The Schalk Diaries: Given the Axe

Round three of the U.S. National Ultra Endurance (NUE) series picked up in Michigan last weekend with the Lumberjack 100. The Lumberjack is one of the most unique races on the circuit because it is a three-lap course that consists of almost all single-track. All the climbs are short and punchy and the sandy trails flow nicely, continuously twisting and winding through a dense pine forest. The fast trails make for some really tight, interesting racing… and a lot of close calls with the thousands of tightly spaced trees.

 
Each of my Lumberjack wins in the last two years had been decided by a minute or less in the final miles. The course is far too fast to allow for an easy getaway, resulting in pack riding and road race tactics. And I expected nothing different this year.

However, a little bit of misfortune for the other top contenders allowed me to ride away cleanly without much trouble. Mike Simonson (29er Crew) and Derek Graham (Bissell Road Pro) both looked to be strong and motivated, providing many sharp accelerations in the opening lap, but each lost hold of the front group with punctures. I was eventually left all alone with Christian Tanguy (Team CF), and I was cautious for the majority of the 2nd lap, trading pulls in the lead, keeping the pace high. However, he began to show signs of fatigue shortly after the halfway mark, so I went on the attack. Having an uncharacteristic bad day, he backed down, and let me slip away. I was very motivated and in good form, so I tucked down and went to work to secure the win.

The trails were insanely fast and the weather was beautiful, a welcome change from the stormy nightmares that had occurred in the previous rounds at Tennessee and Ohio. I put down the fastest time in the race’s history with a 6:33. And I won the coveted axe trophy for the third straight year… I guess that means I now have a collection with which to begin a side hobby of dangerously sketchy juggling should I get bored one day. Maybe in the off season?

 
Thanks to Trek for producing the fastest 100-mile bike around, the Top Fuel 9.9.

Here Comes Rene....

If you don't know who Rene Wildhaber is, you will after this awesome video by Marco Toniolo.

Rene's lining up to take on the Megavalanche Alpe d'Huez in July, and trips like this one to Peru are putting him in a prime position to take the title once again...

Bombing through Peru from Marco Toniolo on Vimeo.

Trek 29ers -- Thank You Gary!

Wow. What an annoucement, eh? If you haven't heard... Trek just announced its most recent awesome plan to bring Fisher closer to the Trek family, with the inauguration of the Fisher Collection. Check it out on our homepage: trekbikes.com

We are so stoked to announce this for so many reasons. And I could go on and on about how excited I am to finally (!) see a Trek 29er come around, but I really think the best person to explain this all is Gary himself.

Q: Gary, what do you think?

A: Wow. I mean, I am the luckiest guy around. I just inherited the biggest, greatest bike engineering team in the world. Industrial designers, carbon engineers, marketers [thank you, Gary]... It really doesn't get any better than this!

Q: So you're excited, eh?

A: Oh man, am I ever! The Trek Superfly -- the best looking mountain bike we've done to date. The Transport, this bike I'm really excited about. I mean, transportation bikes are the future, and to get one of these to market with the power of Trek behind it -- this bike is going to move the meter. And the electric meter too since it's available as an electric bike!

Q: And what about that Sawyer?

A: Classic design, incredible execution. Steel is real, and you get on this bad boy out  on the trail, and you'll know exactly what I mean!

Q: And what does this mean for the future of Gary Fisher, the man?

A: Oh crap, this means it's time to get to work! In the past, I always felt like we were doing our own thing on the sidelines, but now I'm front and center! I will work more closely with the team, and that's going to be a delight. Unfortunately, this means my months of vacationing in the Caribbean are over... that is, unless they get some WiFi down there!

So without further adieu, go check out the bikes, and be sure to see the below gallery from last night's company announcement!

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

The Schalk Diaries: Bike Article

Go check out the July 2010 issue of Bike Magazine.  This month's 'My Trail' feature:

The Schalk Diaries: Factor of X

Round two of the U.S. National Ultra Endurance (NUE) series picked up in Ohio last weekend with the Mohican 100. The Mohican is a deceptively difficult course, boasting a total of 11,000 feet of climbing even though no single ascent is more than 300’. That is an intimidating fact to wrap one’s head around. It’s the equivalent of someone telling you… ‘Hey, see that steep little hill over there – it’s only 300’ tall, so go climb it 37 times…’ On top of that, the Mohican begins with about 30 miles of twisty technical single-track. The race feels as if it starts with a fast cross country race, then it continues on with 65 more miles. It makes for some great racing, and I was looking forward to this year’s edition, especially since my form seems to really be coming around. Racing with good form on a good course usually makes for good fun.

 
But the weather had other ideas. Rain plagued the area all week, wreaking havoc on the course. The downpours even included a bout of golf-ball sized hail the night before. The hotel where I was staying lost power when the transformer exploded during a passing thunderstorm. So, when I lined up with the 600+ riders on Saturday morning, the Mohican no longer sounded so fun. Then I noticed that my rear rotor lock-ring was loose just a few minutes before the start. Normally I would catch something like that during a pre-ride the day before, but the terrible weather prevented me from doing such. Alas, the gun went off and I calmly hoped that the rotor would hold.

The rain mostly stayed away for the first few hours, but the racing was slow and tedious since the trails felt like soupy molasses. Mike Simonson was the man to watch out for and he was glued to my wheel for the first third of the race. And I knew that I was eventually going to have to fix that rear rotor and would need a nice lead to do so. I also knew that being with Mike during the middle third of the race would be a huge mistake because of the large amount of fast dirt road that allows for drafting. So I went on the attack near the end of the single-track on a few punchy climbs just before the start of the dirt roads, near mile 35. I went into time trial mode as soon as I got a bit of a gap and set about building a lead. The rain steadily picked up and I steadily built a nice lead, as much as 7 minutes by the mid-way mark. Then, at mile 70, my rotor fell off the hub and was jangling around on the axle. I removed it and pressed on without rear brakes. Luckily, I had a nice enough of a lead to deal with the situation until the end of the race. I finished under a torrential downpour amidst cracks of thunder.

 
That marks NUE career win number 10. Wow, I guess I’ve been doing this for awhile now. Appropriately, the victory happened on my first race with the SRAM XX components, the stock spec for the Trek Top Fuel 9.9 this year. I was impressed. The 2x10 XX group is lighter than any other and the shifting held up remarkably well in the horribly muddy conditions. Victory X. SRAM XX. Spear Trophy. Nice.