2010 Salsa Two-Four

This past weekend was the Salsa Two-Four, a 24 hour mountain bike race at the Afton Alps Ski Area in Hastings, MN. Luckily my fingers are about the only part of my body that doesn't hurt right now, so I am able to write up a race recap.

I was a solo participant in the race last year. I wanted to experience a 24 hour race on my own schedule, i.e be able to ride or rest/sleep whenever I wanted to. This year I joined up with 3 guys from work and we entered the 4-Man Open Division.

This is how a 24 Hour Race works. The course at Afton is a 6.8 mile loop. Each team is allowed to have one person on the course at a time. When the rider completes the lap they can either continue on for another lap or they hand off and a teammate goes out on a lap. Each participant wears a timing chip around their ankle in order to keep track of laps completed and lap times.

I was the 2nd rider on our team to head out on a lap. As I waited for Mike to complete his lap the leader of the race came through in a blistering 34 minutes, a full 15 minutes in front of the 2nd place rider. To further illustrate the gap between me and a really, really good rider, my fastest lap was 1 hour 24 minutes. Yep, the leader could have almost finished 3 laps in the time it took me to do one. Amazing!

Lap 1: 10:55 am (Team Lap 2):

The first lap of last years race nearly killed me. I literally almost quit half way through it. The amount of climbing destroyed me and I didn't know how I would complete one lap, much less attempt any more. I was happy I knew what to expect this year, but I was still very nervous about how I would do. For the most part the first lap went well. I managed to fight off a massive adrenaline dump and attempted to ride a constant pace. After all, I still had 22 hours to complete another lap or two... I didn't climb quit as well as I had hoped and I had to do several hike-a-bikes through sections that I had ridden in last years race. This would come back to bite me later on in the race. I was happy with how I handled all of the technical, rocky, descents as I got through each of them without incident. After 1 hour and 24 minutes, Lap 1 was done. I was pretty beat, but nowhere to the extent of last year. I was a little worried about what felt like a blister developing on my right heal and the scorching heat, as much of the course is in the open.


Lap 2: 3:58 pm (Team Lap 6)

As I headed out for Lap 2 I could not believe how unbelievably hot it was. It didn't matter if I was in the woods or out in the meadows, the heat was crushing. Despite the heat, my legs were feeling good. The first lap had gotten the initial burn out of me and I settled into a pretty good groove. I still wasn't climbing all the sections I did last year, but I was making progress in that I got through a few sections that I walked in Lap 1. I was on pace to put in a lap time of somewhere around 1:05....and then the heat caught up to me. As I was going through one of the rocky downhills I pinned my front wheel on a rock and did not have enough speed for the suspension to soak up the hit. As I was about to get launched over the handle bars I tried to correct with all my strength. I successfully avoided hitting the deck, but the effort caused my legs to cramp slightly. The slight cramps would change to severe cramps in less than a half mile and I would have to get off my bike to try to get the knots to let loose. After about 5 minutes I was able to get back on my bike, but my legs were constantly on the edge of cramps for the remainder of the lap. Thanks to the cramps, and blisters on my right foot that were making the hike-a-bikes increasingly more painful, I turned in a lap of 1:28 instead of something closer to 1:05.


Lap 3: 8:53 pm (Team Lap 10)

I love night riding, especially at Afton. The trails are not lit up by the lights at the ski area, instead each rider has a helmet mounted and/or handlebar mounted light. While these lights are extremely bright you can still only see so far. The advantage of this is you can't see how much further the climbs go or how steep they are. Granted by this point I basically have the course memorized, but it is still nice to not be able to see the massive climb in front of you. It is amazing how often I would talk myself out of doing a climb during the day only to find myself powering up it during the night laps. The mental part of riding is definitely something I need to work on.

I made it about half way through the lap before the cramps came back again. My legs never seized up like they did in lap 2, but I had to be very careful on how I positioned myself on the bike and how I got on and off to hike certain sections. Not only were the cramps impacting me, but the blisters on my right heel were getting worse with every step I had to take. Click here for a picture of the damage to my heel. Warning, the picture is pretty gross! The good thing about the blisters was it made getting off the bike extremely painful, so I attempted to stay on the bike at all costs. And wouldn't you know it, I began climbing sections I had been unable to climb in the previous 2 laps or during last years race. However, there were still sections that were not doable, namely Manhandler.

Manhandler is Afton's penultimate climb that comes at the very end of the lap. It is a ~3/4 mile beast that only a few riders manage to get completely up. In an effort to motivate riders, there were tents set up at the top blasting music and videos. In addition to that there were friendly hecklers to "encourage" the riders to give their best effort. A few of my favorite heckles were: "I can see that you are out of gears, but are you really going to let a giant pile of dirt beat you?" "There is no climb, it is all in your head. You're actually on a gentle downward slope." and "You think that because you have opposable thumbs and a fancy bike you can get up this hill! This hill is hungry for souls and yours looks like lunch! Here lunchie, lunchie, lunchie." What can I say, the heckling worked as I was able to get up the last 1/4 mile which is semi-rideable during the last 3 laps. The hecklers were definitely a highlight of the race.


Lap 4: 2:19 am (Team Lap 14)

Between laps 3 and 4 I kicked back in my tent, but I never really slept because I wasn't completely sure I would be able to wake up for my next lap. I think I dozed off for about a half hour, but that was it. My legs had a pretty good jello feeling as I headed up the first climb that leaves the start/finish area. That didn't concern me as much as wondering when the cramps would come back. Surprisingly, they never did. I managed to shake the cobwebs from my legs and I felt pretty good for the entire lap. It was the best I had felt since the first half of lap 2.

Lap 5: 7:49 am (Team Lap 18)

After lap 4 I crawled into my tent and grabbed two hours of sleep. When my alarm went off I had to do some serious talking to myself in order to get up and going. The thought of going out for one final lap did not sound very appealing. I drank a bottle of water and downed another package of Clif Shot Bloks and decided I had to do one more lap. As I headed out on my final lap I couldn't believe how hot it was already. The sun felt like it was suffocating me, one more reason I was extremely happy that this would be my last lap of the race. Despite the heat, lap 5 went really well. I was still solid on the technical stuff and I was climbing the best I had all weekend. I crossed the finish line and let out a pretty good scream in celebration of being done. I wished my teammate Jim good luck on his final lap and I headed back to camp to gorge on sandwiches, soda and at long last a cold beer!

A few interesting notes on this year's Salsa Two-Four:

* Team Furious finished with 19 laps in 24:22:17 for a total of 130 miles
* My final stats: 5 laps in 7:21:49, 34 miles and ~7,500 feet of climbing
* Hours of sleep: 3
* # of Crashes: 0!!!
* Total laps completed by all participants: 1,275

Complete race results can be found here

Course Profile here

Getting Called Out

Kati hasn't done it yet, so I will. It is time to check in on my New Years Resolutions and admittedly I am slacking a bit. Here is a look...

1) Lose 30lbs: As of the end of January I had lost a whopping 3 lbs. I have not weighed myself since, nor have I hardly worked out. I did log approximately 230 miles on the trainer in January though.

2) Get a physical: Nothing scheduled yet.

3) Putting my clothes away: Grade: C+, the clothes still sit on the love seat too long.

4) Ride 100 miles in the Ironman: I am registered and I managed to talk Scottie O into suffering with me.

5) 10 Laps at the Salsa 24: I am going on record to say this is my top goal of the year. All of the boring training hours have to be good for something...

6) Ride 1,500 miles: In order to complete 10 laps at Afton, this should be a cakewalk and outdoor riding season is getting closer everyday.

7) Change 1 dirty diaper: Hmm, maybe I will just skip this one!

8) Read at least 1 book a month: This is the one resolution I am sticking to. So far I have read Where Men Win Glory, Touching The Void, Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies and Why and Generation of Swine.

9) Do dishes every other day: Grade: B. I have kept up with the dishes pretty well so far and Kati has also done them quite often, which if you know her at all you know how much she hates doing dishes!

10) Become a good dad: As far as I can tell, the only thing you have to do after you bring a baby home is sit and stare at them. I don't think this one will be a problem at all!

Stupid resolutions!

Where Men Win Glory

Jon Krakauer is without question my favorite author.  I have read Into the Wild and Into Thin Air no less than five times each, along with thoroughly enjoying Under the Banner of Heaven and Eiger Dreams. 

Krakauer's first three books were about climbing and outdoor adventure, not suprisingly this genre dominates my library.  However, Under the Banner of Heaven was a drastic change in subject matter as it addressed a brutal murder and fundamentalist Mormonism.  I was a little apprehensive before reading this book because to me Krakauer was a climber that wrote on the side and I wasn't quite sure his storytelling would work outside of that.  However, this was the book that cemented Krakauer as my favorite author as he ventured outside his comfort zone and wrote a powerful book that was very difficult to stomach or put down.  I have been not so patiently awaiting Krakauer's next release for the last few years.

During my drive home from work a month or so ago I was listening to NPR and Krakauer was on All Things Considered discussing his new book that was about to be released, Where Men Win Glory "The Odyssey of Pat Tillman."  I was thrilled not only that Krakauer had a new book out but that he tackled a story that truly had to be told.

I am sure most people know, but Pat Tillman was an NFL football player for the Arizona Cardinals.  He gave up millions after the 9/11 attacks to join the Army Rangers with his brother Kevin.  While deployed in Afghanistan he was killed by friendly fire but the full story of what happened was covered up by all levels of the Army and US Government for not only months but years.

True to form, Krakauer goes into painstaking detail in his account of Pat Tillman's life and the events that lead to his death.  The book is both inspirational and infuriating as it provides an intimate look into what made Pat Tillman tick.  This is the story that Tillman deserved and it is the story that the American public deserves to hear.  I can't recommend it enough. 

And now the wait begins for the next Krakauer release...

Reso-What???

I have never been a big believer in New Year's Resolutions. Really, what is the point of saying you are going to do something differently for two weeks and then resorting to the same old ways of doing them? Fortunately, or maybe not, Al Gore invented the Internet and provided a whole new way for me to be held accountable to what are going to be the first real resolutions I have ever made. Hopefully this doesn't blow up in my face.

So I present to you, the adoring fans of the Mousel Blog (hi mom!) my resolutions/goals for 2010:

1. Lose 30 pounds, original I know, but it is going to happen. The rest of 2009 however, will be an eating holiday!



2. Get a physical. I guess I am due since my last one was ~12 years ago.



3. Use these new contraptions called dressers and closets that apparently you put clothes in after they have been washed. Up until this point, the love seat in the living room seemed like a perfectly suitable home for them.



4. Ride 100 miles in the MN Ironman bike ride. This may be vetoed by Mufasa's mom due to scheduling conflicts (April 25th).



5. Complete 10 laps at the Sufferfest known as the Salsa 2-4 at Afton Alps Mountain Bike Race (2009 Results: 49th Place, 5 laps complete & nearly quit biking to take up croquet Salsa 2-4)



6. Ride my bicycle(s) 1,500 miles.



7. Change 1 dirty diaper!



8. Read at least one book a month.



9. Do dishes, or bribe Kati to do them, at least every other day.



10. Somehow figure out how to be a good dad.

In order for these to last more than two weeks I am giving Kati free reign to call me out on the Blog, Facebook or Shakopee Town Square for anything I am falling short on...except the diaper changing and dirty dishes part. I only put those on the list to dress it up a bit.

It has been a great 2009 and 2010 is going to be a life changer! I hope you all have a great new year!

P.S. For this post's beer nod I tip my hat to a classic. Don't let the hipsters scare you away. Unlike most of their music interests, they are actually right about this one. MMM, BEER