Race Report – The Crusher Race Report – Chris Spurrier

What do you get when you mix single track, boulders, sandy-clay roads, and a few creek crossings for good measure?  Upper Peninsula (U.P.) Michigan gravel.  Take this over 250ish miles and you get The Crusher “enhanced” gravel race, the brainchild of Todd Poquette, and his team at 906 Adventures.  *disclaimer* You might want to pour a cup of coffee, this report may be even more long-winded than those in the past.

What seems like way back, in 2019, my buddy Jeff suggested we check out this event in U.P. Michigan called The Crusher.  A 225 point to point race across beautiful backcountry gravel roads, in July.  After working some logistics I figured why not and we signed up.  Fast forward a few months and like everyone else, we find ourselves in the middle of canceled races and travel restrictions.  We really had no idea if this would go on, but we continued to train.  We coordinated on gear and training, going back and forth on what we felt was working and not working.  Todd had published a pretty thorough list of required gear so we had to make sure we could carry it all, unsupported.  While more and more races were canceling, Todd and his team developed the EX version of the event.  It was what they coined as extra enhanced.  The route increased to 250 miles and became a loop so riders could complete the event on their own, no mass start.  We were given three months to tackle the course, upload our rides, and post pictures of various checkpoints.  The only hurdle left was getting approval to travel for the event.  Six days out from when we wanted to tackle it, I was given permission to travel and the realization hit.  The race was on!

I loaded up the truck and headed out to pick Jeff up on the way to Marquette Michigan.  A big storm moved in on the day we had planned to take off so we slid our start 24hrs.  We got into town and after some dinner and pre-gaming we prepped the bikes and headed off to bed.  Neither one of us slept well, but that didn’t stop the alarm from going off at 0400 the next day.  Jeff knew the first 10 miles were slow so there was no impact to starting before daylight, he had read more reports than me and had a better grasp on what we were in for.  We knew however it was going to take teamwork to get us through the next 24hrs.  We had some support from a local teammate who took us to the start and at 0500 we took off for the trail.  Almost immediately we found ourselves on single track and soon after pushing our bikes up Hogback Mountain.

The trip up wasn’t terrible, but it certainly wasn’t easy.  Basically it boiled down to a rock scramble, carrying/pushing 30-pound bikes up the mountain.  Honestly going up was easier than coming down, but the view was well worth it.  Coming down was where we hit our first snag, about 2.5 miles in.  Unfortunately, as we neared the bottom Jeff slipped on a root and as his bike landed on its side, he caught himself on the bike, pressing a large rock into the fork with a loud cracking sound.  He gets up and has this look of disbelief, reminding me of Monty Pythons “tis a flesh wound”.  All I remember saying was the fork was done.  We continue to walk out of the section and hop on for a little bit of gravel.  Stopping at the next intersection Jeff looks things over again and is confident the fork will hold.  We tape it up to be sure and move on.  Soon we find ourselves on an overgrown railway, seriously overgrown and seriously a railway.  The rails may have been removed, but the timbers and many nails were still there, buried beneath the brush.  With fresh dew on the grasses it was like riding through a car wash, we made it to the end of the trail, drenched head to toe.

Much of the next 100 miles were a blur as we rode through logging roads, a little pavement, and a ton of water holes.  Along the route, we had several checkpoints, many of which were very easy to find, but a couple not so much.  The first of which was a natural spring that we found ourselves slowing to nearly a crawl to make sure we didn’t miss it.  We got some water and took our picture and we were on our way.  As soon as we were comfortable on one section we would miss a small turn to take us on some singletrack, we would backtrack and tackle it in stride.  As I mentioned we had a local teammate (Ken) lending support along the way, he would preposition with food and water to help make our journey a bit more manageable.  Many of the unpaved roads were recently graded so there were a lot of sections that the only thing we could do was follow the tire tracks to have a semi-smooth ride.  Over time we were getting beat up and struggled to maintain any good power.  We found the next couple stops as well as some of the lovely trails Todd had chosen for us.  Many of the trails were unrideable and we would find ourselves pushing the bikes frequently.

Our goal was to make it to L’Anse by dinner time.  This was the unofficial halfway point, at least in our head.  Through the day we had gone back and forth calculating what we needed to do.  After crossing the Huron River we knew we wouldn’t make it.  We did however feel confident enough to make it by dark, after all we were at mile 111 about 5 and only needed to get to 134.  Or so we thought.  It was mostly road ahead and we started on our way feeling pretty good after a quick stop with Ken for a little food.  We picked the pace up but still felt a little sluggish, the thought of a fresh Subway sub was in our minds.  As we neared mile 133 we felt it was right around the corner.  The sun was still up even at 8:30 and we finally felt we were turning around.  Mile 134, mile 135, mile 136, surely we can’t be off that much?  Finally, at 144 we rolled into L’Anse.  Apparently we had both misread the point and didn’t realize it until obviously we passed the distances.  This didn’t matter, our subs were awaiting us.  We started breaking down the remainder of the race.  The next stop was a checkpoint at mile 172 for the outhouse, then meet Ken at 200 and we would be home free.  I felt we had a chance to still make 26 hours.  This diminished quickly after we took off to climb out of L’Anse.  This climb was long, and we knew it, but it would have been the last real climb to deal with.  By this point though we had learned to be cautiously optimistic about any pre-conceived notions as we rolled along.  Not knowing the terrain, many times we felt great on a stretch of road that would quickly disappear into a single track, barely.  Regardless we pressed on and found ourselves headed south along the Peshekee River.

Now things started digressing quickly.  We had expected temps to be in the mid-’60s through the night and we were starting to dip into the upper 50’s.  I could not warm up for anything.  We stopped to put layers on, but neither of us had anything for our legs.  We started looking for the outhouse and felt we had a pretty clear idea where it would be.  Jeff and I rolled at 5mph looking left with our headlamps, and then ahead to make sure we weren’t veering off, it felt like an eternity.  We both thought we would see things in the woods like buildings and animals.  The lights reflecting had us seeing things and our minds were starting to drift.  Jeff had actually started to doze off a couple of times, he would catch himself and veer back on the road.  I stopped at a parking lot and looked for the outhouse but didn’t see it.  I put the remaining clothes I had with me on and ate a handful of gummy bears and we were off to look more.  Now we had lost an hour just looking for the waypoint.  I put the lat/long into the Garmin again and knew it had to be back where we pulled off, so we backtracked to the lot.  Looking back I couldn’t see Jeff’s light anymore, it was pitch black out, then I would see his light and I would move forward.  Back at the lot I look a little harder and there, behind the sign, a brown outhouse in the middle of the woods.  Finally, we can move on and we did.  We rode on and soon I was starting to fall asleep.  We were cold, tired, and had no idea what was ahead.  We decided to take a short detour to get a cell signal and call Ken so we could get a little sleep and re-asses.

Keep in mind that even for as long as this report is, I cut it down for time’s sake.  I’m guessing you are done with the coffee and moved onto the whiskey.  Back on track, you can probably guess our decision after a 20-minute nap.  Todd and his team did an amazing job setting expectations for the event.  We have no gripes about that fact or the event at all.  We still did not go in as prepared as either one of us would have liked.  Experiencing such a diverse terrain over 24 hrs took its toll on us.  We had no idea what to expect for the last 70 miles.  It could have been a flat road or Armageddon.  At best we anticipated another 7 hrs of riding.  We were both still shaking from 47-degree weather, exhausted, and beyond our limits.  While we were confident we could have forged on and finished, we did not know what the cost would have been.  The risk was significantly increasing for injury (Jeffs fork was cracked after all), so we decided to call it.  There are a lot of things that went right during this event, and a lot of things that went wrong.  The biggest take away was that small decisions early on make huge impacts later.  Jeff will attempt the event again in the upcoming weeks, I cannot get the time off, unfortunately.  I cannot thank Ken enough for his support and speak well enough to how the staff adapted to put this event on.  Jeff is a great friend and mentor and while we were not successful it was a great trip with him.

So if I could do this again what would I have done differently?  I think my gear was good overall, I would have however preferred to be on a full-suspension bike (I was on a Salsa Beargrease with 3.0 tires).  Ken was amazing out there helping us, we could have planned our stops better to reduce the stopped time at each stop.  Better planning to be able to locate the checkpoints faster would have helped significantly.  If you think you should take a jacket, do it.  The roads were rough and we had significant stop/slow time.  Had we been less fatigued from the road surface and been past the 200-mile mark at 24 hrs I feel we would have been in better spirits and more willing to take the risk.  I really appreciate all of the support during this event, it meant a lot to Jeff and me, and again thank you so much to Ken who dropped everything to come to support us on course.  I hope you enjoyed the read.

Race Report – JFK 50 – Chris Spurrier

You know that feeling of invincibility you get when you crush a goal? Sure you do; the one where you are driving cross country after finishing Dirty Kanza the bike still dirty, sweat still behind your ears, and you call your friend and say “I think I want to tackle the JFK 50 again”. Then over the phone, you hear “OK, I’ll be there for you”. Ok, good deal then let’s do it. You call your coach and say “Hey I want to run now”, and he says OK. Yeah, that feeling of invincibility. Just wanting to push your limits and test your mental fortitude. After all, why not?

It has been an epic year for sure. By May I had done a 500 mile training week and a 150-mile gravel race. Add GRUSK and Hilly Billy Roubaix on top of a 14hr DK200 and I was having a great year by far. Heck, I even knocked time off of my SM100 time. So why not tackle the JFK again? I wasn’t going to travel to CXNATS so I didn’t have a ton to train for this fall. It was also an opportunity to step back and reset, do something different. So with two feet and a ton of support, we jumped into it. I really do mean we, because I couldn’t do this alone. My family, friends, and coach were all by my side (some questioning what I was doing).

I sat down with Chuck and we formed a game plan. Luckily this wasn’t new territory for him as he was a finisher himself. We discussed my willingness to train and what kind of load I thought I could handle. He had the perfect plan, and so it began. Starting in August I was lacing up my running shoes and ditched my spandex. As the training progressed I would fight small injuries here and there but overall was able to adapt and continue on. I learned quickly the importance of recovery. Then I was a few weeks out and the realization finally set in.

A lot goes into planning any endurance event. This one was no different. I asked a lot of questions and agonized over many small details. Again, luckily I had experience on my side to help. Keith Ives and Christina were there to help me through the event. We stayed at the hotel the night prior then they carried me through the event with support at the aid stations. We devised a plan based on the weather and talked through most of the possibilities to have a plan B, and C, at any given time. Knowing they would meet me at three locations I prepared three bags for them that would have the food and clothing items I would want. All they had to do was grab the bag and water for each stop. To mentally prepare I broke the race down into three segments, the trail run (15ish miles), the Marathon (on the C&O), and the road race (the 8-mile push into Williamsport).

At 0530 we arrived at the gym in Boonsboro to get ready for the pre-race brief. It was short and simple, we got a few pictures, then started to head towards the starting line. at 0630 the gun went off and 1200 of us headed for the AT trail. I said I wanted to tackle the JFK again, well that was because I attempted it in 2013. I didn’t make the cutoff and fell out at the 31-mile aid station. So I knew what this part entailed, the long climb up to the trail, I had already planned to walk this portion and executed appropriately. One thing different was I took this opportunity to get some nutrition in. Yes at less than two miles in I started eating, it would be a race to stay ahead of my caloric needs. As we crested the top we hopped on the trail and started off. I was making decent time working to keep the pace under 12′. we got to the last five miles and by then my legs were fatigued. The bobbing and weaving through the rocks took its toll on my knees and ankles. For good measure, I went to step on a rock and couldn’t get my foot up. I came down square on my right knee, rolling over the rock, and stopping my self with my arm as my head ever so slightly bumped into a rock. I am so glad I managed to get my arm out, otherwise, it could have been much worse. I got up, shook myself off and kept trucking down the steep trail and into Weaverton where Christina and Keith were waiting. Let me tell you what I heard Keith’s voice over everything else at that point. Now that will put a smile on your face. I changed my shoes, shoveled my face with some food, and exchanged nutrition in the bag and headed off.

As I made it onto the C&O I realized I had some pain in my legs but was well within my pacing goal so I was stoked to be moving with a regular gait again. The next time I would see my support crew would be about mile 27, unfortunately, I would get into my first hole before then. I was reaching mile 21 and began to focus on all of the little pains. I was thinking about the last time and how I needed to find my way to keep going. I started to focus on the runners in front of me and would try to chase them one at a time. This little game helped me leapfrog for a few miles then I finally started to add some walking in. At this point I just needed to get to the aid station so I did whatever I could, no plan just move. Finally, I was there, I even managed to shuffle in. Again, I heard Keith’s voice above the crowd and he led me down to Christina whose smile made me feel great. As I shoved down food, he gave me timing updates and gave me the status of my food and water I had consumed. All he kept saying was drink more and get to mile 38, then with a little chicken broth, he pushed me out.

Now I had a fresh goal, get to mile 38! I broke apart the 10 miles and decided I would walk a quarter and run 3/4. I managed to do this keeping my mile pace under 15′ until mile 35. I just could not get my legs moving, my joints hurt so much. I tried to alternate quarter miles and still nothing. I thought about my daughter struggling in boot camp and how she couldn’t quit. I had to quickly develop a plan. At this point I was still averaging a 13-minute mile, great pace to finish under 12 hours (my original goal was 10). I started doing the math as I was shuffling my feet, trying to walk as fast as I could. Everything hurt and since my pace dropped I started getting cold. It was a few miles more when the math came to me, I could walk and still finish, maybe even close to 12 hours. As I was walking I pulled my phone out and called Christina. Change of plan, get me my jacket and long pants and see you soon. After seven hours I was in another hole, but at least I was thinking through the process. At about nine hours in I waltzed into the final aid stop. I took off my vest and sat down to put on my pants and change shoes. I told them this is it, this is what I got and I will make it work. I took off from the stop with just a bottle of nutrition, I planned to use the race aid stations for the remainder of the event. I was an hour ahead of the cutoff and was determined to cross that line.

At this point there was not much thought to what I was doing, it was simple. Walk as fast as I could. I started whistling and singing and talking to everyone I could. I just kept moving and tried to stay motivated. I neared the 42-mile mark and got my reflective vest. I turned onto the road, but I was a happy clam, keeping a positive attitude and just thinking to myself “just keep moving” (sung like Dori from Finding Nemo). The day called for rain, luckily it was only a drizzle. The sunset and it got colder. I was so proud of myself for deciding to put on my jacket and pants. I just kept walking and noticed a line of walkers. It felt like everyone was in survival mode. What didn’t occur to me was the rollers were slowly eating my time away. I quickly realized this and started to get worried so I was reassessing my situation. I knew I had to do something so I started shuffling down any hill I could. Next thing I knew I even managed a shuffle on a couple of flats. I actually passed a couple of people running and gained back some confidence to push on. Finally the last two miles! The realization I was going to make it one way or another. I picked up my stride and kept moving forward and as I made the last turn I could hear the festivities at the line. I tried with all my might but couldn’t muster the strength. There it was the source of the noise, the lights, the sounds, and the hill. I heard the announcer talking about a 12:30 finish. Tried as I could I just felt the time slipping. Then as before, I heard Keith, over the announcer. I muttered out “how can I hear you over everyone?” “Come on Spurrier” he yelled. I got to him and had never felt so much relief. He took my jacket and my vest and I shuffled with everything I had to look like I was moving across the line. The crowd was awesome and seeing Christina there was everything. I knew I did it! I beat the clock and finished.

The last thing I heard was “Chris Spurrier, Andrews AFB MD, a cyclocross racer finishing an Ultra run!” This brought the biggest smile to my face, not because of what Joe said, but because I beat it. I DNF’d in 2013 and came back to tackle it again. This wasn’t a singular accomplishment, it was because of everyone who believed in me. Thank you, everyone, and especially Christina and Keith. Thank you, Chuck, for the foundation, and thank you all for pushing me to do something bigger.

There are a lot of things I learned during this event. Most of all though was not to take anything for granted. We have to work for every accomplishment and we never do it alone.

Race Report – Dirty Kanza 200 – Chris Spurrier

Wow, what an experience, it had been a long time since I put this much effort into one event. Dirty Kanza lived up to the hype and I am sure glad I did it. I am also happy I put this much effort into planning and training for the event. To say everything went to plan would be a flat out lie, but to say everything worked out would be accurate.

If you have read my previous reports, you would know I have been racing/training for this event. Testing gear, tactics, logistics, and grit to make sure I was able to execute my first DK in style. All along I worked with my coach to talk about goals and make adjustments along this path. Initially, the goal was to just be able to function after the race, to be strong from beginning to end. My actual time goal didn’t come to fruition until about two weeks out. I am pleased to say again that everything worked out perfectly, even if not to plan.

I knew from Gravel Nationals that I couldn’t show up on Friday and expect to be competitive Saturday. For the event, I arrived late Thursday afternoon with enough time to set up camp and meet with teammates for a nice relaxing dinner. The only hiccup here was the drive left my IT band incredibly inflamed and I looked like I need a walker to get around. Friday morning we participated in the GU ride, socializing with more teammates and other riders. This left us the afternoon to pre-position sag support for the team and have a relaxing meal while prepping food and the bike. After double checking everything with the bike and gear, it was off to an early night sleep.

Race morning, I woke up anxious and ready to attack. I got a good night sleep but still had residual pain in my right leg, nothing I hadn’t dealt with before. I followed my morning routine and at 0530 we headed to the line. The energy was awesome and people were lined up for a number of blocks. Just like that, the race was on, and we headed out through the town and quickly onto some beautiful country gravel. A few of us found ourselves in the top third of the race just getting into a grove. I started to get a little antsy because the group was braking on the descents and in the turns, I felt I didn’t want to waste energy and made my way forward and at 18 miles in I got pushed to the middle of a loose turn and quickly found myself on the ground. I was able to quickly shake it off and get back on the bike and get moving, but I lost “my” group.

I started back up to pace and soon settle back in. My hip was finally releasing and I finally quit bleeding from my leg and elbow. As the rollers start we roll into aid 1 and I quickly find our support. I’m off the bike while they clean the chain, check the shifting, and help me fill bottles. I drink a coke and eat a small sandwich and in five minutes I’m on the road. Rollers, them rollers, they never stopped as we roll on what seemed like forever. This was definitely the toughest of the legs and all I could do was wait for the neutral aid.

During this section, I realized I had got Roctane at the aid station and I soon remembered how it didn’t work too well for me. The sun was reaching higher in the sky and the efforts maintained, not a good time to cut back on the liquid intake, but I did. This was probably the worse time for me as I neared the 100-mile mark. I was doing great with actual nutrition but the Roctane was too much for my system. I could not get to the neutral aid soon enough. Aside from the liquids I also eased up on the climbs, actually too much. Luckily they added an extra neutral aid and I rolled in anxious to get fresh water and to take a few extra calories. The real advantage was that the next aid station would be in 20 miles so I didn’t have conserve. I filled the three bottles and rolled out quickly making it to the second neutral aid with little drama. By the time I made it here, I fallen off my pace (13hr) by about 35 mins but still felt pretty good. I refilled my bottles and exchanged a few pleasantries with teammates as I rolled out. It was about 30 miles to the final aid station, but it was a lot of rollers.

It was about this time though that things started getting a little bad. Visually it was interesting because I saw so many people that just looked beat, they were stopped on the road questioning life’s decisions. At the same time, I had started to fight cramps in my left leg (presumably from overcompensating from injuries on my right) and my feet started to flare up really bad. A lot of this built up and I started those dark thoughts, the “well I made a valiant effort” thoughts. Luckily I feel this is where my time in the saddle kicked in. I quickly dismissed the thoughts knowing I have done it before and CAN do it again. I adjusted in the saddle a little and found the right cadence to control the pain in my feet. I saw several riders walking (and swimming for that matter) in the creek crossings, I rolled right through and stuck it to the climbs. This built confidence on the course and the cheers were an awesome pick me up. As I neared the final aid station we were treated to tree cover on a bike path for about a mile, this was one of the best feelings. At this point, I started going through the math and knew I could still beat the sun as long as I hit a few key points, the first of which was being out of the final aid station by 1700. I rolled in, had my coke and sandwich, and rolled out like I was on a mission.

I hit my next mark maintaining 15mph for the next hour and just needed to get to mile 181, get to mile 181, get to mile 181 by 13 hrs. it was like it would never come, the final 15 miles of rollers felt like the worse. Luckily my plan left a little buffer and at mile 180 I saw the Salsa Chaise, surely I had enough time to stop and still make it (but I had to make sure I made up the time). It was a deal, and I rolled up to take my picture. No line so it was in and out and we made our way to 181, finally there, but why are there still climbs? Damn these climbs, every time I was out of the saddle my feet hurt, climbing in the saddle I cramped up, why are there still hills? Oh, a golf course, maybe they have a coke machine, I’m so tired of Gu/water. Hey, this hill isn’t bad, wait no more hills and I still have 90 minutes? Shit lets roll.

Like that the switch turned on, I grabbed my drops and hammered. I was going to beat the sun, even if I had 18 miles left. At this point we had an ever so light tailwind, no climbs, and some of the cleanest smoothest gravel I had ever seen. 30 minutes later I realized it would be hard to maintain but I didn’t let up, surely there had to finally be some pavement. Where is some pavement, oh it’s ok, I’m rolling at 18, pavement would be nice, my hands are so tired. Less than 10 miles, it is really going to happen! I get passed by a guy with a simple “Hey we got this” and I put my head down and just keep grinding. The training has paid off, my dedication is pushing me through the pain, and I am going to beat the sun in my first DK. Pavement! yes just around the corner. What the hell is that, really? I need to climb that? One mile to go, I am sure as hell not stopping here, come hell or high water I am making it. I can barely see the sun over the buildings, I need to just get there. Back through the campus and as I leave I see chute with people lined up on both sides. I’m in full stride at this point, I had to have gone through at over 20, the end was right there and I AM going to make it.

That’s it, the race is over. All of that training, all of that preparation, all of that hard work, the race is over.

I talked about feeling good at the end, mission success. Aside from severe foot pain, I managed to shower, grab some food and wait until our final rider came in a little after 0200. the pain subsided and I felt good, I felt accomplished, I felt like a human being. It all paid off, the long rides, the gym, the planning, it all came together.

So what are my key takeaways? Train, train, train, and communicate with your coach. Trust the process. Prepare for the worse, and have a great support network. Without the support of my family, friends, coach, and several others I would not have achieved this. More importantly, without the aid station support I would have cracked and gave up, they were so awesome. The mentorship from those who have raced this race before, thank you so much, you have no idea how you shaped and molded my experience. Thank you to all of you for reading this, and for your continued support.

 

What’s next? More racing, I have a bone to pick with the Shenandoah Mountain 100 and the JFK 50 miler. Time to get training!


V/R
Chris Spurrier

Race Report – Saluda Roubaix – Chris Spurrier

This report is seeming to be a little harder to write, after all, it was basically a training ride for me. When we were planning out my DK training plan I was looking for a few events that I could use to test and validate strategy, pace, logistics, and fitness. This race, in its second year, was a great opportunity to test much of this. In addition, it was an opportunity to connect with several teammates who would be out at DK with me. So what about the race?

Grassroots I think sums up the event pretty well. Very low key but well laid out and fun course. The overall goal was to simply push a faster-sustained pace for the duration, and thanks to a little help I was able to do so, and have fun at the same time. Nestled west of Columbia South Carolina we camped out at a small baseball field. We pre-rode a little of the course and enjoyed some great food. We woke up in plenty of time for the 1000 start where about 200 people circled around the start line.

Quietly I heard a “go” and next thing I know we were off on a slight downhill pavement section. 30 mins in we were sprinting to stay on with the lead group and shortly loose touch. Just then the second wave comes blowing by and we settle in picking up stragglers and forming a third group. My legs were screaming and I am was looking for a little recovery as I look at my IF and realize that we were pretty much-maintaining threshold for the first full hour.

We settled in and roll up to the first aid station, realizing we were good on nutrition we just roll by and stay on the gas. Working with Keith we start doing public math and established our goals for the race (better late than never?). We quickly realize that we were in a good spot and set our 40 and 50-mile goals knowing the last 18 would be easy to push through. The theme Saturday was that this race was more Roubaix then gravel, as we rolled through mile 40 we realized that this wasn’t truly the case. We worked together to get to the second aid station and roll in prepared to fill the bottles and go. In under two minutes, we were back on track and heading for the 50-mile mark. We knew to hit 4 hrs we had to stay on track and keep a constant pace. At this time though we were happy to see breaks in the gravel. Getting on pavement provided just enough relief to recover and maintain the grind.

Coming into that last 18 we were caught by a small group and we start working with them. My legs were sore, but Keith pushed me to stay connected and rolled fast for about five miles catching another couple of riders. As I am looking around, I realize I now have three competitors with us while Keith didn’t have any. We were taking pulls and I pulled Keith off after a minute and follow suit. As I got to the back we made a strategy to break the group. We hit the second to last gravel section and as we pulled through we hit a right-hand turn about four miles out.

I was on Keith’s wheel and the leaders pull out, Keith goes into the turn and cranks it up. Quickly there is confusion, I didn’t even know what was going on. I jumped back on his wheel and said too soon. Right then we both look back and realize no one else followed suit so we buried our heads down and went. The rest of the race was uneventful, we didn’t see anyone else and came in under four hours. We were both fairly gassed but feeling good about the effort we put out on the day.

The goal was to push a pace faster than Nationals and check out some new gear. Keith flew in the day before from South Africa and had pretty bad jet lag. All of this concluded in a great race in a small town pushing ourselves and testing the limits. Thank you so much to Keith for staying with me through the event. Thanks to Christina for riding shotgun and spending that quality windshield time with me. KyleCoaching for the continued guidance and mentorship, and of course all the teammates and new friends for the hospitality and fun. I feel confident and ready to tackle my first Dirty Kanza in less than four weeks.

#DKorBust

Race Report – Gravel Grinders Nationals – Chris Spurrier

My goal this season was to tackle the Dirty Kanza for the first time, and once I got an entry it was time to plan. Working with Chuck we started to discuss my strengths and weaknesses as well as the logistics of such an event. We went over several details to ensure I could be in the best position for the race.

To help aid this process I signed up for several gravel races and assigned specific goals to each. The Grinders Nationals and Gravelleur’s Raid was one of these events. Located in Lawrence Kansas the event is about 90 minutes away from the Dirty Kanza venue. This gave me a great opportunity to test logistics for the two days drive out in June. The second goal I had for this event was to ride unsupported due to to the new support structure at DK. Finally, it was an opportunity to test out what Kansas gravel was all about.

First and foremost the terrain and road conditions were similar to what we are accustomed too here in Northern Virginia which is great experience wise. The only real difference is that they maintain their roads a little better, meaning there was a lot of fresh gravel and few potholes. I ran 40 psi with a new set of Donnelly EMP tires and found them to have great traction, but should have run a few psi lower due to the fresh gravel. I intend to test some 650b wheels in the next race to see how much the volume helps.

Over 1000 miles in the truck leading up to the race proved to be a bit much. My legs never felt comfortable the entire race although my power numbers seem to show differently. This caused me to hold back a little in the second hour although I still maintained a good pace. For Dk I intend to give myself an extra day to recover prior to the race. What is hidden in the above text is that I was really beating myself up until I actually looked at the data real-time and realized it was truly all in my head. Granted, with a 35 degree start temp it was really hard to navigate the Garmin because of extra gloves. Luckily I was able to shed those off about the second hour as well.

Always great to have teammates for a 100-mile gravel grinder

Here is where I need to explain how much I love the Revelate bags, especially the frame pack. As I said my goal was to ride unsupported, and these bags helped make it possible. I was able to carry three 24oz bottles and all of my nutrition that helped me get through the duration. The biggest hindrance was the temperatures. At mile 50 I ended up stopping for a second to ditch the jacket I was wearing. Still in the end, though I have confidence I can carry the necessities for DK and not be limited.

Cold weather, light winds, and some awesome teammates made for a great weekend. My biggest mistake was to downplay the event as a training event too much. I failed to have a good breakfast and this seemed to impact me a little early on. The important take away for me was to take every race seriously because it cant be a good training race if I can’t finish. I had a plan otherwise and executed well, a little off the pace but overall I am pleased. Next up will be a short 68-mile gravel race in S.C. The goal? maintain a higher pace for the duration and see if I can push the average up.

These events, along with great planning and coaching, are giving met he confidence to tackle the Dirty Kanza and to do so in 13 hrs.

Race Report – Croatan Buck Fifty, the race that wasn’t – Chris Spurrier

Believe it or not, you do not have to win every race. With a grueling race schedule ahead of me including the Dirty Kanza and Shenandoah Mountain 100 I have worked with KyleCoaching to put together what we feel is a great calendar and ultimately a plan for success. With this being said we have looked at the entire race calendar and have made concrete goals for each event in preparation for these events. Communication is critical with your coach, as athletes we need to lay specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound (SMART) goals. These goals are why we don’t have to win every race. Sometimes the challenge we set forth is enough.

Chris relaxing after 150 miles

It is often advantageous to craw, walk, run as we push ourselves onto new endeavors. Two hundred miles of Kansas gravel in June is going to be a challenge enough. Not only will there be physical demands, but psychological ones as well. We need an opportunity to build up our confidence, as well as our stamina, endurance, and plain old grit. This won’t happen overnight and cannot often be replicated in training rides. We need to toe the line and push our boundaries to a breaking point. We need to test our strategies regularly to find what works and what doesn’t.

The Croatan Buck Fifty was the first opportunity for me to do so. First off, the #bestbikegameever lived up to its hype. Just checking in to the race venue gave you a sense that this was going to be an epic blast. The atmosphere, the staff, and volunteers, everything screamed epic. We rolled into town Friday afternoon, and after setting up camp, I made my around a large portion of the course checking out the gravel conditions and “Savage Road.” We came back to have a little recovery meal and finish some final preparation before the race meeting. Afterward, a little pasta and chit chat before bed.

Croatan was an excellent opportunity to push myself physically and prove I had some early season fitness. More so being three loops, I had the chance to test some nutrition and technique without fear of being left stranded on the road. Cooler temps helped curb SOME hydration needs, but I was able to stretch two bottles of GU hydration for about two and a half hours. I also found a good mixture of chews, waffles, and gels during the same period. As I expected, I was craving a little more real food by the fifth hour. I was able to successfully navigate my frame bag at race pace freeing up the comfort factor of carrying less crap in my pockets. My Quarq Tyrewiz monitors proved to be invaluable during the race as the conditions would change and I had eyes on that my tires were solid. This was the first race on the bike, and I cannot say enough how comfortable she rolled and confident I was in her handling.

Physically I struggled at times with pace-lining around potholes (surging) but overall felt pretty confident in my ability to push on. This is one of the first races I never had any self-doubt and was able to push on. I am sure the 485 miles the week prior had something to do with this. I am however a little disappointed that I felt good at the end. That’s a good thing, right? Well for the end goal yes, but I still had something to give, and I didn’t give it. It’s a good thing for a few more training races, I can search and see how deep I can go.

Overall, I am stoked at the way the race played out, and I am confident that I will be well prepared for what lies ahead. I want to take a moment to thank Christina Spurrier, Brad Hawk, and Garett Schreier for their support during the race. I want to thank Chuck Kyle for his mentorship and expertise leading up to the race. Finally, I want to thank all of the teammates out on course. It was great seeing so many smiling faces and to hear so much encouragement through the day.

Race Report – Masters National Cyclocross – Chris Spurrier

Toeing the Line at Master’s Nationals

 

Cyclocross started in the early 1900s in Europe by roadies training during winter. Riders would race from town to town, cutting through fields and fording streams. France hosted the first CX national championship race in 1902. Several decades later, CX leaped across the ocean with the first United States national championships in the 1960s.

 

More than 50 years later, CX Master’s Nationals found its way to Hartford, CT and KyleCoaching athlete, Chris Spurrier, toed the line in conditions that brought out everyone’s tough inner Belgium. Here is his race report….

 

Cyclocross is speed, agility, confidence, practice, and sometimes luck.  With all of these factors, anxiety easily builds, leading to lots of questions. Do I have the right tires? How much tire pressure? What about my gearing? Do I need knee warmers? Did I wash my hands after applying embro? Did I follow my training plan? Have I ridden in these conditions? Can I commit to that line?  When you are at the line, you have to have confidence in your training and your abilities. Once the whistle blows and these thoughts fade, you must embrace the culture that is CX and savor the experience of racing in winter with rain, mud, ice, snow, beer, heckling fans, and, if you are lucky, a guy riding a fat bike in a T-Rex suit.

 

This year I hired a coach and the changes to my fitness and confidence have been dramatic. I decided to try my hand at my first national championship race.  Two things to take out of this statement, hiring a coach makes a huge difference in how you approach every aspect of your sport, and going to a national event puts all of the aforementioned into a different perspective.  More importantly, you realize that you have the ability to go anywhere and do about anything.

 

Cyclocross nationals were held in Hartford Connecticut, and for the past three months, I was expecting to race in the snow.  My coach and I went through every aspect of my training plan to maximize both fitness and race experience. To race Masters, you have to be a Cat 3, so this quickly adjusted my goals during the regular season.  Not seeing a clear path racing in a very competitive field, I focused on singlespeed (SS), which is open to Cat 4s, and pushed my pre-season goal to upgrade from 4 to 3 until next season.  I entered more local SS events and really started enjoying it. The simplicity of the race and being connected to the course was ideal for someone who overthinks things.  The fields were different as well, racing against an open category of experienced and non-experienced riders.  In short, I was very pleased with this decision and am pretty well hooked on the SS racing.

 

As Masters Nats approached, I focused on analyzing the Nats course, and what I needed to do. My goals changed from wanting a top 50 position to just having fun and finishing laps.  Once at the venue, I learned one could pre-ride the course only during specific time periods. Given the weather, the course changed every few hours, so knowledge gained during the morning pre-ride may not translate to the afternoon. The race wasn’t going to be about gear choice, more about finding a line where you could put down some power.

 

I had a ton of support at the event, and eventually, I was settled in, pinned up, and heading to the line.  Even lining up in the 106th spot, they called me to the line and all of the sudden I realized I was at Nationals. I thought about the start, the first turn, the pits, the hills, the turns, everything. Oh, and the snow. Connecticut didn’t let me down… it was snowing hard.  Two minutes, toss my jacket off and then GO!  We all took off and all I could imagine as having to hit my brakes and sliding into 100 other people as we hit the first turn.

 

140 plus riders heading past the pits and taking the next left, several found the ruts and I took it wide with a few others, but somehow everyone stayed upright, and we stared right at Bonkbreaker hill.  I made it up the hill and was running the top line with half of the field as we started the twisty turny downhill, and that is when the slipping and sliding really started.  Once you began to slide, there was nowhere to go but down, and getting back up was nearly impossible.  We headed into the woods finding ruts and bouncing back and forth, but everyone was getting comfortable as we made it through the remainder of the course.  Several sections were iced over and just hard to find traction or footing as needed.  I recall going past a friend and yelling that I just wanted to stay off the F@@@@@@@ ground.

 

I wanted to put my training to use and in the end, just absorb the race and the experience.  Looking back it was really about the confidence the leaders had in riding the course and the elements.  I accomplished my goals. I experienced racing at the national level and mentally prepared myself for the next chapter in my racing life.

 

I really cannot express how much I appreciate the support network around me.  Hiring a coach was the first step to working on my goals.  Having a family that has allowed me to chase these goals is what makes this happen.  It boils down to having the right people in your life.  Turning 40 this week on top of all of this, I have realized I have the right people in my life and life is good. Thank you all.

Race Report: Bikenetic DirtyCrit (The Crit that wasn’t) – Chris Spurrier

August 27th, a typical warm day at the end of regular MABRA road race season.  Bikenetic is known for hosting the last cyclocross race of the year and this year they decided to try something new to close out the road season and bridge into the cyclocross.  This event proved to turn typical into the extraordinary, and that it was.

 

The format was crit racing on gravel at a farm in Virginia, what could go wrong with this? The format was enticing enough to bring out some of the local pros who for most of the race gave the moto (on a dirt bike) a run for their money.  We had the typical cyclocross crowd and quite a few roadies on regular road bikes.

 

A mixture of a cross, road, and commuter bikes toed the lines for each start.  I was an early register, so I got a call up for the 4/5 race.  Knowing I had a call-up I wanted to treat this race more than the C race my coach set it up for.  I wanted to “see what I had”, so much I slacked off a little after a harder weekend of training the week before.  Typically I would give up during a race and settle for chasing rabbits later in the race. After all, I was convinced I wasn’t going to do it; cx started in three weeks and I wanted to announce myself.

 

Typical warm-up getting my HR up and losing up the legs, chatting with a friend I hadn’t seen since last season and making sure the equipment was good.  I noticed my legs were tight but figured they would loosen up, or at least hope they would.  Finished my warm up a little early because I wasn’t missing my call-up and got to the line about 10 mins before my race.  We got our pre-race briefs and the call-ups start.  I found myself at the perfect spot on the line ready for great start with no huge obstacles for the fist 500ms.

 

Chris Spurrier
Chris at the Bikenetic DirtyCrit

“30 seconds to start,” I focus on my line and make sure I’m clipped in, press the start on the Garmin and GO!  I take off like a bat out of hell leading into the first turn with an 180HR and a field on my ass.  “Crap what am I doing this is a crit, not a cross race, there are no obstacle to put between me and the field”.  I settled down a few and was finally passed by the “roadies”.  I am holding my own in the top 5 for the second lap and them we got the 90 degree turns, a few bad choices and hard accelerations to stay up there took their toll and by the second lap I was in the top 15.

 

Going into the 4th lap I started to hurt, and worked hard to ignore this, by this time my teammate got up to me and told me to hop on and I followed through into the 5th lap and got cut off hard by someone who thought they had a line.  This settled me into the 20th place or so.

 

I worked here for 3 or 4 laps and soon the group I was with got “lapped” or so we thought and we hopped on their wheel.  This spiked the HR and power and the group I was with originally wimped back a few spots and settled back into our groove.  With 4 to go I am realizing my legs are feeling better (finally) and am starting to get pissed that I had not pushed hard enough and we started to pick the pace up.  I was also wanting to throw up thanks to the heat and trying to drink with gravel dust in my face and throat.

 

With two to go we started to get passed by again what I thought was 3-5th place (they weren’t) but we hopped on their wheel and the pace picked back up.  as we crossed the line with 1 to go I knew I wanted to make a move and leave it all on the line, but as we got closer it looked like the lap cards read 0.  I sprinted towards the line and everyone else followed, but no one eased up.  I asked if that was the finish, figuring 1st had lapped us.  Turned out that was not the case and I was now riding hard with the few that tried to pass us a lap earlier.

 

Now I knew this was the last lap and after the second turn we ramped it up and picked off a few lapped riders.  After the 3rd turn me and another guy took off to open a gap (racing our race of course) and we walked away.  As we made the final turn I saw the 200m sign and a lapped rider on the right.  They guy I was racing was on my wheel but was staying right so I scooted left and as we neared the lapped rider I moved towards the center to force the guy behind me to slow just a hair, and then I sprinted at the 100m sign.  In the end, I got him and it felt like a win, for 23rd place.

 

This was sketchy, fast, and fun as hell race. I went all in to push myself to hurt and not give up, dust covered and struggling to breathe I think I accomplished this. I felt as though I kept pushing until I couldn’t anymore, thanks to my training I found a reserve and had second chance to do something.  Really only two things I wish had gone differently.  I pre-rode the course but not at speed, had I done that I would have known my tire pressure was too high and I would have been able to keep the rear wheel on the ground.  The other would have been to be more confident in the turns, I race in the mud and on the gravel regularly but I was being way to conservative.

 

In the end cross is coming and I feel the strongest I have ever been, I cant wait, and I owe much of it to the coaching and support from my coach and teammates.