Congratulations Team Pinnacle on a job well done!

TP Expert #1 (3rd overall behind 2 PRO teams) - Brian, PJ, Nathan, & Aaron
TP Men's Solo 50+ #1 - Dan O'Neill
TP Men's Solo 40-49 #5 - Chris Naimie
TP Sport #8 (steep competition) - Mark, Ken, Erik, & Tim

Can't wait to see the pictures and hear your race reports. How'd it go guys?

Ryan

Helen and I arrived Friday at about 11am. We noticed the Team Pinnacle camp site from the road. PJ and Brian had already set up and were sitting in the shade with cool drinks protecting the surrounding area for the balance of TP to arrive and set up. We then went across the street and set up in the Solo Camp area. We secured a good location within about 50? of the course. Had a large screen tent with hammock and kitchen (with lots of banana bread and cookies) plus the main tent with big boy cots and personal potty. Home sweet home. I heard other TP members referred to it as the Dandominium. Met many friendly campers/racers and talked about the great weather and strategies for the race. There were 59 solo racers and I was in the 50+ division. I think there were 5 or 6 of us in the group.
Even the Solo racers had to run for the start so I decided to stick on Chris?s heals assuming he had a good plan worked out. Both of us were in about the first ? of runners out and on the course in good shape. The TP boys not starting were holding our bikes. The first lap was a good pace but not too fast. Chris and I rode together about ? of the first lap and I had a minor endo on Whiplash. After that I noticed my tool bag was coming off and I had to stop and fix the bag. I didn?t see Chris again. I was taking my time stopping on each lap to get a new bottle and take a little food. At 6:30pm, I changed bikes picking up the Carver 96er which was set up with my lights fatter tires and Thud Buster. I thought this bike would be safer and more comfortable for the night tour. I rode the Salsa MotoRapido for all the daylight activity and it worked flawlessly I had minor shifting issues on the 96er towards the end. I continued the ride only stopping for drinks and a little food. Then at about 1:30am after I had 10 laps in I started falling and my balance was awful. I probably hit the ground 5 times on that lap. One time falling on my flask of raspberry HammerGel sending it all over my back & seat and then migrating to my gloves and face before I figured out what it was. Helen found it in the hammock the next morning too. Bad sticky stuff when it is out of control. Maybe I need to coat my tires with this stuff so I won?t fall over. Anyway I decided to take a little 2hour nap and it ended up being about 4 hours. PJ got me up at about 6am telling me I am 2 laps up on my nearest contender but he may be out on the course now. I quickly got something to eat and got back on the bike. The next laps were good and I felt good and fast. I ended up with 14 laps. I would have had time for another but what the hell there is always next year.
The support from everyone was great. The other riders on the course were courteous and always saying supportive words to the Solo riders and that was good because we needed it. By the time I stopped at 1:30am Sunday morning, I can honestly say I have never felt so beat in my life at this point I had put the first 10 laps down and I was tired beyond measure, cold and wet. I felt better at the end of the 120 mile finish than I did at 1:30 about 12hours before. I won a nice set of tires and gold medal. Thank you to Helen and all my friends for the support and encouragement.
Dan

Nice Pictures Julie: [url]http://picasaweb.google.com/Julieinnewport/GreatGlen2007?authkey=OkbywAvofxM[/url]

I will put in my race report soon, but if any of you want to see a dramatization of my one crash, go to MTBMind and watch the video clip of Dave "Maz" under the "48 Hours of Maz-mania". Too funny

-- Ken
 
"If you brake, you don't win." Racer Mario Cipollini

[img:a24bebe755]http://www.team-pinnacle.org/media/images/team_pinnacle_at_GG2007.jpg[/img:a24bebe755]
Photo by Helen O'Neill

As the videographer says, "ha ha ha ha ha, that was classic!" If only we had actual footage of your crash Ken, that would be even better.

Ryan

Photo upload started. I will add more tomorrow morning 'cause it is nap time.

What a great time this race was!

Congratulations everyone!

Enjoy the pics and feel free to download what you want. Kiddie shots in the series as well.

All pics will be posted to my flickr site tomorrow as well for those who wish to see all. (OK, almost all).

H

[url]http://www.team-pinnacle.org/gallery/view_album.php?set_albumName=24-Hours-at-Great-Glen-2007[/url]
 
It doesn't matter where you go in life .... it's who you have beside you.

Pre-race
PJ and I arrived at 9:40 Friday morning, third in line waiting for camping to open at 10:00. Instead of taking our normal route through Conway, we went up 93 and through Gorham. Much better trip with no traffic, good start to the weekend. The good start continued as we claimed our desired site and setup with great weather. Throughout the afternoon Dan, Mark, Ken and Tim arrived. Helen and Dan brought us the best cookies and banana bread known to man as a camp warming present. Around 4:30 we did our ritual Friday pre-ride and found a course in perfect condition. This is when I expected Dan to draw blood and make the weekend official, but he could not wait that long and crashed even before the ride began. After fighting there way through the Conway traffic, Nathan and Aaron arrived just in time for a trip to Mr. Pizza. Nathan had a bad day and arrived without a working bike, this is the first bad thing of the weekend. We decided to cobble something together in the morning. After a great nights sleep, something I have never done at this race, I awake to some great news. Apparently the bike fairy showed up overnight and repaired Nathan's bike, all is good again. We then head into town for a Dunkin Donuts and Wal-Mart run. Head to Wal-mart first and find there is a D&D inside, things continue to go well. Back at the camp we finish up our final prep work and it is time to go racing.

The start
I arrived at the start early enough to get a front row start. The cannon fires and we are off. Erik Skarin blows past me and I settle in around 6th or 7th. The run goes as well as could be expected and PJ hands me my bike and I'm off. Get past Erik and a few others early and find myself right behind Matt Boobar (the top pro rider) coming out of the tunnel. So I get the idea of passing him to lead up the switchbacks. You can see this section of the course from the camp area and it would be cool for my team to see me leading. So I speed up and close in on him, he senses my presence, burps the throttle a little and is gone, oh well. Over the next couple miles I lose a few and gain couple and finally settle in behind Jeff Whittingham, running third. Ended the lap third still with Jeff and less than a minute behind Matt. This would be the only lap I could ride close to their pace, but it was fun while it lasted. We rotated though the rest of the day, (me, Nathan, Aaron, then PJ) with no issues and all turning laps better than last year. Our goal was to get 32 laps and we were ahead of schedule. The second place team was strong and stayed within striking distance throughout the daylight hours.

Overnight
The close race stayed close overnight, and the gremlins started making an appearance. Aaron had a battery that kept coming unplugged, PJ suffered a flat and Nathan had chainring issues. These little time losses kept wiping out the smalls gains we were able to make on second place. As an attempt to get some breathing room back, PJ and I decided to nix PJ third night lap and send me out for an extra lap. Good idea, but it would mean Nathan would have to head out 45 minutes earlier than he planned. PJ and I did not know, but Nathan had dropped his bike off with Red Jersey for some repair work. I wake up to do my extra lap and feel horrible. I can't find anything to eat looks appealing, then I remember the banana bread. That was the magic food my stomach needed, thank you so much Helen. I turn a decent lap and arrive under the tent with no Nathan in sight, I still did not know about his bike issues. After about thirty seconds someone tells me he is bike is just coming off the stand. Nathan and his bike come weaving through the crowd and he was off. We maybe lost a minute, but would have lost much more if I had to go again. Big thanks to Red Jersey, they bailed us out twice this race.

The finish
The rest of the morning we alternate singles and manage to briefly go ahead a complete lap on the chase team. PJ and I had the pleasure of riding the last two laps at a conservative pace and enjoying the scenery a little. We finish with our goal of 32 laps met and first place in the expert class.

Conclusion
Ever since PJ invited me to my first Great Glenn race 6 years ago I have wanted to win one so bad. We have had numerous second place finishes and last year got within 21 seconds. As much fun as that race was, I was far from satisfied and silently vowed to win it next year. The first move was to secure the same team, I knew this was a great combination. Within a week I had us signed signed up. Then I went work on myself, got healthy (back and foot), leaned down a little and got the fitness up. It all paid off and I had my best GG race ever. PJ, Nathan, and Aaron all blew away their 2006 times also and I want to thank them for the effort.

Congrats to all the Team Pinnacle members at Great Glen. It was a fun and most satisfying weekend. Now it is time to back off and just have fun the rest of the riding season.
 
[img:7c60f52a7e]http://www.team-pinnacle.org/albums/bc_personal/120x90.png[/img:7c60f52a7e]

Great Glen got me into Mountain biking. My first team entered in 2000 consisting of my wife (Erin), Father in Law (Steve), Brother in Law (Matt), and friend (Josh). Like usual I suckered them into it. We had no idea what we were getting into. We finished dead last in the Co-ed division finishing like 19 laps on a course that didn't see the other side of the road, and had a record sub 30 minute lap by our hero then, Ward Solar.

The Plunge then was unrideable, or so we thought after Steve tried to break the bridge at the bottom with his head and shoulder, we slept through the night after we struggled with our 10 Watt lights walking most all of "outback".

The next year we came back with more vengeance and tickled the top 5 in sport, hit 4th the year after and had a couple other top 5's with different combinations of riders including Halleck and Jr. We even squeezed out a second place during the "flooding year" where we ran most of the course. Finally I realized to win the damn thing, I had to recruit riders better than myself. I got Brian early on, and his meticulous captainship and preparedness was flawless. Every last detail was worked out, we just had to follow the plan, and we did that last year with Nathan and Aaron. Unfortunately we came up 21 seconds short. We learned again, that "every second counts", and prepared this year for our last assault at victory.

"32 laps will win it" we thought, as long as it was the same course, and was dry. We came in shooting for just that and had to make up only 34 minutes from the previous year to get there. In our hearts we knew it was possible when Brian ( who is having a career year ), exited the woods less than a minute behind the 2 pro teams ( his biking Lap time was a 39:12 ) As I kept an eye out for the second place Expert team, they were back quite a bit back after 1 lap, and even more after Nathan and Aaron took off. Then I hit my lap expecting to put in more time on them, not knowing they saved their best rider for last. After round 1, we held a mere 2 minute advantage after all the riders went through the rotation of Brian, Nathan, Aaron, PJ. We only gained another 30 seconds after 8 laps and went up by 2:30. Crap! we have a race on our hands.

I was surprised to learn at lap 9, they started in on double laps. At first I thought they had missed a handoff, or had an issue, and just went out. But I realized they were truly doing doubles. I questioned their strategy, but also worried that they had a better plan then ours. By the time lap 14 came we had built a 30 minute lead. However we knew their ace (Matt) had not completed his double. By the time he completed his double our lead dwindled to 17 minutes, and we were about to start our doubles.

Not knowing if they would start doing night singles (which is faster for sure, but more tiresome) we altered our strategy to end our doubles earlier, after I ran a single (lucky me) instead of my double. This strategy would give an extra lap to Brian (our ace) and take one away for me (our arse ). It worked even though I had flatted and lost about 4 minutes changing a tire. I believe they also had a mechanical in the night that hurt them. By the time dawn came our lead was back to 35 minutes.

We started to settle in on a pace that was comfortable, but not taxing. We came close to lapping them, but as we got closer they picked it up and kept us back. Our last rotation, we all took some pressure off, and cruised the lap with every intention of staying crash and mechanical free.

Brian, fittingly so, took the last lap without pressure, as they missed the noon cut off to get on our lap. Victory was sealed. The 7 year monkey was off our back.

Hats off, to the Clammy's for a good battle. I think they will be the team to beat next year for sure, if they stay together. Some strategy tweaking and they will be scary.

What the _____?!

How the heck can Chris ride lap after lap and still retain clear thinking? I just don't get it.

How is it possible that after 12 laps, Dan got on my wheel and tired me out trying to pull for him? I was so glad when tough singletrack came.

Erik Skarin can pedal. Paul, Please get him a 22 pound bike. Well on second thought, not yet.

Bravo Masters from MTBmind.

Gurney, solid captainship, well done while looking after family, teams, and hunger pangs.

Currier, I never thought it possible to touch some of these elites/pros, but man you are with them!

Richer brothers, 2 words come to mind- Solid (well thats one word, but 2 syllables)

Ken, You have the makings of a tough sport team next year. I expect nothing less then a podium.

Tim, Nice work, it was great to have you on board. I know we are wacko's, but you fit in quite nicely. Thanks for bearing with us.

Maz, You make our future look bright, we thank you for your youthfulness.

Thanks to the support of the wives, Rhonda, Helen, Lori. The other TP teams and members. Julie and Sandy for showing up to give inspiration. Thanks Erin (my wife ) for letting me race every year on our anniversary. Finally with a victory we can spend next year on our 10th, together.

PJ

I forgot to mention that I stayed for the entire drawing at the end of the awards presentation. It's too bad you needed to be present to win because.
1. Brian won a tee shirt and another bag
2. Eric won a bottle of HammerGel
3. Mark won a bottle of HammerGel
4. PJ won a tee shirt.

And no I didn't win anything. Couldn't eat any more HammerGel anyway and I didn't want a tee shirt. Who would want to win and wear a Michelin tee ?

The weekend started for me Friday night around 5. My family dropped me off at the camp and wished me luck. I sat around for a bit waiting for the guys to come back. I setup my tent, waited for Nathan and Aaron to arrive, and then we headed off to Mr. Pizza?s. The food was great, we had a fun time talking, and Mark even had a chance to show his self discipline without any food. He can add more to this on his report if he likes. After dinner, we headed back to camp, sat around a talked, then went to bed.

Saturday morning went pretty much the same for me that it did for Brian. We went for our DD run and Walmart stop. When we got back we waited for Erik to arrive, then went to register. After registration, Erik and I pre-rode the course, which proved to be a life saver. On course I started to have some issues with my derailleur, so when I got back I brought it over to Red Jersey and never had any problem with it after that.

The race started and Erik had a good jump on the run. He came around for his bike in the top 5. He grabbed his bike and was off. I followed PJ over to the 2 mile mark to watch everyone come through. Erik came through in great position, top 10 I believe. After we watched Dan and Chris come through, we headed back over to the start/finish to wait for Erik. This is where the problems started. After 58 minutes from the start, Erik came through and told us he had a broken chain. Unfortunately, this would only be the first of multiple broken chains for Erik. At this point the butterflies were flying like crazy and I couldn?t wait to just get out on course. Finally, Tim came through, handed me the baton and I was off. My plan was to survive on the climbs and make up as much time as I could on the flats and downhill sections. This is definitely not the best way to race, but when you are 190lbs, you just don?t go uphill very well. I made it to the top of the first climb and headed into the single track. I was feeling great, just gliding over the roots, rocks, bridges, switchbacks, ect? I did some of my best riding ever, which always seems to happen in a racing environment. I crossed back through the tunnel and hit the carriage roads. These proved to get faster and faster as the day rolled on. For the most part I was in big ring just cranking as fast as I could go. I would hit single track and just let the rocks and roots guide my bike through, barely touching the breaks. I hit the long uphill, shifted down and just road till I hit the top, then started cranking again. The plunge was very exciting and seemed to also get faster and have cleaner lines as the day rolled on.

Most every lap road the same. I just picked my lines and stayed with them the whole race. This way I didn?t have to think when it came to the night laps, I could just ride. My plan seemed to work pretty well since my first night lap was a 53 and my doubles were 56 and 58. This was only a few minutes slower than my day laps.

I was lucky enough to be able to ride the final lap. We were only seconds out of 7th and seconds ahead of 9th, so I didn?t have a chance to do a victory lap. I had to push as hard as I could for the whole lap, which I did. It was fun coming through the finish, seeing the team there and getting cheered on by everyone for finishing. My wife was also there to see me finish, which was great. I rode a decent final lap and managed to keep us in 8th place.

So, the race was a blast. It was painful, tiring, frustrating, exciting, stressful, but also one of the most fun things I have ever done and I can?t wait for next year.

Thanks Tim, Erik and Mark for working great together and putting down a pretty decent rookie sport Great Glen team. Next year will be even better.

Congrats to the Expert team and Dan for getting podium and Congrats to Chris for getting 5th and completing 18 solo laps. Incredible.

Some notes:
- Large tents can double as a changing room.
- Mark can be hungry and pleasant at the same time
- You can be in a ton of pain and still be having a great time
- 60 year old men can double as a crash test dummy on a BMX
 
"If you brake, you don't win." Racer Mario Cipollini

I am trying to craft this race report while the memory of Great Glen is still fresh ? but enough time has elapsed so that the dexterity in my hands has returned (actually, I am treating my attempt to type efficiently as part of the physical therapy to get them back in good working order).

After last year?s very successful 2nd place finish in the 2-man with Mark Gurney, I thought it might be *FUN* to try the solo competition. The fact that a couple of endurance ski events I planned on doing this past winter were cancelled and Dan O?Neills commitment to doing Great Glen solo this year helped in me deciding to give it a go ? though I was not willing to pre-register just in case of weather issues.

Things started going downhill in the beginning of July. I headed west with the family for a 10 day vacation in Big Sky, MT. The plan was to rent a mountain bike for the duration of the trip and get some good training in along with rafting, horseback riding, visiting Yellowstone, and other family fun. Unfortunately, I did not adjust well to the 7700ft altitude of our accommodations (fortunately, everyone else in the family did). The first day there, I rated my level of pain while sitting propped up in our hotel room with all lights off and the shades drawn as a 9 on a scale of 1-10. If I laid down or stood up ? it went to 10! In fact, when I stood up, I could take my pulse by paying attention to how the optics of my eyesight changed with every heartbeat. The bottom line is that I got no aerobic training in at all during the vacation.

Two days after returning from vacation I decided to do the Webb Forest Race instead of traveling to CT for a criterium. I did about the best I could have expected ? but that was pretty unimpressive (18th of 19 finishers with 3 DNF?s). This made me wonder of Great Glen was going to be a good idea.

Somehow when I got back, I was (fortunately) still able to sprint and contribute to the Sunapee/S&W Racing Team as *Criterium Season* got going. My finishes were 5th, 8th, 9th, and 6th in the remainder of July. More importantly, the team was racing incredibly well. We won the Claremont Crit, the Working Man?s Stage Race, and the Concord Crit. and had podium finishes at the Attleboro Crit.

So as the clock ticked toward Great Glen, I was much more motivated to train on the road bike, compete in training races at Claremont and Loudon, and race with the Sunapee team on weekends. Finally, I decided Great Glen was going to be to expensive in light of my being a road racing junky.

A week before Great Glen, I pulled the plug. I really wanted to race at Concord (Saturday), Bow (Sunday), Claremont (Tuesday), and Loudon (Thursday), then Nashua (Saturday ? the same day as Great Glen).

Wednesday night I talked to PJ and Mark about my quandary, and PJ indicated that he understood and *knew what I was going to do* (i.e. stick to road racing).

Thursday night after Loudon I began to have second thoughts. I knew my team could do great at Nashua even if I was not there (BTW ? they won every preme and finished 2nd, 6th, and 7th ? for a total cash value of nearly $1000).

Friday morning I told Tina I was unable to decide whether or not I would race at Great Glen, but that I had decided to pack the car just in case. She was very understanding ? although she really questioned my sanity!

I managed to get the car packed just in time to leave (4PM) and the cookies Lilly was making came hot out of the oven, so I mustered up the courage to really challenge myself ? and not leave Dan hanging ? and head north.

On the way, I devised my plan. I knew that the top three 40+ solos last year did 20, 17, and 16 laps. I also knew that I had completed 12 laps in my 2-person adventure with Mark last year. So, I thought 18 laps as a solo would be a good goal. The plan was to have 7 laps completed by 8PM, 8 more completed by 8AM, and then have 5 hours to do the last 3 laps. These times included allowances for eating, changing clothes, and regrouping along the way.

One of the highlights of my weekend was showing Dan that I had not bailed on him. I shared my plan and we decided that connecting on the first lap would be good.

Phase 1:
The race started and Dan and I had good runs ? got on the bikes in a good spot ? and made it through traffic on the first long dirt road section. Dan did a very nice endo right in front of me on Whiplash ? but managed to brush himself off and get back underway before we lost any spots ? and we headed out again. When we got back to the dirt road, I noticed Dan?s seatbag was hanging off right when he did. He stopped to fix it as I continued on (knowing our paths would cross again). A few minutes later I saw Erik Skarin with his bike upside-down. I asked if he needed a hand and he said no ? that he was all set. Knowing that Erik can fend for himself as well as anyone, I carried on. I finished my first lap ahead of schedule and then began clicking them off. At one point along the way, PJ was in the tent waiting for Aaron to finish when I came through. He came over to my tent site, mixed some accelerade for me, and helped me get back out there. I was amazed that he never became stressed about needing to be at the tent. He saw me back to the tent and on my way. It was the first of three occasions on which PJ would look out for me. I had 7 laps in the bag by just past 7PM (which also happened to put me in 2nd place at the time) ? when I took a break for dinner.

Dinner:
I changed into street clothes and headed for the food tent. Along the way, Helen offered me some watermelon ? which I accepted with great enthusiasm. I went to the food tent, got a big stack of pulled pork and pasta salad, and headed over to the Team Pinnacle encampment. I talked to everyone for a bit and headed back to gear up for the night laps. My plan included switching bikes from my Giant Anthem to my Intense Tracer at that time. Brian asked if I wanted him to give the Anthem the once-over. After confirming that it would not put him in a bind for time I accepted. Fortunately he found it in good working order ? only needing some lube. It was great knowing that I had a bike in top notch condition waiting for me when I wanted to switch back.

The Night Laps:
The Tracer proved to be a bit less nimble than the Anthem had been. This helped as long as I kept it running straight, but became a liability as I slowed down as the night wore on. Additionally, it was not shifting up to par (I need to put those new shifters I have in stock on sometime soon). Tina, our kids, and my teammates from Jackson came by at about 11PM which was great. I took another short break with them and headed back out. The low point for me was lap 11 ? which I finished at near 2AM. I had to walk parts of all but three single track sections and needed to change light batteries at the tent. Fortunately for me, PJ was at the tent and was able to help me switch the battery in my camelback. He also took my Tracer back to the Team Pinnacle encampment in order to check up on the shifting. Paul Skarin escorted me back to my tent, chased after my cycling computer ? which was still on the Tracer, then came back to help me get back on the trail. I was thrilled to see the sky begin to lighten near the end of lap 13 ? but I then began to question whether or not I could do 5 more.

Breakfast:
I took a break from 5-5:30AM for two reasons: 1. I thought I it would be good to regroup and really assess whether or not I could still complete 18 laps and 2. because my lights were not recharging fast enough for me to be confident that I would have the hour of lights I would need if I headed out immediately.

The Morning Laps:
I finished my 15th lap at 8AM sharp. Much to my delight, Tina was standing at the tent to welcome me. I visited with her a bit and shared that I was unsure if I could do 3 more laps. I headed back out at 8:22AM ? which put me 22 minutes behind schedule. It was clear to me by now that the only way I would make progress on the top 4 guys was if they had a mechanical problem ? and that the next person behind me was not going to complete 17 laps ? so that doing the 18th lap was not going to make any difference for me. I talked to PJ about that after my 15th lap and, based upon that discussion, I decided that so long as I finished my 17th lap by 11:20AM ? I would go for the 18th in order to accomplish my goal. My 17th lap rocked and I completed it before 11:10AM ? so I headed out for my 18th.

The Finish:
In the final single track section on my last lap I hooked up with some other solos. They were talking about walking the plunge (which I did on the night laps). I wanted to finish with the thrill of tackling it one more time and taking a sweet line I had found in my early laps. I came out onto the skills course to see a solo in the rear view mirror who was trying to catch me. That gave me a good shot of adrenaline and I was able to finish strong. It seemed that everyone I knew was at the finishing tent: Family, Team Pinnacle Members and other friends, road racing team mates, and fellow competitors. It was quite a relief to both finish ? and accomplish my goal of 18 laps.

The Races within a Race:
I kept my mental edge by working out when on each lap I wanted to cross the 8 mile markers. Early in the race ? it was every 6 minutes on average. In the dead of night ? it was every 9 minutes on average. Playing this game and going through my plan over and over again helped me focus on smaller goals that I could check off as having accomplished rather than just trying to keep riding all night.

The final stats:
In the end, my saddle time was almost exactly 21 hours ? making my average lap time 70 minutes. My quickest lap was just under 54 minutes and my longest lap took 89 minutes. My heart rate averaged 145 on the first lap, dropped nearly linearly to 109 on the 15th lap, then increased linearly to 122 on the final lap. I drank 18 bottles of accelerade, ? gallon of milk, and about 9 liters of water/powerade.
I also ate two yogurts, two bananas, one huge slice of watermelon, one pint of coffee ice cream (thanks to the kids), 6 fig newtons, and a plate of pulled pork and pasta salad.

Props to Team Pinnacle:
I saw every Team Pinnacle competitor out on the course. It did my heart good to see the teams tearing it up and to see Dan out there keeping the cranks turning over. PJ, Brian, and Paul were very helpful at some important times and every member of the team who saw me at the tent asked (multiple times) if I needed anything!

The Surprises:
1. I did not anticipate losing the dexterity in my hands. They are just starting to get back to normal!
2. I thought changing clothing every three laps would be sufficient to ensure I did not have a saddle tattoo on my backside ? I was wrong!
3. Conservative eating was good. I followed the advice of some cyclists I know who do brevets regularly ? and consumed about 300 calories per hour. It was about perfect. The food I craved the most during the event was milk ? fortunately I brought a ? gallon.
4. The legs did not take as much of a beat down as I anticipated. Great Glen was my 5th race in eight days. I followed it up by going to Claremont Speedway last night and scored 22 points in the A race ? which is not that far below normal. Top speed was about 2mph lower than normal ? but I was still able to crank it up on points laps.
5. I did not expect this race report to be so long ? hopefully you found it to be reasonable reading.

Congratulations to everyone on Team Pinnacle for an incredible showing!

Great report Chris. I find the lead up and after race info as valuable as the race itself. And no it's not too long.

Ryan

First off[b:7f74c4bfbd] Big Thanks[/b:7f74c4bfbd] to
Ryan for the HID light
Red Jersey Cycles for getting my ride together just in time
My brother for dealing with my last minute antics and missing the Friday pre-ride
My wife and kids for sharing a beautiful weekend with me and Team Pinnacle
My mother in law for helping out with the kids and camping with stinky bikers
Liam for starting off the weekend of winning with a cool new green bike
CCD for hooking us with back up lights, a professional looking banner and $$
Helen for taking such great photos
PJ for sharing his tent for changing and not pooping on course
Brian for laying down some sick lap times
Mother Nature for the high, dry weather so we could turn fast laps


Aaron and I arrived later than planned but still made the Team dinner in Gorham. We kept it simple, a table of chicken parmesan and beer. That night I stopped by Red Jersey to fix my head set and brake problem. Carl rules the night!

The next morning Aaron and I took a slow (60 minute) lap around to reacquaint ourselves with the course then slipped into the meeting at 10:30AM. No surprises at either event.

I had a good lap time on my first go around but felt like poo. I found myself redlined most of the lap and breathing like a freak so by the second lap I decided to ride at 80-85% and save time by riding super clean. It worked and I turned out good lap time until dark, feeling like I could ride every lap strong to the end.

My first single night lap was uneventful, how we like it. When my double came around I was ready to go. I took the baton from Brian and headed out into the night. I passed Tim on the climb on the other side of the road, when I hit the gray house my middle chain ring began to skip under pressure. Up to this point my bike rode flawlessly. I had to make a decision, ride 1.75 laps in granny and big ring or head in and get it fixed while Aaron took his laps. I decided to check and see if big bro was about the tent when I finished my first lap and go from there. When I hit the big top I ran through as the timers shouted to slow down. I guess my body didn?t want to stop and miss out on much needed sleep during Aaron and PJ?s doubles. It all worked out I figured out how to turn the big ring but laided down my slowest (49-minute) lap, a full 2 minutes behind my first double-lap. No bother, I dropped my bike at Red Jersey and climbed into the sack.

My last 2 laps were in splendid morning light, simply beautiful, although by my final lap I was done, tanked, legs like putty, tires like glue. I felt slow and I was. I had done all I could do and done my best. Nothing to do, but watch Brian ride to victory.

This year was so different from last year. The race was internal. Last year every time I got on the bike it was time to redline, because we had a race going on. This year we were in control the whole time. So, on the bike I was good, no pain, and no stomach trouble. I was fueled and ready to ride, the race was within me.

Off the bike and back in camp was a different story; trying to find something to eat, peeing, pooping, gas bubbles, worrying about gear, brain drain, worrying about the time. ?I really don?t feel like going out again.? Then you?re on the bike again and ?wow this feels good!?

[b:7f74c4bfbd]Ride Highlights[/b:7f74c4bfbd]
Seeing so many Team Pinnacle/CCD jerseys on course and more importantly on the podium.
Watching the Senator in his glory & getting his First place after 7 hard fought 24hr tries
Brain turning pro lap times on every lap.
Aaron taking time out from a hectic schedule to push us onto the podium
My family in the main tent on my last lap
Chris?s bright eyes and clear mind on what should have been his foggy 18th lap
Dan pushing on the climb to Cork Screw and his ?Dan-dominium?
Eric Skarin with yet another chain in his hands
Mark the master mind of TP too doing extra time in the saddle to chase down Liam
Liam climbing out of the tent Saturday morning with his helmet on, here comes the next generation
 
Alone in the woods, who stands to be King?

WOW, Great going TP... sounds like it was a blast!

I watched the video, saw Brian a few times in there hammering.

24hourofGreatGlen


I didn?t know I was going to do this till about 4 weeks before the race. I got an email from Ken W. asking if I was interested, I said ?yes?, so needless to say I had to shock the legs into shape!!

I got there on Friday, met all the guys whom I had not met. Being new, I didn?t know what to expect. Everyone was very helpful and I felt a sense of camaraderie right away, one phrase that sticks out is ?if you get hungry this weekend it?s your own fault, there is plenty of food here!!? (MGurney). So, I set-up my tent, got the team plan, and settled in to my new home for the next three days.

The race:
Lap1, I felt good, this was the best lap I had as is probably the case for everyone, I had most of my problems on the single track with a couple of dabs on the technical sections, and most of that time was made up on the carriage roads.

Lap2, Very similar to Lap1, but a bit slower.

Lap3 (dusk) Legs feeling some pain, nothing a few Advil can?t take care of. The course conditions definitely have began to change. Rocks and roots were getting slippery, and darkness is beginning to set in. Next one is going to be tough!!

Lap4/5 (night) As predicted it was slick on the rocks and roots, some foggy spots mainly on the carriage road after the tunnel where earlier I could really fly. I was tired and sloppy and my times showed it, the two worst laps of the team. I just couldn?t seem to stay on the bike, and had to walk some of the hills. I was really glad when these were over and I could get some rest.

Lap6 As Brian suggested I would feel much better, he was right, I was rejuvenated and ready to go, I set out on my morning lap, things went much better as the course had improved much over the night conditions, and I could see better.

Lap7 Last one!! I knew the faster I went the shorter amount of time I would be in pain, and I turned out a couple of minutes faster than my 6th lap.

Glad its over, but I will be back next year and in better shape!!!

Many thanks to great teamwork, leadership, and companionship.

Great job guys!!! See you all at the Pinnacle VIII

[quote:70c0a36bf1="Ryderjag"]Ken, You have the makings of a tough sport team next year. I expect nothing less then a podium. [/quote:70c0a36bf1]

Erik keeps racing like he is, he will be expert by next year. I guess I will just have to pay him to stay in sport for one more year. Either that or I find a way to get faster and join him in expert.

-- Ken
 
"If you brake, you don't win." Racer Mario Cipollini

Some Team Pinnacle exposure from none other than the #1 Expert team captain Brian Currier

[url]http://www.caledonianrecord.com/pages/sports/story/cb248d79e[/url]
 
"If you brake, you don't win." Racer Mario Cipollini

Thanks for the posting Ken. The same article was in the Sunday Concord Monitor, writen by Marty Basch, who I believe raced as well.
 
Alone in the woods, who stands to be King?

http://www.bikeman.com/content/view/1316/28/

GG24 SS champ mentions the next challenge is the Pinnacle

[url]http://www.vnews.com/08252007/4182515.htm[/url]
 
[img:7c60f52a7e]http://www.team-pinnacle.org/albums/bc_personal/120x90.png[/img:7c60f52a7e]

nice article