Hi everyone,
Just wanted to post the endurance race schedule that I am planning on doing this season. I would like to encourage anyone and everyone who is interested to come out and play in some of the longest and most exciting mountain bike races in the World.
You see, racing for 4 or more hours is not only about being on your bike for a really really long time, but it is also about exploration, in every sense of the word.
Exploring the outdoors is something that most people will never get to do in their entire lives. We now have the option to sit at home on a couch, or at a computer and watch our lives pass us by. The point is, we don't need go out into the wilderness at all if we choose not to.
To me there is no greater feeling than to be on my bike, 7 hours into a race, be feeling strong, fit, happy, euphoric, and completely as ease with the world around me. To some people being on a mountain bike for such a long time might sound miserable, but I have learned a lot from being on my bike for hours on end. Besides spending time with my wife and my family, there is no where else I would rather be than riding my bike all day long.
That is precisely the reason that I have decided to race as many long races as my schedule will allow this year. The schedule is as Follows:
1. 4/19 Cohutta 100 Tennessee
2. 6/7 Mohican 100 Ohio
3. 6/14 Lumerjack 100 Michigan
4. 7/26 Wilderness 101 P.A.
5. 8/16 Fools Gold 100 Georgia
6. 8/31 Shenandoah 100 Virginia
These races are part of a 100 mile race series called the NUE series. It is a point series of 8 races and it takes your 4 best finishes toward the final number of points. Last year I did 2 races and actually placed in the top 50, so hopefully by completing six races I can do a lot better.
I am also planning on doing a few stage races. A stage race for those who are unfamiliar, is a race that is more than one day and can also incorporate different types of bicycle racing in some circumstances. The first one will be sometime in June. It is called the Tour De Burg and is located in Harrisonburg Virginia. It is a very low key event that is also low cost and not totally organized from what I understand. However, it is supposed to be a lot of fun and extremely difficult. All of the best riders from that general area and many from the rest of the east coast come out to play and it is supposed to be very difficult to hang with the pack. It is an on road/off road event that takes place over 6 days in June. The climbing is supposed to be brutal and the stages vary from a very short up hill, then down hill prologue to 100 mile road or mountain bike days. It should be very interesting, challenging and fun.
The next race that I am planning on in in October and is called "El Reto De Quetzal" or The Challenge of the Quetzal. It takes place in Guatemala, a country that I have visited before and is known for it's huge mountains and very rough terraine. It is a two person partner race and T.C. Crawford, the manager of our Hackettstown store will be my race partner.
The third stage race that I would like to do this year is "La Ruta de Los Conquistadores" or The Route of the Conquistadores. This race takes place in Costa Rica and it will be my third attempt at this event. I completed it in 2005 with T.C. and in 2006 I had some logistical problems and was not able to finish. However, this year I am going back with a vengeance and hope to have a lot of fun and no crashing of any support vehicles.
So, there you have it, my very extensive and expensive race schedule for 2008. I may not be able to commit to all of these races, as I do have a job and a wife, but these are the ones that I would like to shoot for. I will also throw in a few of the h2h series races as well as some other semi-local races. I will keep you all posted, and if anyone would like to accompany me on any of these adventures please e-mail me at jesse@martysreliable.com See you at the shop or on one of our rides or maybe in Guatemala!
--Jesse
To me there is no greater feeling than to be on my bike, 7 hours into a race, be feeling strong, fit, happy, euphoric, and completely as ease with the world around me. To some people being on a mountain bike for such a long time might sound miserable, but I have learned a lot from being on my bike for hours on end. Besides spending time with my wife and my family, there is no where else I would rather be than riding my bike all day long.
That is precisely the reason that I have decided to race as many long races as my schedule will allow this year. The schedule is as Follows:
1. 4/19 Cohutta 100 Tennessee
2. 6/7 Mohican 100 Ohio
3. 6/14 Lumerjack 100 Michigan
4. 7/26 Wilderness 101 P.A.
5. 8/16 Fools Gold 100 Georgia
6. 8/31 Shenandoah 100 Virginia
These races are part of a 100 mile race series called the NUE series. It is a point series of 8 races and it takes your 4 best finishes toward the final number of points. Last year I did 2 races and actually placed in the top 50, so hopefully by completing six races I can do a lot better.
I am also planning on doing a few stage races. A stage race for those who are unfamiliar, is a race that is more than one day and can also incorporate different types of bicycle racing in some circumstances. The first one will be sometime in June. It is called the Tour De Burg and is located in Harrisonburg Virginia. It is a very low key event that is also low cost and not totally organized from what I understand. However, it is supposed to be a lot of fun and extremely difficult. All of the best riders from that general area and many from the rest of the east coast come out to play and it is supposed to be very difficult to hang with the pack. It is an on road/off road event that takes place over 6 days in June. The climbing is supposed to be brutal and the stages vary from a very short up hill, then down hill prologue to 100 mile road or mountain bike days. It should be very interesting, challenging and fun.
The next race that I am planning on in in October and is called "El Reto De Quetzal" or The Challenge of the Quetzal. It takes place in Guatemala, a country that I have visited before and is known for it's huge mountains and very rough terraine. It is a two person partner race and T.C. Crawford, the manager of our Hackettstown store will be my race partner.
The third stage race that I would like to do this year is "La Ruta de Los Conquistadores" or The Route of the Conquistadores. This race takes place in Costa Rica and it will be my third attempt at this event. I completed it in 2005 with T.C. and in 2006 I had some logistical problems and was not able to finish. However, this year I am going back with a vengeance and hope to have a lot of fun and no crashing of any support vehicles.
So, there you have it, my very extensive and expensive race schedule for 2008. I may not be able to commit to all of these races, as I do have a job and a wife, but these are the ones that I would like to shoot for. I will also throw in a few of the h2h series races as well as some other semi-local races. I will keep you all posted, and if anyone would like to accompany me on any of these adventures please e-mail me at jesse@martysreliable.com See you at the shop or on one of our rides or maybe in Guatemala!
--Jesse
