First ride in H-burg! 2017 Roubaix Expert UDi2
Rider and reviewer: Wes
For frame of reference, I've ridden, trained, and raced two different Specialized Tarmacs over a period of 4 years (I was on a Scott Addict and a Trek Madone prior to that). I've also been on a Specialized Diverge Comp over the last year (ridden concurrently with my Tarmac).
Photo by: Wes
Initial Impressions:
When the pavement is perfect, the new Roubaix rides just like a Tarmac. The rougher the roads become, the more the Roubaix shows its powers. You'll see a rough section coming and prepare yourself as you would on a regular road bike, but then you hit that section and it's smooth as butter.
The Future Shock works. No, you will not notice bobbing unless you are intentionally playing with it. You'll only notice it doing its job.
The new Roubaix is lighter and stiffer with better power transfer and responsiveness than the previous Roubaix models. In the men's model, the head tube matches that of the Tarmac. The ride is perfect. The longer you ride, the more it shines. It is a Rider First frame, just like the Tarmac.
As compared to riding the Tarmac, in terms of smoothness, suspension, and control: 25c tires feel like 28s, 28c tires feel like 32s, and 32c tires feel like... I don't know because I haven't tried them, yet. There's (officially) room for 32c tires and maybe a bit more in actuality. So you get the perks of the next size tire up without whatever penalty in rotational weight there may be.
There is no equal to this bike in the offerings from the other major manufacturers. Specialized nailed this rig. It's like the Tarmac and the Diverge had a baby, so I've sold the Diverge, and I'm selling the Tarmac... And I'll be left with one bike to rule them all.
-Wes
#smootherisfaster
Photos by: Kelly
12 Days of Christmas
Who's ready for some discounts and giveaways?!
Join us for 12 days of Christmas fun! From 12/10 - 12/23, a different item will be given away at some point during the day and discounts will be offered on similar items!
Keep up with our 12 Days of Christmas Giveaway by following us on Facebook
Some of these items might pop up in our giveaway!
Holiday Gift Guide
Not sure what to give the cyclist in your life for the holidays? Not to worry, we've got you covered with some great ideas!
Below are samplings of some of the items we carry, other than bikes! These are great gifts for that special cyclist in your life!
We're here and happy to help, so if you have any questions, ask away!
Happy holidays!
$10 & Under
$25 & Under
$50 & Under for Her
$50 & Under for Him
Roval CLX 32 Wheelset Long Term Review/Alpine Loop Grand Fondo
A few months ago, just before the Alpine Loop Gran Fondo, our first of the 2017 road demo wheelsets arrived. Having had the Fondo in my sights for some time I was excited to get some super light wheels in to ride over all the hills. My current wheelset was something I built myself with some parts available. It is a 1430g set of aluminum rims, and some run of the mill hubs that are nice, but I notice some flexing when I lay a bit more into them.
The CLX 32 wheels in comparison, were slightly lighter, at 1340g for the set, but weight was the smallest difference that I noticed. The 32mm deep wheels have a wide shape to them with an internal rim width of 21.7mm. My alloy wheels are much narrower at 16mm. These wheels were claiming to be more aero than the previous Specialized race wheels, the CLX 40, which are deeper (and weigh more). Having been the first wheelset to my knowledge that has been fully developed in the Win Tunnel, the expectations were high.
After mounting my 24mm Turbo Cotton tires up, I got out on them and did some big rides. It was apparent immediately that the wheels were faster. It's so difficult to discern where speed is coming from. The wheels are lighter, and much stiffer, with a great tire profile, but I would say the aerodynamics were the most noticeable upgrade from my alloy wheels. Up above 20mph are where they really feel much faster.
This was all before I mounted the 26c Turbo Cotton tires up. Wanting wider tires, especially for the Fondo, where one of the timed sections is incredibly rough, and knowing that these wheels were actually designed to be fastest with 26c tires, my well worn 24c Cotton tires were replaced with their 26c brethren. I use Vittoria latex tubes. They are proven to roll faster in addition to smoother. Latex tubes are a bit more expensive and require pumping every ride, but I haven't had more flats with them. I threw the 26s on the bike a few days out from the Fondo and only had a few short rides on them, but what a difference 2mm makes. They were significantly smoother and had me super stoked for Sunday.
The Fondo itself went great. With three climbs timed, 11,000 feet of climbing overall, and 107 miles of sweet riding in Virginia and West Virginia, it was sublime. Having ran an aid station for the previous 3 years I hadn't actually ever done the Fondo. What a stellar event.
Riding with Kelly, Ryan, Jeremiah, and a few other friends during the day was super fun. The scenery back in West Virginia is so good, especially around when the Fondo happens. If you haven't done this ride yet, or one of the other loops offered, you owe it to yourself to do it. The full Alpine Loop ride is worth the extra training miles!
I know that equipment is only part of our sport, but it is a big part. I ended up taking the overall KOM competition this year, I think I got Jeremiah by 9 seconds or so! I've continued to put miles on the CLX wheels (now I have 32c tubeless Roubaix tires on them) and have yet to have a problem. We are also waiting on the disc version of these wheels to come in for demo. Look for them on our new Roubaix demo bike!
Chris
Cross is Boss
Ryan and I traveled to Richmond Sunday to race the VCU Cross race at City Stadium. I have raced VCU cross for several years and despite the non-typical venue, I have always enjoyed the race. Only cyclocross can re-purpose a historic football stadium into a fun course filled with concrete, gravel and grass.
After a week off to recover from a cold, I was not sure what to expect, but I had a good start and slotted in directly behind friend/rival Jimmy Deaton for a couple of laps. I took over for a few laps and Jimmy and I worked through lapped traffic and built up a good lead. My plan was to lead the final lap forcing Jimmy to come around me, but an untimely slide out had us swap positions heading into the final lap. It took a lot of effort to hang on, but we hit the finish stretch together with Jimmy leading. I was hoping to have the legs to contest the sprint, but with my heart rate pegged, I was not able to respond for the final sprint. All in all, I am happy for second and motivated to try again next week to finally make it on the top step this year.
No trip to City Stadium would be complete without the 3 block ride over to the heart of Carrytown. Carrytown is a very cool section of Richmond that is filled with dozens of great shops and restaurants. Ryan and I had a great gyro from Greek on Cary and spent some time checking out a fellow Specialized dealer, Carrytown Bicycles.
If cross racing looks like fun, stop in the shop ask us some questions. We would love to help get you to your first race.
Ken
Massanutten Bike Park!
This past Sunday, I was given the opportunity for a "last-hoorah" day of riding at the brand new Massanutten Mountain Bike Park. As I hadn't been able to get out to it since the park opened in July, I was super stoked to hit these trails!
All of the advanced trails are accessed by lifts to the top of the mountain. It was quite enjoyable in almost 80 degree weather with sunny skies and the leaves peaking to their best color!
Views from the lift
Being new to the downhill park scene, I took my time down the first few runs of both Creamy and Crunchy. There are 4 advanced trails there right now; World Cup and All or Nutten are definitely the higher-tech trails, while Creamy and Crunchy give the options of jumping or working on super tight 180-berms with a few rocky sections scattered throughout. I opted out of doing the other two trails for the day as I was feeling a bit rusty (pretty much hadn't touched my mountain bike since the Shenandoah Mountain 100) and didn't feel like risking injury. I was also having a blast just working on improving each of my runs down those 2 trails!
Ryan and Adam both joined for the day, and we also got to ride with Lindsey (she works at the park) for a bit. It was awesome to see so many people we knew from town or other bike events out there! One woman who was visiting the resort to see the beautiful leaves even asked, "Why are there so many bikers?! Are you all part of a club or something?" This interaction was taking place while we were passing each other on the lift, so my only response could be "Yeah! We're part of this bike coalition in Harrisonburg!"
View from the very tippy-top of Massanutten
The energy throughout the day was happy and chill. I never felt pressure to push myself into anything I would be super uncomfortable with, but also felt comfortable enough to push my usual boundaries. By the end of the day, catching air and speeding down the trails and through those tight berms was less scary and more fun.
We were there ALL day. By 4:15pm Ryan and I called it quits. Our quads were tired and our index fingers/hands were starting to give out on us. With 9 runs in for us and 11 runs for Adam, I would definitely called it a successful day. It was also great to test out how my new Stumpjumper Pro Carbon 29 would perform on park trails - oh my gosh this bike was a party!
The bike park season is closing now, so it was nice to be able to finish it off on such a beautiful day. I'm already looking forward to when it opens next year! Can't wait to get that season pass! :)
-Kelly
Shenandoah Mountain 100 Mile Mountain Bike Race 2016
Photo by Will Niccolls
The much anticipated Shenandoah 100 (the 18th one!) happened this past Labor Day weekend. Ryan, Kelly, and Myself raced it this year. It was Ryan's first time, Kelly's second, and My fourth. We all had our own goals, mine being a podium finish, Kelly trying to improve upon her result from two years ago, and I think Ryan was just hoping to finish without any major issues (he had A LOT of spare parts in his Camelbak).
The course is largely the same as it's always been with some great new re-routes from SVBC on Wolf trail and Dowell's Draft. For those unfamiliar, it's a mixture of trails and fireroads with about 12,000 feet of climbing and 5.5 aid stations to refuel along the way.
Alan
Conditions were perfect - a bit dusty from our dry late summer. 400 of us rolled out of the Stokesville Campground at 6:30am, just as the sun is peeking up and the road becomes visible. The usual morning chill was noticeably absent this year but no worries, as the high was only going to be 83 degrees or so, which meant at 4000ft it will be 75 or so. Perfect.
Kelly
Quite a few of our friends participated from many states. I saw about a half dozen people from upstate NY, where I grew up, and dozens of local riders from town or Staunton.
Friends Wes and Alan both had great rides! It was Wes' first time racing here, and Alan's second. Alan bested his time by a bit over 20 minutes and Wes was just outside the top 20 with a time just over 8:30. Kelly had an awesome ride getting seventh overall for the ladies and improving her time by almost two hours! I also had a great day on the bike, good enough for fourth place.
Ryan
My setup was an important part of my success. I rode a Specialized S-Works Epic with the brand new 2017 Renegade 2.3 tires, which have a totally new tread pattern and Gripton rubber that made a huge difference. I run a little higher pressure during the 100 mile races, as they tend to have more road and the higher pressure seems to help me not flat on the trail sections. I was 163.5lbs on race day and ran 25psi front and 28psi rear along with Stan's Race Sealant. A few other things were my Evade GC skinsuit which is certainly worth some time, and road shoes and pedals, which aren't always optimal but with only one place on course to walk up they were great.
Wes
Shenandoah 100 on STRAVA
Click the picture to visit the webpage!
FINAL RESULTS:
Click the image for the Full Results
Photo credit to Garrett Hughes and Will Niccolls
Luray CX, 2016
'Cross is here!
Cross came early this year with the season kicking off on September 10 in Luray, VA.
Chris Gould with Page Valley Cycling always puts on a great event and this year’s race did not disappoint. Unlike last year where we raced in a downpour, weeks of sun and no rain created a dusty course. My race started at 11:30 with temps pushing 95 degrees. Knowing the promoter paid off, and I got a front row call up. The race started smoothly and I slotted into the top 5 for a few laps.
As the laps ticked down, some of the guys in front of me had some mechanical issues and I found myself leading the race with 2 laps to go. Jimmy Deaton from Rouge Velo was right behind me and I figure if I towed him to the line he would beat me in the sprint so I eased up and he came around me. Tired legs and lapped traffic made it difficult to hang onto Jimmy and ultimately he went on to win and I came in second.
I was stoked for a podium finish in a strong field, but would have loved to have gotten that pie that Jimmy was awarded for winning the race.
After the race I enjoyed some Pale Fire beer and a freshly grilled brat. The new 1x setup on my Specialized Crux shifted great and I look forward to more 'cross races coming up in October.
If this looks like fun, come out to Westover Park in downtown Harrisonburg on October 16 for the 6th annual Rocktown Cyclocross Festival.
Photos by: Igda Warner (VeloGirl22)
2016 Specialized Dealer Event.
Getting to head out to Specialized headquarters for the second year didn't disappoint. Here's the quick and dirty.
Big Rides in the Summertime
Summer is the season of abundance. At least, according to an informational kiosk on Skyline Drive I happened to stop at while on a ride. That’s true for the critters that live up there, as well as us riders.
I’ve realized this more and more lately.
This past winter, I rode very little. Between the weather seemingly more wet and chilly when compared to other years, and a lack of motivation, goals, and other distractions, it didn’t bother me much.
It turned out to be helpful. Being a person with a finite amount of mental energy to deal with cold weather especially, it was nice to start riding more again in late April/early May; There was finally enough time to use the good weather and daylight to my advantage.
The starting point for one of my favorite loops in Highland County, VA.
This summer has been about being able to refocus and perhaps attain goals that I just haven’t had the energy to carry through in the past. Big rides have been an important part of this. Exploring new pavement, dirt road, or trail keeps things fresh. For me, this means a lot of 100+ mile rides around the valley to places I very rarely reach on a normal ride. Revisiting some good old huge rides often feels pretty fresh too, as I haven’t done some of these in 3 years or so.
All of this is good, but motivation is important for me too. Strava is helpful for me in this regard, as I often plan a ride around a great climb that I want to better myself on, or take a KOM. I have been decreasing the amount of time I spend traveling to races and increasing quality training load without driving 8 hours in a weekend, racing for two, then coming back tired on Monday. Instead, I've been riding for 10 hours between Saturday and Sunday and staying focused on diet and recovery. This has proven effective, at least in a big climb and all-day-strong kind of ride.
Exploring roads in California.
More California explorations.
Shooting for a zippy Shenandoah Mountain 100 will keep me honest going through the summer and into Fall racing, as well as the great rides like the Alpine Loop Gran Fondo and the SVBC Century. I may even make it to the Mountain Mama century August 6th in Highland County, where I love to ride!
Summer is the season of riding abundance, so whether it be a big or small ride, get out and enjoy it!
Right now, I'm out in California for some vacation time as well as checking out the 2017 Specialized Dealer event. I've done a few big rides so far on some awesome roads! Check out this sweet ride Northwest of Santa Rosa!
Click the picture to get more details on the ride from Strava.
June SVBC Time Trial
A quick write up about our June 2016 dry river time trial and some of the history of the event.
Dry River Rd TT
This past Wednesday, June 22, we put on a Time Trial on Dry River Rd. in Dayton, VA. We had a great time watching a bunch of riders pushing themselves to breaking point. Sometimes it is nice not to be the one drooling all over your bike. We had a wide range of participants from first time riders to experienced veterans. This range of skill is what makes this event so fun. You never know who is going to show up! Check out the photos below to see what the event was all about or check out the link below for results from the day:
Tradition
This tradition has been going on since at least 1983 thanks to the local club, Shenandoah Valley Bicycle Coalition. There have been hundreds of participants over the last 33 yrs and we are happy to be continuing this tradition. We took a little time and looked through hundreds of SVBC newsletters to find the times from the past and create an all time leader board so we could compare modern times to what people were able to do since the 80's. Click the link below to see the all time leader board:
Locals throw down on the Western Slope!
The Massanutten Enduro was a great event this year!
Seriously, the mountain bikers threw themselves down the mountain repeatedly at this past weekend's Massanutten Hoo Ha Enduro. The local players involved were Kyle Lawrence, Collin Vento, Sam Skidmore, Harlan Price, and Me. I was pretty intimidated heading into the race. These guys all have amazing skills and great fitness. Harlan and I competed in our first downhill race at the Massanutten Yee Haw, back in May, and he destroyed my time. Last year I was runner up to Sam Skidmore. Every stage he increased his lead. I finished two minutes behind him. My goal this year was to close the gap on Sam.
Enduro racing is a mix of Cross Country (XC) and Downhill (DH). It requires climbing to the beginning of stages and then racing mostly down hill timed segments with some pedally climbs in the middle. This racing is highly skill based but requires a lot of fitness as well. The event this past weekend took six and a half hours to complete. We had to climb up the mountain once and race four timed stages down the mountain.
Stage one was a short seeding run and it was a mud pit. The lead riders were Ellen Kasiske at 1m:41s and Eddie Anderson at 1m:29s. The top 5 times were between 1 minute 29 seconds and 1 minute 33 seconds. I was in 8th at 1m:35s.
Most of the podium resting before stage 3. Photo provided by Shenandoah Mountain Touring.
Stage two was the longest and had a few tough climbs. It started at Kaylor Knob heading north and dropping down the west side of the ridge routing down Laird's Nose and around the pond. The stage claimed some tires but Collin Vento was ready and only lost 45 seconds after plugging and CO2ing his tire back into action keeping him in the top 5. The winners of the stage were again Ellen and Eddie. Lindsey was a favorite for this stage in the women's race but had a bad flat that took a few minutes to repair. I had a clean run and finished second on the stage 17 seconds behind Eddie. At this point the men's podium was still undecided. Eddie had a substantial lead of 25 seconds but 2nd-5th were very close including Collin, Sam, Harlan, and me.
We got a shuttle up to the overlook where stage 3 started. This stage heads north on the ridge and drops into Upper Ravine trail then traverses across Lower Ravine to Lower Hanenkahm. I thought I had a really clean run but the three guys behind me were quickly reeling in my second place spot. Collin won the stage 8 seconds ahead of Eddie followed by Harlan, Me, and Sam. After this Stage I was still in second but only had 11 seconds on Collin.
Men's Podium. Photo provided by ITMexposures
The shuttle took us back up to the overlook for the 4th and final stage. This stage is the Super D and starts on 2000 Hours to Berm Trail to Lower Homestead with a nasty Gravel bit with a hill to the finish. Last year Sam put 20 seconds into me in just the last stage so I knew there could still be changes on the podium. During the stage I dabbed 3 times at the beginning of the run but regained my flow and finished strong. Lindsey won the final stage and a lot of time back from Ellen but couldn't make up for the flat earlier in the day. Sam Skidmore won the stage with a significant margin
I was happy to see that I gave up only 10 of my 11 seconds on Collin and held onto 2nd overall behind 18yo Eddie Anderson from Richmond. Collin Vento was 3rd followed closely by Sam Skidmore and Harlan Price. Kyle Lawrence had a strong showing in 6th Place in the Enduro and went on to win the XXC the following day.
Thanks to Massanutten Resort and Shenandoah Mountain Touring for putting on such a great event!
Summer Triathlon Goals
This is me riding (and feeling awkward being photographed) during the Alpine Loop Gran Fondo this past September!
Hello! My name is Erin and I'm a new employee at Rocktown! I graduated from James Madison University in 2015 with an B.S. degree in Kinesiology. I am currently working towards my Masters in Exercise Physiology at JMU. I have been competing in triathlons since I began college, and absolutely love them! I have also found a love for cycling, thanks to the beautiful mountains I have found around here. After I graduate, I aspire to coach triathletes--and eventually work with elite and high performance triathletes. I love the sport and I also love helping others learn and grow.
As the school year comes to an end, it is time to set some training and race goals for the summer! At the end of April, I raced in Collegiate Nationals, but had disappointing performances in two of my three races. Looking back, I can attribute this to losing focus in regards to my training plan and ultimate goal of constantly improving myself each time I race.
Starting more broad, then narrowing them down, here are my goals--
Goal 1: Follow the Plan
I have noticed that I am prone to changing the days for my workouts, changing the workouts entirely (especially if I am feeling particularly exhausted), or just doing whatever I feel like. While training flexibility is crucial to ensuring an athlete does not get over-trained, there are physiological reasons for the way training plans are set up by coaches. Even if you have created your own plan for the week, it is important to remain accountable to the plan you have set before you. My hope for this summer is to regain diligence in following the plan my coach has put before me.
Goal 2: Travel New Places to Race!
I have five years of experience racing, however I have not raced in many unique or new places. This summer I plan to travel to new places in Virginia and West Virginia (College budget keeps HUGE travel mostly out of my reach, but maybe one day!), but also Nebraska for Nationals. I also hope to visit Colorado after Nationals before I make my way back to Harrisonburg! I want to be able to look back on my triathlon experience and know that it enriched me as a person, and not just an athlete. That way, when races don't go so well (which we all know happens), I have other experiences tied in with the race that I can remember fondly.
Goal 3: Qualify for Worlds at Age Group Nationals
Age Group Nationals this year are in Omaha, Nebraska on August 13th (another place I have never visited!). I plan to do the Olympic Distance (1500m swim, 40k bike, 10k run), and my goal is to qualify for Worlds in my age group. The top 18 finishers from each age group will represent USA in Worlds in the Netherlands in the fall! After looking at results from last year's nationals, I believe this is well within my reach, so long as I adhere to goal number 1. Whether you are trying to qualify for another race, or simply racing for the sake of racing, I believe it is important to set a goal for race day. You can choose to set performance goals or goals to improve one of the three legs. Setting a goal for that race in the first place helps keep your attention focused on the days that you may be inclined to hit snooze on that alarm clock instead of going to workout.
Whether you are a recreational athlete or competitive one, goal setting is important for every one of us. While it helps you maintain focus day in and day out during the (sometimes grueling) training process, goal setting also has other benefits. Goals that are well created can help us reflect on our process and determine if we are growing or staying stagnant.
What are your goals for the summer?!
New roads in our favorite places
It's the new discoveries and adventures that keep riding (or anything in life, really) fun.
Chris and I set out on a ride this past Sunday into Augusta County. Augusta has roads that are some of our favorite in the valley. However, we usually don't head down that way too often because cutting across town and avoiding traffic can be an irritating experience. After this ride, though, I'm going to be pushing through that irritating stuff at the beginning because what follows is more than worth it!
We headed from Harrisonburg into Grottoes to start. I had never actually been through Grottoes before this ride, so discovering this whole new section of riding was really fun. Our plan was to go southwest from Grottoes so we could hit Moffett Branch Rd (a favorite road of ours), and head home by way of Parnassus, to Stokesville, to Hburg.
To get towards Moffett Branch road, we ended up just kind of picking and choosing our way as we rode along. This is when we found the road that turned this ride into what I like to call a "magical experience". We even nicknamed this road "The Secret Garden."
As we were rolling along, this road caught our eye on the left. It was gravel. And it looked GOOD. Many of you know by now that Chris and I love to ride gravel/dirt roads. So when we saw this, we didn't even care if we had to turn around because it might lead to a dead end. We new we had to take it.
We dropped down the gravel and passed a few newly built homes sitting out in the open.
[Side note: I always think it is funny that when new homes go up, no one plants trees around them - it looks empty and odd]
Heading into the trees.
As we continued, the road flattened out and trees started covering us overhead. A wooden fence popped up on either side of us and, as we rounded a right hand bend, a beautiful plantation style house with a lily pad pond in front popped up. Add to the picture - Middle River is flowing right next to the house and flows next to us for the remainder of the road! And the gravel was awesome! We couldn't stop exclaiming what a great road this was that we had just taken on a whim.
Super happy to be out riding bikes in amazing places!
Lucky for us, the road dropped us out right where we needed to be to get us to Moffett Branch Rd.
The weather that day gave us some much needed sunshine and warm temperatures. Even with the head wind, as we made our way towards Stokesville and home, we couldn't complain about anything. With almost 2 full weeks of rain behind us, this day provided some necessary relief.
I'm pretty sure my next ride will take me down to these roads again. And I'll probably do some more exploring to find more amazing places. It's the new discoveries and adventures that keep riding (or anything in life, really) fun.
"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing" -Helen Keller
Click the picture to see more details of this ride.
Paris to Ancaster
This past Sunday, I competed in my largest event yet. Paris to Ancaster is a mixed-terrain cyclocross-like race that's been around for 23 years. It's a 70k point to point race, that goes from Paris, Ontario to Ancaster, a bit outside of Toronto. This year, there were 2,700 participants.
The start of the Elite Wave. Jeremy Powers and Ellen Noble are on the right of the start line.
Chris participated as well. With his previous Virginia State Championship title, he was able to register in the Elite wave, which has the first start of the day. My wave was 15 minutes later, in Wave 1.
Right from the get go, I hit it hard. My wave had a couple hundred people in it, and I knew I had to get as close to the front of that wave as possible, or I'd be stuck waiting behind a long line of cyclists once the trail bottle-necked. There was a lot of weaving and taking of dirty turns, but about 5 miles in, I ended up finding a great group of guys to work with for most of the race.
The race is a mix of rail trail, gravel roads, singletrack, and pavement. We go through public roads and private farms. At one point, going through a farm, the owner said to us, "Mind the chicken." And sure enough, there was a chicken in the road! It was hilarious! Everyone was shouting "Chicken up!" instead of "Car up!"
The fast pace, fun people, and mixed terrain made this event one of my favorites! Sometimes you felt like you were in a road race, then a cyclocross race, and then even a mountain bike race.
I rode my Specialized Crux with the SRAM CX1 drivetrain (11-28 cassette) and Sram Force disc brakes. I had the Specialized Trigger Pro tire on the front and the Specialized Tracer Pro tire on the back; tubeless setup; 60psi both front and back. This tire combo and psi worked out perfectly. Both tires are low profile and roll quickly. Keeping the psi on the higher end made for no worries on any of the terrain. I felt like I was just floating over the gravel!
Though I suffered no mishaps during the race, Chris wasn't so lucky. A bit over halfway, Chris had a flat. Then, just 1.5 miles from the finish, down the infamous mud shoot, Chris took a rock drop at pretty decent speed and crashed. His front wheel had bent upon landing and laid him down. Fortunately he was OK albeit a bit muddy. His helmet did it's job in protecting his noggin.
Chris got a little muddy.
Chris's S-works Evade Helmet, post-crash
For the most part, this is a flat race. It has a few rollers in it, but overall, I would call it flat. The very last part of it, to the finish line, though, is a steep climb. Being from Harrisonburg, I didn't think much of it, except that I was tired and had run out of spinning gear, so it felt hard trying to sprint to the finish. The crowd there was awesome! A bunch of people cheered me on as I passed a group of men.
Almost to the finish line.
My finish time was 2:22:15 with an average speed of 28.9km/hr. I finished 8th overall in the women's field of 134 (that's right, out of 2,700 people there were only 134 women!), 3rd in my 20-29 age group, and 187th out of the entire field. I am so excited about my performance in this race. Next year, I will most likely be able to start in the elite wave because of where I placed in the women's field, which is very exciting! I can't wait!
Super happy after the race picture!
For anyone interested, you can click this link http://parisancaster.com/ to learn more about Paris to Ancaster.
Here is a link to my STRAVA of the race: https://www.strava.com/activities/555768069
Leesburg Bakers Dozen
13hours of racing mountain bikes has never been more fun!
Last weekend Chris and I headed to Leesburg, VA to meet up with Adam, Ken, Wes, and John to compete in the 2016 Bakers Dozen offroad relay race. As the name would suggest, it's 13 hours long! Last year Chris raced with Ken and his son Connor in the 3 man open category. This year we switched it up a bit with Ken, Wes, and John racing the ever competitive 40+ 3 man team, and Adam, Chris, and I racing in the co-ed 3 person team.
Watching the forecast for the Saturday of the event was probably more stressful than the event itself! It was calling for rain, snow, chilly temps, and wind. Fortunately, the rain didn't happen, and what snow we got only amounted to flurries. The wind and cold temperatures were with us the whole day, though. But I'd rather deal with that than the wet!
This race was my first ever relay race! With over 20 teams, just in our co-ed category, I knew it had to be a fun time. There were so many awesome mountain bikers in one place!
All smiles!
The location of the Leesburg Bakers Dozen is on an almost 500acre plot of private farm land next to the Potomac. The trail is only open this one time, every year. It meanders through portions of rooty wooded forests, columns of BIG pine trees, and open fields. When riding in the fields from one section of forest to the next, riders were blasted by the wind, and sometimes fought to stay upright. In the woods, the singletrack featured logs, rock drops, and smooth swoopy dirt. You could get moving on this trail, and barely touch your brakes if you didn't want to. I think I was smiling the whole time I was out on my laps, the trail was so much fun! My favorite part was riding through the last section of pine trees. The trees were all lined up in rows upon rows, like huge pillars. They were so close together it was much darker in this section than anywhere else, but when the sun shown through them, the lighting between the trunks was incredible. The trail was clear and smooth through here, as well, and so you could get going 20-30mph easy and not touch your brakes for a good bit! It was exhilarating!
Adam, coming down a rock drop
Adam started our team off for the day, and put in the fastest lap times for our team! Our staging area was set up so that we could see our teammates go into the last bit of piney woods section and get the next rider ready without having a chaotic passing of the "baton". Participating the the 3-person team seems to be the most fun way to complete this relay. The other two riders get to hang out and chat while the third person is out on the race course. This year was especially fun with having two Rocktown teams there... More people to empathize with about staying warm and out of the wind while waiting for your turn to ride.
Chris went second for our team, and I went out third. This order worked out for us (maybe for me a little bit more) because I ended up doing 6 laps, whereas Chris and Adam completed 7 laps. I say it worked out well, because Chris and Adam are much better night riders than me, and I was getting very tired. This being my first over 12 hour relay race, staying awake and keeping the energy level high was getting a little challenging as the sun set. The race started at 9am and finished at 10pm. The catch is that your last rider can head back out for another lap, even if it's 9:59pm. And sometimes, the competition does come down to being that close! When that happens the race doesn't officially finish until after 11pm sometimes. Our team was a good 25minutes ahead of 2nd place when I finished my last lap at 9pm, so Adam and Chris focused mainly on not having any mechanicals for their last laps.
Christopher
My night lap was a surreal experience. It was so quiet. No one really talked to each other when passing; I think mainly from the cold and fatigue, but we also didn't really have to talk. You could hear the shifting of gears and pedaling so clearly in the woods, no one was ever surprised by another rider. And when I left the woods to climb out of the last field, I looked up and saw the last bits of the sun's rays outlining riders going out for their night laps. Everyone's headlamps were twinkling down the trail. It was magical, and I don't think I'll ever forget that moment.
Ken
The Rocktown 40+ team of Wes, Ken, and John was great fun to hang out with between laps, and they placed 3rd for their category! We had a good time helping each other exchange the baton between riders. Wes was awesome and made HOT coffee for us several times throughout the day.
Wes
John
Chris attempting to keep warm.
I would say, besides trying to stay warm, the most challenging part of the relay race for me was keeping up with calories. I brought all sorts of food and snacks because I didn't know how my body was going to react to racing, resting, and getting more than a whole day's worth of calories in my body for 13 hours. Even with all of the options, I ended up honing in on dried pineapple slices, Salt & Vinegar chips, coffee, Nuun tablets, and rice. Oh, and Adam brought this HUGE honeybaked ham that I think was the savior for both of our teams. The fatty saltiness of that ham was so good, none of us had a hard time getting that down. Haha. We even had one of the solo riders of the day stop by our tent every lap for a piece.
As Chris and Ken finished up their final laps, we broke down camp so we could go hang out at the bonfire to keep warm. It was fun standing around the fire with the other teams as we waited for awards. We were all recapping the day's events. There were some pretty great stories from the other teams. The bike community is such an awesome group of people!
Placing first was a great experience for our team! We were positive and had a blast for the entirety of the day, despite the frigid temperature. Some of us are already scheming up the team rosters for next year's race!
If you are ever in the Leesburg area, make sure to check out Plum Grove Cylcery, who put this race on every year. They're a cool group of people and have an awesome story.
Check out the course map and Kelly's Strava file HERE
Photo Credit to Bruce Buckley
Stoopid 50, Stokesville Edition.
Snow up there! Photo by Chris Scott
This past weekend Kelly and I got to preview the new Stoopid 50, put on by Chris Scott and Shenandoah Mountain Touring! As I have only recently gotten back into riding a bit more, this was definitely like diving into some pretty cold water! A super challenging course profile promised slightly more than 50 miles with over 9,000ft or climbing, on almost all trails. To put that into perspective, the Shenandoah 100 is about 3,000 more feet of the up up in double the distance, and has larger percentages of fire road and pavement.
This data didn't matter much to me, as I knew pretty much all the trails we were going to ride, and hadn't seen the actual elevation numbers. I was really figuring it to be about a 4 hour ride. I was a little off!
The night before, it was super windy and had snowed a bit in the mountains, leaving a pretty white on them as we drove out to Stokesville. After Chris filled us in on some of the course details, we started to head up out of the campground with the excitement of riding some trails less traveled and some fresh trail work up on Dowell's Draft.
Plenty of sweet singletrack, awesome vistas and even a little powder at the higher elevations did justice to the old Stoopid 50 course in PA, which was one of my favorites. I will snag Kelly's GPS file from the day, as she didn't forget hers like I did!
After I pulled my sore, cramping, sorry self into the finish almost 6 hours after the start, the day had gotten really nice. With the help of the great post race food, I started to feel good enough to reminisce with friends about the day we just had. It renewed my desire to get into better shape so it won't be quite so painful the next time I undertake an event like this!
Thanks to Chris Scott and the support crew for a great event! I sure hope it's here in Virginia to stay!
Chris
Jeremiah and I after the aid station at the bottom of Dowell's. Photo by Chris Scott
A BIG climb! Photo by Chris Scott
Glad to be back at the mothership. I love the view of Massanutten mountain from the campground. Photo by Chris Scott
The sweep comes in after a long day in the woods! Thanks! Photo by Chris Scott
Riding Big, and Allez Impressions
So even though Spring isn't officially here, the time change is, and (mostly) nice weather. Between it getting nicer, races coming up, and my leg rehab going well (thanks to my good friend Bryan) I've been able to get out and ride more!
Highland County with Kelly
I got a new road bike for the first time in a few years this winter, a Specialized Allez Pro .I had ridden an Allez before, as well as a Venge, Tarmac, and Roubaix. I decided on the Allez because it checked all my boxes. I wanted a light bike with great parts, but my budget wouldn't allow for a Roubaix or Tarmac with those parts. and to be fair, the Allez frame is in the same weight class as the other bikes.
The advancements that have been made with aluminum manipulation and joining specifically in the bike world in the last 5 years or so are impressive as well. The Tarmac with Rider First frame design still rides better than any road bike I've ridden to date, and the Roubaix is super smooth as well, but even my Allez frame is much stiffer pedaling than older carbon bikes I've ridden, and smoother than those bikes as well!
To get into it a bit more, aluminum is more malleable than steel and titanium, two other metals used in bike frames. It also has a much lower density. Shaping of steel and titanium can be employed, but not as easily, and without the same gains seen when shaping aluminum. This is why aluminum (specifically 6000 series) has taken off in recent years, with new frames far exceeding energy transfer stiffness of their steel and titanium counterparts, and with dramatic shaping such as air forming and hydroforming, as well as new joining processes like Smartweld, we end up with frames made of metal that weigh in the 1000-1200g range!
The two piece bottom bracket from the new Allez Sprint
All this to say I love the ride of the bike! I've been able to get out on some big rides, and some really big rides! Plenty of dirt and gravel thrown in there too, and the bike has exceeded my expectations so far.
Highland county, where we love to go ride, is so beautiful! We were there during arguably the two busiest weekends of the year, the Maple Festival Highland County, which has a population of about 2,300 people, draws 60,000 people in for two weekends each March! With tours of maple farms, and plenty of vendors in Monterey, we had our share of treats mid ride! People are great over there as well! I like to stop at the store in Bluegrass about halfway through my Highland County 100 mile route to stock up for the next 3 or 4 hours of riding. Last weekend won't be the last time I head over there this spring!
-Chris
Exploring northwest Rockingham County with Chris Scott (Shenandoah Mountain Touring.) Photo by Chris Scott!
A new kind of training ride
Riding in the Rocktown Cycle Studio has been a blast. I have ridden trainers in the past at home but I have struggled to make myself do the workout and time my own intervals (also, magnet and fluid trainers are noisy). At the studio I can socialize and sweat with friends. We share in the hard work and motivate each other (and listen to awesome music and watch cool videos).
Display showing Intensity (%) over Duration (Minutes)
In ergometer mode, workouts are based on percentages of the rider’s one hour best effort. So 100% is the hardest you can do for one hour. The display shows a graph with duration from left to right, and the height is intensity. All I have to do is pick the workout, click start, and pedal at a somewhat steady rhythm. The software and smart trainers do all the thinking. As you pedal along the graph, the bars or ramps get taller or shorter as the trainer adds and removes resistance. My pedaling cadence (RPM) changes a bit as I fight the hard efforts or coast into my recovery. In ergometer mode you do not have to shift because the trainer calculates the resistance based on your cadence. At a given power output you can pedal faster and the force will reduce. If you pedal slower the force will increase but the power stays the same. If you slow down too much you may feel like you’ve run out of gear on a steep hill until you spin it back up). Ergometer mode is great to target specific intensities that boost metabolism and increase fitness.
Display showing Elevation (feet) over Distance (miles)
Course mode is a simulator mode. I can upload local ride GPS files, pick far off mountain climbs from the Tour of France, or create my own Death Climb course with 30% grade walls. Like riding outside I can see what lies ahead. As the graph line goes up so does the elevation. The slope of the line represents the percent grade (there are downhills…sometimes). In this mode shifting of the gears occurs just like riding outside. It will also let you know if you don’t have an easy enough climbing gear. The software uses your body weight and bike weight to calculate resistance for percent grade. If you have an event coming up that has some steep climbs and you want to know if you have the right gear ratio you can test it out on the trainer using a gps file or programming in the max grade. It is usually too cold for me to ride Reddish Knob from late October until late March. In the studio I can ride it year round and with climate control. I feel this is a great tool to build confidence for newer riders, or those that think they don't climb well. Course mode can be used for route recon, self-paced workouts, and simulated races (drafting is built in).
The best thing about Rocktown Cycle Studio is that everyone is working at their own level. One rider can be cruising in the flats with the wind at their back while the other is hammering away prepping for the World Championships.
If you haven’t given the studio a try, the first class is FREE. Check out the schedule here.
- Coach Adam Williams
My trip to California!
I made it to the airport!
My trip to California started with wondering if I was even going to make it out there. The snowstorm towards the end of January caused my flight out of Dulles to be canceled, leaving us scrambling to find a flight out of anywhere.
Thankfully, we did! And at 2:30pm, EST, I was on a plane headed to California (well, this specific plane was headed to other flights, that would eventually get me to CA, but that's not the important part of this story).
I arrived in Morgan Hill, CA in the dark, so I had no clue what the place looked like until the first morning of class. From the hotel, Specialized provided us with a shuttle to HQ each day. That first day, I got to see a magnificent sunrise over the mountains surrounding the town, and was blown away by the beauty. 2 weeks of rain, prior to my visit, had done good things for the area... it was SO green!
We had our class in the main building of Specialized. There are a few buildings, all next to each other, that have different functions for the company, including their very own wind tunnel for aero testing.
Our first day started off with a tour. The instructors took us through the small museum that showcases a timeline, if you will, of Specialized... What the business started as, where it has gone, and how it got to what we know it as today. There are some really cool bikes in that museum, including the first ever Stumpjumper mountain bike! Specialized Bicycles has a unique start-up story, and I could delve into that here, but I'll refrain since it will make this post extra long. :)
After the tour, it was time for the classic "Lunch Ride". Everyday at Specialized, lunch time is all about getting out for a ride. The whole place basically shuts down and heads out for a road ride. How awesome is that?! The Friday lunch ride is called the "world championships". That's the lunch ride where everyone goes crazy all out, as fast as possible. The winner gets a sweet world championship themed Lunch Ride jersey!
Our ride was so much fun, very warm, and beautiful! We did about an hour total, and got to ride whichever road bike we desired. I picked out an S-Works Amira - a gorgeous bike with the "chameleon" pain job, and cotton walled S-works Turbo tires (the fastest tires in the world). This bike rolled so smooth and fast, I wish we could have stayed out on the road longer. It was like the bike was asking for more miles of pavement.
At the top of a hill just outside Morgan Hill
After the ride, and feeding our hungry bellies, we headed into the classroom and talked flat repair, hubs, wheels, tires, and how to true a wheel. Our group was only 8 women with 3 instructors, so it was a nice environment to be able to ask a ton of questions.
The first day flew by. We were headed back to the hotel before I knew it, and once we got there, I was ready for bed. It was the most lecture oriented day of the class and my brain was ready to rest.
The second day went over the skill I was most excited to learn - brake bleeds. Brake bleeds can become necessary for any bike with a hydraulic brake system. This is mostly seen on mountain bikes, but is becoming more common on cyclocross and road bikes. Hydraulic brakes are definitely worth the extra money for those of you that are wondering, even for the road! They are much more efficient and powerful, especially when it comes to conditions that are wet and/or muddy. Hydraulic brakes use fluid (not just any fluid, there are specific ones depending on brake brand), instead of a cable, to actuate the pistons that move the brake pads. This creates a smoother transition from light braking to hard braking than you would get from a cable brake.
I am in love with hydraulic brakes because of their efficiency, and was extra excited to learn how to do a brake bleed because it is a common thing seen in bike repair that I have not learned yet. Brake bleeds usually occur when air bubbles have gotten into the brake hose. They keep the brake from operating properly and feel "gummy" when you pull on the brake lever. Let me tell you, after learning how to do the brake bleed, it was SO rewarding to pull on the brake lever and feel that the smoothness of a properly working brake. No air bubbles!
Our ride during the lunch hour on this day included getting to play on the pump track! Oh my gosh, this thing was so much fun! The goal of the pump track is to head into it with speed and not lose that speed as you go over all the fun jumps, rollers, sharp turns, and such. The catch is that you're not supposed to pedal while you're in the pump track. The more skilled riders can pop wheelies and jump pretty high, and still not lose speed! I was a happy camper when I made it around 3 times without having to pedal. It was quite the workout! Riding the pump track involves a lot of body movement similar to swinging kettlebell squats. You use your body to keep the momentum of the bike going.
We loved the pump track so much that when we were finished going over drivetrains in the afternoon, we got to go back out before dinner. My quads were so sore the next morning, haha!
The last day was the day I was looking forward to the most. Not because it was the last day (that part made me very sad, actually), but because this was the day we would get to go mountain biking! I had my eyes set on a Specialized Enduro Expert 29 since day 1, and now I was going to get to ride it!! It was so exciting and overwhelming, I was jittery the entirety of the van ride to the mountains. This is a BIG travel bike, especially for a 29er. I was curious to see how it would pedal on the climbs, especially the steeper stuff. All I can say is: WOW, WOW, WOW! I thought it would feel heavier with the big travel and the big wheels, but that was not the case at all. The geometry of the rear triangle made for a snappy pedaling, very responsive bike. And then, on the downhill?! I got so ambitious on the downhill because of this bike, that I tried to chase some of the faster Specialized guys down the mountain. I didn't catch them and maybe got a little too rowdy, but I definitely felt invincible on that bike at speeds I had never been comfortable with before.
Add in the fact that we were in an absolutely beautiful area with the Pacific Ocean just over the hill, and you get a girl that doesn't want the ride to ever end.
The top of the climb. What a gorgeous view!
The Pacific Ocean is just over that hill.
Sadly, though, the trip had to come to an end. After a magnificent 3 days of warm weather, learning from awesome instructors, making new friends, and getting to see some pretty great spots in California, it was time to head home.
Friday was a day of traveling that started at 5:30am (pst) and ended at 11:30pm (est). It was a long day, but had no hiccups, so I'll just let you know that I arrived safely home, excited to share and use the information I had learned in the Women's Technical Retail Class.
I've already led one women's maintenance class using the techniques I learned out there, and it was a great time! I'm looking forward to the next few classes in the near future! Check out the Rocktown Event Calendar if you're interested. :)
This trip was one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had. I want to thank everyone that helped me win the scholarship that got me out there! Your support and enthusiasm means so much and I couldn't have done it without you!
More pictures from my trip are below!
