Team Red Wheel

Sedalia Duathlon race report

I drove up to Sedalia to do the Spring into Summer duathlon, a 2 mile run, 20k bike, 2 mile run.  When I pulled into the parking lot, I was surprised to see a guy riding past in a baby blue Red Wheel T-shirt.  Turns out Cory and Noelle had came to race as well.

There are 2 duathlons each year in Sedalia, they are low-key events with a pretty cheap entry fee - 20 dollars if you don't get the T-shirt. Before the race, we discussed what we wanted to run the opening 2 miles in.  I was shooting for under 14, Cory under 15 and Noelle 16 minutes. 

The opening run is about 1 mile of pavement, 3/4 mile of Katy trail, and 1/4 mile of grass.  It is pretty flat and was uneventful.  We all ran about what we expected.  I have done this race before and usually would be in the top 15 or so on the run.  Today I was about 25 to 30 back.  It was probably a combination of more people entering and a lack of run fitness.

I got through transition and prepared myself to start making up time.  It was windy and it started raining on us about 5 miles in.  The rain lasted about 15 minutes and actually wasn't too bad.  It didn't rain hard enough to affect my vision and it cooled me down some.   A couple of people tried to jump on my wheel when I passed, but I picked it up a little and dropped them.  The course was fairly flat with some rolling hills on Route D, which sucked because it was straight into the wind as well.  I counted 17 people passed.  At the end of the loop, I still felt strong and was ready to do another lap.  They really should double the bike mileage and cut the run in half.  I rolled into transition with a 22.1 mph average.  I was hoping for 23, but with the wind and rain, I'll take it.

When I started on the run, my legs felt good, but my stomach was bothering me.  I walked a couple of times, I just wasn't motivated.   I knew I hadn't done the training to run anyone down.  Perhaps I should run more than 5 miles per week? Nay!  I'll just ride more to make up for it.  I let 5 or 6 people past me, and probably fell out of the top 10.

Cory finished about 3 minutes back of me.  He ran strong and picked up a minute or two on me during the last run.  He said he averaged just over 20 mph on the bike, wearing tennis shoes with toe-clips!

Hanging out at the finish line, a couple of ladies saw our jerseys and said "Hey, you are the guys that worked on our bike".  We explained that it wasn't us. Does your bike work?  Yeah, then we didn't work on it.  Must have been "Laser".

I stuck around for the awards to see if Cory and Noelle had won their divisions.  Cory was worried that there would be a scale there to make sure he qualified as a clydesdale.  He was just a few pounds over before the race, and was worried he may have sweat off more than that.  He was talking about if he had to strip down naked he may be under 200lbs.

Cory won his division.  Team Red Wheel has been dominating the "Big Boy" division at duathlons this year! Noelle won the Athena division. I figured the walking had cost me a spot, but I managed 3rd in the 30-39 division.

So the results are...

Cory 1st place Clydesdale

Noelle 1st place Athena

Stoney 3rd place 30-39(We can't all be winners, now can we?)

Rendelman ride 09

You can call it a pedaler's Jamboree, but it was a Rendelman ride. Here is what I can remember.

 

Bob J Chris B and myself decided to ride up to Columbia from Jeff. We rolled out at 6am. Hey Bob, nice shorts.

 

Bopp was fired up! It was his birthday.

 

Sonya road down from Rocheport and met us half way.

 

We got to flat branch park, met up with the rest of the crew, changed a flat tire, and had some of the best bloody mary I've ever had.

 

Bopp changed into his "drinking clothes".

 

After an intence ride down the MKT trail "If your not on this ride you'r in our way" we made it to the 1st stop, Katfish Katys.

 

Jungle love'n at the Katfish.

 

The Cougar and the Boob.

 

"You girls like to party?"

 

The ride jams down the trail to stop #2, Les Bourgeois winery. This is where it got bad.

 

Ladies and gentlemen,Chadwick of Boston.

 

Now the girls are fired up!

I told you it was going to get bad. That's nasty!

 

This is the last time I saw Bob J standing.

 

Ice cream and beer at the Rocheport General Store. That'll make your face blurey.

After the general store the riding became very difficult. The trail became very curvy and some riders had a hard time staying on the trail.

 

Rider Down!

After one more stop at the New Franklin round house for some crunchy burgers, we made it to Boonville.

 

We were surrounded by hippies but decided to set up camp anyway.

 

Jessica's trying to blend in with the hippies. Bob J is not doing such a good job. It must be the green cape.

 

Big Smith rocked the house as the sun set on another Rendelman ride.

The next morning we woke to the sounds Bob J throwing up in his sleeping bag. Thanks Bob.

 

What can you say, we've all been there.

 

The return trip. Only stopping for ice cream and diet coke....

 

....and flat tiers. I think Chad smells something.

After a detour up the MKT to flat branch park, Bopp and Bob J got there cross bikes from Jess B and we headed back south to JC.

 

Stopping only for flat tiers and STAG beer at Coopers Landing.

 

We made it to Hartsburg just in time to get rained on.

After a soggy 10 mile strech we finally made it home.

If you'r not on this ride, you'r in our way!

wow

  

Bopp's fired up!

 

 

Chris's new Pedaler's Jamboree bike!

The funniest thing I've heard him say yet, "I don't care how hot it is, I'm wearing that fu%king monkey mask!"

Syllamo race report

Nick, sorry for posting on top of your Pedaler's Jamboree post,<edit> and Barry for your comment/question</edit> but our 100 readers (plus or minus a zero) have been holding their breath waiting for the Syllamo race report.

First off, we all need to give props to Janeen.  She drove down Wednesday to volunteer for the race.  She thought she'd be working with a dozen or so other volunteers to clear and mark the trail.  Turned out it was just her and the race director working 50 miles of single track.   That is not a 2-person job. So for those of our 100 readers that did the race, I think you all owe Janeen a big thank you.  At the next race, Rhett's run, look for the cougar wearing a Red Wheel jersey and say "Janeen, thank you for all of your hard work"!

Friday, at noon, I met up with the 2 champs (Chris Bopp, cyclocross champ, and Bob Jenkins, clydesdale duathlon champ) at the shop.  Driving down I got to witness the Shake and Bake driving team at work.  Chris working the pedals and eating while Bob sat in the passenger seat steering thru the tight turns of the winding Arkansas back highways.  Boy, that was exciting!  We got into Arkansas and were surprised to see so many liquor stores, then we made it into the next county and there were didn't see any.  Bob asked a cashier at a gas station when the next place to buy beer would be and got a look like he was the devil in flesh.

We met up with Janeen and Barry and headed to the condo.  The lady who owned the condo was nice enough to give us 2 condos, so Janeen wouldn't have to shack up with 4 dudes.  Would you believe I forgot how loud Bob snores? 

Race morning came. Ben showed up with his girlfriend, we all spend the rest of the weekend wondering how Ben got such a hot woman.  Zack showed up to pick up his t-shirt, apparently he left his shoes at the cabin 20 miles away, so no race for him.  There was a Sonya sighting, but she didn't hear us yelling at her. 

300 riders lined up for the race.  It started with a mile long climb up a fireroad.  I lined up too far back.  50 yards into the climb had to dismount because so many people were stopping to walk and I can't track stand for crap.  Eventually, I got to ride and caught up with Ben and Sonya before the singletrack.

The first loop was hit hard by an ice storm over the winter and there was a ton of trees down or uprooted with the rootball leaving a gaping, unridable hole in the trail.  At times there was a line of twenty riders waiting to dismount and climb over or around the downed trees and holes.  The trails were slicker than snot and there were a lot of slower riders holding up progress.

During the first hour of the race, I covered a whopping 4 miles.  About ten miles in, I caught up with Bob and watched him rack himself.  I caught up with Bopp while he was stopped fixing a flat tire.  There were a lot of people stopped with flat tires, bent rear derailleurs, dropped chains, etc.  A little while later, ten other guys and me were pushing our bikes through a ridiculously tough rock garden, when Bopp yells "coming through" or something and rides past all of us.  I rode behind him up until the first checkpoint and got out on the trail before him.  At that point, 15 miles in we actually got some space to ride and the tree damage had been cleared up better.  There were some really challenging rock gardens and gorgeous views.  I didn't stop to take pictures, but I bet more than a few others did.  Bopp caught back up and passed me before the second checkpoint.  I hadn't seen Barry all day.  He was up ahead and kicking butt.

Between the second and third checkpoints, I started feeling a little woozy and somehow found myself 10 feet below the level of the trail, wondering how I got there.  I broke some spokes and got some scrapes and bruises, but I was able to make it to checkpoint 3.  There I got sick and started yakking behind a car.  The lady walked past while I was getting sick, got in her car and started inching back towards me.  Real nice.  I got up and moved over where I proceeded to almost yak on the shoes of Tropical Mulleted Midget Mason Storm from Team Seagal.  After a volunteer gave me a cold towel to hold to my forehead to cool down, I was able to recover and finish the final 14 miles, broken spokes and all. 

Bopp caught up to Barry and they rode together for a while.  Barry gave Chris all of his electrolyte tablets, and then needed them himself later on, but he was able to hold Bopp off to be first Red Wheeler across the line.  Yes, you read that right - Old man Berry whooped up on all of us whippersnappers.  Janeen told us later if Berry had entered the 50-59 division instead of the singlespeed class he would have gotten 3rd place.  Bob just missed the cutoff at the third checkpoint.  Sonya's IT band was troubling her, so she stopped at the first or second checkpoint, I can't remember.  Ben had so much fun on the green loop, he rode it again before calling it a day.

We were invited to the Team Seagal after-party, but we were so tired we knew we couldn't hang with them boys.

So there it is.  We all had a great weekend, but we are all sick of mud and just want one dry race where we don't have to replace bike parts afterwards.

Syllamo Results pending

While we're waiting on the results to be posted, I'll make a comment on this race.  It's not really a comment, but a question.  Why is the entire field started at the same time?  I don't know how many of us were in the race (250+), but it took 15 miles and the first checkpoint before the field spread out enough that we weren't bumping into each other at each uprooted tree (and there was a bunch of them) in the middle of the single trak .  The entire race was one slick wet mess.  It sure would have helped matters had the different classes been stagger started.  But I know that takes more volunteers and more timers, and volunteers were not in abundance.  Ask Janeen about that.  She and Steve Parker were a team of two getting that course ready. 

But with conditions like that all you can do is put out the maximum effort and hope it's enough.  I got back somewhere in 6 hours and 50 mins.  I'll live with that and try harder next time.  

Pedaler's Jamboree (AKA Rendelman ride)

It's on boys and girls! 2 weeks till the big event . Don't forget to sign up. My training program starts tonight.

Condo for Syllamo

Janeen said that she can get a condo for Friday and Saturday night.  Cost would be 89 dollars/night.  It is supposed to be for 4/5 people, but not sure how many beds it has.  It does have a kitchen, so maybe Janeen can make us breakfast before the race?  She needs to know ASAP, so give her a call tomorrow morning(Wednesday, May 6) and let her know.   Her number is 6 4 5 - 5 0 0 3. I think so far it's going to be Janeen, Barry and myself.

Binder (Tuesday night ride)

Hey ya punk bitch'es, Binders dry (mostly). It's time for a Tuesday night ride! we'll ride a few laps and drink a few cold beers. Cold beer and MTBing, they go together like square dancing and hand guns. See you Tuesday, 5:30 at the bait shop.

Plan for Syllamo

Early this week I'm going to call down to the town wherever this race is and book a motel room for Friday night.  Anyone want to split the room give me a call or drop a reply.  Number is 690-4042.  Going to come home after race.