Sorry, I never saw your questions as I’m not on here that much.
Tires - I ran a Racing Ralph up front, 2.25 and a Mezcal 2.25 rear. They both worked fine.
W/Kg at the time I was about 2.8 and I ran just over 12 hours, 12:03.
1 Like
Hi everyone, figured I’d report back on how 2022 went in case someone is looking for info in the future. So long recap post to follow that hopefully someone finds useful in the coming years.
Note I was going in as a marathon rookie vs. an experienced racer. My goal was to finish and enjoy it enough that I would want to do it, or something similar, again. Goal achieved!
Numbers (metric and rounded)
Distance: 160 km
Elevation: 2850m
Heat: 30c+ in the afternoon. Started out cool, got really really hot.
FTP 310 w
Weight 85 kg
W/kg 3.65
Age: 50
Time: 10:17 race time. Right around 16 km/h. Biking time was 10:02
Place: 27th in the 50+ division, maybe 70+ riders? I was in this to finish, not place, but there you go.
Due to a heavy snow fall year there was less climbing in 2022 than normal. Talking to people who have done this multiple times the course and times were faster then in previous years.
Setup
Yeti SB100
Ardent Race
Trails:
So good. Smooth, flowy and super fun. There are a few rock gardens that have derailleur rippers you need to be careful on, but other than that it was just a good time.
As context I am from Vancouver Island in BC. So my riding consists of local VI trails, North Shore, Whistler, Squamish etc. I hit more roots in the first few km of a local ride then I did in the first 80 km of this event. I would have no issues riding a gravel bike on 99% of the HC trails. Don’t get me wrong, a full suspension MB was the right call, but the trails were not technical or physical and I loved every moment of them.
Tires worked great. At home I run Minions and have never run an XC tire before. But they rolled fine and I had no issues with grip in the corners. The trails and berms are loose, bordering on sandy, but the side knobs dug in and I never felt like I was on the edge of traction.
Nutrition
1 x maurten 320 every hour, 1 x maurten gel every hour (few misses), 250 mg x electrolyte tab every hour (few misses) and 4 mini cokes.
Historically I’m prone to gut issues on longer hot rides. I switched to Maurten for this event and have been using it in training for the last 6 months. It worked great, no gut discomfort or anything like that. If I did this again (hoping to) I’d tweak things so I could be faster in the transitions as I feel like I wasted 15 minutes or so there. But for my first time doing something like this couldn’t have been happier with how my nutrition went.
Training
Our family downhill skis Dec - April. Like the majority of people on this forum, I have a busy high stress job, kids and other obligations. This means I’m lucky to ride 3 - 4 hours/week in the winter. I used train now and tried to do one 75-90 minute ride per week. I also did 3 or 4x 15 minute yoga/core sessions per week and some bodyweight stuff. I’m getting older and stiffer, so mobility and strength makes a huge difference for me when MB (and skiing!).
Once skiing ended I became more structured and was riding in the 8 -10 h/week range. Generally 2 trainer sessions for intervals, a longer weekend ride on either the MB or gravel bike, and some fun technical rides. I did not use a TR training plan, but if I had I would have chosen a LV plan and added in one long zone 2 ride and 1 or 2 technical rides.
Only had about 3 rides over 4 hours before the event with the longest one being a 5 hour gravel race. That was not by design, that is just the way life unfolded. I did get lots of rides in the 2- 3 hour range.
Not having many long rides concerned me going into the event. But during training I focused on consistency and subscribed to the ‘something is better than nothing’ motto when I changed a workout around because of life demands. That mindset kept me positive and on track and I think made a difference even without getting those long rides in. (see issues though)
Issues
Hands and feet.
Wrists and hands got really sore. Think I need to tweak my bike position and get cushier grips.
Feet - had some brutal hot spots . Honestly thought my foot was going to be a bloody mess when I took my sock off at the end. Imagine my surprise when nothing that noticeable, just hurt like a @!#$
Had I gotten in my planned long training rides, I think I would have identified and dealt with these before the event. Both issues kicked in around the 7 hour mark. I think they are manageable , just didn’t have the knowledge the first time around.
All in all this was an amazing event, really well run, amazing trails and I had an awesome time. Life logistics aside I would to it again in a heartbeat.
Cheers
3 Likes
You beat me by 41min.
I rode my Pivot Switchblade with Nobby Nic & Rock Razor f&b. FTP 265W, 52 yrs, 83 kg here with same goal to just finish.
2022’s course stayed at lower altitude because of late snow but still added up to 9000’ of climbing which is typical for this race. The difference is that in 2022 we didn’t have much riding > ~6000’ of altitude . Also we didn’t go up Kwohl butte like in 2020 (baby volcano with 15% grade) so it was a faster course.
For me the crux was the 16km climb after Aid #3 (Skyliner TH) : steep, hot in the mid 30 C’s and by that time, you have >100km in the legs. You ?
1 Like
After Aid #3 - 100% agree, that was the hardest part for me. Also the one section I wish I had course knowledge of beforehand. I backed off a lot there because I was worried about blowing up and had no idea when it would stop. But while it was grueling, it wasn’t quite as long as I was expecting. But whatever, maybe I’m 3 minutes faster and still in 27th 
Love the trails, was literally giggling during parts of the ride. Trying to see if I can get back there in Sept for the 100km version.
1 Like
I’m local and that 16km was brutal. Maybe if i had 4W/kg, that section would feel different. I had to hike a bike the steepest parts. I had frozen solid hydrapaks at the 3 aid stations to cool off and hydrate. That was critical for me to finish.
We went through lots of single tracks this year and i always smile when i go down Tylers, UpperWhoops and Tiddlywinks (I wonder if anyone risked getting some air on those jumps after 80miles of pedaling).
Ring of Fire in Sept will use an even nicer trail: Flagline. It’s in old growth forest with nice views and only opens up mid-August to protect the elk population. It won’t be more technical that what you’ve seen at HC 100 but it can be just as hot. I did it in '21 and signed up for this year too.
Ping me if you decide to sign up.
2 Likes
Tylers I loved and that first trail we hit (Din-ah-moh (sp?)) gave me confidence that the trails weren’t going to beat me up to badly. I loved that for long sections of trail I didn’t have to be on the brakes and yet didn’t have to pedal to carry speed. Up here the descents are often more physical then the climbs (usually I get a higher HR on the descents), so just fun to ride a very different style of trail.
Tiddlywinks was awesome, but my hands were going by that point so kept it pretty tame through there.
Ring of Fire sounds amazing. Will definitely reach out if I can make it, have a few buddies who are all potentially interested.
Most trails in Bend & Sisters are flowy. Dinah-moe-humm is a good example. There’s not much very steep (up or down). In hc100, we went through 3 of the local jumpy trails but we didn’t touch a fun one called Lower Whoops.
How much time is it taking you to recover?
I had to bail out of a threshold wo Sunday but then was able to do a short VO2 max. It seems my battery is shallow / not fully recharged a week after.
Hi Asteryx, myself and a few buddies are coming back for the Ring of Fire in a few weeks. Any inside scoops about the course or current riding conditions you have are welcome! Looking forward to it!
Cheers
1 Like
Cool! I’m signed up for it as well.
I did Flagline the week it opened (mid Aug) and it was in good conditions.
There’s not much moon dust this year since we had an extra 2 months of winter in Bend.
Hopefully it will cool off by then.
THe singletrack to recon/practice on is:
- from Dutchman TH up to Flagline and then Flagline itself
- upper Tiddlywinks which will be our last stretch ( we’ll be going against the typical direction people use so something to be careful about at the end of the race) .
That’s what i can think of. Anything specific you want to know ?
1 Like
Good stuff, glad to hear things are in good condition. Was upper Tiddlywinks the one with all the derailleur ripper rocks?
yep. There are some tall rocks in the rock gardens. I just walk those.
1 Like
I rode part of the course today: a good portion of what’s below Century drive.
Those single tracks (Dinah Moo Hum, Kiwa, upper Tiddlywinks) were in good shape, loamy and without sandpits.
Some flat portions of the fireroads early on have an inch of sand so i needed to pay attention and pick a path on firmer ground. My front tire is a Nobby Nic and it was ok.
One gotcha I’ll be careful on race day is the first mile.
It begins with a sharp but brief uphill (not long enough to spread the field)
then it goes into a fast downhill ( I reached 50 km/h without trying) and then
at 1.3km there’s a 90 degrees sandy turn into a fireroad.
If there’s a pileup on race day, it will be there, in that sandpit.
Also given we’re discussing Ring of Fire 2022, maybe @mcneese.chad could make this into another thread? (pretty please)
1 Like
That is great info and at least four Canadians appreciate this update, thanks! Question on the Flagline trail, Mike Ripley’s email made it sound like it’s a sketchy trail, or at least has some sketchy parts. Any guidance on this one?
Flagline is not technical. No need to be expert to ride this. It has a handful of sketchy spots like big rocks or rock gardens - each have an easy way to avoid it / roll around. Unlike Tiddlywinks or Tyler’s, these rock gardens won’t rip your rear mech.
The worse one is a sudden very big (4-5’ ?? ) drop off a big rock. You don’t see it much until you’re quite close. First time, i rode Flagline there were riders chilling on top. i saw them before i realized there was a drop. Mike marked it with danger signs last year. I’ve always rolled around it. He’s warning riders because if you come up to it at full speed not looking ahead, ( ignoring signs, gasping for air at 7000’ in zombie mode while reaching for your water bottle) there could be quite a oups moment there and it’s about as remote from a road as we’ll get on race day.
You should make it your #1 trail to go recon : park at Dutchman TH in from of ski station and loop it ( 90min at my slow speed).
2nd reason is that it’s a beautiful trail in old growth forest open only about 2-3months/year.
1 Like
Where from in Canada?
I’m Canadian too and just visited Penticton BC and Banff.
1 Like
Good stuff, thanks again!
3 of the guys are from Vancouver, I live on Vancouver Island now. Penticton is awesome, but man it must have been hot while you where there (of course, if you are used to Bend heat you were probably cold )
I was there for IM Canada. It wasn’t hot on race day: garmin say 27C
MTB’ng in Bend, i try to stay in shaded trails and higher elevations if it’s hot.
i hope that over time the race calendar avoid July and Aug. I don’t want race at > 30C anymore
HC100 would be so much more fun in Oct!! (even if it snows)
1 Like
Hmmm, doesn’t like like this event will be a go based on Mike Ripley’s email. Hope you are safe and the fires aren’t that bad around where you live.
Yep. I’m in mourning for missing this race…
As for safety , the fire edge is 90minutes by car away so the issue is the smoke which finally cleared enough tonight i could ride outside.
Those 1200 firefighters + gear need the parking lots and road access.
FYI. it rained, smoke is gone (for now given wind directions), temps are cool & awesome,…
we may not be able to race (because fire fighters need the parking space) but the riding is quite nice right now.
1 Like