This weekend I rode the Sumter Metric Century, a 62 mile mountain bike race through the Sumter National Forest in South Carolina, home to some of the best singletrack the southeast has to offer. Despite mostly overcast skies and occasional rain showers throughout the day I had a blast reconnecting with some of the very first mountain bike trails I ever rode.

The “low key” race started at Lick Fork Recreation Area with a LeMans style start (no gun) and covered about 5 miles of singletrack before heading out of the park. After a little paved and gravel road riding we hit the first sag stop and jumped onto the Wine Creek and Turkey Creek trails for 12 miles of uninterupted singletrack riding. By the second sag stop we were more than halfway through and I felt great.

More paved and gravel roads led to the Stevens Creek (Modoc) trail and the final singletrack portion of the ride. About 2 miles into the trail (mile 44 or so and 4 miles from the end of the singletrack) the trail crosses a wooden bridge (one of dozens along the course) where someone placed a pile of sticks at the start of the bridge as a warning. Since the creek was about 6-8 feet below and the banks were nearly vertical I decided to carefully walk my bike across the slimy, twisted bridge rather than try to ford the stream.

About 2/3 of the way across the bridge I started to slip into the creek. As I was sliding I prepared myself to jump into the creek but at the last second I somehow regained my footing. I inched a bit further toward the end and grabbed onto a tree. With less than 3 feet to go I felt confident with a firm grip on the tree trunk when – WHAM – I was on the deck on top of my bike! I grabbed the high edge of the bridge decking, swung my legs to the bank, and slid my bike and body onto terra firma.

Somehow I avoided serious injury to myself but my bike didn’t fare quite as well. I fell on top of the bike with the derailleur side down, bending the derailleur AND several spokes on my rear wheel. The wheel was so bent it was nearly rubbing the frame with each revolution but I was able to make it 4 miles to the final sag stop.

At the sag one of the volunteers ghetto-trued my wheel by banging the rim on the asphalt and off I went for the final 16 miles to the finish with a wobbly rear wheel and just 3 usuable gears. I finished in 6 hours, 6 minutes which was a bit of a bummer (I was hoping for sub-6 hours) but in the end I was stoked to make it to the finish where there were burgers and hot dogs on the grill.

I don’t look tired, do I? I’m pretty sure I lost 10 pounds of water on the ride!

In the end we rode 24 miles of singletrack and climbed more than 3,500 feet (much more climbing than I originally estimated). It was great seeing brianW and seenvic there (ask him about his fall on 4-mile bridge) along with all the riders and volunteers who made the ride a success.

If you’ve never ridden in the Sumter National Forest I highly recommend getting out there this summer. With nearly a dozen singletrack trails within a 50 mile radius including the IMBA Epic FATS trail, you’re sure to have a blast. In fact, rumor has it that IMBA is considering Augusta, GA for the 2009 World Summit thanks to all the hard work SORBA is doing in the area. What are you waiting for?

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!