This was my 3rd stage race now and the one really consistent thing is that stage racing is hard, it hurts, and is really a tough way to race. There will probably be a day that you want to quit, where nothing feels like it’s going right and you wonder what it is that you’re doing out there. That feeling will be replaced on that last day when you’re coming to the finish line. It’s not only tough on me but its hard work for the whole family. Katie has been really supportive through all 3 of the races I’ve done and I really appreciate that because that support doesn’t come without some hard work on her part as well. Also, trying to take these on without full support from Katie would be pretty tough and near impossible. 

This year I had hoped to be more physically prepared than I was last year, unfortunately due to some major events in our family life I missed out on some fairly critical training weeks. I substituted with workouts when I could while still attending to the more important aspects of life but this meant a lot of time on the trainer or the allroad bike. These things are great for leg strength and my psyche but don’t do near as much for you in the way of the full body strength/Pisgah bike strength.

Riding a single speed in Pisgah is an extremely physical activity, it requires a lot more than just pedaling strength. Just getting through the day engages so much more than just the legs and there is really no substitute for just spending time on that bike in the rough terrain. I think the overall physical nature of the riding just wore me down. That is just how it goes sometimes though.

My bike did stay together this year and honestly worked really well the whole race. I really didn’t have to do much in the way of maintenance or work all week. I just washed it every night, looked it over, lubed the chain, and checked air pressure in the tires. I did manage to put some new scratches/dents on the frame in a few of the crashes I took on Thursday. This frame is probably a forever frame for me anyhow though so those things aren’t that big of an issue. The gearing worked out as well as a single speed gear can I think.

This year I think I handled my on bike nutrition and general race prep pretty well. The only day where I feel like I didn’t stick to my plan well was Day 2 on Squirrel and that was just my mistake for not forcing more drinking in the technical terrain. My combination of the Carborocket and some homemade bars worked out well and kept my stomach pretty happy and my energy levels fairly consistent.

It’s hard to say enough about the race itself, it is really well run and makes things pretty easy. The dinners every night are actually really good food and other than the first night the dinners went smoothly. We actually got a 2nd meal ticket so Katie and the kids could just come up to the race to eat dinner, which saved us from having to deal with making dinner at home for the rest of the family. This turned out to be a minor headache since now we had to wrangle 2 kids but all and all I think it worked out for the best and minimized some of the work that needed to be done at home.

The courses for the week really do hit so many of the highlights in Pisgah, which has some absolutely amazing bike riding available. The days are pretty tough but with the way they are set up they are all pretty manageable. With the physical nature of the riding I think if the days were much longer it would really take a toll on a lot of the field. It really is a great guided tour of some of the best Pisgah has to offer. If you’re on the fence about doing a stage race, this is a great one to get started with, registration for next year opens in June I think, get over to Blue Ridge Adventures and sign up, you won’t regret it.

I think I said this last year but one of the really cool things about this race in particular is how everyone comes back together in the evenings for dinner. Since so many people finish so far apart you don’t necessarily get to talk to too many people right after the race. So it’s a lot of fun to get back together in the evening and see how people’s day’s went, what they thought of the course, how they’re getting ready for the next day, etc. I don’t get to ride with other people all that often so it’s a lot of fun when I do.

It’s also really impressive to see how everyone else takes on these challenges. The variety of people lining up for this race is wide and everyone has a story. It’s also interesting to me at times to find that the largest class tends to be the Masters Men (40+), there is probably good reason for this when you think about what it takes to be able to race for a week. The duo field always looks like folks are having fun particularly the co-ed duo, one day I’ll talk Katie into doing this with me (talk about a marriage test).

I have a pretty full and fulfilling life outside of bike riding/racing so in all honesty just having the opportunity to get out to events like this one and being able to participate at a relatively high level is pretty amazing. It’s something that I try really hard not to take for granted. When I talk with other people my age with two kids the first thing I usually realize is that I’m really fortunate to have the situation I do and I have a lot of people to thank for that. None of my shenanigans could happen without Katie, however reluctant she might be at times, she’s always pushing me. I’ve had some great help from the best Bike shop in Brevard, Sycamore Cycles. It would be hard not to mention New River Bikes in Fayetteville, WV, who really kindled this passion for bike riding a few years back now, they continue to be a big help.