So everyone that knows me well understands that there are a couple of races a year that i really do strictly for fun. Yes FUN, no expectations other than to smile and see some of my racing friends from other areas. Iceman & Mohican are two of the races that top my list of “just to have fun”. Don’t get me wrong each & every race for me is fun but these events seem to hold little pressure. I really don’t train for these long types of events and at Mohican I always do the shorter 100K course. A few years back I did do the 100 miler (in its early stage) and finished 2nd with over 10 hours of riding and it was fun but i didn’t feel it was necessary for me to race 100 miles. Anyway this year was no different, i went for fun and got to see more than several friends and hang out. It was a bonus getting to ride all those trails on the Superfly 29er and winning was simply an added bonus to the weekend.
Friday night i rolled in late and meet up with Chris Eatough, Chris Beck & Jeff Schalk. A quick little catch up chat and we headed out for dinner with Bob Myers (Area 106 Trek Rep) along with TJ Platt his girlfriend and one other guy from my neck of the woods Jerry Bliton. Pizza pasta, water and conversation until heading to the lodge for sleep. Tires and trail conditions where the topics discussed.
Rob, Brandon & Stork
Saturday morning came and Jerry bought me my breakfast of bacon and 2 cups of coffee. Throw on the Mt. Borah gear and straddle the Superfly wrapped with XDX rubber and I was off. I came to the XDX choice based on conversation with Chris E., Jeff S., & Chris Beck the night before. They are really a great “reliable” tire for most courses. Traction for climbing and cornering are at a fair premium considering these are fast rolling tires but their sidewall strength adds the comfort for rocks or rigid trail conditions. I was leaning towards the XR1 tire but didn’t feel it would offer the traction in the damp morning single track & muddy areas from the previous nights rain. It turned out to be an excellent tire choice and I felt secure in every condition during the race.
Almost 5 hours later i rolled over the finish line and cleaned up. As other riders came in i found myself surrounded by friends that i haven’t seen in some time. I did get to hang with my thursday night riding bud Brandon Draugelis who took 5th place in the mens 100miler…way to go Brandon.
stork making the moves
Listening to all the finishing riders stories is simply entertaining! One individual feels like it would never end while someone else claims to be just getting their legs in the last miles. One thing that couldn’t be argued and was factual was the number of riders on Superflys!! They were everywhere and many of them powered by someone in the 29er Crew wear. It was the dominating ride of choice whether ridden on the 100 miler or the shorter 100K course.
For more info on my particular race go here.
*stork
