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I’m going to talk about the racing and race training, and I will also cover all things GPS when it comes to tracking rides.

All Things Racing

Have you ever thought about racing? That usually how it starts. I wasn’t new to riding at the time, but I had just started riding through the winter. Since my fitness was improving, racing seemed like a pretty reasonable thing to do. Some of the guys I rode with were racers, and it seemed like fun. I signed up for my first race in 2008. It was a winter XC race called the Snotcycle. I finished, which was my goal.

There are a lot of different way you can race your bike. You can choose from cross country, otherwise known as XC, endurance, stage, enduro and downhill. Each discipline is different, and each have their own character. The most important thing is having a good attitude and having fun!

XC racing is usually a set number of laps on a race loop. The length or the number of laps will be determined by the race class. The classes are novice, sport, and expert. Races are usually between 10-25 miles depending on the class. These races are a lot of fun, and I am sure there are local XC races for anyone reading this. Some races I have done have been big elaborate events while others used paper plates as race plates. The race timing is done with a chip that goes on a bike or the rider. After the race you can see you total time, lap times etc.

Endurance racing is another form of XC racing. The setup is a little different. You have two types of endurance racing. You have point to point races which are usually measured in distances like 50 or 100 miles. These races are solo races, i.e. no team. They will usually have aid stations along the way for racers to get food, water, and even a little mechanical help if needed. The race classes here are a little different. There is open, open senior, single speed, and clydesdale. These will usually be broken down further by male and female. These races always have a great welcoming community atmosphere. For me these were always a personal challenge to see if I could ride that far, and/or beat my pervious time. I never had any intention of hope of winning these.

The other type of endurance racing is done by hours racing. They are usually 6, 12, or 24 hour formats. These can be done solo or as part of team. Rather than racing point to point, the racers try to do the most laps on within that window of time. As long as the last lap is started before the time runs out, it counts. Most of these that I have done have laps between 5-10 miles each. With the addition of teams there are even more race classes here. Sole, 2 person team, 3 person team, all male, female, or co-ed teams. With the longer races you find yourself racing at night which ads another layer to an already fun event. These races usually end with a party. At least the ones I have done.

Stage racing is another type of XC race. There are usually 5-6 stages. One stage is raced each day over a multi-day event. The stages can be from 20-35 miles. At the end your combined time is your final race time. These are really tough races that will challenge you every day. These are solo races with classes similar to the point to point endurance racing.

Enduro, nor to be confused with endurance, racing consist of untimed transfer, and timed downhill stages. There are usually 5 - 6 stages. You combine your total time for all the timed stages for your race time. The racer with the lowest time wins. This is my current favorite racing discipline since it combines my love of pedaling and going fast down hill. I am one of the weird ones that actually likes climbing, Cleaning a big climb it hard and rewarding. You get to earn your downhills. That said there are some amateur enduro races that use a chairlift for some of the transfers. It all depends on the race and where it’s held. Most of the timed downhill stages will be between 1-3 miles. These races are a lot of fun. You usually get a day or days of practice, so you can figure out the best and fastest lines.

Downhill is the last of the major race disciplines. As the name implies, the riders race down a predetermined track. The fastest time wins. This is similar to enduro in that there are practice days for the racers to figure out which lines are fastest. Since all the riders practice and race the same track, lines can change throughout the event. This is one of the most spectator friendly events. There’s nothing quite like hearing fans yelling an screaming as you fly by. If you have the opportunity to check out a local or not so local downhill race you should.

If you are still unsure where to start I would recommend starting at a local XC race, and then go from there. If you are worried you don’t have the right bike for a race, the good news is you can race any bike at any race. That said, there are bikes that will excel in certain types of races. Most XC and endurance racers are on bikes with 120-130mm of travel. Enduro racers tend to ride bikes in the 150-180mm of travel. Most of the downhill racers will be on dual crown 200mm travel bikes.

Training for a race is pretty simple. To build fitness, spend lots of time pedaling. It can be on a mountain bike, gravel bike, road bike or even a stationary bike. It’s really that simple. Any time in the saddle will help. That saddle time will help build skills, and get you more comfortable on a bike. From there it’s time spent practicing the type of racing you want to do. For example if you want to race XC, look up a race loop from a past race, and ride it race pace. Race pace is as fast as you feel comfortable without stopping. If it’s a shorter loop, do two of them. The most important thing to remember is have fun and a good attitude, and everything else will fall into place.

Bike I’m Eyeing: Vampire Bikes Fastarossa

GPS: how and why to track your rides.

I have been using GPS to track my rides for about 20 years. I have used everything from a phone, a bike mounted unit, and a watch. All of them have their pros and cons, and I will share which is my favorite and why.

First I want to talk about the why. When I first started doing it, I just thought it was cool to see a digital representation of what I had ridden. GPS will track the distance, elevation, time, and the path traveled. It can be a great training tool, so you can compare your current times on trails to your past times to see if you are in fact getting fitter and faster. It’s also a good tool to keep track of the miles you have ridden on particular bike. Suspension services and chain replacements are recommended based on the number of hours used. Most suspension manufacturers recommend a service at 50 hours of use. If you average about 10 miles per hour, you should get the service done about every 500 miles. Replacing a chain after 1000 miles can extend the life of your drivetrain.

A phone is a great way to see if you find recording your rides without any additional money out of pocket. There are tons of apps to choose from. I prefer Strava. I have been using it since 2010, and so far I have recorded over 22,000 miles of riding with close to 2.5 million vertical feet of climbing. I use the free version. The pay version has features I don’t really use, and I am not willing to pay for it. Way back when, recording a 3 hour ride on your phone would just about kill your battery. That’s not really the case anymore. One of the cons of a phone is having to stop to look at it if you want to check mileage etc. I won’t use a bar mount phone holder. None that I have seen are great for mountain bikes. I also don’t like the idea of having something that expensive to either lose or damage in a crash. Another app that I like and pay for is Trailforks. It’s a great way to navigate a trail system you don’t know. The free version covers on region, so if you usually ride close to home it’s sufficient. The pay version unlocks every trail and region on the app. I have used it to navigate on trails across the country and in Mexico. You can also use it to record, but I don’t.

The next option is a GPS head unit. A GPS head unit is something like the Garmin 840 I have linked below. These come in all shapes, and sizes, but most are about the size of an old school flip phone. The two most trusted brands are Wahoo, and Garmin. There are other brands like Lezyne, but the Garmin and Wahoo units are going to be the most robust as far as features and support. Once you record a ride on the unit it can live there, or you can upload it to your phone, and then to Strava and/or Trailforks. This is how I have recorded the majority of my rides. I have Strava and Trailforks linked to my Garmin app, and it auto uploads the rides. Before the days of a phone having a barometric altimeter, a GPS unit was the best way to get an accurate elevation profile from your ride. Phones are much better now, but the head unit is still currently a little better. A lot of the head units have a nice feature if you are lost or just short on time. It can guide you back to the wherever you started recording. With Garmin you have the option of taking the fastest route or the most popular. Most are packed with features that can be good training aides or simply a way to geek on data. The head units can be linked to a number of the apps on your phone. If you choose, you can see texts, emails, phone calls etc. This very useful if you want to ride during work hours, but you still need to answer calls and emails. Another great feature is the ability to load a GPS file onto the unit, and follow it with turn by turn directions. It’s easier than pulling out your phone at every turn to check Trailforks. Some of the lower cost unit struggle with this feature. These are great units, but there are some cons. You need mount for each bike. You need to remember to bring it with you, and remember to charge it. There have been a few ride where I show up with a dead battery. They have been known to eject from mounts in crashes or normal riding.

The last option is the fitness watch or smart watch. These have most of the features of the head units in a more compact package. I used to wear an Apple watch. I liked the way I could access the features on my phone to make calls, answer texts or emails. What I didn’t like was the super short battery life, especially when GPS tracking. I finally had a Apple watch last so long that I started losing apps because I had out of date software. I had to decide to upgrade to a new Apple watch or dive into the world of Garmin watches. I decided to go with a Garmin watch. It has all the features of my Apple watch with a battery life that is 10 times what my Apple watch could ever do. I have the Venu 3. I last charged it about a week ago. I recorded a 3 hour ride today, and did a software update. I am still at 55% battery. Since I have an iPhone I can only see texts and emails. I can’t respond to them. On an Android device you can do both of those things. I can answer calls which is a nice feature. The Garmin watches are overall a little more expensive than an Apple watch. In my opinion the extra cost is worth it. They are considerable more robust since they are primarily designed to be use while you are working out. That and the battery life. I am a few months into my watch use, and I don’t see this changing. It allowed me to reduce the number of devices I have, and I didn’t lose any functionality in the process.

Did you miss some of the previous issues? Here are some of the most popular ones:

• The Hydration Issue

• The e-bike issue

• Maintenance Issue Part 4

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Brandon Semenuk: La La Land

Also, based on some inquiries, I’m now offering Bike Buying Consultations, you can find more information about it here. You will have access to me via text or email to help guide you through the bike buying process. You can also get a bike consultation by referring friends.