This was the 1st weekend of the famed Greenville Training Series with racing at the Donaldson Center on Sat. and at the BMW Test track on Sunday. In the masters 45+ we had Rick Creed, Matt Mason and myself for both days. On Sat. with the temps in the mid 70s brought out a large field of old guys of 60+ riders. On lap 3 of 6 around the 7 mile course John Patterson hit it hard taking with him Hank McCullum, Scott Miner, Steve Sperrier and two others. I was barely able to get there but was not able to offer any assistnace. We were caught just pasted the start finish to begin lap 5. Just past the rail road track into a strong head wind Patterson went again and the field sat up and let him go. Coming to the line to start lap 6 Scott Miner and one other rider put in in a dig that gave them a 20sec gap going into the hill on the golf course. Matt put in two big efforts to bring those two back. He got it close but was unable to enlist any assistance from any of the other teams. So it came down to a big old field sprint. coming to the line we were protected from the wind on the inside as I was on Tom Sundys R hip as Tom was Rick's R hip. Rick blasted it with 200 meters to the line and gaped Tom as well as the rest of the field. Tom sat up with 75 meters to go. As Tom was moving R I had to let him know where I was and was barely able to squeeze thru. Rick won the feild sprint for 4th and I finsihed 10th. Good news is we get to do it all again tomorrow.
Spring turned back to winter with temps. in the high 40s and a cold wind all on the front stretch of the BMW test facility. We had 40 riders today with Charlie Brown joining us after he had just beat Tom Smith from POA to win the 35+ race. Rick had a stomach bug this AM and was certainly not on top of his game after throwing up but pined on a number any any way to give it his best. Matt and I just tried to keep as much pressure off of Rick as we could to allow that guy do what he does best and that is get to the line. I was covering early punches and Matt was there to follow. Two guys rolled off on the back stretch with 8 laps to go. I was able to get to them but soon realized this move did not have the right mix and was not going any where. We were joined by the field with 6 to go and Matt took a flyer to take some heat off of Rick and myself for the better part of 2 laps. With 2 laps to go Tom Sunday tried a different tactic since he was not able to get Rick in the sprint yesterday, he took a flyer. I was able to bring Tom back but had little for the finish. With the field in tack it was another big old field sprint. Rick light it up coming out of the last turn holding off Charlie Brown and rest of the hard charging field for the WIN! So for two weekends in a row Creed wins for MOB!
I would also like to say Congrats to Bobby Labonte and his 4th place finish at the Super Bowl of NASCAR the Daytona 500! Way to go Bobby and the #47 team.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Monday, July 19, 2010
July Sizzler
Monday, July 19, 2010
July Sizzler
Mock Orange Bikes had a few converts this past weekend at the July Sizzler Mtn bike race in Greensboro, NC. Brad, Zack, Joe, and Charles traded in their 700cc tires for 26 inch aggressive tread. Along with myself, Zack, Charles, and Brad took on others in the Cat 1 30-39 race. When the flag went up, Brad and Charles led the charge up the first grassy (and wet) climb to sit 1st and 3rd going into the woods. I sat right behind Brad in fourth position. The first mile saw the usuasual scramble for posisition and inevitable setbacks of guys off the bike and minor crashes (that were sure to occur in the soggy conditions). Upon a mishap at the begginning I went into the woods around 8th posistion and had to bide my time for passing opertunities. Finally I was able to get around some of the traffic and catch back up to Brad and Zack. Charles had gone up ahead with Tommy Rogers. I managed to bridge to Charles just before the greenway on the 1st lap. However Tommy had already left and was about 45 sec to a minute up the trail. I dug deep for the first 3 laps but was unable to bridge to Tommy and I finished in 2nd for the day. Charles took 4th and Brad took 5th! A very good day for MOB at the Sizzler. In other races both Micheal T. and Jeff V. looked strong in their respective races and Joe C took 3rd in the Cat 3 men 30-39!. Great day on the trails for all members of the MOB!
July Sizzler
Mock Orange Bikes had a few converts this past weekend at the July Sizzler Mtn bike race in Greensboro, NC. Brad, Zack, Joe, and Charles traded in their 700cc tires for 26 inch aggressive tread. Along with myself, Zack, Charles, and Brad took on others in the Cat 1 30-39 race. When the flag went up, Brad and Charles led the charge up the first grassy (and wet) climb to sit 1st and 3rd going into the woods. I sat right behind Brad in fourth position. The first mile saw the usuasual scramble for posisition and inevitable setbacks of guys off the bike and minor crashes (that were sure to occur in the soggy conditions). Upon a mishap at the begginning I went into the woods around 8th posistion and had to bide my time for passing opertunities. Finally I was able to get around some of the traffic and catch back up to Brad and Zack. Charles had gone up ahead with Tommy Rogers. I managed to bridge to Charles just before the greenway on the 1st lap. However Tommy had already left and was about 45 sec to a minute up the trail. I dug deep for the first 3 laps but was unable to bridge to Tommy and I finished in 2nd for the day. Charles took 4th and Brad took 5th! A very good day for MOB at the Sizzler. In other races both Micheal T. and Jeff V. looked strong in their respective races and Joe C took 3rd in the Cat 3 men 30-39!. Great day on the trails for all members of the MOB!
Monday, June 14, 2010
News on the Mountain Bike Scene
I wanted to give a quick shout out to Frank Mullins for putting on a great race at Youth Unlimited and doing a great job promoting mountain biking and MOB in general at the race. The venue was set up nicely with the MOB tents and provided a great technical course in the Caraway Hills. It was by far the most strenuous of the series so far.
I have been trying to focus this year on the Southern Classic Mountain Bike Series for the first time and have had an absolute blast so far this season. It has been nice racing against several of the same Cat 2 guys from various other teams and being able to watch as we have progressed throughout the season. I started the series out with a 'beside the podium finish" in 5th and have inched my way a little further up each race from 5th to 4th to 3rd and have been able to secure a solid 2nd place finish the past two weekends in a row.
With 4 more races left in the series, I would still like to get to that top spot on the podium! We will see what happens....
See you guys this weekend at the Tour de Kale.
Jeff
I have been trying to focus this year on the Southern Classic Mountain Bike Series for the first time and have had an absolute blast so far this season. It has been nice racing against several of the same Cat 2 guys from various other teams and being able to watch as we have progressed throughout the season. I started the series out with a 'beside the podium finish" in 5th and have inched my way a little further up each race from 5th to 4th to 3rd and have been able to secure a solid 2nd place finish the past two weekends in a row.
With 4 more races left in the series, I would still like to get to that top spot on the podium! We will see what happens....
See you guys this weekend at the Tour de Kale.
Jeff
Sunday, June 6, 2010
3 Mountain Madness - my 75 Mile ride report
This was my fifth straight 3 Mountain Madness charity ride, but my first time doing the 75 mile route. I had done the 95 mile route in my previous four rides. This year I had to be back home early in the afternoon, so I opted for the 75 mile route. I don't particularly like climbing mountains, I do it because it's like taking bad-tasting medicine...I know it's good for me, that it makes me a better all around rider (that's what I tell myself to justify the pain).
The past two years I've had bad experiences with the 3 Mountain ride. Those experiences involve things like getting dropped on Sauratown and/or Hanging Rock, losing gobs of time on the descents, chasing like crazy alone or with one or two other desperados, burning myself up way too early and struggling just to finish.
But here it was again and I was back for more punishment. I saw teammates Rick Lee and Jay Cox at the start. If there were others I didn't see them, and with 500+ riders that is certainly possible. Early on, I knew it could be a decent ride for me when I was able to get to the top of Sauratown pretty close behind the leaders without killing myself. Close enough that I was able to catch back on with a few others pretty soon after getting to the bottom, instead of having to chase all the way to Hanging Rock.
I also managed pretty well up Hanging Rock, keeping the lead group in sight until about the last quarter of the climb, when the front pack seemed to accelerate. Instead of trying to match the acceleration and going into the red zone as I've done in the past, I just continued to ride at my own pace. I did lose ground, and then lost some more ground on the descent because of vehicles between our group and the lead group. Fortunately a big chunk of the former front pack were in the same boat as me, including some pretty strong riders. There was a well organized chase and the group was all back together soon after passing though Danbury. At this point, I really felt good compared to the last couple of years...I was safely in the front pack after the second mountain without feeling like I had already spent two hours in the red zone.
When the routes split around mile 55, of the 18 or so riders in the front pack, only three of us turned right to do the 75 mile route. Jay Cox was still in the 95 mile lead group when we split. I'm not sure of his final result since I had to eat and run as soon as my ride was over, but he was definitely riding strong. My two 75 mile companions were Kyle Richardson, a Randolph County buddy that I ride with all the time, and Adrian from the Triangle area (I didn't catch his last name). We three rode together until the start of the Pilot Mountain Climb.
In the past, when doing the 95 mile route, Pilot Mountain is usually filled with riders from the 75 and 95 mile rides by the time I get there. This year, it was really nice to start the climb basically having the mountain to ourselves. I just focused on turning the pedals over and trying to walk the thin line between riding hard enough, but not too hard. I didn't allow myself to look back until about halfway up and was surprised to see a pretty good gap back to Kyle, who is a strong climber, and I didn't see Adrian at all, so I figured I'd just keep doing what I was doing. By three quarters of the way up, I couldn't see Kyle anymore, either. I just kept turning the pedals over, made the turn at the top, and coming back down I saw I had what was maybe a two minute gap. I really suck at descending, and Kyle is pretty good at it, so I figured he would make up a lot of time on the descent. I got slowed up again by car traffic near the bottom and figured Kyle and maybe Adrian were right behind me and we would be riding in together.
Once I turned out of the park, I glanced back and didn't see anyone, so I just put my head down and tried to maintain a good hard tempo for the last 7 miles or so back to the civic center, finishing in 3:55 by my computer. Kyle came in 4-5 minutes later and Adrian another couple minutes after that.
When all is said and done, while it feels good to 'win the ride', I'm more satisfied that I was able to put my previous two 3 Mountain Madness "rides from hell" behind me and can say I had a good, strong ride.
-Steve Brumley
The past two years I've had bad experiences with the 3 Mountain ride. Those experiences involve things like getting dropped on Sauratown and/or Hanging Rock, losing gobs of time on the descents, chasing like crazy alone or with one or two other desperados, burning myself up way too early and struggling just to finish.
But here it was again and I was back for more punishment. I saw teammates Rick Lee and Jay Cox at the start. If there were others I didn't see them, and with 500+ riders that is certainly possible. Early on, I knew it could be a decent ride for me when I was able to get to the top of Sauratown pretty close behind the leaders without killing myself. Close enough that I was able to catch back on with a few others pretty soon after getting to the bottom, instead of having to chase all the way to Hanging Rock.
I also managed pretty well up Hanging Rock, keeping the lead group in sight until about the last quarter of the climb, when the front pack seemed to accelerate. Instead of trying to match the acceleration and going into the red zone as I've done in the past, I just continued to ride at my own pace. I did lose ground, and then lost some more ground on the descent because of vehicles between our group and the lead group. Fortunately a big chunk of the former front pack were in the same boat as me, including some pretty strong riders. There was a well organized chase and the group was all back together soon after passing though Danbury. At this point, I really felt good compared to the last couple of years...I was safely in the front pack after the second mountain without feeling like I had already spent two hours in the red zone.
When the routes split around mile 55, of the 18 or so riders in the front pack, only three of us turned right to do the 75 mile route. Jay Cox was still in the 95 mile lead group when we split. I'm not sure of his final result since I had to eat and run as soon as my ride was over, but he was definitely riding strong. My two 75 mile companions were Kyle Richardson, a Randolph County buddy that I ride with all the time, and Adrian from the Triangle area (I didn't catch his last name). We three rode together until the start of the Pilot Mountain Climb.
In the past, when doing the 95 mile route, Pilot Mountain is usually filled with riders from the 75 and 95 mile rides by the time I get there. This year, it was really nice to start the climb basically having the mountain to ourselves. I just focused on turning the pedals over and trying to walk the thin line between riding hard enough, but not too hard. I didn't allow myself to look back until about halfway up and was surprised to see a pretty good gap back to Kyle, who is a strong climber, and I didn't see Adrian at all, so I figured I'd just keep doing what I was doing. By three quarters of the way up, I couldn't see Kyle anymore, either. I just kept turning the pedals over, made the turn at the top, and coming back down I saw I had what was maybe a two minute gap. I really suck at descending, and Kyle is pretty good at it, so I figured he would make up a lot of time on the descent. I got slowed up again by car traffic near the bottom and figured Kyle and maybe Adrian were right behind me and we would be riding in together.
Once I turned out of the park, I glanced back and didn't see anyone, so I just put my head down and tried to maintain a good hard tempo for the last 7 miles or so back to the civic center, finishing in 3:55 by my computer. Kyle came in 4-5 minutes later and Adrian another couple minutes after that.
When all is said and done, while it feels good to 'win the ride', I'm more satisfied that I was able to put my previous two 3 Mountain Madness "rides from hell" behind me and can say I had a good, strong ride.
-Steve Brumley
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Another kind of racing .. my first 1/2 ironman
Another kind of racing .. my first 1/2 ironman
I know it’s not pure bike racing for you hard core roadies but I thought I’d share my 1st half ironman experience with anyone that’s interested. White Lake was the location I chose for my 1st ironman because my very knowledgeable trainer assured me that the lake was cool enough to race in a wetsuit (optimal), slick as glass (shouldn’t drink too much water), the ride would be flat with no wind and the also flat run would surely not be too hot. Well none of that actually turned out to be true but instead I experienced a race that tested my grit and determination like no other event I’ve ever participated in.
So the morning of the race they announced that the lake temperature had increased by 10 degrees over the past week and therefore would not be wetsuit legal (ouch). No panic at this point I knew I could finish the 1.2 mile swim but would just be slower than I had planned. Oh and by the way from this point in the race there was nothing about my plan that actually held together. I took off with my wave and stayed about mid pack, made the 1st buoy turn and realized that the wind had picked up enough to create some mild white caps which I in turn commenced to take a drink of about every other stroke. Little did I know at the time but the boat fuel I was ingesting would come back to haunt me. I finished the swim in about 5 minutes longer than the plan but no panic at this point because I fully planned to make it up on the bike. Transition one went OK except for a few clumsy stumbles and then I’m on the bike. Yeah! Well the 1st few miles on the bike were so rough that my hammer nutrition dumped out onto my SRM where the sun quickly turn it into a crusty substance that I had to scratch off to see my numbers. No problem the legs are feeling good and I’m flying by riders like they’re going backwards. Well that lasted for about the first hour until the before mentioned consumption of boat fuel set off cramps in my stomach that continued for the remainder of the ride and run. The wind gusts picked up and the road surface was not nearly optimal for a record bike split but I finished the 56 mile TT with the 16th best time. I did however have to put out way to much effort to push the bike through wind so by now I’m really ready to get off the bike and do something different because my butt is not getting along very well with the saddle at this point.
I crawled off the bike expecting to feel better by changing things up but once again a much different experience was waiting for me on the ½ marathon run. By this time the temperature had reached 95 degrees with no breeze. My pace was about 2 minutes per mile slower than I had planned but I was not going to stop. I watched as the elite wave of athletes came back in from their run looking like zombies (well except for the top two women that came blazing by looking they had just started … the first was a Pro Triathlete and then blazing by in second was Sara). I finished 72nd out of the 372 men that finished with a 25% attrition rate but am proud that I pushed myself to finish an event that was by far the most difficult challenge I have ever participated in.
OK, so after a week of recovery I plan to be back on the bike full time so I can come out and play bike racing with you guys!! Thanks for reading.
Daryl
I know it’s not pure bike racing for you hard core roadies but I thought I’d share my 1st half ironman experience with anyone that’s interested. White Lake was the location I chose for my 1st ironman because my very knowledgeable trainer assured me that the lake was cool enough to race in a wetsuit (optimal), slick as glass (shouldn’t drink too much water), the ride would be flat with no wind and the also flat run would surely not be too hot. Well none of that actually turned out to be true but instead I experienced a race that tested my grit and determination like no other event I’ve ever participated in.
So the morning of the race they announced that the lake temperature had increased by 10 degrees over the past week and therefore would not be wetsuit legal (ouch). No panic at this point I knew I could finish the 1.2 mile swim but would just be slower than I had planned. Oh and by the way from this point in the race there was nothing about my plan that actually held together. I took off with my wave and stayed about mid pack, made the 1st buoy turn and realized that the wind had picked up enough to create some mild white caps which I in turn commenced to take a drink of about every other stroke. Little did I know at the time but the boat fuel I was ingesting would come back to haunt me. I finished the swim in about 5 minutes longer than the plan but no panic at this point because I fully planned to make it up on the bike. Transition one went OK except for a few clumsy stumbles and then I’m on the bike. Yeah! Well the 1st few miles on the bike were so rough that my hammer nutrition dumped out onto my SRM where the sun quickly turn it into a crusty substance that I had to scratch off to see my numbers. No problem the legs are feeling good and I’m flying by riders like they’re going backwards. Well that lasted for about the first hour until the before mentioned consumption of boat fuel set off cramps in my stomach that continued for the remainder of the ride and run. The wind gusts picked up and the road surface was not nearly optimal for a record bike split but I finished the 56 mile TT with the 16th best time. I did however have to put out way to much effort to push the bike through wind so by now I’m really ready to get off the bike and do something different because my butt is not getting along very well with the saddle at this point.
I crawled off the bike expecting to feel better by changing things up but once again a much different experience was waiting for me on the ½ marathon run. By this time the temperature had reached 95 degrees with no breeze. My pace was about 2 minutes per mile slower than I had planned but I was not going to stop. I watched as the elite wave of athletes came back in from their run looking like zombies (well except for the top two women that came blazing by looking they had just started … the first was a Pro Triathlete and then blazing by in second was Sara). I finished 72nd out of the 372 men that finished with a 25% attrition rate but am proud that I pushed myself to finish an event that was by far the most difficult challenge I have ever participated in.
OK, so after a week of recovery I plan to be back on the bike full time so I can come out and play bike racing with you guys!! Thanks for reading.
Daryl
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Lewisville-Yadkin River Metric
Mock Orange Racing was well represented at the Lewisville-Yadkin River Metric Century ride this morning. On hand were were Rick Lee, Matt Chambers, Steve Brumley, Ken Gulledge and Frank Mullins.
True to form, a Carolina Masters rider (Grant McAllister?) got away very early, and when another rider tried to bridge, he was immediately marked by another Carolina Masters rider, Charlie Brown. In short order, the other rider came back to us mortals and the two Carolina Masters guys were never seen again.
The chase pack pretty much stayed intact after that point until the KOM climb after crossing the Yadkin River around mile 39. After the climb I made an attempt to escape the pack. I was no match for the field which included a strong tandem team from Piedmont Velo. I was reeled in around mile 50 and was cooked.
Shortly after that, Rick hooked up with a small group including the tandem. Matt, Frank and I had an easy time after that, only doing enough work to discourage others from chasing after Rick's group. Rick's group finished about a minute ahead of what was left of the main field.
A few minutes later Ken rolled in and everyone had some good chicken mars ala.
A good day of riding and some good teamwork.
Hope to see a good turnout for Tour de Lions next weekend.
-Steve B
True to form, a Carolina Masters rider (Grant McAllister?) got away very early, and when another rider tried to bridge, he was immediately marked by another Carolina Masters rider, Charlie Brown. In short order, the other rider came back to us mortals and the two Carolina Masters guys were never seen again.
The chase pack pretty much stayed intact after that point until the KOM climb after crossing the Yadkin River around mile 39. After the climb I made an attempt to escape the pack. I was no match for the field which included a strong tandem team from Piedmont Velo. I was reeled in around mile 50 and was cooked.
Shortly after that, Rick hooked up with a small group including the tandem. Matt, Frank and I had an easy time after that, only doing enough work to discourage others from chasing after Rick's group. Rick's group finished about a minute ahead of what was left of the main field.
A few minutes later Ken rolled in and everyone had some good chicken mars ala.
A good day of riding and some good teamwork.
Hope to see a good turnout for Tour de Lions next weekend.
-Steve B
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Racing at Wilkesboro Speedway
Racing on one of the most famed Speedways in America was quite impressive. Sure the track has lost a little of its luster, but the history still remains. I was the only MOB racer in the Cat 4/5 field, but it was still good to be back. By back I mean, back racing. This was my first race back since I had surgery on my spine back in November of 2009. 30 minutes of racing, a solid 13th place out of 28 racers. Not a lot to say other than I'm back, and it's "On like Donkey Kong!", well maybe Donkey Kong Junior! Seriously, great racing every other Wednesday night in Wilkesboro. Great track, great staff, great fun!
Jay Cox, Zach Lail, and Joe Carpisassi were in the A race when I left. Not sure how it turned out, but Jay was off the front as we drove out.
Looking forward to seeing more racing action soon.
Jay Cox, Zach Lail, and Joe Carpisassi were in the A race when I left. Not sure how it turned out, but Jay was off the front as we drove out.
Looking forward to seeing more racing action soon.
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