I dumped my cockles once I found out how much they weigh. I'm much faster now.
Singlespeed World Championship 2005
- Thread starter Echo
- Start date
Registration opens at 5:00pm ET tomorrow. Don't forget!
http://www.bikereg.com/races/register.asp?EventID=2372
http://www.bikereg.com/races/register.asp?EventID=2372
Holy crap. Bikereg.com is taking forever to load!
Who else registered for the race?
I'm just coming to ride and drink.
Nothing wrong about that.Echo said:
I'm registered and I've got a bunch of friends coming up to watch and drink as well. Should be a good time, now what beer should I carry around on my bike during the race?
Something refreshing. Maybe a Wit or a Weizen. Only problem is that those rock gardens will really be stirring that yeast up.peter6061 said:
Maybe I'll have to send my wife up into the course somewhere for a 'feed zone' and have my Weizen waiting and cold.BikeGeek said:Something refreshing. Maybe a Wit or a Weizen. Only problem is that those rock gardens will really be stirring that yeast up.
<gulp> There are some big names in there. I guess it's good that my only goal is to finish.
Okay, I'll give it to Travis Brown and Marla Streb...BikeGeek said:
I'm only there to beat YOU!
Actually, I'm only there to have a kick arse ride/race and drink some beer with friends. Should be a good time.
Let's get them hammered the night before the race.peter6061 said:
Sounds like a plan. Do you really think that'll help? I imagine they will still school us. It's worth a shot.BikeGeek said:Let's get them hammered the night before the race.
You're right, they could probably drink us under the table too.
I was in State College this weekend to help my sister move and got a chance to pre-ride the course. You can't really tell from the map they posted, but the course is stretched over two ridges. The course in a nutshell: you climb, and climb, and climb, then bomb down into the valley, then climb, and climb, and climb....
From the start, the climb up the Longberger Path isn't as difficult as I remembered. The first 50 yards or so is riddled with loose rocks and dirt. I couldn't get grip and walked it. The next 2 miles, give or take, is sweet singletrack. Even though you're climbing, the trail flows nicely and is pretty easy on the legs. As you near the top, you get into the rocks. I hesitate to call them rock gardens as these were more like rock pastures.
As if the rocks weren't fun enough, Ma Nature has thrown some trees down. The locals have done a nice job in ramping the bigger ones with rock, but they can still be tricky to cross since it's sometimes hard to get the needed speed in the rocks. If you do manage to get on the tree, getting down the other side into more rocks without going OTB proved to be very challenging. It was at this point in my ride that my back got extremely wet. The hose on my camelback came loose and I lost most of my liquid. :angry:
Longberger spits you out onto North Bear Meadows Road, where you hang a left, then another left on to Bear Meadows Road. Both are gravel roads. After about 3/4 mile, the course takes a right on to Kettle Trail and heads straight to the top of the ridge. It's only 100-150 yards, but it's steep, rocky, and loose. I wasn't able ride very far before spinning out. At the top, take a left on Tussey Mtn Trail. This singletrack follows the ridge for about 3 miles. Along the way you're treated to spectacular views and tons of blueberries. I stopped for about 15 minutes and ate a lot of berries then filled my pockets, which I would later discover was a bad idea (I ended up with a lot of sticky, blue money). This section ends with a fast descent on what appeared to be fairly new trail. A couple sections are kind of sketchy and if you're not careful, you'll wash out in the loose dirt/stone. Oh, there are some more rock gardens too. The trails dumps you onto a gas line cut where you bomb down to Treaster Kettle Rd (elev. 1361 ft), another gravel road. Hang a left, then a right onto Thickhead Mtn Road and get ready to climb. The road eventually turns from state maintained gravel to grassy dirt and gets very steep. I'm walking again.
The climb peaks at about 2300 ft. The next 3 or 4 miles is downhill on Detweiler Run Rd. It's not maintained as a road, so it's pretty much grass doubletrack. It's fast, but like riding a washboard. My arms and shoulders were aching by the time I got to the bottom. I word of caution here. Stay alert, there are some big rocks and logs hiding in the grass. The only thing that kept me from completely enjoying the ride down was knowing that I was going to have to climb back to the top. Sure enough, you intersect Bear Meadows Rd and climb, climb, climb.
Unfortunately, once I reached the next intersection (Bear Meadows and N. Bear Meadows) to continue the course, I had to call it quits and head back to the car. I was completely out of water and starting to cramp. I think I ended up riding about half of the course. If it was any indication of what the rest of it was like, I have to say that the crew that put this course together are cruel, heartless, evil, sadists, and I think I love them. This race will definitely be a ride to remember.
Oh, and I'm not sure who is responsible for maintaining the trails up there, but nice work!
From the start, the climb up the Longberger Path isn't as difficult as I remembered. The first 50 yards or so is riddled with loose rocks and dirt. I couldn't get grip and walked it. The next 2 miles, give or take, is sweet singletrack. Even though you're climbing, the trail flows nicely and is pretty easy on the legs. As you near the top, you get into the rocks. I hesitate to call them rock gardens as these were more like rock pastures.
As if the rocks weren't fun enough, Ma Nature has thrown some trees down. The locals have done a nice job in ramping the bigger ones with rock, but they can still be tricky to cross since it's sometimes hard to get the needed speed in the rocks. If you do manage to get on the tree, getting down the other side into more rocks without going OTB proved to be very challenging. It was at this point in my ride that my back got extremely wet. The hose on my camelback came loose and I lost most of my liquid. :angry:Longberger spits you out onto North Bear Meadows Road, where you hang a left, then another left on to Bear Meadows Road. Both are gravel roads. After about 3/4 mile, the course takes a right on to Kettle Trail and heads straight to the top of the ridge. It's only 100-150 yards, but it's steep, rocky, and loose. I wasn't able ride very far before spinning out. At the top, take a left on Tussey Mtn Trail. This singletrack follows the ridge for about 3 miles. Along the way you're treated to spectacular views and tons of blueberries. I stopped for about 15 minutes and ate a lot of berries then filled my pockets, which I would later discover was a bad idea (I ended up with a lot of sticky, blue money). This section ends with a fast descent on what appeared to be fairly new trail. A couple sections are kind of sketchy and if you're not careful, you'll wash out in the loose dirt/stone. Oh, there are some more rock gardens too. The trails dumps you onto a gas line cut where you bomb down to Treaster Kettle Rd (elev. 1361 ft), another gravel road. Hang a left, then a right onto Thickhead Mtn Road and get ready to climb. The road eventually turns from state maintained gravel to grassy dirt and gets very steep. I'm walking again.
The climb peaks at about 2300 ft. The next 3 or 4 miles is downhill on Detweiler Run Rd. It's not maintained as a road, so it's pretty much grass doubletrack. It's fast, but like riding a washboard. My arms and shoulders were aching by the time I got to the bottom. I word of caution here. Stay alert, there are some big rocks and logs hiding in the grass. The only thing that kept me from completely enjoying the ride down was knowing that I was going to have to climb back to the top. Sure enough, you intersect Bear Meadows Rd and climb, climb, climb.Unfortunately, once I reached the next intersection (Bear Meadows and N. Bear Meadows) to continue the course, I had to call it quits and head back to the car. I was completely out of water and starting to cramp. I think I ended up riding about half of the course. If it was any indication of what the rest of it was like, I have to say that the crew that put this course together are cruel, heartless, evil, sadists, and I think I love them.
This race will definitely be a ride to remember.Oh, and I'm not sure who is responsible for maintaining the trails up there, but nice work!
So Tim, what gear ratio wear you running? Would you change it? Were you rigid or suspended? It doesn't look like I'm going to get a chance to preride, so I'll be riding blind, but it sounds like fun. Looking forward to it.
Oh, and thanks for the report.
Oh, and thanks for the report.
I was running 32:18 and I'll probably stay with that. My problem was that I haven't been on a bike in almost a month due to a sprained ankle, so I was sucking big time on the climbs. I would definitely go suspended. Central PA can be really rocky and this course has it's fair share of that flavor. A fork with lockout would be ideal for the gravel road climbs. If you have weak ankles, taping them wouldn't be a bad idea. I can't count the number of times I had to unclip in the rocks. If I hadn't been taped I probably would have rolled my ankle again.
Good to know. I'll bring a few gears to play with.
I, like many, thought the race was on Saturday, but with that last email update, I see that it is on Sunday, so a preride will be in order the day before. I dial in my gearing then.
Should be good on everything else. Sorry to hear about your ankle. Hope it doesn't affect you too much. You've got three more weeks to 'rest' it.
It's not like a little thing like a sprained ankle was going to keep you from sweeping the trail with Travis Brown and the other Pros out there....
I, like many, thought the race was on Saturday, but with that last email update, I see that it is on Sunday, so a preride will be in order the day before. I dial in my gearing then.
Should be good on everything else. Sorry to hear about your ankle. Hope it doesn't affect you too much. You've got three more weeks to 'rest' it.
It's not like a little thing like a sprained ankle was going to keep you from sweeping the trail with Travis Brown and the other Pros out there....
I sifted through this whole thread and i am still stuck on the fact that you can get a belt buckle, shirt, stein, and beer for 30 bucks...dammit i wish my ss was more then just my commuter.
We get belt buckles?
I didn't read every post, but how many are just going to hang out and watch the race? I'm a PSU grad and I love going back to State College. It also happens to be my birthday on that Sunday and since it's not football season yet, I could use an excuse to head down that way.
Maybe a ride on Saturday for those that aren't pre-riding the course?
Oh, you can thank the Nittany Mountain Biking Association for maintaining the trails.
Maybe a ride on Saturday for those that aren't pre-riding the course?
Oh, you can thank the Nittany Mountain Biking Association for maintaining the trails.
Oooh, custom head badges for the winners.
One week 'til the party! Where's everyone staying?
One week 'til the party! Where's everyone staying?
I think we're crashing in a Monkey's yard, but I haven't heard back from him for directions. If that doesn't work, my little sister has a place downtown.riderx said:
stories? pix?
Congrats to Marla Streb and Brian "Buck" Keich! More to come.
The day started with peter6061 and I setting out from my place at 6am. After a 4 hour ride we arrive at "The Gnome House" where Agentorangemen (Kyle) has offered us some crash space. After introductions, and a big-ass breakfast that sat like rocks in our stomachs for most of the day, we set out for the forest. The plan was to take an easy ride on some of the course, but we discovered that the trails are anything but easy.
Here's Peter and Kyle working on a log crossing in a rock garden. It was difficult to carry your momentum through the rocks to clear the log, but we all eventually got over it.
Peter:
Kyle:
Peter with style:
I didn't get too many pictures. It was one of those rides where you're working really hard, but just can't bring yourself to stop for pictures.
Race day.
Cueing up for the run that took us down the road, onto singletrack, across a road, on to more singletrack, then back to our bikes.
More to come.
Here's Peter and Kyle working on a log crossing in a rock garden. It was difficult to carry your momentum through the rocks to clear the log, but we all eventually got over it.
Peter:
Kyle:
Peter with style:
I didn't get too many pictures. It was one of those rides where you're working really hard, but just can't bring yourself to stop for pictures.
Race day.
Cueing up for the run that took us down the road, onto singletrack, across a road, on to more singletrack, then back to our bikes.
More to come.
Congrats to the winners! Now Marla has two tattoos as a result of single speeding! I hope Mark likes tattoos!
Thanks for the pics, BG. Sorry we didn't get more of them, but it was a race after all. We'll get more when we go up again in a month or so.
Big props to all the organizers and volunteers. These guys sure put on a great event.
Congrats to Brian and Marla!
Big thanks to Kyle (agentorangemen) for putting us up and showing us around. Let us know when you get to the area and we'll return the favor.
Big props to all the organizers and volunteers. These guys sure put on a great event.
Congrats to Brian and Marla!
Big thanks to Kyle (agentorangemen) for putting us up and showing us around. Let us know when you get to the area and we'll return the favor.
If anyone is interested, here are some decent write-ups of the event:
http://bikecentric.blogspot.com/2005/08/sswc-05.html
http://www.singletrackworld.com/article.php?sid=1712
http://www.singlespeedoutlaw.com/issue5/blog.shtml
http://mtbike.mountainzone.com/blogs/marla_streb/
http://bikecentric.blogspot.com/2005/08/sswc-05.html
http://www.singletrackworld.com/article.php?sid=1712
http://www.singlespeedoutlaw.com/issue5/blog.shtml
http://mtbike.mountainzone.com/blogs/marla_streb/