So how did I do at Crank The Shield? Check for yourself. There were eleven single speed starters for the race and I ended up in 7th/11. I finished 76th out of 211 (63 racers missed one or more days putting the total at about 274 in all) racers in total. Not bad considering . . . .
. . . I went into the event with the goal to have fun and finish. Racing with a dislocated sternum/ribs would have been unrealistic anywho. I had hoped that my trip to Colorado two weeks before would boost me to super human status for CTS, however a wicked awful crash on the first day coming down Monarch Crest changed my plans slightly. Despite my injury I did manage to gain some significant Colorado fitness from the climbing/riding at altitude. At no point during Crank The Shield did I feel that I went into the red zone. The intense pain in my chest from heavy, deep breathing was all the indication that I needed to back off any exertion and thus kept me at a steady, manageable effort. I finished each stage feeling good and I kept a steady consistent pace during each stage. I am sure that I could have gone faster, but how much faster - who knows.
At times while riding behind the geared riders my skin would crawl from the sketchy, grindy gear changes caused by copious amounts of mud in their drive trains. Single speed was the way to go for sure. No skips, no jumps, no chain suck. I ran a 32x19 which I felt comfortable on throughout. CTS is a perfect race if you want to destroy some perfectly good bike parts or are looking for an excuse to replace a bike. I burnt through two sets of brake pads (outside of regular maintenance and upkeep, I've never ever gone through a set of brake pads!) and destroyed a bottom bracket. I'm also trying to convince Peter that I need a new bike cause mine got too dirty.
Three days of riding through muck and water and all I get is a cap?
Pfffft. Fail.
The money spent on that could have been used to buy beer glasses (or even these glasses) - a very useful prize for finishing.
I don't recall a lot of fun sections of the course. But two do stand out: first, Sir Sam's. I was pleasantly surprised at how good Sir Sam's Ski Hill was. They did a great job putting a fast and flowy single track course there. It would have been nice to have been longer, cause it was so much fun, but it's only a small hill and I think they did a great job with the space that they had. Secondly, The North Shore Trail - yep, right at the start - twisty, rooty, rocky, loamy, up and down. It was long and difficult, but for some reason I loved it. Perhaps it was because I was still in a positive frame of mind as it came within the first few km's of the race and my spirit and soul hadn't yet been crushed under the sheer weight of the mud that I carried on my bike and clothing as I waded through swamps, bogs, marshes, puddles, and lakes.
Perhaps my wicked bad head/chest cold that developed during stage two, my dislocated sternum, the hole in my wallet that was caused from having to replace parts due to the shit ass conditions, all may have me being a tad negative. If you haven't found what you were looking for in my report have a look at these fine bloggers to see what they have to say:
. . . I went into the event with the goal to have fun and finish. Racing with a dislocated sternum/ribs would have been unrealistic anywho. I had hoped that my trip to Colorado two weeks before would boost me to super human status for CTS, however a wicked awful crash on the first day coming down Monarch Crest changed my plans slightly. Despite my injury I did manage to gain some significant Colorado fitness from the climbing/riding at altitude. At no point during Crank The Shield did I feel that I went into the red zone. The intense pain in my chest from heavy, deep breathing was all the indication that I needed to back off any exertion and thus kept me at a steady, manageable effort. I finished each stage feeling good and I kept a steady consistent pace during each stage. I am sure that I could have gone faster, but how much faster - who knows.
At times while riding behind the geared riders my skin would crawl from the sketchy, grindy gear changes caused by copious amounts of mud in their drive trains. Single speed was the way to go for sure. No skips, no jumps, no chain suck. I ran a 32x19 which I felt comfortable on throughout. CTS is a perfect race if you want to destroy some perfectly good bike parts or are looking for an excuse to replace a bike. I burnt through two sets of brake pads (outside of regular maintenance and upkeep, I've never ever gone through a set of brake pads!) and destroyed a bottom bracket. I'm also trying to convince Peter that I need a new bike cause mine got too dirty.
Three days of riding through muck and water and all I get is a cap? Pfffft. Fail.
The money spent on that could have been used to buy beer glasses (or even these glasses) - a very useful prize for finishing.
I don't recall a lot of fun sections of the course. But two do stand out: first, Sir Sam's. I was pleasantly surprised at how good Sir Sam's Ski Hill was. They did a great job putting a fast and flowy single track course there. It would have been nice to have been longer, cause it was so much fun, but it's only a small hill and I think they did a great job with the space that they had. Secondly, The North Shore Trail - yep, right at the start - twisty, rooty, rocky, loamy, up and down. It was long and difficult, but for some reason I loved it. Perhaps it was because I was still in a positive frame of mind as it came within the first few km's of the race and my spirit and soul hadn't yet been crushed under the sheer weight of the mud that I carried on my bike and clothing as I waded through swamps, bogs, marshes, puddles, and lakes.
Perhaps my wicked bad head/chest cold that developed during stage two, my dislocated sternum, the hole in my wallet that was caused from having to replace parts due to the shit ass conditions, all may have me being a tad negative. If you haven't found what you were looking for in my report have a look at these fine bloggers to see what they have to say:
Two last thoughts, Chico Racing did an absolute bang-up job putting this event on despite the horrid conditions. Organization was flawless, details were not over looked, good food, an amazing army of cheerful and supportive volunteers all were on their side, unfortunately Mother Nature was not. Finally, Adam Rupel of Chico Racing sent out an e-mail yesterday stating the following:
Course conditions were less than optimal, however many felt this was just part of the adventure. Riders who have participated in other stage races around the world including Trans Rockies, BC Bike Race, Transportugal and Cape Epic all said Crank was tougher. It is an amazing achievement just to finish Crank The Shield, whether you did the short course or long course. Congratulations to all finishers!
Many of you heard correct that there will not be a 3-day Crank The Shield mountain bike stage race in 2011, however we will be back with Crank The Shield 3-Day in 2012. We are seeking cash sponsorship, as well as some trail grants to make Crank The Shield 2012 the best yet. The market for mountain bike stage races is small, and the cost of hosting them at a high level is big.
So, there you have it. If Crank The Shield sounds like the itch in your underpants that you can't seem to scratch, you're going to have to wait until 2012 to get to it.
**Note: all who are seeking limited edition photos of the original big ring doing Crank The Shield are encouraged to go to Race Day Rush to order yours today. If you send them to me I will even kiss, rub all over my body and personally autograph all copies.
1 comment:
Just don't sit there with a frown. Grab your muddy socks and bandaged up undercarriage and head on over to La Ruta! It starts in about a month and some!
If yah want mud and screwed up bike parts... that's the race to do. The scenery is addictive. The weather is too. And, seeing the ocean at the end of stage 4 is just a sweeeet thing. Rewarding almost in some sick way.
Yah gotta do La Ruta at least once. I've done it three times and I think Richy was one of the first SSrs to do it (?)
So, get on your mud fest ride and head'r down to Costa Rica.
(btw: I'm trying to get a bunch of people together for the month of Feb... the ride will be on a CX bike through the carribian islands for 2 weeks then the last week spent in Pueto Rico. NO SNOW! Some of the best damn food you could eat for about 140 bucks a day with a bed! 10 islands, some great climbs, wicked food, cheap beer - cheaper than water!)
anyone interested, send me an email:
jac02000@yahoo.com
its all about getting away from winter
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