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I tried several years to make it to the Fat Tire Frenzy at Beverly Park in Cedar Rapids. I'm not much of a mountain bike racer – I only started riding MTB a few years ago – but Beverly's trails are local favorites so racing there would be almost as familiar as Sugar Bottom. (From Iowa City Beverly Park is only five minutes further away, and its sandy soils often dry out days before Sugar Bottom's.) Having been foiled previously by nagging injuries or conflicting events, this year I was really looking forward to racing at Beverly...when the Fat Tire Frenzy suddenly disappeared.  photo by Angy Snoop, https://angysnoop.smugmug.com/ The schedule for the Iowa Mountain Bike Championship Series (IMBCS) appeared in March without a race listed for Beverly Park. Weeks later a new race was added, the Beverly Boondoggle, with the ominous tag "Marathon MTB Only." What? Again, I'm not much on a mountain bike, so working up the nerve to race trails at all can be a challenge, but a marathon? What was going on?
I decided to ask around. It turns out several factors led to the new Beverly Boondoggle, mostly very positive developments, and in hearing about them I learned about the growing trend toward MTB Marathon as well.
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Marathon MTB may seem more popular recently, but endurance MTB is hardly new. According to Bruce Brown, Co-Director of the Iowa Mountain Bike Championship Series, there is a long history of endurance events in mountain biking. "For years the big trend was 12 and 24 hour events. At some point events started being measured more in miles – 50, 75, or 100 mile measuring sticks for endurance mountain bike races that were point to point or one large loop and became what is known as destination events. Chequamegon 40 in Wisconsin, Dakota Five-0 in the Black Hills of South Dakota, and Leadville 100 in Colorado are examples."  Fun for all at the Squaw Creek Enduro. (photo by Angy Snoop, https://angysnoop.smugmug.com/) Skills for a fast time trial take practice, but will serve you well in most bike races: any time you're riding alone, of course, and in ways even riding in a pack
"My worst time trials were not been my slowest, but the ones where I knew I caved and didn’t push as hard as I could for the entire distance. The pain of discipline is always less than that of regret."  Ken Sherman, K&K Images "Seeing your times get faster as your fitness improves is rewarding, but for me learning to stick with a hard effort and not give up has translated to success at every distance." Sarah Cooper, race director of the Elkhart TT Series near Des Moines, ultra-distance cyclist, and all around badass, has inspired and informed our efforts since we first dreamt up the CRANDIC TT Series. Imagine how pleased we were when she told us she would race the first CRANDIC TT in May . . . maybe.
This weekend, just days before our race, Sarah will return to Trans Iowa. "A time trial after 340 miles of gravel is profoundly stupid, and I hate saying I’m going to be somewhere and then not making it. But most of my season is stupid. The State Time Trial Championship is the week after a 700 mile brevet. I’ve waved good bye to common sense for 2018. Unless I can’t walk, I should be there." We look forward to it, Sarah. And good luck this weekend! Riding in a group means drafting, riding close to others to save energy. It takes practice, balancing safety, comfort, and speed. But it really isn't difficult: ride smoothly and predictably, anticipate others, guard your front wheel, and relax. Fortunately Night at the Oval offers a perfect chance to practice pack riding skills. Racers are staged in appropriate skill levels, and as CRANDIC Racing Club's Rob McKillip explains: "The track is huge. There is a ton of space. Get in the pack if you're comfortable. If not, sit at the back, or even attack and try to time trial away. Either way, it's a safe way to have fun and get a killer workout." Before I ever raced a bike, a criterium-racer buddy thoughtfully explained to me that "time trials are for fat old guys who still want to race." As a 30-something-year-old wannabe who outweighed him by 30 pounds, his assessment made me wonder. Years passed, I came to love time trialing, and I often remembered his comment with a smile. But I also realized just how wrong he was: time trials are for everyone, and pretty much any racer can learn and grow from the "race of truth."
Maybe if you cross country ski, and you have the time and money to travel in search of snow, this time of year is pretty straight forward: you train for the Birkie in late February. Or if you've gone over to the dark side, subscribed to Zwift or Sufferfest or some other program, maybe you plan to tough it out on the bike indoor-trainer style. For the rest of us, though, if we're not rocking fatbikes winter often means more running and swimming and looking for ways to stay motivated and get in shape. Lucky for us we have a couple of great events nearby that truly fit the bill. Register now for the Hawkeye 50k/25k Like a challenge? Want to take running to a new level? Or just want a big goal to motivate your training? The Hawkeye 50K/25K traverses roads, crushed gravel paths, and some gnarly hiking trails to circle Lake McBride in Solon. On Saturday, April 14, choose one or two trips around the lake and across the spillway for either a 15.5 mile run or a full up 31 mile ultra-marathon -- the only one in the area.  Organized by We Run in North Liberty, the Hawkeye 50k/25k offers beautiful scenery, a supportive and friendly atmosphere, and a unique challenge that could inspire a lot of winter training runs. The race is capped at 250 and often sells out, so register today. Then lace up your shoes and get out there. Top off your preparations with a St. Patrick's Day run (maybe in North Liberty or Des Moines) and a short local trail run the week before (Red Shamrock) and you'll be flying before biking season really even gets going.  Register soon for the Pigman Sprint Triathlon Registration will open any day now for the 2018 Pigman Sprint Triathlon in Palo. Yes, June 3 does seem a ways away, but it's not unusual for this popular event to sell out fast. Besides, signing up early might help motivate the winter-only swimmers among us.  Pro Thomas Gerlach calls Pigman one of the best triathons in the MidWest. And he loves the prizes. Pigman is one of the biggest and best triathlons in the Midwest. And as a sprint it's perfect for those of us who only pretend to swim. The swim, run, and transition are all in Pleasant Creek State Park, parking is close and easy, and the race organization is excellent. With a stellar reputation and a field of 750, the level of competition at Pigman is quite high. At the same time it is about as friendly and inviting to beginners as a race could possibly be.
Whether you're out to win your age group or you're just racing to finish, Pigman is a great time. A beautiful park, a well supported event, a big feed afterward, and some of the cutest and most useful trophies you'll ever see. Check out the Big Pig Gig! John Stonebarger Originally published by Goosetown Racing Club |
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