I am a lucky man. A friend of mine, Ed, drove of from Italy to support
me during my solo ride at the 12 Stunden Rennen in Külsheim. The
difference between doing an event supported and unsupported is huge,
and anybody that actually has a friend volunteer their time to stand
in a transition area and hand you water bottles, goos, electrolyte
pills, etc. is really lucky.

Ed showed up at my house in the early morning and we jumped into my
van and made our way to Külsheim.The van was already packed with my
primary race bike and a “pit bike”. The race bike was an On One Inbred
singlespeed (32 x 19) fitted with an older Lefty DLR, Racing Ralphs
2.4×29 on Velocity Blunt rims, and fairly new Ergon GP1 grips. The pit
bike was a Kona Unit 2-9 but I did not need to ride it. During the
drive to the race we went over my nutrition plan, and actions at the
transition area. I dictated the nutrition plan and Ed pretty much gave
advice based on his greater racing experience which I was very
thankful for.

As we approached Külsheim we drove into an overcast, drizzly morning.
There was going to be some mud, that was a given. Probably some
chafing too. My motivation was sinking as Ed was messing with me,
telling me how bad it was going to suck and that I should just quit.
The drizzle seemed to stop as we approached the race site and I got my
starter package while Ed set up our gear at the tent that was housing
the German single speeders.

The the race started promptly at 0900. I was wearing the Big Wheel
racing bib with some baggies over it, a long sleeved Jersey, and off
we went. The course consisted of a mix of flat to mildly inclined
gravel roads, some fire roads, two singletrack sections, some trails
across grassy fields, two singletrack downhills, two gravel downhill
sections, and across a series of 5 tank berms in a Bundeswehr training
area. The conditions of the course varied from muddy and wet in the
early part of the day to drier when the sun finally broke through at
noon. The downhill singletrack sections were slippery mud that defied
traction till half way through the race where one section turned to dry soil
and the other turned to a fairly tacky moist singletrack section but
where braking remained rather iffy. The flat singletrack sections were
situated on higher terrain so they started to dry up and after several
laps they were ridden smooth and were tacky with decent grip. The
depressions between the tank berms were filled with water but having
ridden the course last year I knew fairly decent lines to ride on the
left edges that avoided the hub-deep puddles. It would be wrong not to
mention the 3 uphills, the first one came fairly soon after the first
singletrack downhill and was an uphill gravel road. The second hill
was more mellow and came after the second singletrack downhill, and
the third uphill followed a gravel downhill. The third uphill was a
long incline that went through a field and then grew steeper and
turned into a gravel forest road. Following this third hill was a
stretch that took you to the second gravel downhill which one could
bomb down and it led into the transition area. There was a muddy run
up in the transition area that led to a short steep muddy roll down
before you got to the scoring gate.

A lap was about 10.5km long and I was riding them in a 40 to 50 minute
time range. I believe I rode 14 laps but Ed counted 15 laps and I
finally stopped after 10 hours and 50 minutes of fairly non-stop
riding. After 3 laps I was walking up the first uphill and up the
second half of the third hill. The middle hill was doable, even on a
single speed.

My nutrition plan consisted of 3 Power Bar Gels per lap (I started the
race with the regular flavor and ended up hammering the Espresso
flavor with double the caffeine during the last few hours). Every lap
Ed would hand me a fresh water bottle, with either one scoop of
Perpetuem or SE (Sustained Energy), gel packs, and some Endurolytes.
The Power Gels contain electrolytes but I also consumed one or two
Endurolyte capsule per lap in the transition area. I did not cramp up,
although at times I felt some twinges in my thighs when I got out of
the saddle to really mash. Ed also provided me with a couple of Cokes
and chocolate cupcakes, but I could only drink about a half bottle and
eat half of a cup cake before I felt full. The Orange/Vanilla flavored
Perpetuem tasted like the dust in the bottom of a box of oatmeal with
a hint of ass, the Sustained Energy tasted like ass, but I got used to
it after a while. I would probably not use SE again if Perpetuem is
available.

Given the amount of gravel roads and flatter sections I really
appreciated the lockout on the Lefty DLR. The Lefty has a true
lock-out and it was really nice on the smooth trails and tracks to not
feel the fork bob. Unlocked, the fork allowed me to bomb the
downhills if they were not congested by slower riders. The Avid BB7s
(180mm) functioned extremely well, as did the Ergon GP1 grips. I am
lucky to still have the Ergon grips because I was on the verge of
throwing them away due to the difficulty in setting them up perfectly.
But I did manage it after several training rides and I must say I am
impressed. I had no numbness of the hands or tingling sensations. The
Schwalbe Racing Ralphs (2.4 x 29) were another issue. We have a
love/hate relationship now because they did not perform well in the
mud during the first half of the day. They packed up and essentially
turned into big brown slicks and the corresponding loss of control.
This was especially noticeable on the singletrack downhills when
having to slow down for slower riders. The Racing Ralphs are not mud
tires, but they held their own on the other sections of the course.
The last piece of gear that made an impression was the Big Wheel
racing bib made by Pactimo. Despite starting off in wet conditions and
then sweating for almost 11 hours the bib did not chafe. The padding
was nice on the tush and there was no butt-pad shaped welt that
sometimes happens with lesser quality biking shorts. The only down
side to a bib is the necessity of removing too much gear/jersey when
trying to take a dump.

I stopped after almost 11 hours in the saddle and must say that I felt
pretty good. There were no cramps or major physical issues and I did
not feel sore the next day. The brake pads were down to 66% but I kind
of expected that. It was a tremendous help that Ed provided. For my
next longer solo race I will surely try to enlist someone to support
me again and fine tune my nutrition plan.

Thank you Ed!!!
Marty

Last year, I (Lenny Goodell) DNFed when I bailed at the bottom of Pacheco Canyon and had been kicking myself for a year for not “Manning Up” and doing the climb. This year I man’ed up and did the 7.2 mile, 2000ft climb after almost 9 hours of riding. It was not nearly as hard as it looks from the bottom. I got to the bottom of Pacheco canyon about 15 minute earlier than last year, but this year I also did the optional Rancho Viejo portion which added about 30mins. My goal was to complete the whole route, including Rancho Viejo in under 12 hours, which I missed by 10 minutes… My bike work flawless with my new American Classic 29er rear wheel that I picked up on Thursday from the great folks at High Desert Bicycles.

View for from the top of the Santa Fe ski area at 12,000 feet.

The team represented for the second consecutive year the Climb to Kaiser event in Clovis, CA. The California contingent is growing for BWR and news of this new venture will be coming soon.

Big Wheel Racing showed up in full force to represent at a new race in Gunnison, CO called the Gunnison Original Growler. The race was the brain child of mountain bike pro and hall of fame member Dave Wiens, the current 6 time champion of the Leadville 100.  Jeff, Jeni, and Matt all raced on the single speed bikes and Mike M showed up on his geared 29er.

The race proceeds will be used by Gunnison Trails to fund a new trail loop from Gunnison to Crested Butte that is expected to be a national trail destination. The race was very well organized and the route was nothing short of epic. Big Wheel Racing was proud to be in strong attendence at this innagural race event and we look forward to supporting trail organizations such as Gunnison Trails in future years. Way to go people!

In addition the BWR team recieved their new shipment of Ergon products the week prior and team members were eager to try out the new stuff. Ergon is the sponsoring team of Dave Wiens and also Iowa legend (and BWR friend) Jeff Kerkove, whom was also at the race.

Thanks for all of the support Jeff and we appreciate the relationship with Ergon and look forward to representing this company in future events.  We are very lucky to have such great sponsors!!

Fool Hollow Lake in the town of Show Low Az hosted the Deuces Wild Triathlon Festival on May 31 / June 1. The even consists of a “long course” (aka half ironman distance) and an Olympic distance on Saturday, as well as an XTERRA off-road triathlon on Sunday. I elected to do the Long Course race on Saturday, and headed to the lake to bag a camping spot after work on Thursday.

The long course went off at 0630 Saturday morning in an extremely brisk lake (~61F?), and thanks to the combination of altitude and cold water I had a bit of a slow swim at 37:10 for the 1.2mi (2000m). After that long cold soak on the legs it took some time to get up to speed on the bike, but once finally loosened up the bike went smoothly, hammering out the 57.5mi in 2:42:04, which turned out to be 13th fastest bike split of the day. Heat and wind started to become a challenge on the in the last 14mi (which also contains the majority of the sustained climbing on the course). The combination of Perpetuem and nuun worked flawlessly on the bike as usual. An early mistake in T1 though I think set things in motion for a problem filled run, I took a couple ibuprofen after the swim to ward off the not uncommon post swim headache, having forgotten to bring tylenol. Unfortunately, what I failed to remember is ibuprofen will tear up my stomach in a hot run like we had. The result was an inability to absorb nutrition during the run, so after the initial 6 miles pace was decreasing continuously despite trying to keep up the fuel/hydration strategy that has worked well in the past. Consequently the run was a somewhat disappointing 2:04:12. A testament to the Hammer Nutrition and nuun combination on the bike that I had enough gas in the tank to complete the 13.1 mi run with effectively no nutrition and still salvage a 5:29:38 total time. Good enough for 30th overall and 4th in the 30-34 age group.

nuun is “gettin’ it done”

I had a great, scenic ride through the Black Canyon of Gunnison National Park and then through Montrose to Olathe and back again. Thanks to my favorite dentist (and sponsor), Dr. James Slaman, for making sure I have a smile I can be proud of at the end of a ride.

A big thanks to our sponsor, High Desert Bicycles! I wore my Specialized Cortina sunglasses with Adaptalite lenses and my fingerless Specialized gloves on this event. Both proved to be excellent equipment for my ride, which was a warm high of 83 degrees F for the day.

The final reward of the century?? BBQ!

Four BWR team members (Rich, Lenny, Chris and Nate) completed the Santa Fe Century on thier single speed road bikes. They were joined by a couple of geared riders of which one was BWR team member Mike (not in the picture). All had great fun suffering up Heart break Hill and stuffing our faces at each rest stop.

All the pictures can be viewed at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/505live/sets/72157605125502900/

Come join us at the Albuquerque version of the Psycho psynglespeed psyntury on June 7th.

Big Wheel Racing sent two members across the wilds of eastern Utah and western Colorado on an unsupported quest of the Kokopelli Trail between Moab, UT and Loma, CO. The journey was approximately 142-miles over some very difficult and demanding terrain on a mountain bike. But since the team is comprised of quite a few singlespeeders, this journey of course was completed on 29-in. wheel, single-speed bikes.

At the latest race, I did much better. I got to ride about six laps before the first race, and another during the kids race. I met my goal- not getting lapped, and finished not too far back from the main pack. I worked hard with a few others in the second pack and had a great race. I’ll be there every night of the series, as the other three in the family race also. Even Vianne got to do the kids race last night on her Specialized Hotrock.

Chris Hereford

At the pit, I fidgeted with the chain, ate some stuff, drank some stuff, ate some more stuff. And decided to hit the course again. I had to make up for DtD at this race, I had to do more laps. After lap 5, I thought I could do two more, especially since there was plenty of time. After lap 6, I had time for another one, refueled heavily, and took off for my cool down lap. I finished in 6^th for Solo SS males, and 16^th for all Solo males. It was a great race, the course was amazing, and that 12 year old Specialized is my favorite bike of the my three, (Specialized S-Works Enduro and a SingleCross). I may have been not only the oldest solo male SS, but possibly on the oldest bike too.

Chris Hereford

The Big Wheel Racing Team rolled in Cortez, CO for the 2nd annual 12-hours of Mesa Verde Mountain Bike Race. Representation from the team was very high with Mike “Maniac” Mangan entered in the Solo Men’s Category, and Donnie “”Cyclone” Cole, Lenny “King of Gondor” Goodell, Jeff “El Freako from Rico” Hemperley, Chris “C-Cow” Hereford, and Matt “The Fish” Turgeon all entered in the Solo Men’s Singlespeed category, and finally Doug “Da-Goat” Young entered in on a team of three. Big Wheel Racing had some great results and even received recognition from the race organizers for our high level of participation. BWR has a great relationship with the Cortez race and has been very supportive of this race that supports local charities in the community.

Afterward the team distributed a gift box of items from Specialized Bicycle Company, courtesy of our great relationship with High Desert Bicycles in Rio Rancho, NM as they sponsor the team and help prepare our racers for events. We take great pride in partnering with the shop and are very please to also have access to fine quality Specialized components.

Many of the team members were also racing for the first time with their new titanium King Cages made in Durango, CO and also a sponsor of BWR. Nuun and Honey Stinger products fueled the team, and as always we are very thankful for the support of all our sponsors and supporters.

Awesome lid amigos. Thanks for the help!

Went out to Paso Robles, Ca last week for the 2008 Wildflower Triathlon Festival to race the long course.

This being the first big triathlon I’d done since 2006 and having arthroscopic hip surgery in July of 2007 I wasn’t sure what to expect. As usual, Lake San Antonio was a little brisk at around 65 degF, but in the wetsuit it isn’t a big deal once you get going. The swim was relatively uneventful, and completed in 34:29 for the 1.2mi. T1 was a little slow at 4:41, but I had long way to go barefoot from the swim exit to my transition.

Once on the bike I settled in reasonably quickly. I’m loving the new gear from High Desert Bicycles in Rio Rancho. The Specialized S-works helmet and BG Tri-vent shoes are awesome (Oh Varus Wedge, where have you been my whole life…). Nutrition worked well, a combination of Hammer Nutrition Perpetuem and nuun provided the primary fueling. 56mi bike was covered in 2:48:01 on the brutally hilly course.

T2 was much better at 2:09, heading out for the run it was starting to heat up, staying hydrated was a challenge. Honey Stinger gels was the calorie of choice for the run (if you haven’t yet tried their new chews, they’re lovely..). The Wildflower run is the toughest I’ve seen, an extremely hilly course with quite a bit of off-road. Given I’ve only been back to serious run training for about 5 months, my time of 1:57:42 was satisfying.

Total time was 5:27:04, good enough for 47 of 260 in the 30-34 AG, 260 out 1760 overall.

Here are some more pictures from the event!