The Eager Beaver is Canada's only 100 mile mountain bike
race. It is held in Mansfield, a fun, technical place to ride if not for
the geographical moraine...which means plenty of sand...adding to the challenge
(means make it tough as heck!!). I prefer my sand with bikinis and rum
(no I don't were a bikini...in public).
We actually left Friday to camp on-site at Mansfield, race
Saturday, return home Sunday. The group of friends that travelled and
camped together included me, Fig, EnglishJim, Jamie, and Giant. Jamie and
Fig were to travel with me but once I picked up Fig, and he loaded my truck
with half the contents of his house, and three fridges worth of food, wasn't
sure we would have enough room for Jamie. Did manage to squeeze him in
then meet with Giant and Jim and off we were.
We got to Mansfield early enough to get in a nice pre-ride
of about 10km of the course. From what we could see it was challenging
but a great amount of fun. And the sandy bits added to the challenge.
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Race time was 7am Saturday morning. As we were making
final preparations and making our way to the paddock, Giant's rear wheel blew
out its valve spewing air and Stan's fluid (Giant's real name is 'Flat'...cuz
he always gets one). Dan Marshall, race director/promoter actually
delayed the start enough to let Giant repair (only took about 5 minutes).
Eventually, start time, and we were off. The race
course was something like this...a 53 kilometre loop done 3 times to make 160
kms = 100 miles. There was also an 80 km option that started later at feed station 2, and this is what race Jamie opted for. The start of the 100 miler led into a long double track leafy climb, into
a double track flat, then into a twisty bit through the pines. This pine
section may have been my least favourite part of the course...it was what
appeared to be a new rough hewn trail with perfectly wheel spaced holes that
sucked momentum and hindered any attempt at speed...like I needed any help being
slow. Most of the climbs came in the first section of the course...a
couple of long sandy double track climbs, and sandy technical single track
climbs. Notice the repeating theme of sand...Mansfield is known for
it...it adds to the challenge, and adds to the need to pace your endurance/energy
expenditure (at least for an old, fat guy...).
One of my favourite parts of the course came immediately
after feed station 2...a 150 meter fire-road descent into what appeared to be
an unrideable perpendicular wall...(there was an around)...that if you
approached with speed your momentum would carry you to the top with nary a
pedal stroke, into a fun bit of twisty single track. Then this single
track dumped out onto a sandy fire road climb...this climb got progressively steeper
as you got to the top, and ended in a very steep left switchback, testing power
and endurance. Then from this point most of the course was flat, or
descents including some fun small drops that gave an opportunity to catch some
air...and fun steep rooty climbing, and descending switchbacks.
The ending of the course included a long fire-road descent
that gave you the opportunity to gain a lot of speed if you dared to take the
chance on sandy curves...the descent ending in a deep bed of sand...right curve
into a 500 meter double-track false-flat/slight climb into the finish line;
then do it all over again.
The race started with a handful of riders pulling
away...throughout the course of the day, I caught and passed a couple of
riders, and got caught and passed by a couple of riders. However, for the
entire race, Fig and I battled it out back and forth. I would pull away,
and he would catch me...then he would pull away and I would catch him.
His transition times at feed stations were faster than mine giving him a
chance to pull ahead, however I had to stop with less frequency as he only had
one water bottle, and I had a 3 litre camelback. This little competition
made us faster...always going at race pace...no time to get dopey, space out, and
just ride to finish. And kudos to SingleSpeedSarah, who battled with us
for more than the first two laps, then dropped us at feed station one when we
stopped to refill our fluids...and we never did catch her again. Ah
well...I am used to women running away from me...
Anyways, Fig and I kept at it, till the final fire-road
descent where Fig chose to let it hang, and take the chance on taking the sandy
curves at speed...where my crashes this year (and my age and lengthy time to
recover) made me cautious, feathering the brakes to negotiate the sand safely.
When I hit the sand bed at the bottom of the descent I looked up, and Fig
was about 75 metres ahead of me into the double track...I pounded it to catch
him into the final sprint to the finish (as much as one can pound it after 159
kilometres and 9+ hours of riding...I'm sure we were going about 8 km/hr).
This is the actual pic of me trying to catch him...
I gained but I couldn't quite catch...he beat me by 2 seconds (Figs time = 9hrs49mins25sec; my time = 9:49:27)...and upon stopping
everything locked up...I fell to the ground in quad locking pain!
This is Fig at the finish...
All finishers
were awarded with an EB100 mug and beverage to fill it with...so we quickly
recovered to enjoy.
Yup...that is certainly helmet hair.
Jamie (who raced the 80km option), and EnglishJim (who
managed two laps) were at the finish waiting for us...and Giant rolled in a
little later completing his first 100 miler. This is Giant (his nickname is not a result of his size...)
By the way, many of these pics are courtesy of dirtwire.tv. You can check them out here
Overall, it was a great weekend, spent with great friends
doing something we all love. I came in second in my age category (does it
matter there were only 3 of us??). Fig is 45 years younger than me and is
in a younger category, but we have our 'friendly' rivalry. I pushed
myself to the limit, thanks to Fig's stubbornness...just as it should be (although I hurt for two days afterward).
And, as always, Dan Marshall (SubstanceProjects) put on an awesome
race...the weather was perfect, the course was huge challenging fun and
Dan's events always promote a casual positive atmosphere. I wish more
riders would get out and support and enjoy his events.
What is next on the race sched? The Garden City
Classic on Sept 15th. Otherwise, making a life, making a living, and in between that riding,
training. Till then...
Stay posted!!
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