Rebecca Rusch wins the 2009 Leadville 100

Back in September I got a chance to chat with 2009 Leadville winner and 2-time 24 Hour Solo World Champion Rebecca Rusch about racing, training, and mountain bike trails. Meeting Rusch for the first time I was instantly struck by how friendly she comes across despite being such a fierce competitor on the racecourse. A cool confidence seems to underlie everything she says and her enthusiasm for mountain biking is seriously contagious.

Rusch tells me she got into mountain biking through adventure racing several years ago, though MTB wasn’t exactly her favorite part of racing. After winning a qualifying race for the Australian Eco-challenge in 2001, Rusch quit her job and decided to go pro. In the beginning she says she wasn’t great at mountain biking (hard to believe) but ended up doing well at 24 Hours of Moab so she stuck with it.  At age 40 she’s in top mountain bike racing shape and in her first Leadville 100 appearance she proved it, coming in a full 25 minutes ahead of the second place woman. For those who got a chance to watch “Race Across the Sky” last month, you’ll remember Rusch saying she had no idea how she was doing during the race so she just pretended every rider in front of her was a woman she needed to catch. Talk about determination.

As a 24 Hour Solo champion, 100-mile race winner, and MTB stage racer I asked Rusch if she thought the trend toward longer, more extreme mountain bike races would continue.

“Limits are where we put them,” she replied, as naturally as if I’d asked her favorite color. Races like Leadville and stage racing are becoming more accessible to amateur competitors, allowing anyone to push their limits and Rusch sees that trend continuing for the next several years.

Of course to be competitive in mountain biking it’s super important to use the most effective training tools available. I asked Rusch how she was using technology to boost performance and she surprised me by saying she only recently started tracking cycling power data this year. More important than geeking out with measurements and computers, she says training is all about listening to your body and enjoying the ride. If only it were that easy for the rest of us…

I asked Rebecca to tell me about her favorite mountain bike trails and she says her favorites are the ones that combine plenty of pedaling with interesting terrain. The McKenzie River Trail in Oregon tops her list along with the Alpine Trail, also in Oregon. Rusch lives in Ketchum, Idaho so many of her training rides take her through Sun Valley, ID where the singletrack is scenic and never ending.

As a Specialized Team rider, Rebecca has access to the latest and greatest mountain bikes and she tells me her primary rig is an Era FSR Marathon with 4” of rear travel. Rusch has been experimenting recently with a 29er hardtail for competition and after alternating between her FS and 29er bikes during a 24 Hour race she decided to rock the 29er HT at Leadville. Apparently the decision paid off for her, despite the fact that none of the top 5 male finishers rode 29ers at Leadville this year.

Last month Rusch competed in the women’s duo class at 24 Hours of Moab and took first with teammate Gretchen Reeves. She was also on hand at the premier of Race Across the Sky in NYC on October 22 and even hung out with fans at the after party. This month she’ll be competing in Vuelta al Cotopaxi, a 2-day MTB stage race in Ecuador.

Rebecca Rusch is truly an amazing competitor and an inspiration to anyone who likes to ride fast and long. Keep up with her (if you can!) on her blog @ rebeccarusch.wordpress.com.

photo courtesy cyclewise.co.uk.

So this is a cool concept: a mountain bike trail built explicitly for mountain bike coaching. The Cyclewise Coaching Trail provides a place for mountain bike coaches to work with students without having to worry about other trail users bombing down and interrupting lessons. The grand opening is set for October 17.

Judging by the (overly stylized) photo above you might think this is just a wide, soft mulch-strewn trail for teaching newbs to ride off road but apparently there’s more to it than that. Cyclewise says this trail includes “3 berms, 3 table tops, a rythmn section, drop offs and step ups as well as a technical climb and descent” which should be challenging for even advanced riders. Seems like a good alternative to teaching yourself to land 10 foot drops by trial and error

Here in the US it’s not unusual for new trails to include skills areas that offer progressively larger and more difficult technical trail features but most are open to the general public. I imagine this idea might be tough to implement here due to liability concerns plus there isn’t really a culture of mountain bike coaching in the US (yet). As more and more high school mountain bike leagues start up this might change though…

via SingletrackWorld.

For those who have purchased or are thinking about purchasing a singletracks premium subscription, just wanted to let you know about some recent improvements.

High resolution trail maps in PDF

We’re rolling out high resolution versions of all our mountain bike trail maps (780 and counting!) that subscribers can download in PDF format. That’s in addition to the printer-friendly and interactive versions that are currently available (not to mention the raw trail data in GPX, KML, and TCX) . So far more than 125 PDF trail maps have been posted – look for the rest to come on line this fall!

Training app updates

Ahead of a major overhaul of the premium ride log, we’re spiffing up the charts and graphs to make it even easier to visualize your training progress.

More cool stuff to come in the next two months, stay tuned!

photo: 10K trail running race on the 1996 Olympic MTB course, sponsored by Dirty Spokes

A lot of people ask me why I run so much – usually 3-4 days a week – and I always tell them it’s to make me a better mountain biker. The truth is my schedule doesn’t always allow me to get the time I need in the saddle and running is a pretty good way to build and maintain endurance for mountain biking.

Over the past few years I’ve been getting into trail running and I gotta say it’s about as close as you can get to mountain biking without the wheels. At a recent MTB trail work day one of the volunteer leaders mentioned that trail runners and mountain bikers typically travel trails at the same speed (on average) which I never thought about before. Of course mountain bikers do the passing on the descents while the trail runners can often pass mountain bikers going up

When I lived in North Carolina there were a ton of trails near my house but very few of them allowed mountain bikes. Instead of hiking to explore the local trails (slow and boring) I ran ‘em. I even found that after trail running a local MTB trail I knew the trail much better than if I had only biked there. That knowledge came in handy the next time I was out on my bike as I was bombing through familiar turns and bouncing over rocks and roots that I knew like the back of my hand. Trail running is also a good MTB substitute on days when the trails are too wet for riding.

Many of the mountain bikers I know got into the sport because of bone or joint problems that prevented them from other forms of exercise like running. Mountain biking is certainly low impact but it turns out trail running is pretty low impact as well. By avoiding the pavement and sticking to soft dirt, trail runners minimize much of the pounding associated with road running. If you’ve had to stop running due to joint issues you may want to try a short jog at the local MTB trail to see if that works for you.

For those who haven’t tried trail running before, here’s a good chance to give it a go: August 22 is National Trail Running Day. Hit up trailrunningday.org to find an event near you or head over to SeriousRunning.com (one of our sister sites) to find and review running trails. While trail running will never compare to mountain biking for me, it’s definitely a good way to stay in shape and a fun way to explore trails closed to bikes.

You’ve probably heard it before or maybe you’ve even said it yourself: Mountain biking is a great exercise because it’s so low impact. According to an article in the New York Times online cycling may be a little too low impact because many serious cyclists have low bone density. I guess it’s possible to get too much of a good thing…

The first argument that cyclists have low bone density points to the fact that cyclists do seem to suffer from a high number of broken bones. Heck, even Lance Armstrong recently broke his collar bone in a crash (his first cycling-related bone break I believe) but to me that’s more about the physics of crashing than it is about brittle bones. Go big or go home, right?

In a slightly more rigorous bone density study, competitive cyclists were found to have below average bone densities at the start of racing season and bone densities continued to decline through the season. Another study found many cyclists in their twenties had osteopenia which is just one step below osteoporosis. Yikes!

Earlier studies have shown that mountain bikers tend to have better bone densities than road cyclists and doctors think this might have to do with the higher impact nature of off-road riding. Runners, by contrast, pound their bodies day after day and in general appear to have excellent bone health.

If you’re worried about your own bone density check with your doctor but also consider upping your calcium intake. Research shows that drinking fluids containing calcium during a workout can slow bone calcium loss over fluids that do not contain calcium. Even mainstream sports drinks contain calcium these days – for example Powerade Ion has 2.5 mg of calcium per serving.

At the end of the day most of us probably won’t have to worry about low bone density due to mountain biking unless we’re spending hours in the saddle every day. If you’re like me you should be much more worried about crashes

Let me start this out by saying I almost never review nutrition or hydration products. Nutrition and hydration choices will generally be specific to each rider and what works for me might not work for you (and vice versa). And that’s precisely what makes Me & Goji so interesting and different: it’s customized nutrition that’s perfect for mountain bikers, whether you’re in training or just trying to stay healthy.

When I started training for the Sumter Metric Century back in March I’d typically eat a bowl of sugary cereal (something like Corn Pops or Honey Comb – no kidding) before heading out on a long weekend ride. Of course I’d feel full when I left the house but by the time I drove to the trailhead I’d start to feel hungry and I’d typically eat a pack of peanut butter crackers right away. During the ride I ate stuff like granola bars, peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, etc. – whatever I could to get the calories I needed. Clearly this is not the diet of champion riders

About halfway through my training program I got the chance to try a custom cereal mix from Me & Goji and not surprisingly it made a huge difference. First off: one bowl of the cereal kept me full until lunch time, even on long rides. In designing my custom cereal mix I stuck to the basic artisanal cereal base which is made from organic multigrain oat bran flakes – hearty stuff that fills you up and stays with you, even on epic spins.

Of course the artisanal cereal base is good for you and has a nice crunch but frankly it’s not all that sexy or tasty on its own (it’s no Honey Comb I can tell you that ). The really cool thing about Me & Goji is they allow you to customize your cereal by adding various dry fruits, nuts, seeds, and flavors. I added quinoa flakes (revered by Incan warriors for the stamina they provide – all 9 amino acids in one package), goji (a superfruit from the Himalaya packed with phytochemicals), and chia seeds (also used by ancient warriors, chia seeds absorb 12 times their weight in water and prolong incredible levels of hydration). For flavor I added dried apples, cinnamon, and pecans

The Me & Goji website makes it easy to drag and drop ingredients into your cereal mix and within a few minutes I was able to create and order my creation. You can even name your mix and the name is printed right on the cereal canister – how’s that for customization? All the nutrition info is updated as you create your mix so you can make sure what you’re getting is good for you.

Building a custom cereal is certainly more expensive than buying “off the shelf” but with Me & Goji you’re actually getting 21 oz. of food (compare to 15 oz. or less in a typical cereal box). In terms of nutrition and fuel for your body you really can’t do much better than a personalized mix from Me & Goji – give it a try before your next epic ride!

If you’re looking for a powerful tool to help you with your mountain bike training, look no further than the CS600X from Polar. The CS600X tracks your every move on the bike, nags you like a coach when you’re slacking off, works well with others, and comes in one of the slickest handlebar packages around.

Training Functions On Board

In terms of cycling-specific data recording, no other device I’ve seen compares to the Polar CS600X. Basics like distance and speed are monitored by the included W.I.N.D. wireless speed sensor while the heart rate sensor tracks your vitals (wirelessly, natch). Some heart rate straps I’ve tested can be finicky when syncing but not this one – clearly Polar knows heart rate and they know wireless (more on that later). The CS600X also includes a built-in thermometer and a barometric altimeter to track climbs and descents.

Unlike some cycling computers or even GPS units, the Polar doesn’t overwhelm you with data when you’re on the bike. Sure, you can view basic stats and even simple time-based graphs of heart rate or elevation, but overall the screen helps you focus more on riding, less on “fiddling.” With training plans and sport zones you can program the Polar CS600X to alert you when you reach certain levels or milestones but the great thing is you don’t have to look down during your ride except to start or stop the timer! (That is, unless you want to keep an eye on things.)

If you’re serious about your training the CS600X will help you take things to the next level, particularly if you’re working with a coach who can help you analyze things like heart rate and pace data. A coach can also help you create a training plan and define heart rate zones that can be downloaded to the CS600X – kinda like having your coach with you on the bike Even if you don’t have a coach the CS600X includes a fitness test function that measures your heart rate to estimate your overall fitness level. I’m not sure what the resulting number means (if anything) but it’s helpful for setting a fitness baseline and seeing how you improve over time.

Accessories

Beyond distance, speed, elevation, heart rate, and temperature sensors, you can also pair the Polar CS600X with optional accessories like a power meter and GPS sensor. Power meters are mostly for the road riders (though admittedly some of my MTB training does take place on skinny tires) but the GPS is definitely something I’m into.

The Polar G3 GPS sensor is just a bit larger than the CS600X itself and can be attached to you or your bike within a few feet of the CS600X. I found it worked well snapped to my Camelbak but it also worked great tucked into a rear jersey pocket on the road. Signal acquisition is quick and pairing it with the CS600X is a snap (just be sure to read the included instructions). The G3 is water resistant and I certainly put this to the test riding in soggy spring conditions that included more than a few downpours – no hitches.

Speed and distance data is transmitted wirelessly from the G3 GPS sensor to the CS600X which means you can keep the speed sensor permanently installed on your road bike or even ditch it altogether. The data seemed fairly accurate compared to other GPS units I’ve tested and is stored on the CS600X for later analysis. Unfortunately you can’t use the G3 GPS for real-time trail navigation since it doesn’t generate an on-screen map but unlike many cycling specific GPS devices, the G3 GPS sensor uses just a single AA battery that can be easily replaced on a super epic ride.

After the ride, GPS data can be accessed via the included Polar ProTrainer 5 software where you can see a map of your route and even export data to your favorite GPX software or Google Earth. I’ll talk more about the ProTrainer 5 software in an upcoming review – there’s just way too much to cover in one post!

The Package

Ok, this is where Polar really hit it out of the park (dude – the CS600X won an International Forum Design award in 2008!). The CS600X is about half the size of any cycling-specific GPS unit I’ve seen and it weighs half as much. It’s aerodynamic, ergonomic, and despite it’s svelte package it gets incredible battery life. I’ve already put a few hundred miles on my CS600X and haven’t had to replace the batteries yet! Other GPS units would have been recharged half a dozen times already.

The included bike mounting system is rock solid, even over sketchy terrain. Use the included zip-ties to attach the mount to your bars and twist the CS600X to lock it in – dead simple. Even if you (ahem) accidentally leave the CS600X on your bike for the drive back home, it will stay put at 70mph on your car roof (not that I recommend putting this claim to the test).

You may have noticed I’ve been using the word “wireless” a lot in this review and it turns out this is a big part of what makes the CS600X so freakin’ sexy. The CS600X doesn’t have a single data port or outlet on it which means it’s incredibly water resistant (and again, aerodynamic). But how, you may ask, do you get data from the CS600 to your computer? The answer: wirelessly.

Yep, just plug in the included Polar IrDA USB adapter into your computer and point your CS600X, remote control style. Bling, you’re done. No more futzing with cables – Polar makes it easy to download and analyze your training data after EVERY workout. Genius.

Bottom Line

If you’re looking for a powerful way to take your training to the next level, let the Polar CS600X help you get you there. You won’t find a more complete solution for tracking every training variable you can imagine in such a tiny, user-friendly package!

Stay tuned for a review of the other half of the Polar CS600X equation – ProTrainer 5 software (included with the Polar CS600X).

Another damp weekend training ride in north Georgia.

I’m less than 2 weeks away from my first metric dirty century in Sumter National Forest and this weekend I had my toughest training ride yet. For those who don’t know a metric century is 100 kilometers or 62.2 miles and my plan has been to gradually increase my long weekend rides until I get close to 60 miles or about 5 hours on the bike. One week ago I rode 60 miles but that was on a road bike riding a flat course (and it took just over 3 hours).

Saturday I got an early start outside Dahlonega, GA where I tackled the Canada Creek loop, Winding Stairs, and Camp Wahsega Rd. After 5+ hours I covered 48 miles and nearly 5,000 feet of climbing which is about 4,200 feet more than I’ll probably climb in the Sumter Metric Century. The hardest part of the ride was probably the middle – miles 20 to 30 – mainly because I felt like I had gone so far already but still had so far to go. I was surprised that the mental challenge of riding long distance was nearly as difficult as the physical challenge of pushing the pedals mile after mile. At any rate, I survived and I feel good about the race on May 16.

Throughout my training I’ve been using the Polar CS600X cycling computer and even though I’ve been using it for more than a month I probably still haven’t used half the functions. Polar is known for heart rate monitors and cycling computers but the CS600X ups the ante with an optional GPS pod, cadence and power sensors, and wireless data transfer to your PC. I’ve been stuffing the GPS pod into my back jersey pocket where it seems to get a great signal every time – impressive stuff, especially given that even handlebar mounted units often lose reception in the woods.

The Polar CS600X comes with ProTrainer 5 software which lets you view amazing detail about your workouts in an easy to use calendar interface. You can plot heart rate, speed, elevation, time, etc. and even view the data overlaid on a map of your ride (thanks to the GPS). The CS600X even lets you view basic charts and graphs while you’re on the bike which is great for monitoring heart rate and elevation trends mid-workout.

Look for a detailed review of the Polar CS600X later this month after I put it through its paces during the Sumter Metric Century May 16!

Riding in the clouds above 3,000 feet this weekend.

Regular readers may recall I signed up to ride the Sumter Metric Dirty Century on the trails near Augusta, GA next month. I promised to share my training progress here on the blog but the truth is that I haven’t really been training all that much – hence no updates. Until now.

I don’t really have much of a formal training plan mapped out at this point but I’m basically taking my cues from the marathon training plan I used a few years back to get ready for the Richmond Marathon. The jist of the plan is to run 4-5 days a week 3-5 miles each day and do one “long run” each weekend. The long run starts at like 8 miles the first weekend then increases 2 miles each week until you’re eventually running 22 miles about a month before the race.

Since I generally stay in decent shape running 3-4 days a week and mountain biking on the weekends I figure I need about 6 weeks to get ready for the 62-mile race. My MTB training plan basically looks like this: substitute 1-2 days of running for biking each week and complete a successively longer ride each weekend. For me it’s basically about saddle time and not necessarily distance since I figure the hardest part of the race will be riding continuously for 5-6 hours.

I started my training about a week and a half ago with a 30 mile, one and a half hour road bike ride during the week followed by a 35-mile, 2 hour ride a few days later on the weekend. Both rides felt pretty good, though the last hill on the 35-miler had me riding at a snail’s pace to the top. On Tuesday last week I did something I hadn’t done all winter – I spun for 45-minutes indoors on my rollers since it was raining outside.

This weekend I decided to head to the mountains for a training ride since I hadn’t put in much time on the mountain bike thus far but heavy rains the day and night before meant I’d be sticking to the forest roads. I ended up climbing 4,000 feet over 31 miles in about 3 hours and by the end I could barely push the pedals on the flat parts. The good news is the bike held up well and I survived 3 hours in the saddle – fortunately the trails in the Sumter National Forest are much flatter than the forest roads of North Georgia.

So there you have it, my training plan and progress to date. This week I’ll probably put in about two hours on the mountain bike trails during the week and then head out for a 40-45 mile road ride on the weekend. Luckily it’s not hard to motivate myself to get out on the bike this time of year!

It seems like everyone is running marathons these days. Oprah did it. Diddy did it. Heck, even I did it a few years back. Today’s marathon is yesterday’s 10K and it seems like pretty much anyone can run 26.2 miles with a little training.

The cycling equivalent of a marathon, the “century,” is a 100-mile road ride that requires nearly as much training and way more time on the road. Still, I’m pretty sure if Oprah had a road bike she’d ride a century too.

The dirty century (100 miles off road on a mountain bike), however, is still uncharted territory for most athletes. According to one article I read the dirty century is the fastest growing segment of mountain bike racing and it seems like new events are popping up all over the country. Most dirty century races include thousands of feet of climbing plus dozens of miles of singletrack and dirty century alums will tell you the more singletrack on the course, the bigger the challenge. Most dirty century race courses include around 50% singletrack (give or take) with the rest of the mileage on forest roads or even paved roads. Even if you average 12 mph for the entire ride, a dirty century will still take 8 hours, 20 minutes to complete!

I had hoped to do my first dirty century in 2009 on the trails in the Sumter National Forest outside Augusta, GA but plans for the race were scaled back to a metric century instead (100 kilometers instead of 100 miles). Sixty-two miles on a mountain bike is still a pretty serious distance and I’m looking forward to increasing my personal distance record of 42-ish miles set on the singletrack at Santos last spring. If the metric century goes well perhaps I’ll train through the summer to tackle the Fool’s Gold 100 – a real dirty century – in August.

In a follow-up post I’ll talk about my training plans for the Sumter (Metric) Dirty Century and I’ll keep you posted on my progress. Just so ya know my goal for the race is to beat Oprah’s marathon time

Over the past three weeks Singletracks members from all over the world have added more than 100 new mountain bike races and events to the mtb race calendar!

Abovetheridge submitted the most new events, including mountain bike races in Virginia and the popular Muddy Buddy rides.  Congrats to abovetheridge who will be receiving a 1-year Singletracks PRO membership and a set of new Kenda mtb tires!

Singletracks frequent contributor, EZ-E, also submitted many new mountain bike events.  Among them, a few challenging 100 mile endurance mtb races like the Cohutta 100 and the Shenandoah Mountain 100.  Since EZ-E came in second place in the contest he’ll be getting hooked up with a Singletracks Training membership (should come in handy for training for a 100-miler!) and a Blackburn mini pump.

Fastedjones, a mountain biker out of Oregon, takes third place in the contest for submiting downhill and dual slalom mountain bike races in The Fluidride Cup series.  Fastedjones will get a Singletracks t-shirt and Niterider tail light for his contributions.

Thanks to everyone that submitted mountain bike races and events to the calendar.  With so many mtb races to choose from, hopefully you’re training and getting ready for your next race now!  Have fun at the races and be sure to come back and share your race photos and reviews!

If you’re developing cabin fever while trying to stay in mountain biking shape this winter, you can also be preparing your 2009 race plans. If you have never tried a mountain bike race, find a race and you just might surprise yourself with how fun and rewarding it can be. For inspiration, let’s take a peek into the life of Unreal Cycles sponsored racer, Matt Adams. Matt shared with us his passion for riding bikes, his training regimen, and his 2009 racing schedule:

“Over the past seven years I have spent countless hours aboard my bicycle. My two wheeled companion has given me way to escape the trials of day-to-day life, a way to lose myself in another world.

My Unreal Junior has become a close companion. Downhill, dirt jumps, street, or slalom, the Junior loves it all. It has helped to make my training a joyful experience.

I ride a minimum of four days a week, more if I can help it. The typical day involves racing cars down the suburban streets in my hometown of Pacifica, California. Then hitting the dirt jumps or downhill trails, depending on my mood: keeping it fun is important. At least three of these ride days are followed by a second grueling upper or full body workout. I have found jiu-jitsu to be an excellent addition to my training regime. Twice a week I hit the mats for 3 1/2 hours. The core workout is intense. Sit-ups, leg lifts, pushups, pull ups, bench press and curls are a daily must as well.

In 2009 I will be focusing on racing on the west coast. I’ll be hitting some of the local Sandhill Ranch series, the Sea Otter Classic, some North Star races, and the Southridge Classic in Fontana come November. I will also be doing several of the CCCX races in Monterey. Also in 2009 I will be helping instruct at a local XC camp, and doing a 24 hour race in July.”

We’re wishing Matt the best of luck in his upcoming races. This spring, we’ll be testing an Unreal frame similar to Matt’s, so stay tuned for more about this unique build from Unreal Cycles.

A race schedule like Matt’s may seem daunting to most of us, but to reiterate his own words,”keeping it fun is important.” So what are you waiting for? Whether it’s entering your first mountain bike race or testing your endurance in a 24 hour race, just get out there and have fun!