Michaux Maximus

By Brad Walker:

The Michaux Maximus is the first of a 3 race series that takes place in the rugged and unforgiving Michaux State Forrest in central PA. Gettysburg Bike and Fitness puts these races on every year and they don’t dissapoint. If you like single trac, lots of rocks, and climbing then the Michaux Endurance Series is for you! So I make the trip up into the hills of PA and get lined up at the start for what will hopefully be an exciting 20 miles on the single speed. I hear from other riders that there is a really long steady climb at about the half way point and I think to myself that maybe I should start pre riding courses. I decide at this race that I don’t care what happens in this race that Im gonna race to win except if someone gets really hurt which anyone should stop and help. So they give the green light and the single speed group takes off down a mile long stretch of gravel road that apparently leads to single trac…again, pre riding would help with the unknown. So I find myself in the lead into the first section of singletract only to be passed by another rider like I was sitting still, no biggie…lots of miles left. I keep a steady consisitent pace and Im reeling in the geared group that went off ahead of the single speeders, luckily everyone was nice and let me pass of the climbs, nothing is worse than climbing slower than your ability on a single speed. I keep chasing the guy who blew past me but cant see him. At about mile 10 or so Im riding along with a few geared racers who are keeping a good pace and helping to pull me along. I start hearing riders say something about a huge climb coming up, again…I should really start pre-riding….we start the accent of a long multi mile climb and I leave the spinning to the geared guys and start mashing away….never have I climbed this much in 20 miles and my choice of gearing put a hurting on me. I finally finish the climb from hell and want to pass out but there is no time to recover as the next few sections were very technical rocky decents where my heart rate was still in the high 160’s. I keep chasing but again I never see the guy nor was anyone ever on my tire in the single speed class. I finish the Michaux Maximus in 2^nd place about 7 minutes behind the winner but 16 minutes ahead of 3^rd place and 10^th out of 85 in the 20. So maybe the sports psycologist isnt needed for now…maybe I do belong.

Massanutten Yee Ha Downhill Race

Congratulations to Tim Hope of Team Flying Dog's Downhill Team -  He placed 9th in Sport Men 40+ at the Massanutten Yee Ha Downhill Race!!

Greenbrier Challenge Mountain Bike Race

Congratulations to all the members of Team Flying Dog who raced the 9th Annual Potomac Velo Club's Greenbrier Challenge:

    Parker Montour - 2nd in Jr Female 11-12

    Diana Juliano - 2nd in Cat 2 Female 40-49
    Jason Robey - 10th in Cat 3 Male 30-39
    Nathan Wigley - 12th in Cat 2 Male 30-34
    Brian Weisgerber - 15th in Cat 2 Male 35-39
    Herb Wright - 16th in Cat 2 Male 35-39
    Charles Montour - 18th in Cat 2 Male 35-39
    Jay Aument - 20th in Cat 2 Male 35-39
   August Merker - 21st in Cat 2 Male 35-39

Jay Aument

Herb Wright

Jason Robey

August Merker

Gleneagles Off-Road Duathlon

By Andie Lesondak:

This past Saturday I raced my first Duathlon at Harris Lake County Park.  The race was put on through Bushwack Adventure Racing, so there was also a 6 hr Adventure Race that took place after the Duathlon was finished.  There were 30 racers in the Duathlon, which including myself, consisted of 4 solo women racers.  It really was a fun race!  And just as a precursor, this race was quite laid back, so no timing chips or bike racks in the transition area.  Therefore, all of my times (as you read on) are approximated between their watch & my watch.  The trail run was first, which was approximately 4.5-5 miles long.  Since my knees & IT bands have been acting up with running again, my run training was minimal prior to the race.  However, I managed to find my rhythm & even enjoy the run.  (Trail running definitely takes me back to my roots.)   Anywho, I ended up completing the run in about 41 minutes.  Next, it was on to the mountain bike - ah, finally in my comfort zone.  The ride was a 7 mile loop of a trail I know quite well.  A guy passed me only a few miles into the ride.  At first I was just going to hang back & do my own thing.  But as I saw him start to ride off, for some reason I got it in my head that he passed me on a cheap bike.  And then I thought, no way can I let this guy pass me on his cheap rig when I have my newly blinged-out Trek (thanks to my hubby, Herb, Jason & the guys at the Bike Doctor in Frederick, MD).  So.. use the force I did.. and pedal faster I did!  I managed to catch back up to him & stay on his wheel the rest of the way.  As I pushed to keep up with him, he’d try to pull away, which only pushed me more.  We seemed to just fly through the course.  Before I knew it we were finished, and popping out of the woods towards the finish line.  I decided to give it a final effort & started sprinting.  To my amazement he started sprinting as well, but I managed to squeak by him at the end.  I finished with an approximate bike time of 37:30-38 minutes, and an average speed of 11.3 mph.  So, with my transition split, I ended up finishing the race in 1 hour & 20 mins, which put me in 1st Place for Solo Women, and in 4th place overall.  WOHOO!!  (On a side note, the very nice biker who’s wheel I tried to stay on, turned out to be riding a carbon, lefty, 29er Cannondale.  Haha - not such a cheap rig after all.)  The mind is a tricky thing, and really quite amazing how when you set the mind to it, you can do anything you want!  A big thank you to the Bushwack crew for organizing & hosting such a fun event & thanks to the amazing & fun racers out on the course!!  :)

Big Bear Lake Mountain Bike Classic

By Brad Walker:

The Big Bear Classic in Bruceton Mills, WV was my first race racing for Team Flying Dog and also my first race in the expert single speed category. To be honest, the expert category scares the hell out of me since I have only been riding for less than a year, regardless of what people think of my riding ability. So I make the 2 hour trek out to Big Bear for the first time, the weather is calling for a nice day as I leave my home in Hagerstown. On my way West and less than thirty minutes out, the weather drastically changes and I’m pulling up to the ski resort in 30 degree weather calling for a couple inches of snow. This weather typically wouldn’t bother me but I came with just my cycling shorts and fingerless gloves. To heck with it I think to myself and get my race plate and do a once over the bike. Being my first single speed race I line up at the very back of the group due to not knowing how the pace would be for the more competitive riders. I thought for sure the race director would stage all the experts instead of one big mass start but of course, that’s exactly what he did, all the racers heading towards a bottleneck. As I look back now, I should have pushed my way to the front and started with a chance to start strong cause the bottleneck really screwed my race up starting in the back. I start at the back because at this point in my riding expeirence I have confidence issues sometimes in races and have yet to aquire the killer instict. The race starts, and already Im beyond freezing and cant feel my fingers, so I suck it up and start picking off riders in the singlespeed and geared classes, I continue to reel in the racers who were smart enough to start in the front. This continues and I can see Montana Miller who is a very strong single speeder about 4 places ahead of me and from what I can see is leading the single speed class. This gives me a boost of confidence that maybe I can hang with some of the faster riders and of course that confidence is stoped dead in its tracks by a broken chain while musceling over some rocks. On a 10 speed geared chain, a broken chain is no big deal, 5 or so minutes and im back racing, being that I am on a single speed it creates more of a dilemma. Not only do I have to fix the chain but I have to loosen and adjust the sliders, not fun. Fix my chain, make the adjustment and I’m back on the bike feeling good again only to have my rear tire flatten 5 miles down the trail while over aggressively decending a tricky rocky section. I have yet to make the switch to tubeless and inside my head I am really starting to scream at myself, so I make the repairs and start racing again. At this point, Im in the very back of the race I would guess and I put the hammer down with about 5 miles to go telling myself I will not finish last. I was able to reel in a few of the single speeders and a handfull of the geared riders which is always nice considering they have gears! Finish the race in 11^th place in the single speed class and alittle over 20 minutes off the winner, no chain or tire issues…who knows! This was a great learning expierence for me as it showed that a few little adjustments can make a huge difference either good or bad in a race, especially when racing against very able riders. So next time, I will start in the front, tires will be tubeless, and I will attempt to have some belief that I belong.