop 3 there was about 3 miles of gradual dirt road climbing and then 5 or 6 miles of fast single track back to the camp and finish line. I finished the race in 5 hours and 9 minutes which was good enough for 7th in the SS class and 31st overall.

Congratulations to the Open Men’s First and Second, locals Sam Koerber and Marshall Hance of Endless Cogs; First and Second of Open Women’s Trish Stevenson and Paula Burks; and First and Second in SS Jason Chapman and Gary Chambers (who I spotted smoking an after race cigarette by the race postings). Is that there secret?

Thanks to Kris and Misty at Vassago, WTB, White Brothers, George at Bike29 and Cane Creek for a great season. I managed to get through 7 races on products by these companies this season with zero mechanicals or flats. It’s time for winter riding in the mountains. See ya next season…

This was my second 12 hour solo race of the season and I planned to use what I learned from the First, to make this experience a little more enjoyable.The fact the temperatures were 30 to 40 degrees lower also “seemed” to assist with this a little. From the beginining, I had decided to use this event to challenge myself more than the other riders. My goal was to complete 10 laps hope that this would be good enough to put me in the top 10. That may not sound like much of goal for some readers but for someone who has had to cut back his riding to 3 days (approx 7-9 hours a week) this year, top ten in any race is a great reward.

The course was approx. 9 miles of well maintained singletrack at Anne Springs Close Greenway in SC, with the last 3 miles proving to be the most technical and hilly of the course. The weather couldn’t have been better and the trail conditions were just as nice.

The race started promptly at 9am with a running start and as everyone who was there knows, this really didn’t do much to break up the pack. The first lap was probably my slowest lap of the race, due to the congestion and varied levels of riders on the trail. I decided to keep the pace down, pass when it was safe and save energy for the end. Laps 2 and 3 got a little faster and I began to become comfortable with the course.

Laps 4-6 continued to go well. There were times when I felt I should have given a little more. However, I continued to ride smart knowing that you can’t train hard for 9 hours a week and then ride 12 at race pace in one day. Somewhere during these laps I met up with Teammate Brian Archer. After changing places several times we lost touch and I rode on. Somewhere in here I was hooked up with a well awaited cup of starbucks iced mocha by my Vassago Support and her anonymous assistant. Thanks for the boost!!!!

A couple of local riders, Scott Trotter and Joe Recore came to provide some support and company for lap 7. This lap went fast and I continued to feel good. After being unable to talk them into another lap I decided to take a few minutes to eat some lunch. After some sweet potatoes and watermelon I was off for lap 8. It was approx 4:30 and I was well on my way to hitting my goal of 10. In fact, at this point I decided to shoot for my first 100 mile trail ride and increase my aim to 11.

5:30 was the cut off time to add lights and I was determined to complete laps 8 and 9 before stopping and mounting up the evening wear. This was accomplished, and sometime around 6pm I stopped to mount lights and put on some dry clothes before starting laps 10 and 11. This long stop was the biggest mistake of my race. It cost me 3-4 positions in the line up. As I stated before, I was racing against myself and never bothered to look at the standings. Had I taken the time to do this I would have realized there were several riders, including me, that would end with lap 11. Those extra minutes cost me.

By this point in the race, the Starbucks had run it’s course and I was becoming physically and mentally drained and looking for something to keep my going. That something or someone, was Rebecca Tomaszewski who quickly rode by me during lap 11. I immediately picked up the pace and jumped in behind her. After stalking her for approx 2 miles and entering into conversation I learned that she was riding a SS with a 32 X 17 gearing and she was one lap up on me. Suddenly, I had the energy to finish strong.

I rode across the finish line around 8:45pm, with 11 laps completed, 10 hours and 24 minutes of ride time and about 100 miles posting on the computer, I finished 8th in the solo male category. Once again, as in every race this season, I finished the race with no mechanical and no flats.

Thanks to my sponsors, Vassago, WTB, White Brothers, Bike29 and Cane Creek for building and providing me with dependable and comfortable parts for another long hard ride.

Congratulations to the first place solo female Rebecca, First place solo male David Hall, First Place Solo SS Rich Dillen and to Teammates Kevin Clark and Brian Archer for finishing 3rd and 7th in Solo SS.

See you all at this one again next year…

I arrived in Dahlonega on Friday night and stayed at the nearby Econo-Lodge. I had made reservations with the Econo-Lodge due to my need for a good nights sleep in order to function well on race day. I was invited to stay with fellow teammate and race promoter Namrita and Eddie. However, I decided that they had enough to worry about without worrying about my comfort. Thanks for the offer guys, it was much appreciated. After checking in I made the short trip to Camp Wahsega to register and check out the facilities. This was a great venue for a race. The cabins were air-conditioned and well arranged. They were within 100-200 yards from the starting line, kegs and kitchen with plenty of parking. Next year I’ll ot for the weekend package, if there’s room. This was a great race and I expect it to grow quickly. I quickly registered and filled my sag bags for reststops 1, 3 and 4. There were 5 reststops, with reststop 2 and 3 being the same and reststop 5 being the start-finish line. From here it was a short drive to a local restaurant for dinner and then to the hotel to make last minute preparations for the race. I brought my new Vassago Jabberwocky SS that I had built up the night before and the pink 1X9 Bandersnatch. Deciding it wasn’t a great idea to race a newly built bike, I preped the Bandersnatch and went to bed.

Saturday morining it was back to the same local restaurant for a huge breakfast and then off to the races. I arrived at 6:35am (just in time to see the 100 milers take off) and quickly got ready for the 7am start of the 50. We started the first 7-8 climb up the service road climb at 7am. My strategy was to go out hard and stay with the stronger riders for this part of the race, knowing that this climb would break the pack apart quickly, and it did. We quickly caught up with some of the slower paced 100 mile riders and it began to get harder and harder to decipher between who was doing the 50 and who was doing the 100. As we topped the longest climb of the race and arrived at the first reststop I was with the top 6 or 7 50 mile riders. Believing I would run out of water before stop 2 I stopped and filled bottles. Most of the other riders rode on without stopping. Am I the only one who drinks a bottle of water every hour?

After filling up I got back on the Bandersnatch and started the long loose descent to the next reststop. Had I known it was mostly downhill to this stop I would have skipped #1 also. However, as I rode through reststop 2 I realized that many of the front riders had stopped here and some were still filling up as I rode through. From this point of the race until the finish there was an unbelievable amount of great flowing singletrack. In fact, this was some of the funnest singletrack I’ve ever ridden. Each section of single track was connected by brief fire or service road and each section was a little different than the previous. If you haven’t had a chance to ride in this area, you should take the time to do it or come out and do this race in 2008. You can thank me later…..

I completed the loop and arrived back at reststop 2/3 an hour or so later. At this point in the race my legs were starting to fatigue and I was starting to realize that doing the 50 instead of the 100 was a great idea. This was also the point where I weighed the positive and negative points of stopping and eating or continuing on. Stopping for too long could lose me several spots now and not staying and eating long enough could lose me more spots in the end. I have a high metabolism and I sweat a lot. This plays against me on long, hot rides and today it was hot (mid 90’s) and humid. I decided to stop and eat some “real food” before moving on. Several riders past me while I was sitting in the shade and refueling. This broke me down mentally and emotionally. I ate a little faster, filled my bottles and moved on.

Every endurance race like this will break you down mentally and physically at some point. Today that point was between reststop 3 and 4. I became fatigued, queezy, and slow. Knowing that these are all signs of dehydration and remembering what happened in the ORAMM when I became dehydrated a few weeks earlier I began to eat and drink as much as possible. This slowed me down and for the first time several riders past me while I was riding during this section of the race. My ambition to finish in the top 10 began to deminish as I started to think top 20 wouldn’t be so bad. I pressed on…

I finally arrived at reststop 4 and filled my empty water bottles and ate lots of fruit before moving on to the finish. The closer I got to the finish the better I felt. I always wonder what can be done to bottle some of this energy a little earlier in the race (like between stops 3 and 4). Anyway, I continued to ride. This was some of the best singletrack of the race and the excitement of riding new great singletrack kept me going. 6 hours and 1 minute after starting the race I crossed the finish line. I checked my computer and realized I had spent 31 minutes at the reststops with a ride time of 5 hours and 30 minutes. Someone needs to teach me to eat and drink more on the bike. Anyone have any ideas? I had no idea what place I had finished in and at this point I didn’t care. I just wanted a shower and some food.

After showering and eating some of the best post-ride food I’ve ever had with fellow teammate Brian Archer and few other friends I packed up and ventured home. It wasn’t until several nights later that I learned that I finished 10th out of 45 in Men’s Open and 12th out of 65 Overall.

This was a great venue, a great race, and even better singletrack. I will be back next year. Thanks Eddie and Namrita for a top quality event and thanks to Vassago Cycles, WTB, White Brothers, Cane Creek and Bike29 for developing a bike that finished another long race without any mechanicals. Congratulations to the top 3 100 milersSam Koerber, Harvey Minton and Peter Joski. Congratulations to the top 3 50 milers Shane Schreihart, Eric Watson and Eric Smith. See you next year!!!!!