Big Wheel Racing

By Nate:

Well, it was 4 weeks ago so you’d think I’d get around to writing this one up. Spring Death Valley Double Century is in the books. I left Thursday 2/28 after work and made it to Flagstaff, then drove the remaining distance Friday arriving around 2-3PM local time (stayed at Stovepipe Wells). I spent my afternoon getting equipment and bottles all ready, then made the trip to Furnace Creek for check-in and packet pick-up. Was up at 0430 or so Saturday, had breakfast and got headed to Furnace Creek for the start, I was a little later than I’d planned but figured I’d be ok. Until I got there and found the rear tire flat on the bike. So, it was a mad dash to swap out the tire/tube from another wheel (I was committed to using the Zipps), and I barely made the 6:10 start group. After that, things were relatively uneventful. Road an easy tempo for the first ~40mi, but about then the day’s theme reared its ugly head. Wind. About 5 mi out from the Ashford Mill turn to head up to Jubilee and Salsbury passes we met a good stiff breeze out of the north. Wasn’t too concerned, hopping that when we came back we’d have a nice tailwind for the roughly 50 miles between Ashford Mill and the turn around at Stovepipe Wells.

I was a little overly ambitious in my gearing selection for the passes, having selected an 11-23 to optimize the long rolling portion than makes up about ~165 miles of the event. I paid for it as I started to have cramping problems at the top of the first trip up Salsbury pass (only 60 mi into the event). Miles 50 to 80 contain about 90% of all the vertical in the entire event. Unfortunately, once you start to have a cramping problem you can pretty much count on having to deal with it for the rest of the day. In my case, any time there was a steep little roller I couldn’t power over it b/c things would seize up.

After climbing up and over Jubilee and Salsbury and back to Ashford Mill, got to enjoy the tailwind. For about 10mi. Then it switched and was dead out of the south again like last year. Maybe even a little worse. And, unlike last year, it didn’t die at Furnace Creek. But, also unlike last year, I had somebody to work with most of the day, Kevin Marr, owner of Godspeed Tattoo. Kevin started in the 6am group, and I caught up about 5-8mi before Ashford Mill. He had a good tempo over the climbs, but I caught back up again the 2nd time at Ashford Mill. After that, pretty much road the 2nd 100mi together. It was great having the help in the wind, and somebody else w/ a good “do or die” attitude. We picked up another person just outside of Furnace Creek, who also started in the 6am group. That guy pretty much bolted at the Stovepipe Wells turn around, and Kevin went to chase him down. I didn’t have it to hammer over the hills, so I just worked to ensure I didn’t loose my entire 10min. Overall it turned into a long day, ~ 12:36 total time. About 20min slower than last year, but even the overall fastest time was nearly 30min slower than last year. Good enough for 5th overall out of about 150 who started the double. Of those 150, about 50 finished all 200, 50 quit at 150mi, and the remainder DNF’d.

Of course, no write-up is complete without pimping some of the products I found exceptionally useful. My nutrition strategy worked well, it consisted of mixing nuun electrolyte tablets with Hammer Nutrition Perpetuem. In addition, Endurolytes were used extensively once I started to have the cramping problems.

On Feb 16^th, Big Wheel Racing represented at Mas-o-Menos (MoM), the first race of the USAC Endurance Series in Terlingua, TX outside of the Big Bend National Park.  This series is sanctioned under the NORBA banner of the USAC and ties together a number of National Level events.  These culminate in the National Marathon Championships to be held on the 4th of July in Breckenridge, CO at the Firecracker 50 ( http://www.mavsports.com/?id=8 )

Doug “da Goat” Young rode the “Marathon” distance of 100K in which he was entered in the Expert Masters (50+) class.  Doug was able to finish in a time of 6:04 to place 14^th out of 29 overall competitors in his class.  Of those 29, only 18 ended up finishing the event, which was a testament to the rugged nature of the course located in the Chihuahuan Desert. 

Doug was only 6 mins out of the top ten and is focused to improve upon that finish next year, now that he has a feel for the overall course.  “I can’t say enough about this particular race.”  Doug commented, “The stark beauty of the desert combined with a fun, flowing, but challenging track, made this race a gem.  I’m definitely coming back next year to up the ante.”

Doug would like to acknowledge the support of Hammer products for keeping him rolling. Doug uses a combination of Perpetuem and HEED along with flasks of Hammer Gel to keep the cranks turning with power.  Hammer delivers, without a doubt.

Doug’s Ergon GC2 Grips provided comfort and relief from numbness caused by pressure at the base of the palms.  In addition they gave him a variety of hand positions and excellent leverage on the climbs.

Doug rides an Orbea Alma 29er available at High Desert Cycles in Rio Rancho, NM.  They kitted Doug up with a combo-set of tires, featuring the new Specialized Captain in the rear and a Fast Trak 29er tire up front.  “The grip was excellent for the conditions in the Chihuahuan Desert” Doug said, “and they really held up well.  When many other people were flatting I rode steady with no sidewall cuts or other issues. I truly believe that Specialized builds one of the best racing tires around.  Light but strong!”

Doug would also like to acknowledge the quality of Pactimo and Sock Guy clothing.  “I was warm, dry and comfortable throughout the race. “ Doug added.  “I can’t say enough about the race quality Chamois in the Pactimo bib shorts.  They really we’re comfortable throughout the event.  And my Team issued Sock Guy wool socks provided the padded comfort I like with the ability to keep my feet warm and dry”.

Doug will be throwing his hat into the 50+ Expert Masters classes at the New Mexico Off Road Series events this summer and will be targeting the Firecracker 50 as his premier summer effort.  Stay tuned for more excitement from the Big Wheel Racing Team.

It rained, it snowed, it froze, the sun shone and through it all Big Wheel Racing rode. And rode, and rode and even rode two team members right onto the podium!  As well, 3 other BWR riders and teams gained top 10 finishes in their class. Collectively Big Wheel Racing rode 82 laps:

Jen Albright: 7 (2nd Place Female Solo Single Speed)
Lisa Wishard: 10 (6th place Female Solo)
Jeff Hemperley: 15 (2nd Place Male Solo Single Speed)
Scott Sportsman: 3
John Mazzola: 13 (8th place Male Solo)
Mike Mangan: 11
Donny Cole: 6
Nate Berg and Rich Capener: 17 (6th place Male Duo).

At approximately 16 miles and 1,200 feet of climbing per lap that is over 1,300 miles and nearly 100K of climbing! A Big Wheel weekend to be sure. We could not have done this without the amazing help of our crew, and sponsors. Nuun, Hammer and Honey Stinger products kept us hydrated and fed. Boy those Honey Stinger ‘Peanut Butta’ protein bars hit the spot at 3 a.m. and Nuun, warm or cold, kept us cranking. Along with our Hammer Perpeteum mixes–some of us run it as liquid and some of us as paste–either formula sure helped to keep us going. Our Maxxis and Kenda tires proved worthy in the mud, the ruts and when things finally did dry out were smokin’ fast on the course.  Our Ergon grips kept us in the right positions and kept us from the dreaded tingly fingers. High Desert Cycles came through with many accessories used throughout the race from water bottles, to saddles, to fork pump nozzles these guys have hooked us up! And, a big toast was raised, around the post race feast, to Santa Fe Brewing for supplying the ever excellent recovery drinks! And a few spines were realigned at Gonstead Family Chiropractic of Albuquerque in order to get us ready for the next collective glimpse of the team in April at the Dawn ’til’ Dusk race in Gallup, NM. Until then, keep the rubber side down. Team Big Wheel.