Unravel the scratchgravels XC race report

 Went to Helena and raced the scratchgravels this weekend. This was the first mountain bike race I ever did, back in 2014, on my Kona King Kahuna. I think I won the cat 3 2 lap race, and remember getting lapped by Landon Beckner, who was a pretty promising young junior at the time. My laps were about 27min long and my average speed according to strava was 12.9mph.

I've since improved a little at bike racing, despite now being 10 years older. It appears my fastest recorded lap on strava was 22:10 in 2022, on my hei hei. the last two years I've done it on my procaliber, but the start got moved forward a bit so the first laps aren't getting counted on the strava segment.

Anyway, yeah, been going to this race for awhile now. it's on low elevation trails and double track on the northwest side of Helena, and is a great first race of the season in montana. It's also great for younger racers and beginners and i try to do a little promotion in Missoula to get people to go out to it. This year we had 3 of the team stampede kids but not too many others. Kalispell brought the usuals of Matt, Joel, Stella, Alan was there from bozeman, and I think they were fairly happy with the total registration numbers.

The start is uphill on a double track so it's a little narrow and at best you might get 5 wide on the line. I was on the 2nd row and at the start slotted into about 4th wheel on the left tire track. It took me about a minute to get a little impatient plus I noticed the guys in the track next to me possibly creeping up, so instead of staying there and getting boxed in and being in the bunch for the first downhill corner I picked up the pace and hopped over into the other track, then led over the crest of the first hill and into the turn. going into it first means I got a nice clean wide line and immediately created a little gap, leaving the others to chase me on the generally uphill but rolling double track, then there's an really annoyingly steep short climb into the first singletrack section.

I kept on it and had Matt and one other guy chasing me, just a few seconds back but never on my wheel through most of the 1st lap. You reach the low point of the course and then climb back up on doubletrack to the start finish and that was where Matt got the closest. he was essentially on my wheel but I really wanted to make him work for it since we were uphill into a headwind and he never quite got there. From there it was pretty uneventful- the gap kept creeping up and then I just kept up a steady pace and kept drinking my drink mix, and held on for the win. very cool to get that one and a nice start to the mtb season. Thanks Helena united cycling for putting it on.

Going to the strava data my overall time was over 4min faster than 2022 when I set that "fastest lap." but by selecting first lap it appears i was at least a few seconds faster. Was also about a minute and a half faster than last year on the same bike in similar conditions (cool, cloudy, some very light rain, a little wind). Average speed this time was 15.2, for 4 laps. 

Tire review - Schwalbe Thunder Burt

 Last summer before butte, I found myself with two sets of mtb tires that were getting a little worn down and wanted something that was fast, light, and had fresh tread for the race. The racing ray/ralph combo was been pretty good all around on the hei hei but is a little on the heavy side (770g/tire for 29x2.35 super ground). Pirelli XC/RCs are light at 700g in a 2.4 but never really felt super fast and after a spring of use the grip had fallen off significantly despite the tread wear still looking fairly ok (this is common with XC tires though- the fresh, sharp edges on the little knobs do a lot of work). It also turned out the pirellis test slow on bicycle rolling resistance. They looked cool I guess but yeah no sorry won't be buying those again.

So, deferring to the bicycle rolling resistance charts I went with the fastest tire they've tested- the schwalbe thunder burt

I'd always been curious about riding tires like this full time but was a little cautious. The kenda sabers are super light and fast and flimsy but only come out on special occasions, where these I was going to ride all the time on the hardtail plus at butte on the hei hei.

In 29x.2.25, super ground casing (there's also a lighter super race, which according to brr is slower) they came in at about 630g and measured a little on the small side with my 29mm internal width rims. I want to say 2.2 or so. Skinny and not much to them but the larger size was out of stock. With these on that loose sandy butte course, especially in the first half, I was a little all over the place but on a more normal trail and hardpack dirt they're fine. And they went fast and made it through the race. I didn't weigh my bike but with 630g tires and 1200g wheels, I'm guessing well into the 24s.

With that first set getting pretty worn I recently bought another set because I couldn't come up with a better option. This time n 2.35. They measure true to size on the same wheels and came in at 700g each. Been riding them at 19/20 psi f/r and they give a nice good cushy feel.

Mainly though, these tires roll really, really, really fast. They feel as fast as a good road tire going across town on the pavement and the bike just flies uphill out on the trails. Plus, for conditions where these would be a challenge I have the hei hei with more aggressive tires. My best description of traction on these is "better than you'd expect."

Is this a good all around tire for general mtb riding? no. But if you want to go fast, this is the one. The main downside is that they are expensive for a pretty limited condition, flimsy tire, but all the tires are getting fairly expensive these days.

Montana Gravel Challenge 2024

 I generally write up a little summary of most of my races but rarely post them on here. They just go in a dumb forum thread even though I could easily just copy and paste here too. So I'm going to try to do that more.

I did miss a gravel thing up in polson a few weeks ago I think because I was tired and felt bad and it was raining. This weekend was the 3-day montana gravel challenge, and it's raining. Friday we were out setting up the course for the afternoon time trial plus the Saturday course. Between this morning when I decided to shorten the TT a bit and when we actually raced it got a lot wetter so definitely good call to avoid the twisty descent that was already pretty fucked before it rained more.

Ivan won, followed by Will, another young person who is a speed skater from butte. The actual pro MTB racer was 4th. Then Dan, a damn junior, fucking Ben, then I came in 8th, but 1st in 40+. I think if I hadn't slowed down for a car at an intersection that was headed toward me really fast (but the course marshall did get it to stop) I possibly would have beat Ben and Porter but oh well. First time racing outside with a power meter and am ok with my numbers - 338 average and 361np for ~20min. I can average a higher HR for that amount of time and was asking myself if I should be pedaling harder some of the time but it's rolling and and uphill finish so having something left for that is good.

Rode my new orbea terra with road wheels and 34mm corsa n.exts at like 42/46 psi. Felt pretty decent on the slippery descents and corners. Going to ride same bike setup all weekend I think. Tomorrow is mainly road but with a few dirt parts and it'll be wet and there are potholes and stuff. One of the dirt sections might get cut out depending on how much it's raining. It was greasy this morning then will only get worse.

Then days 2 and 3 happened. Day 2 has been the long gravel stage of the race with 3 being a more road circuit. This year we didn't do the long gravel loop because it's a lot of logistics and probably kind of dangerous especially toward the end of the 1 lane gravel road where you're descending around blind corners. Anyway, 2nd day more pavement, with a few out and backs, one pretty gradually uphill for like 10mi, the next shorter with more climbing. The 2nd section was muddy and slick and I was out of position, went super hard chasing onto the lead group, then was almost immediately dropped up a short dirt climb near the end. Our 2nd group of 3 stayed away and Ivan won so at least there was that. So I think 9th overall but Matt beat me to win 40+. Was a little disappointed because I spent the race not really where I wanted to be, plus dressed for cold and rain which was forecast but didn't really happen, and by the time the hard pedaling began I didn't really have an opportunity to try to take off my gloves and jacket. Essentially my race summary could be "hot, flappy, bad tactics, bad positioning."

Day 3 was the "road race" with an out on dirt to a 10mi circuit that's mostly paved, with a climb on mud but thankfully the descent side was dry. This mud climb is a section I cut out of the TT on friday morning because it was a little iffy and it has only gotten worse over the last few days of periodic rain and cool temps. Andrew was there, who has some pretty good pro road and cx results, and with fresh legs, and definitely wanted the win. Ivan had the overall GC pretty locked down and just wanted a good result and a fun, hard race. We had a good team of like 5 of us, with Ivan's dad, Porter (the jr who beat me in the TT), Brian, and myself. Ivan's dad went off the front early with 2 others and we caught them at the top of the climb. 2nd lap, I find myself riding away with Cory and hold that for over a lap, and then I see a small group chasing us down on lap 3 (of 4). It's Andrew drilling it on the front, along with Will from butte who got 2nd in the TT, Carter the pro MTB racer, and Ivan and Porter. Awesome. I hop on and then Andrew goes up the climb super hard. I'm on the back behind Carter and he gets dropped so I guess I'm dropped too and a small chase group with Jake, Dan, and a couple other guys picks us up. Ok cool I get to sit in for the last lap. After the climb and descent on the circuit, which we took fairly easy, it's about 2k generally uphill to the finish. Things slowed down a bit and I went up the side, not attacking super hard, but getting a gap and going for it. Everyone had been working except me and I kind of blew things up, but Micheal (3rd in TT), got up to me and then another guy Shawn from canada put in a good dig too and just barely got me at the line for 5th. Andrew won, porter 2nd, ivan 3rd, and 6th for me is pretty good for the team. Then Ivan won overall plus I got the 40+ win.

I think I'm happy with my power numbers but also don't have a lot of "not zwift in the winter" numbers. Got an email from intervals.icu after every day of racing. Yesterday I had a pretty good but not good enough average power for the last 40min, today I had a normalized power of 305w for 2 hours plus a best 1min, 2min, and 5min for the season. Also yesterday morning I felt like garbage and my watch told me my "training readiness" was 14. This morning it said 7 but I felt better and had more sleep.

Next weekend is a mountain bike race in helena, then our wed night xc series gets started although I'm not sure what the plan is for that. Usually it's a whole thing for me setting up all the courses and gradually getting the pro xc ready but it's apparently a lot lower profile this year.

Also did a really good job of fucking up my bike. Really hoping the headset bearings are ok because guess where the brake hoses go. The bike, wheel, and tire setup was perfect all weekend though. The guy who hosts the race had bike wash stations in his yard so after every stage I hosed off my bike, put it in the stand and wiped everything down good, then put some silca super secret on the chain every night once it dried out. Even after the nasty slick mud section on day 2 my shifting felt good and drivetrain seemed quiet.

Pirelli cinturato gravel follow up

 Last year I put up a little review of the Pirelli gravel H that I was using. It's here.

I rode those all the rest of the year and was pretty happy with them, although by june-july, as the tires wore and road and trail conditions got drier and looser, I was starting to notice a pretty good lack of grip especially up front. At garden city gravel especially I felt like I was really lacking traction on the final descent, where I got dropped and then just barely chased back on to our group. Not long after that I bought a new front tire- the gravel RC, which is a pretty good match with a little more aggressive knobs. It's a mini version of the XC-RC (which tbh I didn't like that much) and shares the double edge knob thing you see on some other tires like the maxxis aspen and ardents etc.

This combo I like really well when you want a little more traction. The front end bites better and gives you better turn in response.

I rode the gravel H f/r for about half the year and then put that RC up front in the late summer, and overall was really happy with these tires. They don't have the most supple feel, like, say, a handmade challenge tire, but they roll fast and have good durability for all the gravel and forest road type riding I do around here. I had plenty of those impacts where you think "uh oh that might be a puncture" without issue.

So I bought a fresh set of the gravel H tires for this year, although I do also want to try some other things like the conti terra speed, or maybe a challenge getaway, which both test faster than the pirellis by a little but I do like how well these have held up. Anyway, I guess review summary is they get my "would buy again" seal of approval.

The Hei Hei's best version

 I got my hei hei cr in 2020 and since then I've changed or modified basically every component, mostly in the search for lightness and more speed on the race course. Sometimes that search went a little too far but for the most part it's trended in generally the right direction. I mean, who doesn't like a lighter mountain bike?

That is just about the best a Hei Hei CR can get, in my opinion. Right about 26lbs flat for an XL, 120mm travel bike on somewhat real tires with pedals and bottle cages and a dropper that works. There are a few things that could make it a touch lighter but some things were chosen due to availability at the time or price or both.

The highlights are that it's a hei hei. DT swiss carbon wheels, X01 axs drivetrain. guide rsc brakes, bikeyoke divine sl 125mm dropper, Industry nine a35 stem with raceface carbon bars, and an assortment of fancy little titanium and carbon bits. I also swapped the standard grip damper in the fox 34sc for a fit 4 which has more control of low speed compression, and then revalved the shock to a firm digressive tune which makes it more responsive while pedaling hard but still pretty smooth over rougher stuff (I think).

The tires are the biggest variable, and depending on what I'm doing they might be something very flimsy like the thunder burts I used for the butte 100, or the minion dhf/aggressor combo I rode for awhile but decided was just a little too heavy and slow for a bike like this. What makes this bike ride the best to me are an aggressive XC or light trail tire. This spring I started out on 2.35 racing ray/ralphs because I had them, and now it's on Vittoria Syerras, which I also rode last fall. The syerras manage to be pretty light and fast while offering better grip and durability than your average XC tire. I also have an insert in the rear tire.

It's basically a bike I can ride just about anywhere, and it'll go pretty fast and be fun while doing it. So now that it's just about perfect I'm considering a new bike of course. 

If anyone wants a list I guess I can do that

Frame: 2020 Kona Hei Hei CR
Fork: Fox 34 step cast performance, 120mm, fit 4 damper. 78psi, 10 clicks rebound, 14 lsc
Shock: Fox Float DPS, Digressive rebound firm, digressive compression firm, 0.4 in^2 volume spacer. 210psi, 5 clicks rebound
Wheels: DT Swiss XRC1501 with 54t ratchet
Tires: varies, currently vittoria syerra, 18/19 psi f/r
Cranks: truvativ stylo carbon, 34t chainring
Cassette: X01 10-50
Derailleur: X01 AXS
Chain: XX1 copper
Brakes: Sram Guide RSC w/ carbon blades, 180/160 clx rotors, ti caliper bolts, ti clamp bolts
Handlebars: raceface next R. 780mm, 25mm rise, esi chunky grips
Stem: Industry nine A35 50mm w/ ti bolts
Seatpost: Bikeyoke Divine SL 125mm
seat clamp: bikeyoke squeezy
Dropper lever: Wolftooth light action
Saddle: Shimano pro stealth offroad
Pedals: shimano XT race
bottle cages: arundel mandible carbon w/ ti bolts

A new bike - Trek Procaliber

 Last summer the shop started carrying trek after open road closed. I had been trying to get a new XC race hardtail for awhile at this point but the Cannondales and Orbeas were out of stock. Although strangely, the exact Alma model I wanted was available on the pro's closet, in my size, brand new. Don't really understand how they get those bikes when we're told none are available. I think the cannondale would have still been my preference because it's a little lighter and a little slacker.

Anyhow, with Trek they have a great and easy to use EP program, allowing you to order or backorder whatever you want. The more videos and quizzes you finish, the better the discount, so I chugged through a whole bunch to get the highest level, which is significantly lower than wholesale pricing. Cannondale only lets you EP a bike when there are a certain number in stock (but at a similar discount to trek). Orbea does have a program but it's a little more difficult to navigate and the pricing isn't as good.

So anyway, I filled out the form and ordered myself a trek procaliber 9.6, which had the shortest ETA and the best frame color. It showed up in september.

Not quite the build I wanted though, with a pretty heavy and bad fork, mid range shimano drivetrain, and narrow aluminum wheels. No dropper either. It also weighed slightly more than my hei hei, which was very much not the point of getting this. So all that stuff came off

By november, I had pretty much all the parts I wanted for it but then it was winter.

I kind of went all out. XX1 with a rainbow cassette (although mechanical not axs), Sid SL ultimate with a lockout and the shiny blue lowers, the new Kovee RSL 1200g wheels, a transfer SL, level ultimate brakes with 2-piece rotors, rainbow ti bottle cage bolts, rainbow valves...

So yeah, that made it weigh about 21 lbs. I also ditched the 2.2" XR2s for 2.4 pirelli scorpion XC/RCs with the bright yellow hot patches.

(the kendas went on for the mullet climb along with a rigid post)

short answer: it's light, and it's real fast uphill. But riding downhill makes me really appreciate the hei hei, even in an XC race.

Depending on the course I'm still riding the Kona, even on a few that went all the way to the top of marshall, where the procaliber might be faster overall. I just didn't want to ride it down the full descent at race speed. The kona was the right choice for the Spirit bear race in kalispell and the Butte 100 as well (for butte I borrowed the wheels from the trek). 

On the plus side, it is pretty good for a lot of missoula riding. Last week I just went up the road to point 6 and back. It's also ideal for my regular quick trips up to the overlook and our recent "death ride graveL" And it turns out I've actually ridden both MTBs about the same amount this year. I did also still race this bike quite a bit on wed nights and at scratchgravel in helena. Pretty ideal for that course. Also, I wasn't super thrilled with the fancy fizik 3d printed saddle I put on there. So now with what seems to be a more comfortable ergon I'll be happier about riding it?

It is still a very different experience downhill and at higher speeds. head tube angle is 68.75 degrees, which, not great, not terrible for an XC bike, but that number creeps up when you're actually riding it and the fork is compressed. The hei hei is 67.5, and longer overall, and with more reach. Both have similar stack, and I put a 20mm longer stem on the trek to get the bars in about the same spot. Little more drop though, and you're more over the front of a bike with a steeper hta. I find it a little harder to stay balanced on it and the pretty low handlebars probably don't help. I suppose that just comes with the territory of an XC hardtail, and I did ride one for many years with a tall seatpost just fine. But I still find myself wondering what the cannondale would be like, as it has a 67 degree HTA (or 66 something on the himod with a 110mm fork). 

So I'm contemplating what I really want for both MTB riding and racing. Maybe a racier and lighter full suspension bike like the new oiz or a scalpel in place of both bikes. The hei hei has been really solid all around but it's getting up there in miles and is just slightly heavier than I'd like as a race bike. I'll probably stick with both bikes for another season though.

2023 butte 100 race report

 I did that dumb 100mi mtb race again. it was hot and I still feel bad. My 5th time going so i thought maybe the'd make me a little copper mug or something for the "500mi club." Steve has done this 9 times now and last year they gave him one with his name on it for doing 8. But first i did have to actually finish.

I need to figure out a better night before sleeping situation. I thought i had it figured out by driving up there before the race meeting to grab a spot down the road a bit away from the highway but it was all full. I also thought my new giant air mattress that barely fits in the tent was going to help. But then I wound up on the ground and basically not sleeping at all so welp, fucked that up I guess. Ate breakfast in my car in the dark at 5am, managed to poop before the start, and off we went. First climb is about 10-15min in and goes up for awhile, I found myself sitting in 3rd behind last year's winner who is a real pro bike racer and is going to marathon worlds and then Adam, who finished 4th ahead of me last year and used to be a real pro bike racer and is also a pretty good nordic ski racer. But Adam was in sight and I was comfortable. John, who won the helena race and is also pretty good ultrarunner was back there, along with some younger kids like Aiden from Butte and Elliot from team stampede who has moved up to racing in u23 and elite categories.

Then we ran into either a mis-marked part of course or someone fucking with the arrows, because we get sent up this like steep rocky thing that doesn't seem right and we're all walking and wandering around. Like a dozen other people are there and going up higher and I'm like no i don't think this is right and go back down and by ignoring the arrow I get back on track with some other people. There's a group in front of me now and I have no idea how far ahead Chris or Adam are and it cost about 10min. I'm going up the regular course and John comes out of the bushes so it worked out for him and we rode together for awhile. But I'm kind of thrown off, pedaling harder than I should because of the panicky "must catch up" feeling and am thrown off a bit but I guess we're all in the same boat.

Throw my vest at AS2, I didn't plan on stopping there and didn't really need to wear the vest and it makes it harder to get stuff out of your pockets. I had some snacks in cargo bibs plus about 500cal in my two big water bottles so I mostly just needed to drink them both and have a few shot blocks before AS3 at mi 25. Stop at 3, get two more big bottles of mix and cram two gels in my face. am now with John and another guy (matt?") who don't stop but catch back up to john and we're back riding together. 3-4 you descent some actual singletrack instead of endless up and down sandy moto doubletrack. I had generally been a little all over the place on the thunder burts in the sand. Rode off trail a few times but stayed upright. John is descending faster than me and that I find a bit annoying because he's a runner and on a hardtail. I'm climbing faster though and on the sandy slog up to AS4 I leave him behind and then go by Matt who is stopped there. Get to 5 and grab a quick splash of water and then see someone up ahead of me. Oh hey it's Adam, I thought he was gone. He kept pace and didn't want to have me just go by but I put in a little bit of effort up a moderate climb and get some space going into the start/finish. We leave together, then you descend down from the pass to the butte valley on this ridiculously steep doubletrack full of huge washed out ruts. I let Adam go first and then get back to him on the road. You climb through a neighborhood then up a trail then drop down to the highway and climb back up a bit to AS7. I leave Adam on the climb, another quick half bottle of water at 7, and I'm on the way to basin creek. By now it's over 90f and the course only gets harder.

At AS8 I get two more full bottles of mix, one insulated, plus a 3rd bottle of just water in my jersey pocket. I needed it. You climb like 3k feet to get to the next aid station and it seems endless. I had been carrying two bottles of mix up to here but kept one full of just water the rest of the way just to pour on myself. Legs are starting to feel unhappy and the heat is unpleasant. I get off my bike and walk a few times. Start catching the tail end of the 50mi race. Start getting some light cramping. Get to AS9 feeling not great wondering how in the fuck I'm going to get up the next climbs and to the finish. It's still 20 fucking more miles. Two more bottles and maybe a gel and some blocks or something, plus salt cap chews and a tylenol. Legs work a little better but right out of the aid station is steep as fuck and starts to get a little more rocky and technical. This is the highest point of the course on the CDT, generally over 7k feet, and fuck it's hot. I feel like I'm barely moving. Misery. I think my max HR for the last 4 hours was 153, so tempo-ish. Keep looking back, see no one. Tell myself if I feel this bad they all do to. Kind of have fun on the descents, hei hei is ripping through the rocks and the thunder burts are much happier on the packed dirt instead of sand (i also let some air out at the halfway point because of the heat, and ran my suspension a little softer than normal). Thankfully the rocks are all pretty rounded. At one point I clipped a rock with my foot/pedal and tensed up and my legs cramped so hard hard I couldn't move them for like 10-20s. But then you just try to pedal and ignore how bad it feels. Finally get past limekin hill and have a pretty extended downhill to the last aid station. Have a shot of pickle juice, have a cup of coke, get a bottle of water and a bottle of mix, and just have to make it the last 9mi. Again, you're climbing off the bat, but the grade is more reasonable. It's not exactly a continuous climb and then a continuous descent but it's close. Couple of breaks on the way up, couple of short rises on the way down. It takes about 40min to get to the point where you're generally on the way down. Then 20 more to the finish. I see the R1k crew from town, say hi, and yell "this fucking sucks." but seeing friends out there is a nice pick me up. I think I went through about 14 bottles, most with 200-250cal of tailwind in them. And then about only ate shot bloks and vanilla gels. I tried a bite of a honey waffle at some point, and did put a few bars in my bags, but it's just really hard to chew and swallow things.

Get to the finish almost 20min slower than last year. My goal was to be faster and I had the fitness to do it, but the early detour, slow and sandy conditions on the first half, and really fucking hot weather conspired against that a bit. Surprisingly from the bottom of basin creek to the finish I was only 8min slower over 4 hours compared to last year. That shit really sucked and I didn't want to keep going. But uh, I did get 2nd overall so there's that.

For some reason they didn't do awards or a podium and then ran out of food before like half the 100mi finishers were done which was kind of shitty. Maybe they'll mail me something.