Nimby 50

[StephenU]

uh huh..  that's right!

[GinnySellars]

She's going to get used to popping champagne with BCBR coming up!!

[Andrew]

What an event!!!

The most technical of the XC endurance series, and better described as a really long all-mountain adventure. BIG drops, technical climbs, and more than enough opportunities to be scared witless.

The BPR crew made a really strong presence, with Schulzy at the top of the podium, and Mega-Wattster riding to a top 10 finish in his first official Elite race! Quail made the podium in his age-group, and I was really happy to finish more or less in one piece.

Majo and Sean did a great job finishing with smiles on their faces. The race was truly a feat of survival, but great preparation for BCBR and Xterra events that are on the horizon.

I would love to return one day without the pressure of racing, as the technical climbing and off-camber rooty trails were a really great workout, and much different than what we usually ride here in the Okanagan. The downhill portions were intense, and brought back memories of falling down the North Shore trails in my youth. I witnessed more than a few crashes, but watched others flow down the single track like they were on a smooth running rollercoaster. The Trek Superfly 29er I rode was the PERFECT bike for the long fire road climbs and rooty technical sections. It really impressed me on the steep descents, giving me traction that was better than I expected. I never felt out of control, but simply had good cause to be anxious due to the exposed rock and big drops. Certainly, I would have been more comfortable coming down on my Cannondale RZ120, but I never would have been competitive on that bike with the sustained logging road climbs.

Fueling was perfect, with Helena's help. She was standing in the feed zone, giving splits to the superstars ahead, and handing off the replacement bottles in perfect time. I managed with just two bottles of e-load and 2 e-gels. Good energy even on the final climbs, where I was catching many riders I thought I would never see again after the first rough drops.

Respiratory and Cardiac situations felt really well controlled, so the limitation here seemed purely coordination, bike-handling and leg strength. This will make for some relatively fun but challenging training sessions over the next few weeks.

The big surprise for me, and along with it, a boost in confidence, came when I realized I can race my hardtail even on challenging courses. I finished 5-10 minutes behind competitors that have whooped me in previous events, and who I respect a great deal for their fitness and skills. This bodes well for my prep for Xterra Canada in September, where I will be gunning for a spot on the start line in Maui.

Congrats once again to everyone who raced Nimby, but especially those that raised their game to the challenge, and but BPR colours on the podium again!

[StephenU]

With all the pre-race talk of expected carnage and disaster out on this 'XC' course I would be lying if I said I was not a little bit nervous.  Some people had said it was no problem and some said it was a borderline carnival act.  Well, let me tell you, it is on the edge of what you can categorize what a Cross Country mtn bike race is.  As Andrew mentioned, steep, rocky, drops, roots, rock faces, and pretty much anything you can think of..  All this would be tackled after the 101 switch back climb!

My Plan was to keep pace with Peter on the FSR climb and then hope to continue as we rolled the single track.  As the rae sped up, i lost contact with Peter as he powered away!  Peter had a minor crash and I did catch him on the singletrack, but, 20 seconds later, I crashed and dropped my chain and that was last I would see of Peter..  not to worry, there were plenty of fast guys to use pace me.

I had the eventual 2nd place rider in my age group from Team Whistler behind me for most of the switchback climb and he said he was content climbing at my speed.  I slipped up on a turn and he made his way past me and I had to let him go.  He would finish 6 minutes ahead of me at the end of the day..
The Trek Superfly 29er is amazing in that it can be ridden in such crazy terrain while also being fast on the climbs.  The big wheels give you confidence that you can handle pretty much any steep drop or line.  I don't see a need to ride anything other than a HT 29er!!

As Andrew mentioned in his post, I think one of my main limiters in this type of terrain is my leg strength.  I believe I am lacking that extra 30 watts needed to power up all the short, steep sections and as the day wore on, I was definately feeling my legs were giving out.  I do have fairly good co-ordination climbing technical sections, but, as I mentioned, power is the key here!  My resp and cardiac systems were doing fine.

-Fueling was perfect and Thanks to Halyna for handing me my second E-Load bottle that contained E-Fly and Endurance
-I supplemented with a caffiene loaded gel near the end to help me power my way home
-Cardiac system was ran @ averge 171, right around LBP
-A day later I determined my Resp system was not taxed by the Nimby as I was feeling GREAT at the Cobra Century..  I think that my lack of leg strength did not allow me tax the other systems to the max. 

I am very proud of the whole BPR team for tackling this beast of a course.. Thanks Jen for winning your race and sharing that Hungarian Champagne with us!!    BCBR should be a piece of cake after this one!!

The Quail

[Andrew]

I agree with your insights Quail. It would be hard to imagine your cardiorespiratory systems were taxed at Nimby given your performance at COBRA on Sunday. For those that didn't hear about that event, let me tell you it was something else! I don;t want to wreck the joy that Quail should enjoy when regaling us with the details, but the last I saw of him was a distant speck as we approached Foothills Road in Salmon Arm. He had ridden away solo before Silver Creek Store, and stayed away from a huge pack of riders for a 60km effort. It was a truly impressive performance!

[Andrew]

This guy does a WAY better job of describing this race!
And for all those that were heckling me about the "chubby" guy who crushed me...check out the photo of Mike Jones...former National downhill champion...look familiar?

http://www.pinkbike.com/news/Nimby-Fifty-2011.html

[Schulzy]

Yes, the Pink Bike article does a fantastic job of describing the Nimby Fifty!  Although mtb biking is an individual sport, I believe that the team support played a tremendous role in my success at this race. At the start of the race it was fun to share some nervous giggles with the crew! I rarely get nervous about technical terrain but the combination of some serious warnings about the course, my very low tolerance for ambiguity and an abundance of burly dudes in baggy shorts had me pacing around rather anxiously!

Race time: 2:53

Hr: avg-165, max -175 (current BP 164).

I strategically lined up right at the front of the mass of riders in order to avoid any sketchy action from the crazy mtn bikers during the rollout to the mountains (as it turns out the road section was considerably less sketchy than the first part of the century ride!).  I settled into a comfortable pace on the first fire road climb and was not feeling very 'zippy' as several riders (including some women) rode past me. I knew I was well rested for the event and had to tell myself that my legs will warm up and will feel great soon. I slowed down a little during the first single track section and was passed by several more riders on the next fire road section. By the time I hit the start of the 101 switchbacks I was a little frustrated about the congestion of riders but was able to settle into a good pace and rode most of the switchbacks smoothly. About half way up the climb I started to feel exceptionally good (legs felt great, I had an abundance of energy and was mentally super sharp!) At this point I was riding technically well on the wet roots and started passing several riders who kindly cheered me on and got out of Big Ring Schulzy’s way! By the end of the switchbacks, I was feeling awesome and managed to pass all the women ahead of me. In retrospect, my unintentional pacing during the first part of the switchbacks probably had a lot of impact on my entire race. I basically hammered for the rest of the race and tried to ride as smoothly as possible on the technical dh sections.  I was feeling confident about my skills on the downhill but definitely had to slow down several times in order to choose the smoothest and least treacherous lines.  This is definitely a course where a pre-ride of the dh sections would be advantageous. On the other hand, this race was great practice for BCBR where you have to race on unknown terrain for 7 days. I hammered right to the finish and made sure I kept “racing” the entire time.  

Although I rode well during the race, I truly learned more about the importance of the psychological aspects of racing. At the start of the race some of my teammates were making jokes about me winning the race. I dismissed all of these comments... until the Guardian challenged me with something like “why do you do all that training ”.  Well, this comment stuck with me throughout the entire race and I have been reflecting on it in the last few days.  Essentially, it doesn’t matter how physically fit you are...  you need just as much mental strength to stay focused,  be willing to suffer and believe in yourself!  I have learned that the race isn’t over until the finish line! It’s good to have a race plan BUT also as important to adapt to changes and challenges along the way. I have also questioned why I race so much harder when I am doing well vs accepting a ‘mediocre finish’ before the race is even over!!!  It also really helps to have the support of  the AWESOME  Balance Point Team!!!!!!!!!! Thanks everyone!

Jen

[Andrew]

You rode an inspired race, and it was great to see you have such a fantastic finish given the challenges you faced early in the day. I agree with you about the value of the team support, and the confidence that comes with knowing that you are not alone out there in the trails. I never got a chance to see Big Ring when she finally hit her stride, or Wattster and the Quail laying down the hammer. But knowing they were there, and having Halyna at the aid station was truly priceless. GO BPR!!!

[Majo]

Majo's Nimby Fifty race report

I seem to really struggle with going to bed when it is time to, as there is always something else to be done. I am shy to say that since the Salty Dog I only slept an average of 6.5h per night.  Also, the fun friend’s wedding the day before the race kept me out of bed for a bit.

Anyhow, the 8 hour sleep I got on Friday night was enough so I felt my legs strong during my warm up with breathing under control.  I started the race feeling like a super star.  

In the past years, I always felt the first road sections so discouraging as I would always end up at the end of the pack all out of breath and so physically tired: I didn’t know about warming up my respiratory system.  This Saturday, I was cruising comfortably in the 2/3 of the pack – this improvement was mentally relieving.  I felt very much in control climbing the first fire road, descending Radio Tower, and speeding away on the next flat gravel road to finally catch Happy Trail, the start of the 101 technical switchback climb.  So far, I was able to pass several bodies but not a ton.  I found myself in a nice spot climbing Happy Trail – I liked the pace and people behind me said liked it too.  I was a bit nervous as my last technical MTB ride I have done was last year Gear Jammer’s race, but to my surprise I climbed successfully all of what Happy Trail had to offer me.  

I believe I made my first mistake on the Waco Connector when I asked to pass and my chain sucked in as the guy wouldn’t move as soon as he said he would.  I had to stop and got panicked with all the folks that were passing me.  I tried to catch up my spot and I think that move just precariously raised my level of fatigue.

I felt okay for the first 1/3 of the Big Nimby climb until I crashed 5/8 up that steep switch back – so I went down the high hill side in slow motion admiring the nice blue sky…  My chain got stocked between the cassette and a spoke and it took me a few minutes to get it out.  Again, I was getting more worried as many people were passing by.  I got back riding but it was the weirdest thing as my brain would take suddenly F-O-R-E-V-E-R to tell my limbs what to do – I was just so sluggish...  But I quickly realised that trying too hard at that point and getting mad was just wearing me out even quicker.  So, I started to just chill out with the slower pace people, walking bits of trails here and there.  I was deep inside disappointed because I knew the difficulty of the trail was in the realm of what I was normally capable to handle.  And to top off my rapidly decreasing lack of confidence I managed to fly side way off my bike landing like I was just ready to pump 50 push ups.  My chain got stocked again behind the cassette and I needed several minutes to get in out.  Thank you to the “by-stander” that helped me out.  I remember I told him I was getting a bit angry as it was the fourth time I had a chain problem; so it occurred once more somewhere between my last crash and then.  Sooooo, several more racers passed by me while I was busy fixing up my chain AGAIN.  I thought it was a little too much when I was then following a guy with his radio playing music – he had it set up on his frame.

Anyhow, I got to the Parachute Launch and I thank my friend Terry, one of the organiser, for warning me of a time estimate for me to make it up there, so I was never discouraged of not being up there yet.  Ha-ha!  About 15 people were parked there and I just asked where the trail was going and kept on going.  Ba-Bye!  I was relieved to have a break of technical climbing and suddenly had a second wind.  I took advantage of that log road to drink and feed myself.  From there to the end of the race I think only a couple passed me while I also passed a couple.

Bon!  Enfin!  Some downhill :-) Youpi!   Overnight Sensation was brilliant!  I thank that guy that passed me just before, apparently, somewhere scary and dangerous I was aiming toward to.  He sneaked just in front of me and I saw him kind of wanting to stop but it looked like it was too late and he said: “HO my GOD!”.  He made it down the drop safely but I think he got pretty scared.  In the meantime I quickly looked for another passage on the left side: I taught that perhaps that guy saved me from a bad crash.  Like Jen, I opted for the friendlier lines but they were still challenging to me.  However, I was stoked to be feeling so confident, willing and aggressive during the whole downhill.  There was only one section that I had to dismount as I did not find any reasonable short cut for my level of readiness that day.   Having so much fun going down I was thinking that all the climbing effort was worth it.   My arms were just burning when I got out on the next gravel road.  I was so happy to see Helena: she passed me my bottle of Coke.  Oh yeah!  I was actually not counting on it anymore but thank you so much Helena for patiently waiting for me.

Sphincter and Econoline were somewhat annoying.  I kept thinking I was going the wrong way as I could tell those hilly sections would be so sweet coming down the other way around; they were too steep for me to pedal them up.  My right hand was not able anymore to grip the handle and push the bike up, so I leaned on my right forearm guiding my bike with my left hand.  My neck was too sore to keep my eyes to the top, so I rested my head on my right forearm. My left calf was getting really fatigued, so I was walked with my feet turned toward my left side.  To be honest, I was then questioning if I wanted to do that again next year.

No ERR was a bit teasing knowing I was looping around to come back to the same point again, but the descents over there made me smile wide and was back thinking that the climbing was worth the shot.

Ramble On.  The nice volunteer lady said it was all downhill from there, so to me it meant that I was near the end.  Youpi!  “I love mountain biking!”  Moby Dick.  Dark Forest.  Those were easy after all the rest behind me.  Making it to the gravel road, by the railway, all felt good zooming away on my big ring until my right Pectineus (I think) started to cramp on me.  Shoot.  I had no more eDiscs and I lost all my eCaps somewhere in the wood.  I spun on the middle ring to give it a break and did some functional STR and the cramp settled.  I got on the pavement and remembered some of what the BPR roadies said about drafting behind…  So I sprinted about 50 meters to catch the guy that just passed me while I was giving some love to my right Pectineus.  Then, I enjoyed the ride and the pull to the finish line.  But just to make it more fun I decided to take over him at the last second.  Terry came to me later and said: “You know Majo the guy you just passed at the finish line is my friend Dave, and he is also going to sleep over at my house tonight!”  But I gave Dave a high five at the finish line!  

My weaknesses were, I think, a combination of overall strength with an incomplete recovery of my neurological system that has been challenged a lot racing on a new bike at the Salty Dog 6 hour Enduro.  One would say I don’t need any more core strength, but I had unfortunately done no such training in the last 5 weeks and I definitely feel the loss and its translation into my MTB biking performance. I lost the read of the HR monitor for most of the race but I recall my HR was around 172 for the first half of the switchback climb, and about 159 later on No ERR.  My last LBP tested was 152.  Despite the HR numbers seemed high my cardiovascular system felt fine and ready to do more.  I think the overall effort involving all muscle groups cranked up my HR, but it is probably a good idea to get my LBP evaluated again.  My respiratory system felt great too, so focusing on slow and long abdominal exhalations in bike training, along with some Spirotiger training helped me enormously.  

My nutrition plan was hard to follow as there was little time I was able to free up one hand off the handle bar.  I drank 500 ml of water mixed with 75 KCal of eMend (that Andrew generously gave me), 1200 ml of water mixed with 180KCal of Heat Endurance and one can (355ml) of Coke (160Kcal).  Plus, I swallowed 2 eGels (80Kcal each) and around 4-5 eDiscs.  That comes to a rough total of 2L of liquid and 600 Kcal.  My race finish time was 4:03:48.2

I had a blast and I am looking forward to put myself trhough the challenge next year!  

Finally, I wish to thank Ginny and Andrew for all their precious support and advices; and thank all the BPR teammates for their encouragements!

Majo