Hot Lap - week 4

It was a muggy one up on the bluff as Jake and I toed the line for week 4 of the famed SPHotlap®. The ever interesting staggered start was employed to try and keep everyone pushing the pace and without knowing the official times, it was determined that Jake would start 5 minutes after me. (looking at the official times, it should have been 5:49, but that is neither here nor there).

 

The course was in fast condition as I tried to push the pace in a metered fashion. I didn’t want to burn up early and struggle just to finish. I was feeling pretty good up the first couple of climbs, and still hadn’t seen nor heard Jake on my tail by the time I hit the 5 way climb. I was pushing things, hoping that, if I didn’t hear him in the woods as I made my way to the DH that I might just have a chance.

 

Unfortunately I heard his rattling two-wheeled clap-trap bombing down the hill not long after leaving the new switchback singletrack above the 5 way. I knew that my goose was cooked, but wanted to stretch it out to see when the catch would happen. Sweat pooled in my eyes as I made my way down the DH trail, mentally preparing to try and bury myself on the climb to hell known as Stairway.

 

The recent rains have once again messed with the bottom of Stairway. Ignoring the lack of lines and keeping the wheels turning was the #1 priority. Making it past the first 20 yards, I tried to get into a rhythm, but Stairway would have none of it. ½ way up and forced me off the bike and into my death trudge. I couldn’t resist the urge to peek back. Still not seeing Jake, my hopes were raised… maybe he crashed into a tree? Maybe his chain broke? Maybe he decided to quit biking altogether, move to Isle Royale, have a sex change and live out the rest of his life as a lonely spinstress… I didn’t know and didn’t care at the moment… so I trundled on.

 

Bushwhacking through Isaa-godda-davida, essentially being funneled through the trail, I didn’t see Jake passing by on the field after Stairway… maybe I wasn’t as slow as I felt? After the Bomb Crater, and 180 deg I pushed the pace… then I suddenly heard that clickety-clack of a poorly tuned full suspension bike. It brought dismay to my ears… he was in the same section as me… the jig was up! An awkward descent into the Quarry hastened the catch, which happened just after the rock garden… 

 

The rest of the lap was a disappointed mess of a blur. 2112 was cleared, but I knew my time was going to be slower, and I knew that I got my butt kicked by a low down dirty geared rider. Fumbling for my phone (acting as my stopwatch) allowed me to stop the time at 39:15. I was counting “mississippis” while I reached for the timer and tried to unlock it, etc… I got to 11 mississippi before actually hitting stop… so I am saying my “official” time was 39:04.

 

Jake finished in a little more than 32 minutes… so both of us were slower, but at the end of the day, fun was had, challenges were met, and it was another great SPHotlap®!

 

SPH Cup standings after 4 weeks:

 

1^st (!) – Andrew “Job” Petersen – 5 points

2^nd (tie) – Larry “Big Red” Warrington, Isaac “Westwind” Giesen – 4 points

4^th – Jaqueb “The French Connection” Huot – 2 points

5^th – Shane “Will I show up again” Lastname – 1 point

6^th – Marcus “I have to work” Warrington – 0 points

 

SPHotlap #1 is in the books

Finally the stars aligned and the first official Hot Lap could be contested. The weather - not too hot, but a little warm and a little humid. Trail conditions - dry and fast. Riders - Larry (SS), Job, Isaac (SS), Shane

The race started quick, but the pace wasn't too crazy as Job got the hole shot and led through the end of Margaritaville and up the QRT double track climb. Isaac was close behind with Larry and Shane just a few seconds back.

As the race moved through Blitzkrieg Bop Isaac was pushing the pace to try and get by Job and get a gap on Larry. On the long double track climb the pass and gap were made. Would it be enough? At the top of the climb Isaac had a small gap to Larry, Job, and Shane who were all pretty close.

Things stayed pretty status quo until the 5 way climb where Larry started to reel back some time. By the time they hit Stairway the gap was maybe 15-20 seconds max. At the top of stairway it was maybe 10. Bombing down the Quarry led to the first hiccup. Isaac turned into the rock garden - Wrong turn! Larry graciously waited, but the catch was made. Some impromptu trail clearing cost both a few seconds but was not an advantage to either rider. Both single speeders struggled up the climb from the Quarry and were together heading towards 2112 and the infamous laundry chute drop. Isaac let Larry by to let him do the chute at his pace and after the chute, roots, and switchbacks it was all back together. Larry led through the whoopties but had to concede the lead for good heading into the last Singletrack. Isaac rolled to the finish first in 39:20. Larry 5-10 seconds back in a hard fight second. Shane got 3rd in 42ish minutes with Job stopping things at 45.

All in all it was a fun race! It was brutal as no one has really tried going at "race pace"... 

For reference - Isaac was riding 34-20 

Some updates are a-comin'

With the new year comes some interesting thoughts, opportunity, and what not. 

Updates :

1) the site may get a tiny facelift. Jake is finalizing potential sponsorship for the year. When it is tied up I will divulge more.

2) it sounds like almost all of the local crew will be heading to the LML... So that is exciting! 

3) discussion was had last night about making the Memorial Day camping trip a yearly thing. Obviously much thinking and planning will be needed but the consensus was a couple days away biking and relaxing sounded like a wonderful goal.

4) the SPH cup will get maybe get started at the LML. Not sure on points distribution, but there has to be something....

5) we're 50/50 on new kit. I'm probably most for it as I may need to retire a handful of shorts and custom ones are cheaper than stuff off the shelf a lot of times. AND I fell in love with sleeveless jerseys so wouldn't mind having some that I don't have to make myself. I will try and have a few concepts out in a week or so. If we decide against an order that is cool too.

Probably more to come too... But this mobile blogger thing is pretty sketch to use....

GCSSC is on!!!

When: 2:00 pm, Nov 2, 2014
Where: Lar's house
What: Goodhue County SingleSpeed Championship

Let's do this!!!!

GCSSC this weekend?

Still waiting for confirmation from Eric and Matt... But the granddaddy of them all... The Goodhue County Singlespeed Championship... May be held thus Sunday (2nd). Why? Warmer and there is a chance we can all make it... Maybe...

What is the SPH Cup?

The SPH Cup, in its inaugural year this year (2014), is the yearlong competition within the ranks of the SPH Cycling Team to determine who has had the “best” year of riding their bike(s). The “best” year doesn’t necessarily mean fastest, or longest… but can also mean just showing up and having fun. Isn’t fun the main point of riding bikes anyways!?!?

Competition starts in the late spring/early summer with hot laps, and continues through the summer and fall until the season ending Goodhue County Singlespeed Championship. While the list of events which contribute to the accumulation of points can grow or shrink depending on who is around to race/ride, generally there are two types of competitions that will score points. Series and One Day Classics (ODCs).

SPH Cup Series Races
· SPHot Lap
o Timed black – whole enchilada – laps before the normal weekly social ride. Your time is compared to your best in a race to improve each week.
o 1 point for showing up (see – attendance can really be enough to get points)
o 1 point for improving on your best time
o SPECIAL – best improvement gets the traveling top cap trophy
· SPH Into the Darkness
o Bizarro night lap. This is not a timed thing, just encouragement to keep the social aspect of the club going once the days get shorter.
o 2 points for showing up (weather and schedule means that these will be less well attended etc.)
· SSSS (SPH Super Sprint Series)
o The for now defunct road sprint series that was a short sprint from dead stop to dead tired. We had these in 2012 and couple in 2013 but none in 2014. Everyone likes them… no one seems to have time!
o No idea on point system… if we have one we can figure it out!
· SPHCross
o Weekly cross races once the Hot Lap winds down. Generally at TBMS (but may travel from time to time) and on Sunday mornings. 30 minutes of fun.
o 1 point for showing up, an extra point for winning (we call this the Marcus point) and a cool ½ point for keeping on the same lap as the leader until the end (this one is called the Jake point).


SPH Cup One Day Classics
· SPH Duathlon
o 2 blue laps of the mtb trails with full ski trail run sandwiched in between. Always on Labor Day Sunday. Unless people have conflicts.
o Points scale depends on # of attendees… this year it wsa 15 pts for 1st, 10 for 2nd, 7 for 3rd
· Goodhue County Singlespeed Championship
o The granddaddy of them all. The Fall Classic. The Race of the Fallen Leaves. The Iceman Challenge. Traditionally the Sunday before Thanksgiving (we can look to change this in 2015) this race takes in the singletrack and the adjacent gravel roads to create one heck of a challenge. Weather is a real wildcard. We’ve been in 50-60 degree temps… and had snow on the ground.
o Tentative points – 20 points for 1st, 17 for 2nd, 15 for 3rd, 12 for 4th, 9 for 5th, 7th for 6th , 6 for 7th, etc.

We almost had a 6 hour race this year (would still be fun)… maybe a series of short track races if we can’t get the sprints back up and running? SPHOlympics would be sweet too… maybe in 2016 we can do something to commemorate the billions being wasted in Brazil for the actual summer Olympics. Winter Triathlon? Depending on the weather conditions that might be fun… shoot me some ideas if you had any for events that you might think are fun to incorporate into our silliness. Nothing that involves having fun with friends is a bad thing (generally… ). Sorry for formatting.... Tough to post from my archaic phone.

Fueled by Pop Tarts

After finally getting out riding a bit, I am here to espouse of the virtues of the wonderful, unassuming Pop Tart.

Don't have time for breakfast after a hard mountain bike ride? Grab a Pop Tart!

Want some fuel for that hard effort? Munch on a Pop Tart before heading out.

7 essential vitamins and minerals you say? I beg to differ. It is impossible to quantify the number of awesome health benefits...

Note: this only applies to S'more Pop Tarts. The fruit flavored ones are gross.