Eat. Tri. Venture.

WARNING:  Long race report ahead!

After spending the second half of 2014 sidelined with knee distress, I was looking for a new challenge for 2015.  Something I hadn’t done before.  Something that would push my boundaries.  Something that I could prepare for while spending time with hubby JMac.  I settled on the Mohican 100k mountain bike race as that something.  I even managed to convince JMac to race it, not just train with me. 

From the race’s website:  Cris-cross four counties along a single loop, climb more than 11,000 feet, and go toe to toe with the top pros on this legendary ultra-endurance loop in Northeastern Ohio. The Mohican 100 features both a 100 mile and a 100 kilometer option with five fully stocked aid stations plus self-serve water stops.

Fortunately for me, the 100k version only has about 8,500 feet of elevation gain.  Wait, 8,500 feet of elevation gain?  This is Ohio, right?  Well, just like Race Director Ryan O’Dell says, the elevation profile for the course looks like an EKG.  You get your 8,500 feet in 350’ increments, which makes for a lot of pitchy, pumpy climbing.  To get ready, as soon as the weather broke for the spring season and the trails dried out, JMac and I began making almost weekly pilgrimages to Loudonville, riding the state park single track and surrounding back roads.  We found a great loop of the back country roads that largely approximated the gravel road sections we would see on race day.  (Check out the map here http://ridewithgps.com/routes/2278764).  We also did a weekend climbing camp with my coach, PG, and training crew in the hills of Central Pennsylvania in April.  For race prep we opted to head back up to Michigan’s Barry Roubaix to see our JTree peeps and drink beer.  Wait, I mean, race the 36 mile course at Barry Roubaix.  We decided to skip the OMBC mountain bike race at Mohican in April, instead racing the 50k Amish Country Roubaix that same weekend.  My thought behind this was that I could ride Mohican for free and AC would provide more options for challenging climbing and descending.  While this was certainly the case, I think now that putting an additional actual mountain bike race on the calendar pre-Mohican 100k would have been a good idea.

But rolling into race week I was feeling tapered, rested and ready to go.  JMac and I drove down to Loudonville Friday afternoon, checked in at our tent campsite at Mohican Adventures and then went over to pick up our race bags.  We set up camp, made dinner and just relaxed, enjoying a quiet evening and the opportunity to just sit for a change.  We did go back over to packet pick up for the pre-race Q&A.  There weren’t many people there but I was glad we went.  In addition to learning that several large snakes (supposedly harmless, if there is such a thing) had been spotted on the course that week, I learned exactly where the hike-a-bike sections were.  I had heard the hike-a-bike sections were tough but didn’t really appreciate that sentiment until I heard the almost pleading tone of a race veteran asking if any of them had been removed for this year’s course.  The answer?  No, followed by some uncomfortable chuckling.  Ok, then, beware of the hike-a-bike sections.  JMac and I returned to camp, prepped our food and bikes for the next day and turned in early.

We were up early for a quick breakfast of coffee and overnight oats (prepped at home the day before).  Bikes, nutrition and hydration packs ready, we rolled over to start in downtown Loudonville just a quick ride from Mohican Adventures.  I didn’t check race morning but the forecast the day before was predicting (I kid you not) 91% humidity.  

I’m guessing it was up there.  We lined up about halfway (?) back in the group and waited for the start.  

(We're somewhere in there.  Photo cred:  Butch Phillips).

After a few quick announcements we were off.  

 (Photo cred:  Butch Phillips)

The race starts with a punchy climb out of town followed by a couple of more miles of rolling roads to spread the group out before entering the double track and state park single track.  

(Photo cred:  Tim Cristy)

A prime is offered for the first rider to reach the city limits.  To say the least, I wasn’t going for that contest.  Instead, I sat back and let things sort themselves out.  My concern was going out too hard and then being too burned out later in the race.  Well, as has happened in just about every bike race I have done, I sat back too much and got behind a massive slow moving mass going into the single track.  Bah. 

We rolled through the single track to A1 pretty uneventfully.  The trail was wetter than I had expected and I was a little off my lines with race jitters, but nothing too terrible.  

 (There I am.  No, wait, that's legendary pro Tinker Juarez.  But I'm sure I look just as smooth.  Photo cred:  Tim Cristy)

Upon arriving to A1 I could not believe the massive number of racers who appeared to be there, just hanging out.  I dropped my bike, walked over to a volunteer who offered to refill my hydration pack, grabbed a few pieces of fruit, downed a kiddy applesauce (just like the PowerBar pureed fruit packet but 50% of the cost), refilled my bento box with an Amrita bar from my pack and took off, hoping to leave the mass of riders I had been following behind.  I was excited to be on my favorite section of trail.  There was a chatty guy following me, singing and talking about Grassman for some reason.  I must have actually been listening to him because after a few miles I realized all of the food from my bento box had fallen out somewhere after A1.  D’oh.  At that point I was following a girl who I knew had gone sub 8 hours (my goal) in 2014 and so I opted to stay with her and grab my emergency food out of my pack when I got to the top of the first hike-a-bike section.  I continued trading places with a few folks until I saw the volunteer pointing me towards the section of trail connecting the single track and gravel roads.  I turned left, came to a dead stop and looked up.  Straight up.  Seriously?  I’ve climbed routes that steep in the mountains with a rope on.  I pushed/slid me and my bike up the “trail” to the top, took a breath, refilled my bento box and hopped back on my bike.  This lasted a few minutes until I began the nasty water board descent to Rt 97.  It was then on to some horse poop double track, another hike-a-bike and eventually up to the gravel roads.  Since JMac and I had ridden this section in training, I was back on familiar ground.  Unfortunately, it was also around this time that I ran out of water…I had noticed the volunteer only filled my hydration bag about 2/3 of the way full at A1 but didn’t think it would be a big deal.  Well, it was hot and humid and I *apparently* was drinking a lot.  So, no water until A2.  Just keep going.  I pedaled away from the group I had been riding with and rolled up and down and into A2. 

 A lovely little girl came running up to me with my drop bag just as I was stopping my bike.  Sweet!  Same as A1, I grabbed some fruit and refilled my bento box from my drop bag while a volunteer refilled my water.  She apologized for getting her fingers inside my hydration pack as she tried to hold it.  I let her know that I was pretty sure I had just splashed horse sh*t up my legs riding through some muck a while back so I really wasn’t concerned about her fingers.  Feeling re-energized, I left A2 for more gravel.  The next section had some good climbs and good descents.  The sun was shining and although I could feel the day catching up to me in my legs, I enjoyed the ride.  I just wanted to get to Mohican Wilderness and get that section of single track out of the way.  It was the only significant part of the course I hadn’t seen and that made me nervous.  I had been told it was “old school” i.e. more technical and rocky and less flowy, definitely not my strong suit. 

I climbed Big Hill Road (yes, that’s really its name) and turned into the woods at Mohican Wilderness.  Let’s get this b*tch over with.  It started out ok but then rapidly degenerated into rain forest-y, overgrown, twisty, rocky ickiness.  I laughed to myself, knowing that JMac would have laughed to himself coming through this, knowing how high the Marsita Unhappiness Level would be and being grateful he wasn’t there to experience it.  I wanted to be done—done with the single track.  The only thing that made me feel better was that the guys I came across were struggling worse than I, offering to let me by without me asking. 

“You can go.”

“No, seriously, I’m going to be off my bike in another minute.  So you can go.”

“No, seriously, you can go.”  (Managed to pass on all the goodies and stick with my nutrition plan.  Photo cred:  Tim Cristy).