12 Hours of Weaverville MTB Race

May 24, 2008 - Weaverville, CA.

Three members of the Collins team headed down to Northern California for what has been touted as one of the most "fun" endurance MTB events in the region. For this event, racers are tested on an approximately 12 mile loop doing multiple laps for 12 hours, each lap climbing 3 miles and 2,200'. Racers have the option to pair up in groups, spreading the load, or race solo. We all chose SOLO. Sound like fun?

The course: Map

Chris Brandt, Mike Adams, and Mike Ripley were looking forward to some warm weather for once and a nice opportunity to try their hand at some longer distance bike racing. Historically, the weather has been pretty hot this time of year. As luck may have it (Ripley curse?), the weather took a turn for the worse three days before race day. Guess what??? RAIN (and MUD) again! The question became not necessarily "how long will the body hold up", but how long will the "BIKE" hold up?

We all like to tell our long winded "battle stories", and not everyone wants to (or has the time to?) read them. But the short story is, it WAS indeed a lot of FUN and Collins was represented well, getting some podium time and some great sponsor exposure at our team tent.

Final results:
Chris Brandt - 4th place Pro (6 laps in 7:58:33)
Mike Adams - 2nd place Expert 40+ (6 laps in 9:31:51)
Mike Ripley - 7th place Expert 40+ (5 laps in 7:45:21)

Official results here.

Mike Adams full report here.
Chris Brandt full report here.

Elevation profile (click it):

Bear Springs Trap MTB Race - Maupin, OR

Amazing course, and amazing weather. Great day for mountain bike racing!

This year, the race was postponed one month due to excessive snowpack from our productive winter. Two weeks prior to the race, the promotors had to use a snow mobile to get around the course. Fortunately, due to warmer weather and much hand labor, the snow melted from the course just in time, and those areas that it hadn't quite disappeared were shallow enough to navigate. With that snow melt came an accompanying new race challenge... high water! Portions of the course that were formerly rideable were submerged and required some soggy foot hike-a-bike. The promotors had placed some "stepping stone" wood rounds for people to walk on, but they floated away. (Walking on them was like stepping on a turtle's back.) A great way to cool off the feet on this hot race day!

Chris Brandt was looking forward to having a good race for once and was called up to the front row at the start. This enabled him to get a great start position heading into the first narrow off-road section and help with staying ahead when the pack got strung out. Things were looking good after the first half hour until he broke a pedal on a big rock and was forced to (yet again) drop out. This course is way too rough to survive 2 more hours pedalling with one foot clipped in, not to mention the risk of damaging a knee. So, instead, he went back to the car, grabbed the camera, and worked his way backwards on the course to take pictures.

Bear Springs is notorious for poor course markings. Though things were improved this year, Miriam managed to take a wrong turn and wandered around about 15 minutes before finding the course again. Rather than dropping out, she made the best of it and got a good training ride in, completing the race in 8th place. Balancing a full course load at the University of Oregon, as well as working 25-30 hours a week leaves little time to ride her bike during the week. Finishing an epic mountain bike race in 2:45 is quite an accomplishment, considering that she is rarely able to get 2-3 hours of training time in during the week, if that. Seeing as she graduates after this term, look out for her. She's really gonna be FAST once she actually has time to ride!

Carl Gurney showed us once again how tough of a man he is, riding his rigid forked singlespeed bike through the rough bumps to finish highest within the team and 6th on the day. What is his secret? The beard?

Mike Adams and Mike Ripley battled it out on their Specialized Epics in the Expert category. Mike A. seemed to be having the upper hand until he burped the air out of his tire and was forced to make a repair. Ripley didn't let a few weeks off the bike keep him from putting the hammer down and used his long legs to advantage during the high water hike-a-bike sections. Unfortunately that loss of fitness crept up on him and Adams got the upper hand in the end.

Justin Heide broke his racing legs in for the season and managed to break a smile late in the suffering. Must not have been too bad!

Results:

Carl Gurney: 6th - Singlespeed
Miriam Gillow-Wiles: 8th - Sport Women

Mike Adams: 8th - Expert Men 40+

Mike Ripley: 10th - Expert Men 40+

Justin Heide: 25th - Sport Men

Chris Brandt: dnf - Pro

Coming up next... 12 hours of Weaverville. Chris, Mike, and Mike are each racing solo... for 12 hours!?! Should be fun! Who will have the wildest story??? The most cramps??? Flat tires??? Stay tuned...

Cascade Chainbreaker MTB Race - Bend, OR

Andrew Bennett on the top step of the podium again!

Several members of the Collins team headed over to Bend for the classic Chainbreaker mountain bike race on Mother's Day. Some mothers were there as well, to help out, watch, and spend some fun family time after the event. The Chainbreaker is one of the best run events in the Oregon series and spectators were treated to views of the racers at least 5-6 times per lap.

Each year, the course changes a bit and new obstacles get introduced. This year had a few extra rocks to dodge, as well as some looser corners to navigate. Aside from a couple mechanical setbacks and a small handful of crashes, it was a success for the team.

Even though the past winter produced record snowpack levels, it didn't seem to make it any less dustier, and most finishers could be found hacking and coughing. This common reward for Bend racers is often referred to as the "black lung". With sunny skies and the temperatures on the rise, it was a good race to utilize one of our team sponsor's products, Elete, which can really help prevent cramping. If you haven't tried it yet, we highly recommend it!

Team results:
Andrew Bennett: 1st - Junior Men
Miriam Gillow-Wiles: 7th - Sport Women
Justin Thayer: 11th - Singlespeed
Carl Gurney: 12th - Expert Men (on a singlespeed)
Jeff Bennett: 12th - Beginner Men 40+
Mike Adams: 15th - Expert Men 40+
Chris Brandt: dnf - Pro Men (brake mechanical)