Shenandoah Mountain 100
Shenandoah Mountain 100
Stokesville, VA 9/4/2005
This was my first attempt at the increasingly popular 100 mile off-road races and now I know why they are getting so popular. The course was a combination of technical, almost scary in places, single track, dirt forest roads and very little pavement. What I really enjoyed was the technical single track climbs. The first was the toughest with very few people even trying to ride it. I was able to clean most of it, but I spent a lot of energy doing it and had to back off a bit later to recover. At the top of this climb I flatted and while I changing it a guy also riding a Kona…a Dawg Dee-Lux, I think. I loan him my pump and we start talking bikes. It turns out he owns Mock Orange Bicycles in Mocksville, NC. I asked if knew a sales rep named Scott and he replied, “Yeah, I do.” I say, “You are a wuss.” He looks at me sideways. I don’t blame, I mean some random guy in a race first hands you a pump and then calls you names would cause a bit of alarm for me as well. I follow that up with “according to Scott.” See, when I told the Kona rep I work with for sponsorship tat I was doing this race, he told me if I me the guy from Mock Orange Bikes, that I need to tell him he’s a wuss. “Any reason” I asked? Scott is a devout single speed rider and Charles and Scott were supposed to be riding this together on single speeds. Scott had to bail for some reason and Charles decided he could then use gears. Wuss. I was merely the messenger in this conversation, but I found it amusing and coincidental that I run into this guy while having a flat at the same time in the same place while 300 other riders are on the same route.
After check stop 4 at about 60 miles I had some trouble getting moving again. I rode off from the SAG alone, but after about 10 minutes found myself in a pace line with 3 or 4 others. We rode together without conversation for about 20 minutes. Some others would join and then carry on or drop back as they found their own pace, but I was appreciative that I had others to work with. I was getting a little apprehensive since I knew from looking at the route profile that biggest climb loomed just ahead and my legs were feeling very heavy. Another group of guys I had worked with early who were from MI caught and passed our group. They worked with us for a rotation, but then gap opened as they pulled through. At first I let them go and was content to sit in with the slower group, but MI guys were only going a mile an hour faster at best and decided to bridge the gap to them. Leaving the safety of the slower group I went out on my own raising my pace and heart rate to catch up to the MI guys. I struggled a bit, but managed to get the wheel of one of them just before we hit the base of the climb. I settled in to recover, but found I couldn’t hold that pace. It was kind of weird. The high intensity I used to bridge the gap was easier to hold than lower intensity I had to use to hold this guys wheel. The road swept back 180* and the climb began. Now it was less of a choice to ride at a higher intensity and I was right back with the MI guys. This time not just following wheels, but setting the pace. There faces showed their efforts, but I felt good so I shifted to a smaller cog and rode away. I spent the next 30 minutes catching and passing all the riders who had passed me after the SAG stop. I rode through the next SAG, not wanting to stop until I made the top of this climb and little afraid I would have to spend another half hour trying to find my legs again. After many false peaks, I finally reached the top…18 miles and 2500 feet later.
The descent was needed since I spent a lot of energy holding that pace and I stopped at the last SAG at 88 miles. Sherri Hall from Atlanta was working this one and took good care of me. I sat on the side of the road while Sherri and some of the other volunteers took care of all my needs. She opened my Burn for me. Thanks Sherry. The other Ed from Atlanta then rolled through for a fast pit stop, so I decided he was going to be my rabbit for the rest of the ride. Thanks for the motivation Ed. Again I felt more comfortable at a higher intensity and that carried me to the finish. Well that and I saw a guy closing in on me over the final climb. I finished 54th overall in 9 hours and 46 minutes, but I learned a lot about pacing and not giving into that feeling of being spent.
This was such a well run event. Registration was a breeze, the food was good and plentiful, the SAGs were great (someone even donated 3 cases of BURN Energy Drinks 
), the Old Dominion beer was also good and plentiful and the race director Chris Scott was great MC. Namrita had mechanical issues for the second time in two years and she thinks the bike gods are against her finishing this one, but I wouldn’t mind going back.
Click here for more details about the SM100.
I’d like to thank my sponsors:
Mechanical & Product Support from Cartecay Bike Shop – Ellijay, GA
Supplements from GNC 5361 N Socrum Loop Rd, Lakeland, FL
Energy drinks from Source Drinks makers of BURN & BURN2
Nutritional & health advice from Dr. Jamie Brenon.
Chiropractic Services from Dr. Josh Glass
More Product support and media exposure from Eastern Mountain Bike Racing
Addition Product Support from Chainwheel Drive Bike Shop in Clearwater & Palm Harbor, FL
Eddie O