Trevor Pratt racing short track

Last weekend was Mother’s Day, or the Cascade Chainbreaker for the mountain bikers. I spent most of Saturday in bend enjoying the weather and the town, fish tacos, and it was off to bed. We got to the race in the morning and the place was jumping. Nice and sunny with a chance of rain. I shrugged that off left with shorts and sleeves again.

The gun went off and it was the usual Chainbreaker dust storm start. I decided to take it easy and escape the dust so I dropped back and watched the rest of the group choke as they sprinted for position. We had 38 miles, so I wasn’t too worried about the start. As we made our way through the start loop my back tire went flat, just in time! I pulled over to the side and watched everybody and their brother’s dog fly by as I got my tube and co2 out.

Of course this is the first time I’ve ever actually used the co2 before, and I can’t get it to fill my tire correctly before it goes empty and I’m stuck there with a half inflated rear tire. I figured I was done, but would at least I could walk to the finish area and see if I might find a pump. I found a pump after and decided to give the race another chance, maybe about thirty minutes late! What else could go wrong? Well, that’s when I noticed that it was snowing… Read more »

After taking care of business at the Whiskey Off-Road, two of my teammates and I spent a week enjoying great weather, fantastic riding, and awesome friendship in Northern Arizona. Here is what they had to say about the trip:

Just returned from a great trip down to Flagstaff Arizona! Lots of sun and altitude and riding the sweet trails. Evan and Ryan were my wing men (or point men, depending on your view point). We hammered some of the trails in Sedona as well. I had some technical difficulties ie. loose freewheel hub and seperating tire tread. The hub we tightened and the tire I ignored since I was due for some new rubber after the trip anyway!

Thanks, Mike R.

The last couple weeks have been a bit of a roller coaster ride for sure. Back in January my industry partners and I put together a schedule of events for the season and two of the most important fell in April. Leading up to what was supposed to be a period of top form I experienced none of the usual sensations of being on target.

The reoccurring muscle spasms in my hips, back and upper quads were as bad as ever in the days following Sea Otter and while I must thank my friends Seth and Aaron for all the helpful body work, I was only marginally better. The fatigue that has been with me for over two years seemed to flourish with the stress of travel and racing and luckily I had a doctor appointment for more blood tests the day after returning home from California.

The results came two days later and I was diagnosed with Epstein Barr. While this is obviously not good news, it was sort of vindication for years of symptoms. Night sweats, muscle spasms, chronic fatigue, non-existent recovery, craving/binging episodes, short term memory loss, lapses in judgment, hypoglycemia, low WBC, were just some of the battles I have fought since April of 2009.

When Epic Rides had announced that the 2011 Whiskey Off-Road event would pay out a trip to Single Speed World Championships we decided this would be one of my top priorities for the season. Now with my beating at Sea Otter and subsequent diagnosis with EB it seemed like only a mirage on a dismal horizon!

I rested and did my best to be prepared for the trip to Arizona and we drove down arriving the night before the 50 mile event. I took a short ride after a couple days of no bike riding and felt mediocre at best. The next morning as the shotgun sounded the start and I wasn’t even remotely comfortable on the bike.

We left town and climbed toward the first section of single track. I kept telling myself that the race was long and the knots in my hips and hamstrings would loosen but my heartrate was way too high and soon I was a couple minutes off the leaders’ pace. My anxiety was beginning to hamper my ability to ride as I was even off my bike on uphills that should have been rideable and slow on the technical descents that I would normally crave.

On the ensuing jeep road climb, I passed many of the geared riders but had none of the three single speeder leaders were in sight. Eventually we started down the out/back to Skull Valley and I tucked myself into a bullet, trying in vain to stretch my screaming left hamstring. Halfway down I caught Dejay Birch (Niner) who was drafting a geared rider. We descended the rest of the way to the turn around together and amazingly came in contact with the other two single speed leaders at the bottom.

Despite catching them, I couldn’t locate my pit man and ended up losing another half minute grabbing a bottle. After resuming the chase it didn’t take long to rejoin the lead. As the road from Skull Valley tilted up, I went to the front and only Dax Massey (Honey Stinger) was able to match my pace. Despite still feeling rough and uncomfortable, I was able to settle into a manageable pace and stay seated on the steepest pitches.

The climb was difficult but actually enjoyable as it constantly changed grade and character. The vistas were pristine but the wind was interminable and seemed to be continually into our faces from one angle or another. This made it next to impossible to break away so I patiently waited for an opportunity to test Massey’s metal.

Several miles into the climb I could see that there was a short steep section ahead so I stood to stretch my hips and hamstrings. In doing so, I accelerated and I noticed that Dax had lost contact. I continued to stand over the crest and then sat and spun up my 34-16 as the road flattened. After reaching the next step in the road there was significant gap so I returned to my initial pace knowing that the wind was now buffeting us equally and my lead would surely increase.

By the time I reached the start of the out/back section all of my competition was out of sight but there were still several miles of climbing to go. Luckily the road turned and the wind moved towards the rear making it marginally easier to turn over the pedals. Soon I reached the top and enjoyed a beautiful descent before tackling the last steep, loose climb where I dismounted for a short run to the last summit.

From there it was rolling downhill with numerous stream crossings and occasional fans cheering me on. These trails were faster and more open than those at the beginning of the race and I was able to tuck in and make short work of these last few miles of lovely single track before hitting the pavement where a motorcycle escort was waiting to whisk me back to town.

It was almost like motor pacing and if anything I pushed a bit hard trying to keep up with the cops but before long we made the turn uphill towards the courthouse and I knew that victory was as sure as it could be. After the final left turn, I raised my arms not so much in celebration but more like I was springing to the surface after holding my breath under water! I was overcome by a sense of relief knowing that I had tamed my doubts and delivered what had seemed so uncertain just a few hours before!

Now, I must thank my family for their support of this crazy passion and my friends who believe in my ambitions and help facilitate these racing endeavors. Also thanks to Epic Rides and Todd Sadow for offering me a stellar event to race and rewarding me with such an awesome prize! Now it is time to get well, plan for healthy days to come, and look forward to a visit to Ireland in August!

Here is a look at the ride courtesy of Garmin:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/83088112

It’s already May, and bike racing is in full effect here in Oregon. We’re about halfway through the XC Classics Series and it feels like we only just began. Last year was my first time to Bear Springs Trap, so I still didn’t really know what to expect. I flew home to Portland on Friday, and drove up to Mt Hood Saturday morning in time to help Petr and the guys at Hurricane help set up and get ready for the Short Track Race that afternoon.

As usual, I took my time getting ready to race and showed up to the small start line without much of a warm up. They called out the small number of racers that were there and we were off to a fast start. As I tried to stay with the leaders on the first lap, I crashed in some snow on the descent and watched the rest of the racers cruise by. I played catch up for the next thirty minutes, holding on for third on the day.

The next morning was XC, and I was signed up to help with registration in the morning. It must have been about thirty degrees until the sun came out, and made it hard to choke down breakfast in between the shivers. Once again I made it to the start line with a sissy warm up and it was time to race. By then the sun was higher in the sky and the conditions were beautiful, no arm or leg warmers for me, this was going to be a gentleman’s race!

The start was fast and I soon found myself lost in a sea of spandex. It didn’t take long for the pack to string out, and I couldn’t help feeling like I was dead last. It turned out that many people took a wrong turn, so I wasn’t too far off. About three or four times throughout the race I had to stop and look around for trail markings, scream some obscenities in the middle of the woods, and continue on hoping that I was on the right course!

I finally started to recognize parts of the trail about three or four miles from the finish, buried the pin and finished in sixth, just shy of eight minutes behind the first place rider.

Until next time,
Trevor Pratt

Hey race fans! All of us were pleasantly surprised when race day came around and it was sunny! The Mudslinger began with a rolling mass start that eliminated the usual cooling down while waiting your turn the race. Race director Mike Ripley had shortened the course of the usual 2 lap race.

Dave Hill and I raced the Cat 1 45+ group. He came in through fourth place, while I brought up the rear in 17th partially due to a slow leak in my front tire that required frequent inflation. Dave Goodier stood in second place on the podium in the Cat 2 55+. He was passing out chocolate chip cookies before the race, so maybe he ate one too many! Ryan Eisele hammered to fourth place in the huge single speed field. Trevor Pratt represented well in the Cat 1 19-34 with a sixth place finish. Bart(man) Carter tried out his new bike and re-juvenated knees to come in eighth in his first race back. No injuries although several of us fell (including yours truly)!

Bye for now, Michael Romasco.

Last Thursday, we loaded up the car with goodies for the Ibis booth and headed south to the Sea Otter. Upon arrival, we unloaded and I spent some time visiting with my pals from Magura, SDG, ESI Grips, Rotor, Kenda, and Manitou. The Rotor boys were kind enough to give me a live to Monterey and I enjoyed a tranquil last supper prior to race-day on Friday.

My slumber was disturbed first by some drunken neighbors bashing into my motel room door and then by my friend arriving at o’dark hundred. He proceeded to rise with the birds—afterall, who needs sleep before a race?! We loaded up and arrived at Laguna Seca in time to get our bikes sorted and make the start about a minute before launch. I moved to the front as we left the pavement, but was overtaken on the first downhill section by Aaron Bradford and Dax Massey.

I was feeling a bit slow, but my confidence was buoyed by last year’s similar start and ultimate result. There were allegedly some changes to the course so I took a wait-and-see approach to the first lap. This year, I chose the same gearing, similar tires and front suspension. Last year, the gearing and tires were spot on, but I felt like I lost some time on the steep, rough descents—hence the decision for the fork.

Unfortunately, virtually all the rough stuff had been eliminated and many of the dirt road climbs and descents had been covered in a thick layer of loose gravel. My gear was simply too high to climb in the saddle and any effort out of the saddle was foiled by peeling out. The new downhill sections were filled with loose, sandy/gravel off-camber corners and I would have been well advised to ride more edgy tires.

By the end of the first lap, I was comfortably in second position but could make no progress as Aaron continued to extend his lead on the rest of the field. While my tires and gearing would have definitely made the race closer, I am still not sure they would have sealed the deal as my general state of fatigue and the muscle spasms that have plagued my year thus far were only at a barely tolerable level.

It was awesome to stand on the Sea Otter podium again, and Mr. Bradford seems like a great winner so I must be happy with a solid performance and try to make ends meet in time for the Whiskey Off-Road later this month!

Here is a link to my Garmin Connect activity:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/79422803