Slobberknocker, Turkeys, and JMSR

I have done two races and been on one awesome turkey hunt since my last post so I have some ground to cover. I got a little carried away on my last post so I am going to try and condense a little with this one. The first of the two races was a really fun event right here in Central Arkansas called the Slobberknocker. It is a Mountain Bike event event but most of is on fire roads so it is perfect for a roadie. It took place this year on Saturday, April 21st,  on what was a very cool morning with not a cloud in the sky. Perfect conditions for suffering! I had to catch a flight to Kansas at 2:00 that afternoon for an annual family turkey hunt with my dad, my youngest son, John Collier, as well as my brother and his son. Given the logistics, I had to race the shorter of the two races which was 55 miles of hilly, rolling, classic Ozark Mountain terrain. Adding to the allure of the race this year was the fact that several of my childhood buddies were going to race. Dave Grundfest, David Snowden, Larry Carter, and Michael Lasiter all strapped on their helmets and let the dirt fly and the rubber roll in what turned out to be a really fun day for everyone (some might argue the definition). The longer race was 75 miles but we all started together with the short course racers making a different turn at mile 40 and heading back to the barn.

The first climb was only five miles from the start and is commonly referred to as "Thornburg". It is about two miles long and steep enough to break things up before the course turned off onto the dirt. As we hit the base of the climb I was sitting second wheel and looked behind to see over 100 riders starting to string out down the hill. My goal was simply to be with the front group at the top but I had no idea how many there might be. The guy setting the pace was going hard and I never got out of the big ring in order to keep up. At the top there were seven riders left and we began to work together to open our gap further. At mile 35 after several climbs we hit the first technical section and I was a little nervous about getting dropped by all the mountain bikers since my technical skills are a bit rusty at best. I guess it got my adrenalin going because I slowly began to ride away from the group. In all fairness, however, they were probably not worried about me as I had shared with all of them I was racing the short course and they were all racing the long one. I hit the check point at mile 40 with about a one minute advantage and soloed in to finish in 3:28. My buddies all finished shortly thereafter with very impressive times. All of them placed well in our advanced age group! David Snowden even won the 50+ category for the short course race. After I finished, I grabbed some schwag that was on offer then headed to the car for a quick change, then I was off to the airport for four days of turkey hunting!

My son, John Collier is only 10 years old but is already an avid hunter. He killed his first Gobbler on the second day of our trip on what was a memorable experience for both of us. We called the bird in ourselves, without a guide, and John Collier made a perfect shot for a clean kill. He was beside himself and could not wait to share the news with his ten year old cousin, Silas. The weekend could have ended right then and there and it would have been top five, but it got even better when I was able to take my biggest bird ever. The cream on top is that three generations of East were all together making and sharing lasting memories. We came back to Little Rock on Tuesday and I had to figure out how to lose the 5 lbs. I had gained on the hunting trip by the following Saturday which is when the Joe Martin Stage Race was to begin for all amateur racers.

Evan and Dustin after the Podium ceremony.

The JMSR, as it commonly reffered, is one of the biggest stage races in the country each year with all categories well represented. This year, I would be racing the Masters A Race in the 40+ division and Evan East would be racing the Cat 4 race. The first stage is a horrible Time Trial that ascends into hell as you climb 2.5 miles to the finish racing against the clock. I simply cannot get my body to cooperate with the effort and guys that I can ride away from in races beat me like a yard dog in the TT. Evan, however, thrives in such horrible conditions and stomped the TT with a time that was good enough to put him in 2nd place going into the next event which was a 50 mile road race for him and a 69 mile road race for my group. I, unfortunately, was starting my road race in 14th place due to my dismal performance in the TT and I was itching to take out my frustration in the road race by trying to bend the cranks on my bike! Around mile 30 I got away in a "doomed from the beginning" solo move that saw me gain about a minute on the field at one point. My whole goal was to get to the big climb first in order to be able to take it easy up the climb and hopefully hook up with a small group that made it to the top first. Unfortunately, I got caught right at the base and suffered like a madman to stay with the leaders up the climb. Cramps came soon thereafter and I began to wonder if I could even finish, much less stay with the front group. We had already shelled over half of our field and I was glad to see JD still with the front group and looking strong. I, on the other hand, was looking anything but strong and drifted to the back to try and stretch out my cramps. One of the other "crampers" offered me some Enduralytes which I gladly consumed and then prayed for relief from what has plagued me all season. I must say, however, that on this occasion, I may have earned my cramps with my little 10 mile time trial effort that saw me go nowhere fast. Fortunately, the cramps did begin to subside enough for me to hang on, and even enough to get back toward the front of the group. Three cheers for Enduralytes!!! As we neared the finish there were several of the usual attacks from the guys that can't sprint that took a toll on all of us fighting cramps, and at that time that would be most of us. All the attacks were covered and as we neared the 200 meters to go sign I accelerated hard and got a nice gap that was enough to win the road race. I wish I could say I knew I would win it but I have never been more surprised to win a race considering how I felt with 20 miles to go. The good news was that my teammate, Frank, got a pack finish and held onto his 3rd place in GC. Evan also finished with a pack time in his road race and held on to second place GC. I moved up to 7th place GC as we had dropped several guys that had beat me in the TT.

Sprinting for USED tires!

Evan's 2nd Place

The next day was the criterium and I must admit that is where I am most comfortable. I like it fast, short, and technical. Our crit was only 45 minutes long and on a fairly technical course with a short but steep climb to the finish line and a fast descent on the back side with a 90 degree corner right at the bottom of Dickson Street. It makes for a very difficult, kind of scary course. As the race got under way I was never further back than fourth or fifth wheel and felt really good for the entire race. I even sprinted for a $50.00 prime that was on offer and nobody else even contested it. I also sprinted for a "merchandise prime" that ended up being a pair of USED Vittoria Clincher tires. They were white and very dirty with most of the tread completely worn off. Really? I handed the tires back and the nice lady gave me some butt butter instead. Bruce Dunn may get an email on that one, but that's another story! :-) As we started counting down with three laps to go my teammate, Frank, went to the front to hold the pace high in order to discourage attacks. He rode the perfect lead out as there were no attacks until about 400 meters to go. I was able to easily jump to the wheel of the attacker and sit until 250 to go when I launched my sprint. Going into the last corner I already had  a winning gap with only 100 or so to go before the finish. The win felt good but it is very frustrating to win the road race and the crit and only get 6th place in GC. Such is the life of a sprinter. Frank held his 3rd place GC so the team id well.

 Evan was able to defend his 2nd place with another good finish in the crit and stood on the podium for the second year in a row at one of the biggest races in the country. Dustin and I were very proud of him and I think he was also happy, although, I know he really wanted to win it. Evan has moved up to Cat 3 after his Joe Martin performance and will now be on the receiving end of what he has been dishing out this year. One thing I have learned in life is that no matter how accomplished you are at any given talent, there is always somebody better! So enjoy the journey because you might not even like the destination! Thanks for reading.