12 Hours of Tsali - the race report

The 12 Hours of Tsali has officially come and gone and being that the course was super fast and not very technical I had an excellent time. GRT Racing held strong throughout the entire race keeping our lap times right around the 1 hour mark all day. We had no mistakes or mechanicals and everything flowed very smoothly.

The team unanimously nominated me as the lead man in the race taking the reins and running in the Le Mans start. I kinda wanted to lead us out normally leaving those duties to B-Rad but he was busy in Chattanooga laying waste to other runners on Raccoon Mountain. Two weeks leading up to the race I was pondering on my strategy on what to do. My plan of attack was to start out the run which I considered short, as fast as I could, place my bike as close to the start as allowed and ride by any runners who might have been faster than me.

As we lined up for the start I tried to get as close to the front as possible but ended up 3 rows back packed in with everyone like sardines. As soon as the race started I took off hoping to weave through traffic and get closer to the front. I got hung up behind a couple of slower guys before working my way around to the outside and moved up along side the front pack as fast as possible. I did fairly well with staying up front but several of the runners were faster than I had expected.




Yes I am completely off the ground, it's how I run.



Once I got to my bike it was a cluster of runners trying to pass and riders trying to get moving and not run over anyone. Once moving I jumped on some guy's rear wheel as we weaved through the swarm of people. Once free of traffic I stomped on the gas.




Mark kept telling me he's not a runner and would be walking but obviously that was not true.



One thing I forgot was the length of fireroad we had to ride before hitting the singletrack. I had over exerted myself during the run and paid for it on the fireroad accents. I got passed left and right. It was until we hit the singletrack that I was able to get my breathing under some what of control. Just before the race I had downed a chocolate gel which was trying to fight it's way back out.

I had to back off a bit while I got my stomach under control and once that happened I was able to get back on the gas and work my way around some of the slower riders. The longer we raced the better I felt, I hoped I was not pushing myself too hard as I didn't want to blow up before it was over but I couldn't allow myself to back down with three or four riders in front and behind me. I held my pace and hoped for the best. Once in the pits I checked my time which showed 51.47, I though surely I had brought us back in at least in the top 5, that wasn't the case.

Going into the race I wondered if racing the sport class was the right thing to do. Some believe that if you have been on the podium you should move up to the next class. I think that if you win you should definitely move up the following year if you return to that same race. My pondering on whether we were sandbagging being in the sport class was put to rest as soon as the first round of laps were posted. Even though we were running fast and consistent laps we were in 10th place.

As I stood there examining lap times something caught my eye in the beginner category. The top 5 or 6 teams were posting sub 50 minute laps, faster than at least half of the sport field. Not only were the top beginner class riders running faster laps but the field was 3 times as big. I went from wondering if we belonged in the expert class to wondering if we belonged in the beginner class. The Gone Riding races obviously draw alot better riders from a larger spectrum than the races I'm used to but I have no doubt that a large portion of the beginner class did not belong there. I really wished there had been a co-ed class but I felt fine with our placement and settled into the race and concentrated on having fun.

Finally I was able to call on the JET to race knowing the course was really better suited for the hardtail bikes but I went ahead with it especially since I had seen several other JET9s and even a RIP9 on the first lap. I worried about being a bit slower on the JET but it was not by much. My second lap I turned in at 55 minutes 35 seconds. Unfortunately the entire lap was plagued by a creaking headset which I think was loose. I actually haven't taken the time to check since my Fox F29 is due in at any time.

For lap three I went back to the AIR9 to get a better feel of lap times since my first lap on it included the running portion. My third lap I felt awesome, the AIR9 felt like a rocketship. When I stomped on the pedals it immediately responded. My 3rd lap while not any faster than the second was only 6 seconds slower.

I never really thought the JET would be faster but I was pleasantly surprised at how fast it was. I plan to take it along with the AIR9 to the H8R race in Haw Ridge next month where it will be more at home with all the roots and rocks.

too be continued..............

Bike @ Bays and GRT Racing takes on Tsali

After some serious planning organizing and fretting all the small details, the 3rd Annual Bike @ Bays was a great success and the day rolled on flawlessly. NTMBA's annual picnic that originally started out as a 12 hour race for it's members evolved into a 6 hr race and then finally just a picnic with nothing but fun riding. As the year went by people stopped taking the racing so seriously and were having more fun just hanging out and riding with friends. A decision was made as the race attendance dwindled to concentrate just on having fun and boosting mountain bike awareness in our area.

Three years ago we took it to the next level and invited the local bikes shops to come out and bring their demo fleet. No one likes to test ride a bike they are interested in buying in the bike shop parking lot, the trails are the best way to know which bike is best for you.

This year we decided to bring the competition back in a small dose to up the excitement level and give some of the more experienced riders something to look forward to. This year we created the Chainless Bike Race, an all gravity race down the Azalea trail where riders were unable to gain momentum with the use of their drivetrain. Congrats to Ben Appleby who took home the winnings.

If you missed this year's Bike @ Bays I feel sorry for you it was a ton of fun and hopefully next year you'll make it out. We had a huge turnout and everyone really seemed to be enjoying themselves. I shot a ton of video footage and plan to put a re-cap video together so maybe it will make you feel like you were there somewhat, either that or make you more jealous. I chose not to participate in the Chainless Bike Race in favor of helping run the event and getting some great footage of riders as they bombed down Azalea. I did give my Go Pro cam to one of ETSU's finest downhillers Thomas to shoot footage of the race from the riders prospective. I think his footage will be much more interesting than mine would have. He's a bit faster downhill than I will ever think about being.

I did get a chance to get out and do some riding yesterday on two different bikes, both full squish 29er's. First I hopped aboard the Giant Anthem X and wow was I impressed. It handled, climbed and descended nicely. There were only two things I can think of that I didn't care for about the bike. One was the tires, it was sporting Maxxis tires, Aspens I think, and in the wet I felt them loosing traction in the corners and climbing in spots, the other complaint was the amount of time I got stopped to answer questions about the bike I was riding. Despite some of the negative comments I read about the Giant's looks I thought it was a good looking bike and so did everyone I passed. I could easily see myself riding the Anthem X.

The other steed I tried out was the Niner RIP9, Hampton brought one out but everytime I tried to ride it someone else was riding off on it. Mark graciously allowed me to hop aboard his brand new all black anodized RIP with a bit nicer spec'd components. I was expecting the RIP to be a slug climbing especially on the fireroads from some of the locals reviews of it but needless to say I was impressed with it. I didn't really get to rip up the downhills with it like I wanted to because the duties of running the show yesterday took priority. From what I did get to ride I have no doubt Mark will really enjoy his RIP, it was one of the sweeter looking bikes at the picnic. He spared no expense in building his bike.

Coming up this weekend is the 12 Hours of Tsali, GRT Racing is bring a 4 man team to the fight this weekend, or should I say a 3 man 1 women team this year. Andy, Abby, Anthony and I will be giving the other Sport class riders a run for their money. Maybe I should change my name to something that starts with an "A" like the rest of my team, Adam, Archie, Abe, Arnold?

All week this week I will be training for the race. Train the week before a race? Yep, every night I will be eating watered down spaghetti to prepare myself for the stuff the Gone Riding folks will be serving up. There actually might be a chance they won't have spaghetti this year because we are getting race t-shirts but I don't want to be taken by surprise if they do so I am planning to be fully prepared. We'll see if they are truly giving a little back or just trading one for the other.

Which bike will I race now that the JET9 is sporting a better drivetrain set-up? Probably both, I'd say I'll do my first lap on the AIR9 and then breakout the JET and compare lap times. I have a feeling they will be close. Speaking of drivetrains both of the bikes I demo'd yesterday at Bike @ Bays, were sporting the new 10 speed drivetrains. Talk about easy climbing, I think I could climb all day with a 10 speed cassette. Maybe next year I'll upgrade to the 10 speed stuff.

Melinda and I are going to hit Tsali a day earlier than the rest of the crew in an effort to get the nicest spot in the campground and take advantage of a bit more time camping. The ECO hasn't been called into action since the 6 Hours of Warriors Creek so I think we are ready for a few days of roughing it. Yeah I said roughing it.