Mohican or Mud-hican 100
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| Racers as far as the eye can see |
To start, Yes, Yes and Yes.
Yes, the course was just as difficult as I remember from
last year; yes, there was still lots of mud to make it even worse; yes, I
brought my ear plugs. This will make a lot more sense if you read my report
from last year.
Here is last year's:
This was my second time racing the Mohican 100 so I felt a
little better prepared than last year but it is still an extremely challenging
course with a history of wet and muddy conditions making it even worse than it
needs to be; and it did not disappoint this time around.
Getting Ready
I drove down to Loudenville, OH late Friday and arrived just
in time to check in, drop off my drop bags and set up my tent. While sitting
around the fire and relaxing before heading off to bed a group of campers a few
sites over started getting a bit rowdy and I had a strange feeling it was the
same group of guys who kept me up most of the night last year; it sure sounded
like them anyway. Not to worry, I had my trusty ear plugs. It turns out I did
not have anything to worry about because they quieted down nice and early and I
got a pretty good night’s sleep. Brett and Jackie (the people I was sharing a
campsite with) did say the neighbors on the other side of us were a bit loud,
but I did not hear a thing.
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| A small portion of the 600+ racers rolling along the paved start |
Race Day
I woke up nice and early like I usually do, had a small bowl
of cereal and some coffee and got myself all set to go. Bibs, HR strap, Jersey,
nutrition; check. With everything set to go Brett and I rode to Jeron’s
campsite so he could ride over to the start with us. The ride over is about two
miles on a bike path so it really is just a chance to make sure everything is
in race shape on my bike and I am awake and ready to go.
We rolled up to the start line at about 6:30 and somehow
about half of the 600+ racers were already there. It kind of makes me wonder
what time people start lining up. I made a quick pit stop at the restroom to
try and avoid a repeat of Cohutta’s excessive nature breaks then found a spot
right near the front of the group. As the time ticked down and more people
showed up, I found myself in the second row with plenty of room to maneuver.
A video of the start, the action starts about 8:30 into this
if you want to jump right to it:
After a few announcements and the National Anthem the race
was started with a neutral rollout through town to the base of the first hill.
The controlled pace technically ended but only one person attacked while the
rest of us rode on at a pretty easy pace for the first 4 miles of paved roads.
At mile four we turned on to a gravel road and the pace picked up a bit and the
pack started to spread out, which is really good because after a mile of gravel
the route pinches right down to go through a gate and on to the first trail of
the day. Oh, and the first of the mud. I made it though in a good spot but
after no more than a few hundred yards the front of me (including my glasses)
was pretty much covered in mud, and did I mention there was a lot of mud?
Here is a video of the pack rolling along the gravel, it also shows just how many people are racing:
We hit the singletrack of Mohican State Park about 6.5 miles
into the day. This part of the course was in great shape, I almost want to say
we had some hero dirt going on. I was third in a line of three guys not far behind the lead pack, but almost
immediately one guy picked a bad line and had to stop long of enough for me to
pass and he was not able to get back on the line. After another mile or so I
passed the other guy on a climb and basically rode from there until about mile
60 by myself. Talk about a long lonely day. Near the end of this singletrack
section there was one very nice change to the course, the climb affectionately
known as “Big Ass Climb” had been removed and a section of trail that was
actually ridable was substituted; one less climb to push my bike up. One
section that had not been changed was the water bars on the horse trail, and
they were as muddy as ever.
This video by MTBShack shows a section of these
starting at about the 2:00 min mark
This of course was followed by even more mud and a nice
hike-a-bike, because what would the Mohican be if you could actually ride it
all?
The next 30 or so miles is really a bit of a blur that
consisted of some crazy steep gravel road climbs and a rock garden that was wet
and moss covered. I was able to ride most of the rock garden until my right
heal hit the side of a large rock which popped my cleat out of my pedal.
Instead of trying to get it clipped back in and risk bashing my face into
something much harder than it, I stopped and pushed my bike the rest of the way
though. I’m pretty sure there was a small stream crossing or two and a whole
lot more mud, but again, I think I may have tried to block most of this race
out of my memory so I will go back next year.
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| Not everything was covered in mud |
I hit the final section of singletrack (mile 92) and the
thought occurred to me that I might actually be able to finish in under 8
hours. If I could keep anywhere near my average pace for the day I would be right
there. But reality struck about 30 seconds down the trail when I caught a 100k
rider who would just not let me pass. I asked nicely a couple times but he
stayed right in the way, even when there was enough room to get by he would
manage to cut in front of me an not let me pass. After he bounced his
handlebars off a couple trees he finally got caught up on some roots and I was
able to get by. I like to think I am pretty patient when it comes to passing
during these races, but this was the first time I remember starting to get
upset; but then again I have never had anyone actively not let me pass and the kicker is we were not even racing against each other. I know a
little courtesy goes a long way on the trail, but it does need to go both ways.
About two minutes later I caught up with another 100k rider.
This time it was in a section of trail that had no room to pass. I waited
behind her for probably no longer than a minute (that felt like ten) until the
trail opened up a bit on a climb. She very graciously let me by, but it was one
of those passes that hurts way more than it should. Up a root covered climb
with a nice drop off on my side of the trail. Of course, I spun my rear tire
and almost stopped as I was passing, but I was able to bunny hop my bike
forward and over the root I was getting hung up on.
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| What would giant rocks be if they were not covered in moss |
Cramp. One mile to go and I could feel the first twinges of
a cramp in my right quad. I actually started talking to it at this point
because I was so close, but unfortunately I knew I was not going to break 8
hours so I let up a little on the climbs to keep my leg from completely
cramping up. 8 hours came and went and I had a little over a half mile to go. I
rode back through Mohican Adventures Campground, down the hill we climbed so
early in the day and back across a bridge to the final quarter mile paved path
to the finish line. I was a little bummed I did not hit 8 hours, but I crossed
the line in 8 hours, 3 minutes, 26 seconds in 12th place in the
men’s open.
I was tired and sore; but done.
I attempted to do math and determined I was some amount of
minutes faster than last year; but after I had some food and enough time to
regain some mental capacity I figured out I finished over 22 minutes faster
than last year. Suddenly I was not so concerned about that 8 hour mark, because
that was a huge gain. I want to attribute that gain to my awesomeness, but I
think switching from a hard tail to riding a full suspension bike this year
made a huge difference. I will still take a little credit, all that time in the
basement on the trainer has to count for something.
How was round two of Mohican?
Last year I said this was the second hardest course I have
raced and after this round I am sticking by that. Course conditions change so
much from mile to mile that you almost never have the right tire and in many
places unless you have a bulldozer, riding through is not an option anyway. The
mud sticks to everything and I think at times even tries to pull your soul down
with it. The rock gardens are tough but mostly manageable; but the punchy, relentless,
ridiculously steep climbs just wear your legs out. On the bright side, it
really is a good mental and physical test and I feel even more prepared for the
rest of my season after finishing so well.
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| Heckling is way better with a bull horn |
Fueling for 100 miles
and 8 hours
My fuel plan for the day included two bottles at each of the
drop bag/Aid station locations, one with either Perpetuem or a Sustained
Energy/HEED combination and a bottle of Fizz. I also took BCAA+, Anti-Fatigue
Caps and Energy Surge at each of the three stops and carried a flask of Hammer
Gel in case I needed a few extra calories, but I did not end up using any of
it. I may have also snagged a small cup or two of coke at an aid station and a bit of PB&J. In
all I took in right around 1,400-1,500 calories during the day which put me
right in that 175-185 calories per hour zone I function best at.
In just two short weeks I will be racing the Lumberjack 100 near
Manistee, MI. I still do not think two weeks is enough time to recover from
this race and line back up for another 100 miler, but with the way the NUE calendar
is set up, these two found their way into my schedule yet again and I will make the best of
it.
Strava Link
https://www.strava.com/activities/2415508906
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