DoubleShot Duathlon 2010

Kari and I met to try and wrap up this year's racing and talk about next year.  We're thinking two races.  In 2009 we did three duathlons, one six hour mountain bike race, and I helped with the Keystone Mountain Bike Race.  It was too much.  

We still could change our minds, but for now we're thinking two races.

Osage Hills was a good venue for us.  And we were thinking about trying to get into Zink Ranch.

Do you guys have any opinion about this stuff.  Locations? 

What time of year?  

Turkey Results

Here they are:

http://www.dgroadracing.com/2009%20Double%20Shot%20Turkey%20Mountian.htm

Race pics

Paul McEntire has put the photos up from the Turkey race.

Go there and see his work.  And buy a pic:  http://paulmcentire.zenfolio.com/p494407182

Game on

This is it.  The last DoubleShot Duathlon of the year.

We're about to head back out.  It's wet and muddy, but everything is as ready as we could make it.

See y'all soon!

Weather Update

Just looked at weather dot com.  The hour-by-hour forecast looks good.  Should stop raining early tomorrow morning.  By Saturday morning it is supposed to be sunny and cool.  Upper 40s to low 50s.  We have a pretty good number of people registered so far.  You can still register online until 6p tomorrow evening.  And you can register on race-day, but get there early.  Packet pickup will only occur race morning.  

Free coffee from DoubleShot Coffee Company.

Free beer from Vintage 1740.

Free hotdogs from Native Bicycles.

Thank the rest of your sponsors too:  http://www.doubleshotduathlon.com/Sponsors.html

The weather

Don't worry, the race is still on.

You're probably going to be glad I didn't run the bike course on horrifically technical trails though.  I have a feeling the trails are going to be wet.  And when I say wet, I mean muddy.  I'm not sure.  The trails have been draining really well.  But talks of flooding today through tomorrow afternoon make me a little suspect.  We'll just have to see what happens and do our best to deal with the conditions.  It'll be fine.  I'm sure the trails will be the worst while we're out there marking the course and probably be perfect for you guys during the race.

Registration closed last night at midnight.  I'm going to re-open registration until 6p Friday night, but registration has gone up $5 for all you procrastinators.  

As for the race, we'll be out there rain or shine.  Potentially we will have a swim portion now and I'm thinking if it really comes down like they say it will, Turkey mountain may shrink a couple inches.  Those climbs might be a little shorter.

If it's muddy, which I hope it's not, the run course should be interesting.  You know how I like to run you up and down steep hills.  There's a really steep dirt hill on the run course that might become a slide.  Fun fun fun!

More info as I know it.

Turkey Course Specifics

I went out and marked the bike course today.  It's marked with red-and-black checkered ribbon on your left.  If you pass a ribbon on your right, you either missed a turn or you're going the wrong way.  They're all on your left.  I marked it sparingly, mostly in the corners, but I tried to make it clear and obvious where the course will lead.  Here's my best word map:

Start between the parking lot and Elwood in the new sod.  Ride north straight toward the hill and up the hill.  I rode up Lipbuster today and even though it's rutted worse than usual, it is ridable.  Cut west through the upper parking lot and follow the trail along 61st and then toward the Snake Trail (or the Racetrack).  Watch for a turn in to your left about half way down the doubletrack toward Snake.  Ride that down into the tallgrass field where you'll cut off to your left again on some fairly new trails.  We rode these trails the opposite direction at SIX IN THE STICKS.  This short, windey singletrack section goes around a tree and over some rocks, over a high tree root with chainring marks, and through a creek bed, ending at the trashy doubletrack that leads down to the pipeline.  Follow this (couple jumps on the way if you're brave) down past the pipeline, falling back in the woods to your left just before it gets really rocky.  This singletrack goes by the westside YMCA, by the board jumps and teeter totter, around a bowl that is a dry falls, and down to the bottom creekbed by the Pepsi plant.  Take a right there (unless you want some Pepsi) and after you roll up over the big lift and around the downed tree, take a hard, 180 degree left turn up the hill.  This hill is ridable and once you get on top you'll wind through the woods, by one homeless tent, by two more tents, and end at the Spider.  From there, climb the Ridge Trail.  At the top, hang right all the way to the ridge line and follow it back west.  The downhill is sketchy.  Rocky, rocky, rocky.  Personally I CAN ride down this, but it's not worth it to me.  Probably faster to run through it.  The second half of that downhill is so eroded that the bowl we used to ride down is a bit scary.  Holding a line over to the left is better... slightly.  You'll end that descent at the trailhead of Ho Chi.  Come down the bridge trail that Womack and Mikey built and back toward the parking lot.  Under the powerlines you're going to take a left.  Through the field and back into the woods on your right, down the hill to the paved trail.  Take a left there but just until you get to the first right that has a trail sign with a red blaze.  Follow that trail to the Bomb Shelter and up to the field just south of the parking lot where they put new sod.  That's where transition will be.

It's a two-lap course.  Probably around 10.2 miles total.  I didn't have my computer today.

Let me know if you have questions.

Turkey Bike Course

Ray Hall, I have some good news and some bad news.  The good news is, the bike course is a two-lap and each lap is a little over 5 miles, so it's a little long.  The bad news is, it's a pretty easy course and will be super fast.

Everyone else, I have some good news and some bad news.  The bad news is, the bike course is a two-lap and each lap is a little over 5 miles, so it's a little long.  The good news is, it's a pretty easy course and will be super fast.

Like I said, the construction has really limited our options, but I've done my best.  I'm expecting it to be fun, fast, and competitive.  It's supposed to rain cats and dogs today, but I'm going to go out and mark the bike course tomorrow.  Red and black checkered flagging.  

This Sunday there is an adventure race at Turkey that starts at 8a.  The RD says the winners should come in around 11 or 1130a, so I guess people will probably be on the trails racing until 1p or so?  I don't know.  But if you plan on going out there Sunday, please try to stay out of their way.  

Remember, both the run and the bike will go along Elwood and up the hill.  The bike will break off to the west side at that point and the run will drop back into the woods to the east.  The run course will not be marked until race day.  But don't worry, it will be well marked.

I hope a lot of you are planning to come out.  Big prize money:  $400, $300, $200 top 3 male AND female winners.

Turkey Mountain!

The final DoubleShot Duathlon of 2009 is just around the corner.  It's the race you've all be waiting for.  Turkey Mountain.  

Things have changed at Turkey Mountain.  Not sure if you noticed that.  I'm not sure who these changes are supposed to benefit, but it's not us.  Kari and I have spent a considerable amount of time trying to figure out where we can even set up the race.  It's been challenging and frustrating.  We have a tentative location for transition picked out, but things could change in the next two weeks and we may have to put it somewhere else.  As for now, we're planning to set up in the area just south of the parking lot where they cut down some trees and put down sod.  Where the Bomb Shelter (or whatever y'all call it) starts.  It's not ideal, but hopefully it will work out ok.  The only other area we could figure out to set up is a dirt patch next to Elwood.  But that doesn't seem very nice.  I'm not happy about this, but we're trying to make the most of it.  

The race will start along Elwood and, as usual, run straight north and up the hill.  Lipbuster is pretty chewed up from all the rain, so riding up it is going to be a challenge (and pushing up it will probably be a better option for most).  We're still trying to figure out the run course, as the rain has put a damper on trail work.  But we're planning for the bike to ride out on the west side like we did last year, though a different route.  And we're going to make it a two-lap bike course.  4.6 miles per lap (or so).  My plan is to make it as fast and fun as possible (except for the ride up Lipbuster).

The run, as usual, will run up the hill and then the adventure run over rocks and up and down hills will ensue.  You know I have no compunction against making the 5k run as hard as possible.  You gotta earn it!

More details to follow as often as I have something.  I'll try to give this blog an update daily.

Osage Results

Sorry for the delay.  Here are the results from Osage Hills:

http://www.dgroadracing.com/2009%20Double%20Shot%20Duathlon-Pawshuska.htm

I haven't posted any pics yet.  We didn't take very many.  If anyone else out there has pictures from the race you'd like linked from the blog, let me know.  

Thanks everyone for racing.

Next race:  Turkey Mountain, October 10

Where is Osage Hills State Park?

Don't know how to get there?  Check this out.  Directions from DoubleShot Coffee Company (aka Epicenter of World Coffee Domination) to the State Park...

Weather

These days of cooler weather and precipitation have been nice.  But I know rain can play havoc on mountain bike races.  Don't you worry.

We're going to have the race, no matter what happens.  

I have raced at Osage Hills in the mud, and I know it's not a good experience.  I'm pretty sure it's not going to be muddy out there.  With all the dryness of summer, this bit of rain is surely firming up the loose sections of trail and only making the trail faster.  But if we happen to have a downpour that muddies up the course on raceday, I'll adjust accordingly to try and save your drivetrain.  We'll have fun, try not to spend any extra money, and enjoy whatever mother nature throws at us.  

Personally, I think the weather is going to be perfect.  Cool and clear with perfect trail conditions.  You watch.  

Osage Hills

Sorry for the lack of info.  I hope you guys are planning to come out and race at Osage Hills this weekend.  Should be a really fun time.  We're putting together the usual merriment, and I hope more people will be there to take advantage.

Here's the course info.

If you know where the mountain bike trails are...  They start by the horse barn and a rock house that is a left turn about a half mile before the ranger station.  There are three trails:  Red, Blue, and White.  They are designed to start from the left of the rock house and finish up the little dirt doubletrack to the right of that.  This is the way we're going to run the race.  The trails are short enough that you can easily ride all of them over and over in one day.  The Red trail is somewhere between 3.25 and 3.5 miles.  It hasn't been maintained and riding it is ridiculous.  Maybe on a full suspension it wouldn't feel so bumpy, but there are loose rocks all over the trail.  We're going to run this trail, so be careful (ankle sprain).  The Blue trail is a lot better, and I think you're going to enjoy riding it.  I clocked this trail right at 3.1 miles, so three loops should give us 15 kilometers.  I think that's going to be a pretty fast ride.  The last time I raced there, it was 100% mud and it took forever (and ruined my drivetrain and my fork), but dry, this thing rolls off pretty quick.  We'll have chip timing again, so you'll be responsible for counting your laps, but the chip will register your lap times.

And of course, we'll finish with another run on the red loop.

The white trail follows the blue for a bit and then breaks off and heads back to the parking lot.  It's only a mile long.  

There will be volunteers and pink flamingoes on the course to direct you, so don't worry.

As usual, my parents will be grilling hotdogs and Vintage 1740 will be donating a keg of Bridgeport IPA.  Yum.

It takes an hour to get there from here, so plan accordingly.  Race starts at 9a.  

Remember, if you don't want to do the duathlon (or have friends who don't mountain bike), you can just do the "5k" run and enjoy the festivities.

Big cash payouts to male and female overall winners of the duathlon.

Resume Racing

Sorry I haven't posted lately. I've been in Colorado for a week. We're gearing up for the next DoubleShot Duathlon at Osage Hills. I'll post more info upon my return.

Thanks for all the nice comments about the Keystone race. Kari and I appreciate it, and your support helps us continue despite lackluster attendance. Recruit lots of peeps for the next race!

Race Pics

Thanks to Ginger Renshaw for hauling her hulking camera around in the woods...

http://gingerrenshaw.shutterfly.com/918xc

DoubleShot Duathlon Keystone RESULTS

http://www.dgroadracing.com/2009%20Double%20Shot%20Duathlon.htm

Race Day

Tomorrow is the kick off of the 2009 DoubleShot Duathlon series.  Lake Keystone bike trails.  Everything is go go go.  We have several pre-registrations, which is strange.  Thanks for that.  I hope we get a lot more race-day registrations in the morning.  We're looking forward to a big group and a hot race.

Speaking of hot.  It's only supposed to be 82 degrees at 9a tomorrow.  By the time the mercury touches 91, you'll be sitting in the shade drinking Bridgeport IPA and eating grilled hotdogs.

Registration opens at 630a.  Coffee will be served.  Lenny Dunn will fire the starting pistol at 9a.  My dad will start cooking hotdogs at 930a.  Awards will follow.  We don't do all the age groups (sorry).  Top three male and female will get awards in the Duathlon and the 5k Trail run.  Top 3 teams.  And there will be awards for the fastest run and bike splits in the duathlon for male and female.  So go all out.

Scott Gibson told me today he can't make the race tomorrow.  I'm not sure if Ray Hall will be there or not- no word.  Some other fast dudes will be there though.  But you can beat them.  Come out and play.  See you in the morning!

SIX IN THE STICKS race results

Click here for the results of SIX IN THE STICKS, July 26, 2009.

If you find mistakes, please let me know so I can make corrections.

Registration has been extended!

I just got word from Kari that she called Active.com and had them open up registration for one more day.  So you have until midnight TONIGHT to pre-register for the Keystone DoubleShot Duathlon & 5k Trail Run.

I went out to the trails again last night and ran every trail we'll be using on Saturday.  The markers are still up.  Not much has changed.  We groomed the trail last weekend as much as we felt necessary, and some of that is growing back, but should be ok for the weekend.  Some of the corners are getting pretty sandy, and if we don't get rain right before the race, you're probably going to bury your front wheel and wash out if you don't slow down.  

Remember, there is a place where the trail splits.  The run will go off the main trail to the right up a rocky hill, and the bike continues straight on the main trail.  We'll have a volunteer at that point to direct you.  (You'll also have the aid of following the pink flamingoes on the run.)  After the next creek crossing the run will continue straight and around to your right, and the bike will take a hard left.  There will be volunteers at this point as well.  Shouldn't be any problems.

The dam road is closed at highway 51.  So make sure you take hwy 412 and get off at the Keystone State Park exit (it has construction signs on it).  Go across the dam and look for Old Hwy 51 on your left.  If you get to the construction and the entrance to Keystone State Park, you went too far.  We'll have signage up on race day to direct you.  The parking lot is right after the turn onto Old Hwy 51.

I can't think of anything else to tell you right now.  Check back later.

Course

Kari and I went out and put markers up on the Keystone course on Saturday.  Please don't tear them down.  It probably looks like we just put markers on every trail out there, but there are a couple places we will need to put volunteers to direct you because caution tape for one course would block the other.

Here's what we decided (for better or worse).  The run will start from the parking lot to the left.  Follow the main trail, but keep an eye out on your right for a turn-off before you get to the creek crossing/short loop-long loop junction.  The run course will follow this side-trail, which reconnects with the main trail a few yards down.  Then you will turn right and continue around the short loop (stay to your right after the creek crossing).  The run will be around 3 miles, but it's pretty rocky, so I don't think you'll mind the .1 or so we shorted it.

You'll run back in on the main trail to the right of the parking lot as you face the pond.  Across the lot to the transition area and on your bike (unless you signed up for the 5k).  You'll bike the main trail (big loop) twice.  Go out the same way you left on the run.  Stay on the main trail- don't go up the side-trail we diverted you on the run.  After the creek crossing turn left.  The first half of the trail is rocky and technical, but the last part of the trail is the payoff and it's really fun.  When you come through the start/finish area, you may have to dismount for the timing system to register your lap (I'll talk to the timing company) and then you'll head off for another lap of the same.  This makes the bike a bit longer than advertised, at 10.7 miles.  That's 1.4 miles long, which you can attribute to the fun stuff on the backside of the lap.  Hopefully everyone will enjoy it.  You must understand that we have no choice but to work with the trails we're racing on, so the racing distances can't be exact every single race.

Should be a fun time if you don't go out and kill yourself.  Take your time through the rocks, dismount when you have to (there are three places during the lap that I dismount during races), and above all have fun.  We want you to enjoy it and come back for more.

Questions?

Keep checking back.

Keystone Duathlon

We're one week out from the first DoubleShot Duathlon of the year.  Kari and I are going to Keystone today to mark the course and clean it up a little.  Working with the distances Keystone gives us, it looks like the two runs will be a hare short of 5k and the bike will end up being about 7.5 miles.  Rough, rocky miles.  I don't think you'll complain.  This rain should help firm up the sandy sections of the trail a little, but be aware that some of the usually fast curves are now really easy places to wash out. 

We'll be starting in the main parking area for the mountain bike trails, across the road from the state park.  Right now, the road is closed from Hwy 51 to Keystone State Park, so you have to come in from Hwy 64/412.  There is a little convenience store and a place to get water just after you enter the state park, so if you need anything that is close.  As you face the retaining pond in the mountain bike parking area, we'll be heading off (on run and bike) to your left.  After you go through a creek crossing, you can go straight and continue on the short loop or you can make a 90 degree left and continue on the long loop.  We'll be riding both of these, but only running the short loop.  The markings that are up right now are Ray's markings that were left up after the Keystone race.  Our flags are red-and-black checkered.  Hopefully today we'll get all his stuff pulled down and put our own flagging up.  We won't be using the new trails Ray cut that lead down to the field, just the main trail.

Remember, the races (the Duathlon AND the 5k Trail run) start next Saturday at 9a.  We'll have the festival ready to roll.  Check back here for more details.  I'll post as frequently as I have something to say.

Start the race!

I'm sure you've always wanted to do this.  Check it out- YOU could start the DoubleShot Duathlon.  Mayor who?  Mayor YOU.  Read all about it here.

Day after...

Thanks to everyone who came out to SIX IN THE STICKS yesterday.  We had 40 racers, a bunch of spectators (crew), and a few indispensable volunteers.  I appreciate the support.  Hopefully everyone had a fun time and took advantage of the amenities we provided.

First, I want to say that I'm disappointed in the changes that are occurring at Turkey Mountain.  It seems that the area we had for so many years, which was well-suited for putting on racing events, is being morphed into something more suited for wheelchair races.  I'm not sure how we're going to pull of the DoubleShot Duathlon this year at Turkey Mountain (October 10).  Another thing that burned me was the destruction of our course.  I marked the course with ribbon a couple weeks ago, and then Kari and I went back out on Saturday to put up more ribbon and caution tape.  Sunday morning when I went out on my bike to make sure the markings were still ok, I found that probably over 80% of the caution tape had been torn down.  I can't begin to understand why people would do that, but I do understand the amount of work involved in putting it up and putting it back up and putting it back up.  Maybe our wish to have more people using Turkey Mountain has led to it being an inhospitable place to have races.

I heard complaints throughout the day that caution tape was down on the course.  And that people were cutting the course.  I don't think there was any confusion where the actual course led.  I'm pretty sure that even if someone broke some caution tape during the race, you could see where it was supposed to be.  So I assume that if someone was cutting the course, they were doing it on purpose.  And there's NOTHING I can do about that.  There must've been  100 different ways you could cut the course, if you knew the trails.  And if you're going to cheat, you're going to cheat.  If you see someone cheat, I guess you should point the finger.  

I'm not saying that I don't think people cheat.  I do think people cheat.  And I don't like it.  I hope they get caught.  And I think there should be a year suspension from racing in USA Cycling events if you are caught cheating.  But I hope no one is cheating.

We worked our asses off to put on this race.  And hopefully we didn't lose more than a couple hundred bucks on it.  If you have comments about the race, feel free to post them here or drop me an email:  Brian@DoubleShotCoffee.com

If you'd like to see pictures from the race, they are posted online thanks to Candice Steichen.

I'll try to post a link to results as soon as I get them from the USAC official.

Now, on to the DoubleShot Duathlon.

The first race of the series is in two weeks.  August 8 at Keystone Lake.  I'll be blogging details here as usual.  Stay tuned.

Day Before SIX IN THE STICKS

Tomorrow is the race.

If you're still thinking about racing, think positive.  Come out and have fun, ride your bike, drink some beer, eat a hotdog, and watch mountain bike videos on our big screen.  If you're definitely not racing, come out and volunteer or just hang out and watch and enjoy the atmosphere.

Kari and I are headed out to Turkey this morning to re-mark the trail.  The markings I put up a couple weeks ago were only preliminary markings, so don't worry- it will be well marked.  

The race shirts are pretty cool I think.  Hopefully you'll like them.

Senator Tom Adelson is coming out tomorrow to start the race with my .357 magnum.  He's running for mayor of Tulsa, so give him hell.

Registration and packet pickup should be simple tomorrow starting at 630a.  I'll explain all the rules pre-race.  But there will be a LeMan's start, which means you'll run a short distance to your bike.  Laps are about 6.5 miles and there is no aid on the course, except in the timing area.  You are welcome to set up a spot for yourself around the timing area to access your gear and personal aid.  If it rains, don't fret.  The ground is a bit sandy.  I think a little rain would make the course faster and easier to ride.  

See you tomorrow!

DoubleShot Duathlon Keystone...

I rode Keystone again yesterday and I changed my mind about the course.  We're going to ride in the same direction we raced the XC race.  It's just too awkward riding the other way.  If you've trained at all out there, I'm sure (like me) you're familiar with the trail one way.  So when you're facing the retention pond, go into the woods on the left.  Follow the big loop- hang left whenever you have a choice.  I'm not going down through Ray's cutoff into the field, so just stay on the main trail.  By my computer, the long loop is 5.35 miles and the short loop is 2.13 miles.  I haven't decided exactly what to do with that.  But I'll keep you posted.  

This weekend I'm going to have to stay focused on SIX IN THE STICKS.

Check yourself for ticks!

Duathlon Questions

I'm here to answer questions.

I got an email from someone today that says the following:  

I'm interested in trying a duathlon.  I mountain bike and I run 5ks often... I have just never done a duathlon.  Any suggestions?  Which one should I try?  What type of gear/clothing do I need?

Good questions, I think.

I think if you are ready, you should do the first one, coming up at Keystone Lake on August 8.  None of them are going to be a breeze, so if you want to give it a go, let's do it.  If you enjoy the experience, you'll be excited to do the other two races in the series.  If you skip one or two, you might wish you would've done all three.  Worst case scenario is you get more training and have a little fun.  Obviously you need all the things you would need when mountain biking.  Helmets are mandatory.  Most people wear cycling shorts and whatever jersey they usually mountain bike in for the whole race.  You don't have to have trail running shoes, but some type of running shoes.  Most people have clipless pedals, so they change shoes in transition, but it's not essential.  Gloves for cycling.  What else?  Bring a couple bottles- there won't be any hydration out on the course except in the transition area.  If you want Hammer Gel or something, you might bring it.  Hammer is one of our sponsors, so there'll be some gel in the race bags along with Endurolyte samples, and we'll have HEED energy drink mixed up in 5 gallon coolers.

I think these races are fun.  People often tell me that they really enjoy the experience, so I hope you'll come out and give it a try.

Distances for Keystone.  I'm going to try and make the run 3 miles.  I'm trying to decide how much crossover I want to deal with during the race, so the bike course will probably be somewhere between 6 and 8.5 miles.  More on that soon.

Other questions?  Please ask.

This Sunday is SIX IN THE STICKS.  If you're not going to race, you should come out and watch or volunteer.  Free beer (Avery Karma Ale) and hotdogs (from my dad's grill).

DSDu Keystone

Ok Duathletes.

I drove out to Keystone on Wednesday afternoon.  Rode round and round exploring different options.  This isn't firm yet, but I think I'm going to run the race in the opposite direction Ray ran the Keystone Cross Country Mountain Bike Race.  So instead of running off into the woods on your left (as you face the pond), you'll take off on the right.  As I mentioned before, the trail choices out there are limited, so I'm pretty sure we're going to run the short loop (with maybe one detour) and bike the long loop.  Honestly, Wednesday was the first time I've ridden Keystone the opposite direction.  It felt like I was riding left handed.  But I really think the trail was more pleasant that way.  Most of the climbs that way are easier and some of the climbs going the other way turn out to be fun little descents.  I did get off my bike going up the steep climb out by the road and in the rock garden on the way back to the parking lot.  But for the most part, it was enjoyable.  Of course, I wasn't riding race pace.

I need to get out there and cut away a few thorns and tree branches.  We'll flag the course before the race and we'll also have some HELP out on the course to direct you and make sure you don't accidentally cut the course.  I'm pretty sure all the runners will be off the course before you can get around on your bike, but it's possible we'll have some laggers.  Also possible you'll get run up on from behind by cyclists while you're on the second run.  As long as everyone is paying attention and calling out when you want to pass, we should be fine.

Feel free to ask questions here.

Courses (x2)

An open letter to myself...

Dear Brian, you need to get out and get acclimated to this heat.  You are pathetic.  That ride yesterday where you kept stopping every few minutes to recover after soft-pedaling was... not good.  Also, you need to eat before you ride.  And hydrating with electrolytes wouldn't hurt either.  Nice ride this morning though; way to get out while it was in the low 80s.

Ok, sorry for that.  Needed to get that off my chest.  

With two races coming up in the next month, you can imagine we're busy busy busy.  So I apologize if I'm not getting information out as quickly as you'd like.  We're doing our best, I promise.  

Update on the Turkey course for SIX IN THE STICKS.  The course markings must be good enough to follow because a few of you have emailed, called, and texted me about it.  Yeah, it's hot.  But I'm hearing good things about the course layout.  I personally think it's a pretty fast course with a lot of fun, windey sections and as much sustained (and not too technical) climbing as can be found at Turkey.  Womack reported to me today that he did two laps at 75% effort in 1:20, so it's possible to ride 30 minute laps during the race.  I think the course is probably around 7 miles, but I still don't have confirmation.  Does anyone have a computer on their mountain bike?

We'll have plenty of cold water and HEED, Hammer Nutrition's sports drink.  But bring whatever you think you'll need to get through the race.  Feel free to email me with questions.

The first race in the DoubleShot Duathlon series is just around the corner!  This is very exciting.  For the first time, we'll be putting on a race at Keystone.  Unlike the mountain bike race, we'll be staging in the main parking lot, just off Old Highway 51.  I haven't gotten out to put up markings yet, but it's pretty easy to figure out which trails we'll be using because there is pretty much only one choice.  I'll get my lazy arse out there asap and give you more details on trail conditions and course directions.

This is going to be a fun year for off-road racing.  I hope all of you spread the word about SIX IN THE STICKS (July 26) and the DoubleShot Duathlon series (August 8, September 5, and October 10).  More racers means more likelihood we'll keep advancing the cause of DoubleShot Racing.

Rainy

How was I supposed to know we were about to have a monsoon?

Just as I was about to walk out the door to ride yesterday afternoon it started to rain.  I decided to drink a beer and wait to ride until this morning.  And it's raining cats and dogs today.

So... my plan is to go out on foot this afternoon and flag the course, so you guys can ride it this weekend.  Red and black checkered flagging.  Hopefully it won't be muddy.

Sorry for the delays.

UPDATE:  So I went to Turkey yesterday and marked the course.  Almost all the ribbons are on your left.  There were a couple places where I couldn't figure out a good place to mark a right-hand turn, so I put a ribbon on the right in your field of vision.  But for the most part they're on your left.  It starts in the shitty "parking lot" that our friends at Riverparks made and heads out south on the sandy singletrack toward 71st.  It was pretty soft and muddy yesterday with a lot of puddles.  And with the rain today, I'm sure it's going to be even muddier.  But it's marked.  Took me 2.5 hours on foot (running) to mark the trail and the insane humidity out there drenched me from head to toe.  I'm not sure how long the course it, but I'd guess 7-8 miles.  It's a FAST course on a bike though, so I hope you'll like it.  Let me know if you have questions.

SIX course update

Rode Turkey on Thursday on what I thought would be the race course.  The trails are more rutted than usual with a lot of exposed rocks and roots.  So I've changed my mind about the course.  I do want this race to be fun, so I'm going to try and route through as many fun sections as possible.  I've also decided to shorten the length of each lap a bit too, because if it is really hot (and it probably will be) you'll be able to get back more often to refill your bottles.

So here's the tentative course description.  I still may change it up a bit, but I'll try and get out there to ride and mark it tomorrow.

Start in the parking lot (what's left of it) and ride south down the sandy trail toward 71st.  Hang tight through Bombshell (or Bomb Shelter or whatever you call it).  Take a left on the cutoff that leads to the drop into the flat roadbed.  Then right into the creek bed and through the loose, rocky rollers out to the paved river trail- left and up around the right curve.  At the next curve, go onto the dirt trail on your right that leads up the ridable climb.  Find your way out to the main trial that leads up from the parking lot, right to another right hand turn up the trail Womack and Mikey built with the bridge at the top.  Continue climbing up next to Elwood, right at the top and left onto the windey trails through the woods.  Keep going straight past where that trail used to end and follow the new trail down to Millennium Trail.  Take a right and ride out to the Spider and across to the west side.  Down the fun hill, whip it around and down those fun rock drops and back through by the dead tree and off the lip by the Pepsi plant.  Left through the trashy creek bed, up the hill hang right.  Through another creek bed and onto the main Y trails to a doubletrack.  Follow it a ways and get off on a new singletrack that leads out to a pond in a clearing.  Sorry, I wish I knew the names of these trails, if they have names.  Hopefully if you've ridden at Turkey extensively, you'll be able to visualize the route.  At this point, instead of following the windey trail along 61st, you'll break off to the left and left again to the south side of the Snake Trail and race that around to the main exit, up the main trail to the upper parking lot and down Lip Buster back to the parking lot.

What do you think?  I think it will be fun, and I'm planning to ride during the race, so I want it to be fun.

SIX IN THE STICKS course

I have the six-hour course mapped out and will go out to ride it in its entirety tomorrow.  Will report the length after that.  It will be a fun course.  You'll be able to rip through most of it, but we're still talking about Turkey Mountain so technical sections are inevitable.  Six hour is a long time to ride at Turkey, so hopefully the course will flow for you.  There won't be any paved sections except for a very short pass up the river trail to connect a couple trails.  It looks like the ride through the "parking lot" won't even be paved, and I'll figure out a solution to route us around ongoing construction.  I hope they have enough of the construction finished so we can have adequate parking.  Riverparks assured me the entire project would be finished by July 26, but I'm planning for the worst.  So don't worry about it- we'll make it work.  

Hopefully you're all still riding a lot, training through this heat.  Get out and get acclimated.

I'll blog again on Friday with as much of a course description as I can give.  Maps of Turkey mountain are somewhat useless, but I'll do my best to give you an idea where the race is.

Next week I'll get out and do some preliminary course marking with red and black checkered ribbon.

Duathlon Competition

I talked to Scott Gibson yesterday and it sounds like he's going to race in all three of the duathlons this year.  Ray Hall is sounding like he'll be racing all three as well.  Scott won the first two years we put on the race at Turkey, but didn't show last year.  Ray finished second two years ago and won last year.  These are the guys to beat.  I hope this inspires some of you to get out and train hard; give them a run for their money ($3200 total prize money for the series).

Ladies, we don't discriminate.  There's $1600 sitting out there waiting for you.  In general, competition in the women's division of our duathlon has been fairly lame.  If you're a female and you have ever been on a mountain bike, get out there.  It's fun.

The economy is kicking our ass this year, so sponsorships are not coming in like we want.  But we're still going to put in a first class race.  The DoubleShot will carry this thing if it has to.  So drink more coffee!

SIX IN THE STICKS website

www.SixRace.com

SIX IN THE STICKS

DoubleShot Racing has decided to take on one more race this year.  A six-hour mountain bike race at Turkey Mountain on July 26.  The race will be from 8a-2p.  Stay tuned to this channel and the DoubleShot Duathlon website for more details soon.  It's part of the Ridin' Dirty Endurance Series.

While you're waiting, why don't you go buy some coffee from our title sponsor, DoubleShot Coffee Company.

Venue Change

Before we even began, we ran into significant issues with Lake McMurtry, which discouraged us from holding a race there.  So we've decided to hold our second race of the year at Osage Hills State Park.  If you've never been there, I think you're going to enjoy it.  It's out of the way a little, and sometimes that's a good thing.  The terrain will be rock-strewn, but not as technical as Turkey.  Just enough to make you hold onto your handlebars.

I hope a lot of you decide to race the series this year.  I'm starting to hear chatter about the prize money we're offering.  The new venues may be the place to win money, so put all three on your calendar.

August 8 - Lake Keystone

September 5 - Osage Hills

October 10 - Turkey Mountain

Race series!

This year marks the 4th annual DoubleShot Duathlon, and we've decided to step it up.  After adding a 5k Trail Run last year, we're giving the race another shot in the arm by putting on a series of three races this year.  

The series begins August 8 at Lake Keystone.  The Keystone trails will present competitors with a combination of rocky, technical trail and relatively smooth, fast sections.  

Lake McMurtry is the second race of the year, on September 5.  Located just outside Stillwater, the trails will add a new element, as racers will pick up the pace on the twisty, hard-pack singletrack.  

The big race of the year will again be at Turkey Mountain on October 10.  Expect the usual fun and games on Turkey's rock-strewn paths.  To make it interesting, we've increased the prize money at Turkey to $400, $300, and $200.  That's money worth racing for.

5k Trail Run events will also be held at each venue.

Check out the official DoubleShot Duathlon website for more details: www.DoubleShotDuathlon.com

Start training now.  And register early.