09/06/2026
Hey Howard Lions! Wanted to thank you all first for sending good vibes on my Shenandoah 100K mountain bike race. THANK YOU 🙏!
It was absolutely nuts! I did incredibly well, only 1 person over 60 finished ahead of me. And I beat every rider in the 50+ except 10. Super stoked with every part of my race. Nutrition, pacing, mental strength…one of the few times I had all these factors dialed in to a T.
They don’t have a 60+ category for us dinosaurs. If they did, I’m on the podium.
Highlight:
1. Fast start as planned, I drafted with the leaders all the way to the first gravel section. Plan was to burn as little as possible to that point, then go at my own pace. Nailed it.
2. Conditions were moist and cloudy at this point no mud no nothing, just moist trails.
3. A climb called Lin is arguably the hardest climb in this race or perhaps the Hanky climb. Yesterday it was Lin hands down, because of The Storm.
4. The Storm of the century. I kid you not. About 1/4 up Lin…it went BLACK. there was no turning back at this point. There was no place to take cover at this point. It was a cold wind first. Then the first lightening strike came directly overhead. It lit up the blackness like a massive strobe light. I was seriously frightened, nervous to the point of thinking none of us might make it out of here. 10 minutes later when you think it could not get worse another strike hit somewhere to my left in a deep ravine off trail. It was so loud I thought for certain I’m going to suffer hearing loss. 20 minutes later the group I was with make it to the top of the ridge. Mountain top ridges are generally exposed to the elements, so at this point we all were hope we’d just have to deal with the monsoon rains. Rivers of water were forming as we road the ridge. The blackness started to fade but not the rain. I had to remove my glasses just to see.
5. How the hell am I going to get off this mountain on one the most technical downhills, in the pouring rain, with no glasses? Let’s just say I may need to start going to church. I made it down. The storm was so bad that if I had been slower getting to the start of the climb, I would have definitely pulled myself out of the race. I gave my glasses to someone at the aid station to dry them off as much as possible. Not a chance I could have finished without them.
6. The Hanky climb. It had stop raining. Hanky was moist but not muddy. My legs were good. I was cold so I decided to go hard only to keep warm. I did my second best Hanky climb ever. My only faster time was 11 years ago. Hanky literally never, ever, ends!
7. Backside of Hanky Dowels Draft. I PR’d that downhill. It was definitely tricky but my bike handling has been peaking over the summer. Think of bike handling skills as free speed. Work on those skills my friends! I descended so fast that I PR’d my time from the bottom of Hanky, over the top, to the bottom of Dowels.
8. All roads to the finish lead go though Hanky…again! Last time up Hanky is only at the halfway point thank goodness. But that climb still gets in your head. PLEASE MAKE IT STOP! 😉
9. Down to the finish is another awesome downhill…yup PR’d it!
Although my finish time was was ten minutes slower than last year (Due to the storm of the century) this race was way more satisfying and overall my finish among my peers was way better.
Train hard teammates. Work on those bike handling skills.
Peace out, look for me at one of your upcoming races.
Coach Bill
