Source Endurance

This time of the year can bring some challenges for us "roadies": Cold temperatures, gusty winds, rain, sometimes even snow. When it comes down to building a solid base for the 2008 season, many wonder how to "trick" those conditions in order to keep the training fun. There a few things you can do like doing some trainer workouts (which I mentioned a few weeks ago) OR hit the trails and get on that mountain bike!

After being a gone for the past weekends, I was in town last Sunday to try my skills at the local "Faster'n Hell" mountain bike race at the "Wee-Chi-Tah Trail" in Wichita Falls, TX. Many wouldn't think there's a reasonable trail available here but the local bike shop puts a lot of time and work into the trail and it's a LOT of fun.

I usually try to ride the MTB once a week during off-season, mostly just 1-2 hours in order to get some change from the regular training. Mountain Biking can be very beneficial for your fitness, even if you consider yourself a "true" roadie: First, you are using your leg muscles WAY more intense on a trail than on an endurance ride on the road. Second, you have to use your entire body to balance your weight on the bike when going uphill, downhill or jumping logs etc. So you are getting a good core workout at the same time. And third, the constant change of pace, direction, and slope develops your overall handling skills as a bike racer. Especially riders who have trouble in criteriums can benefit from riding the MTB as it get them used to handle two wheels at speed while going through some rough terrain. Some very good mountain bikers can prove that theory; just look at riders like Bryan Fawley, who excel off-road and are successful in criteriums, too.

Back to the racing: I did a 3 1/2 hour ride the day before the race so I knew to expect a somewhat rough ride anyways. On top of that I got to use a 33lbs (that's twice the weight of my road bike) GIANT Warp DS3 Full Suspension which didn't make things easier! Not having raced a MTB race on U.S. soil before, I decided to do the sport category, along with my friends Brian Wyrick, Francis Hamre, and Adam Biwan. After a very slow start (clip-in issues with the SPD pedals) I couldn't believe how FAST people would go off into a 90 minute race. My heart rate was locked at 190bpm for the first 5minutes and I slowly managed to pass some people. After rolling up to Brian, we probably raced for an hour "together" (if you can say on a single-trail). It got too technically for me, though and skinny Brian rode away from me while I battled the logs, trees, and water-crossings on my own. I was in third place at that point but towards the end I could use more and more my road skills (big chain ring) and catch up to Brian just before the finish. The win was already gone, as a "real" biker from Wisconsin took the win 5 minutes earlier. Brian and I, the roadies, battled it to the line with me getting in 2nd place to the line.

Overall, it was a really good effort and something everyone should do once - especially if you're a roadie. I've done several hard NRC crits in the past few years but never expected that a MTB race could put me in the "hurt locker" so much.