Showdown at Usery Race Recap 2018

(Spoiler alert, we took first place in the corporate team category)

We compiled a great team of six riders, each doing a 10 mile lap/loop as fast as can be. The eight hour race that starts at 10am and each team or individual rides for the next eight hours. 

I first did this race back in 2016 as on a male duo team. We took turns riding a lap then resting. I learned a lot that year, mentally and physically. 

In 2017 team up with three friends and competed as a male quad team. Not that I am the fastest runner, but that year I ended up doing the Le Mans start. A run to your bike, 1/4 mile up an incline, grab the bike and go. Being a middle of the pack runner, I got caught up in a lot of traffic on the mostly single track course. 

This year, 2018 was different. We had a corporate team, sponsored by Xtreme Backyards, consisting of six riders. We had our fastest person, who also happens to be in super great shape, very active in playing hockey and is also 16 years old. 

He came off the trail, running the 1/4 mile Le Mans start totally out in front by margin. Not only did it get us out in front on the first lap, it helped up later on in the race not having to deal with the congestion on the trail. 

The ten mile loop course was beat up pretty in the late summer. Monsoon rains changed the trail and created a bunch of areas that go through washes to be filled with sand. 

The high temperature Saturday got to be 86 degrees, so I made sure to pack along my RinseKit. We used it to hose down the rider in the transition area before heading out on the course. We also meet up with the rider at the four mile mark and sprayed them down to keep their body temperature down. Mainly spraying their chest as they approached a corner and their back as they rode away. 

Our team did great. We watched the clock knowing when our rider left the start line and when to expect them back in the transition area. 

We accomplished 11, 10 mile laps/loops during the eight hour race. Because we started our last lap before the eight hours expired, we were able to finish and count that last lap. 

The team worked hard to prepare and do all they could out on the course.

We took first place in the corporate team category.  A big thank you goes to our sponsor, Xtreme Backyards and everyone else to helped us leading up to race day and race day itself.  

2017 Showdown at Usery Race Report

Race Day Recap

8 Hours of the Showdown at Usery Mountain Regional Park. 

It was awesome. I felt much better than last year, physically and mentally. The training leading up to it was tough, as I had a cold and some allergy issues about two weeks out from race day.  I tried everything to speed the recovery along.  Olbas oil in the humidifier was a huge help. 

The team I was on, of four riders, representing Gold Canyon Hearing, hit our expected goals to keep on track. The 10 mile course looked like this. 

*1:  51:40*

2:  46:40 

3:  52:20 

4:  47:37 

*5:  50:37* 

6:  46:42 

7:   54:39  

8:  48:48 

9:   47:57 

*10:  53:13*

*Official chip timed laps* 

Race morning stretched and warmed up in the campsite we were staying at. Felt hydrated and had a +Greens meal replacement, +PlusShake about an hour before the start along with a +Greens +PlusBar, Chocolate Energy. 

Bike was set to go the night before, everything dialed in and adjusted. 

I knocked out my first lap, including the 400 yard LeMans running start, with these times being recorded by my Suunto Spartan WR in 51:57, my second lap in 50:42 and third lap in 53:09. 

Felt strong after the run and getting on the bike.  My heart rate was a little high, but with the excitement I expected that. 

Between the laps I rode, I kept hydrated with water and kept food going in. 

Along with the +Greens +PlusBar, Chocolate Energy bar and +Greens +PlusBar, Natural Bar with 18 grams of protein, I also prepared small containers of white rice with mango mixed in for the carbohydrates as I was burning

1116 calories on the first lap  

1020 calories on my second lap 
and
946 calories on my last lap in the dark. 

The course was a mix of soft and hard desert. Winding turns and as the day went on some portions of the trail were very powdery. There is one optional section of the race where you can climb the Cat Peaks By-Pass, instead of riding the full distance around, possibly for some shaving some time and distance off their lap. 

I am not a huge fan of sports drinks, as the sugar content tends to upset my stomach, but stayed hydrated all day using PickleJuice to keep electrolytes in my system helping stay hydrated and avoid cramping. The weather started off cooler than usual with some cloud cover, and even a sprinkling of rain. That changed as the day went on as the heat arrived later on. 

We ended the 8 Hour race with 10 laps and a time of 08:20:08. As long as we crossed the start/finish line before the end of the eight hours, which we did. We were able to complete that last lap. 
We finished in the Male Quad division in 10th Place. 

After talking with my team after the race was over, we started thinking of what we can do to get our times even lower than they already are. 

Race Day a little over a month away

So I am signed up with three other friends to do the Showdown at Usery this year.  Last year I competed as a duo, doing four laps of the almost 11 mile course.  This year it will only be two laps as the four of us will be trading out who is riding. I rode the course Saturday morning for a training workout, not really out to set any blazing times or anything, but just get a feel for the course again and know where I need to made some adjustment in my training.  We have just a little over a month and a half before race day.  Saturday morning I struggled hard with riding eastbound looking directly into the sun.  I had a hard time navigating the trail and the washes and turns, I couldn’t wait until the sun was to my side or behind me. 

Some of the washes on the course are a little thick with sand still, but that shouldn’t be a problem.  I will try and get out there a bunch more times leading up to race day.

The Showdown at Usery Race Report

The Showdown at Usery Race Report 

Here is the course recorded by by Suunto Ambit2S. I tracked my HR and distance on the watch. 

The race was as many laps as you could do in the eight hours, starting at 10 am and stopping at 6 pm. I teamed up with Shane McCarthy to create a duo male team. My partner took the first lap, and from there we traded off doing laps. I felt great at the start. Had a good breakfast and set up our pit area a few hours before the start. I have ridden this course numerous times, so I knew what to expect from the terrain changing to the elevation gains and drops as well as any obstacles. A three days out from the race, it good steady downpour occurred, helping the course out.

Lap 1

My first lap I had a difficult time keeping my heart rate under control. I didn't push my pace too hard, being just the first lap. I guess it was just a ton of adrenaline working its way out. My body felt good with no issues yet and focused on staying hydrated. The temperature reached in the mid 80's for the high that day.    

In between my first and second lap, I was able to watch from a distance the kids race. Both my son 9, and daughter 7, were in the race. The kids course was a half mile out, a half mile back. I was stoked to see each one of them take first in each the boys and girls division.

Lap 2

During my down time from my first lap I adjusted the height of my seat, raising it about an inch. Once again I had a hard time controlling my heart rate but felt a little more comfortable on the second lap.

Lap 3 

Before heading out on my third lap my left glute was super tight and giving my problems on some of the shorter climbing portions of the loop. I went over to a massage table and had it worked on for a bit. It was still tight, but help loosen it. The food and hydration I was consuming during my rest breaks were staying down. The third lap I started just as the sun was getting lower in the sky making for some tricky vision of the trail at times. Focused again on keeping my heart rate down while trying to still get my lap finished in under an hour.

Lap 4

As I rested up for my fourth and final lap, my team mate and I talked briefly. If our team crossed the finish line before the end of the eight hours, we would have to complete another lap. With as bad as I was physically and mentally, my team mate had a plan to not cross the line until after the time limit. With under 5 minutes to go, I was ready and pumped myself up to get the last lap for our time done. By now the sun was down and I was using my lights. The temperature also dropped making the trail cool, as the desert does once the sun goes down. I had a hard time taking a hair-pin turn and ended up laying the bike down and skinning up my knee and forearm. I jumped up fast and tried to shake it off, getting back on the bike and off on the trail. The trail looked very different being lit by only the headlight. I adjusted the light a few times to place the beam exactly where my eyes were focused down the trail. I passed a few riders still on the course but focused trying to keep my speed up as I now finally had my heart rate under control. 

Our duo team of Shane McCarthy and myself took 9th place in the male duo division.  Shane did a great job.

Very excited to have finished this awesome race and look forward to totally improving a bunch for doing the race next year.

The inaugural race put on by local bike shops Two Wheel Jones was a hit by riders from all over as well as very well supported by family, friends and fans of mountain bike racing.


A big shout out and thank you to my supporters
Cat-Ears LLC
Udderly Smooth Chamois Cream
Rumble Roller Foam Rollers
RecoFit Compression Leg Sleeves
Urge Bike Products
Amrita Nutrition
Frozen Peaz
Lupine Lighting

Two Weeks Out

Two weeks out from my next race.  Teamed up with another rider to create a duo team, to take on 8 Hours in the Showdown at Usery.  An 11 mile mountain bike course, as many laps as we can ride in that time period.  Looking to have a lot of fun. 

Showdown at Usery Mountain Bike Race

I had a great time producing this video, with the local bike shop, about their upcoming mountain bike race here locally. Fun course, which over the years I have ridden quite a lot. I am still on the fence about entering.  Still trying to plan out my fall calendar to see if I would be able to race it. The race is the first weekend in November of this year.