Single Track Sunday- The Start of Trans-sylvania Epic, State College, PA

Welcome sign

Jess riding the motocross tire

Single Track Sunday
Weekend Prep for Trans-sylvania Epic (aka TSE)
Seven Mountains, near State College, PA

Today, Sunday, is the start of the Trans-sylvania Epic for us. What is this crazy race? It is a seven day mountain bike stage race; thus we race for seven days in a row covering approximately 30 to 40 miles a day.

Photo op during pre-ride

Base camp for this event is Seven Mountains Boy Scout Camp in Seven Mountains PA, right around the corner from State College. Our lodging is one of the camp cabins.  We are lucky enough to have procured a private room, where as all our other cabin mates are in the main bunk room. Around 20 people sharing two showers and two toilets for the week...humm..that could get interesting.

The courses consist of trails from places such as Rothrock State Forest, RB Winter State Park, and the areas surrounding the boy

Not Joël's preferred method of cleaning

Our bunk room

scout camp. The trails are "typical PA riding"; technical trails with a good amount of rocks and roots, long climbs, and fast descents. Many trails follow ridge lines offering beautiful views of the surrounding valleys and mountains.

Food is supplied by the camp cooks. We get breakfast and dinner daily. And what the spread of food it is.  Every meal is buffet style, which is great for hungry racers who need to take in a lot of calories.  Breakfast includes things such as oatmeal, pancakes, sausage, and eggs.  Dinner is meals such as pulled pork, BBQ chicken, lasagna, beef roast; along with an array of side dishes, veggies and salads.

Along with dinner every night there is a recap of the day.  Awesome photographer Abe Landis shows a photo recap and a video of that days stage. Then comes awards and a preview of the race the course the next day.

A week of fun with friends riding bikes, what a great way to spend our vacation. The only thing that is missing is Cliff. He is having tons of fun with his grandma at her farm; I am sure we miss him more than he misses us.

Sorry no video for this week as we need to time to prep rather than make videos. Next week will be a race report including info on each stage along with a video of the week.  So check back next week for more TSE adventures.

You can follow the race at http://outdoorexperience.org/tse/

Single Track Sunday- Greenbrier Challenge

Single Track Sunday

Place: Greenbrier State Park, Boonsboro, MD for the Greenbrier Challenge

Ridden: May 2014

Greenbrier State Park was the location for the Greenbrier Challenge; a race that included a four hour endurance/marathon and XC race, with Joël and I racing the endurance.  Overall, Greenbrier is a nice park; camping, swimming, showers, and some fun trails to ride.  A huge crew of Giant Northeast riders made the journey to this race, and a fun day was had by all.

The course had a little bit of everything that all mountain bike courses should include; rocks, roots, mud, and hills to go both up and down. Each lap was about 5.7 miles, with the start/finish area along side a beautiful lake. This made for a great spectator area and was also where the "feed zone" was located.  All day people were gathered there watching the race and cheering on riders.

The course started off with a decent climb on some gravel double track, a great way to break up the field. Then it was a fast and fun descent that lead into some rocky sections. The rock garden at the bottom of the hill was probably my favorite part of the course; spectators were gathered there cheering and it felt great to clear it every time and give them something to cheer about. After this the course included some gigantic mud puddles and a creek crossing which made for soggy shoes and dirty bikes.  After all the fun in the mud came the toughest climb on the course.  It had lots of loose rocks, slippery leaves, and multiple water bars to maneuver over. Many people (including myself and even Joël later in the race) were walking parts of this climb.  As a reward after this climb, there was a fast and flowy section (which was a good place to eat and drink) and then some more downhill. Stationed at the bottom of this downhill were some park rangers directing cyclists. They were great support, cheering and yelling to every rider going through.  Now, came the final climb. A technically challenging climb that weaved its way to the top.  It was on this climb I saved a toad's life.  The poor little guy was in the middle of the trail and would definitely have gotten squashed by a bike tire. I stopped and removed him from the trail, I hope he stayed off the course for the rest of the day.  The remainder of the course included some great technical descents and singe track through some rocky and muddy sections until coming out of the trail at the dam and then back through the start/finish area by the lake.

The mud and muck made for some unhappy bikes but overall our bikes performed well. My Giant Contact Switch dropper seatpost was an asset for the rock gardens and descents. The 27.5 wheels gave just the right amount of traction and made for efficient accelerating and climbing. And despite all the mud the Sram XX1 shifting kept working well.

And for results; I was second and Joël was fourth.  Overall the riders from Giant Northeast had good rides, everyone having fun in the wet and mud and some others earning podium spots as well. Hanging out in the team tent afterwards and sharing race stories made for some relaxing and fun times before heading home.

- video by Joël

- words by Jess

- lots of petting for Cliff

Single Track Sunday- On the Rocks @ French Creek (French Creek State Park), PA

Single Track Sunday

Place: French Creek State Park, PA (On the Rocks @ French Creek)

Ridden: May 2014

Rocks. Hot. Bugs. Fun. Those 4 words sum up the endurance race for Joël and I at French Creek State Park, the race being called "On the Rocks @ French Creek", another race in the MASS series.

After a few mishaps in my direction giving skills, we arrived at the race venue a little later than planned. It didn't put a kink in our race prep, it just meant that team mate Jed had already put up the team tent and tables; we were supposed to arrive early to help him, but obviously we didn't. Once again, sorry about that Jed.                                                                                                      

Registration and race prep went as planned, warm-up consisted of taking Cliff out on some of the trails.  Wow, does he love to run with the bikes.  Before we knew it, it was time for the race to start.

This week was a mass start, meaning all the endurance racers (men, women, masters, single speed) all started together.  Both Joël and I prefer this, no waiting around for each class to start individually. The race began with about a one mile climb on a gravel road, a great way to spread out the field.  Once entering the single track at the top of the climb the fun began. Lots and lots of rocks, fast descents and technical climbs; a technically challenging but rewarding course.  The occasional log to ride over was thrown in here and there, as was the occasional bridge to ride on. One short hike-a-bike on a very steep climb was included that everyone had to walk. The last mile of the course was on a paved road; this was a recent change due to rain storms during the week causing some trails to be not suitable for riding.  All in all even with the technical aspects of the course, it was a fast course that flowed well.

As usual, being out there is ultimately about having fun and smiling the entire time.  And yes, if we can go fast at the same time its great.  I put in five laps while Joël did six.  We rode together for a bit when he lapped me.  Joël knew other guys were behind him so after some quick chatting he had to press on. It was nice to ride together, even if for a short period of time.

We both had good races, Joël placing 3rd and I was 2nd.  Other Giant racers Jed, Jordan, April, and Andy were racing also; Jed endurance and the others XC.  The overall theme of the day was that everyone thought the course was challenging but fun.

Check out the video below to see what the rocks at French Creek are all about. 

- written recap by Jess

- images and video by Joël

- fun time exploring by Cliff

Iron Hill Challenge, Wilmington, DE

Single Track Sunday

Place: Iron Hill County Park, Newark, DE (Iron Hill Challenge)

Ridden: May 2014

The road trip for this week took us to Delaware for the Iron Hill Challenge.  This race includes both XC and endurance races, Joël and I racing the 4 hour endurance and many other Giant Northeast team members racing the XC.

The day started off a bit awry. Parking for the race was in numerous lots all over the park, most of which were a substantial distance from the race headquarters.  Joël, Cliff, and I walked for what seemed like miles carrying all our gear to get to where we needed to put our extra bottles and supplies and to check in. All this walking made for a good warm-up but it made us a little late in getting ready. After a quick race prep we were off to the start line just in time for the race to start.

Mud, mud, and more mud was the theme for the day.  Downpours all week made for sloppy conditions.  The course was tight and twisty with a few short ups and downs.  The occasional rock and root but nothing too substantial to worry about.  The XC course contained a feature called "the mega dip", a steep down and immediately up that resembles (or maybe is) a hole dug from a previous strip mine. 

One nice aspect to the course was the way it looped through the team tent area; it was great to have the support of friends and know that the team was there if help was needed.  Every time through it was uplifting to hear the cheers.  Also, having the team there was helpful; thanks to Lester's quick work with the ProGold lube and Jed helping to fill my Camelbak I was able to make quick work of my pit stop and thus could catch back up to the lady I just passed in no time.

Despite the mud it was a fun day out there.  Both Joël and I just plain enjoy being on our bikes. We certainly would not ride 6 (for me) or 7 (for Joël) laps in the muck and mud if it wasn't fun.

As for results, Joël was 6th in a tough field of many really fast guys.  After the start he was first going into the single track.  After hanging the lead group for some time, in the words of Joël "I burned to many matches and just didn't have any left".  I was 2nd, first place being a local uber fast pro, so second is the best any of us regular women could have hoped for.  My first chance to stand on the podium in my new LIV/Giant kit and I missed the awards ceremony!  Joël and I were out with Cliff. Cliff is such a good dog waiting in the Jeep all day for us that after the race we felt it was only right to take him out for a few miles on the single track.  Family time; an easy cool down for us and a super fun adventure for Cliff.  We heard awards being announced but could not get back to the podium area fast enough.

Giant Northeast racers April and Amy were also on the podium; way to go ladies!

On the way home was a stop with friends from Saucon Valley Bikes racing team at Joe's Crab Shack. Filling our bellies with beer and crabs was a great way to end the day.

- written by Jess
- video by Joël
- photos taken by friends/spectators