Pierre’s Hole Race Report from “The” Dave Saurman

Hey Riders, So another session of self abuse at Pierre’s Hole this past Saturday. Tons of fun. A great turn out from the locals and others from all over the planet. And maybe a few from nearby planets? A leisurely start at 10:15 for the 50 milers. It was warm, dry and never got above 75 degrees. Perfect race conditions as the weeks rains made the course tacky. Some new trail( still a bit bumpy) but good to mix it up.

I had ridden some of the course last Wednesday and Mill Creek specifically was scary with a water runnel right down the middle of the trail. Thanks to Troy Barry and his crew for making it much more rid able.

The race was fun - though seemed to hurt more than usual. As the 40+ champ for the last two years, I had a lot to live up to…….or not. I knew going in there was some stiff competition this year. A lot of strong contenders not from here.

I had a good start, I had an awesome first decent of Mill creek. I hammered the road up to Bustle Creek decent. I was amazed how many I passed. at one point, like 15at once? The usually long hump up Dry Creek (really painful) and out into Ricks kind of by myself. Start/Finish and off for the second lap. Now the pain increasing. Even better descent down Mill Creek ( as there was no one in front of me) and another good road climb. An OK descent to the Dry Creek #2. Now the pain really begins. I was passed by a few not in my class, and maybe one in the 40 +? I did not care, I kept pushing forward, but not fast enough. Finally the top and slowly into Ricks again. Now I was home. 8 miles to go. Then I began to Cramp. The inner thighs. Damn I hate that. I popped my last 3 Ecaps and moved on. It helped for a while, but a mile from the end I started to cramp agian. Damn. Then I saw some dude, a 100 miler on his last lap and asked him if he had Ecaps? He looked, actually stopped in the middle of his race and found none. I found one last shot of my Egooo and I guess there was enough lytes in it to save me. I finished. Yeah. With no good training except racing, I felt good about my race. I had record time and ended up 4th in the 40+ and a podium as they went 5 deep!! Not bad for this fat out of shape geezer.

Just happy for another clean race, no crashes, no bonks, no flats and no mechanicals.

Oh, and congrats to all my buddies for there podiums. I think just about everyone got a spot.

Cheers, DS

Who needs a car?

Adjusting his lifestyle to live a more fun, active, healthy and environmentally conscious lifestyle, Matt Daly purchased a Surly Big Dummy to justify parking his car permanently. And he is STOKED! Of course we’re stoked for him too. You can find yourself living car-free with a Surly Big Dummy too! Here are a few excerpts from Matt about his sweet new whip:

Matt’s New Big Dummy from Bike Wire on Vimeo.

“Smooth ride with 50lbs of groceries and beer.”

“The new Stoker handlebars are great.”

“I have to say, in my experience, your shop has the best customer service of any business in town.
It was so much fun to work on this bike with so many folks there who shared the excitement.”

Thanks for paving the way Matt! Keep sending us photos and stories of you car-free lifestyle!

Boise Ironman 70.3 Report from Doug Connelly!

Doug Connelly’s Race Report:

I loaded my truck with a bike and bin of swim and run gear. My wife and dog hopped in too, and we spent Friday driving to Boise. Sounds like a lot of us from Fitzgerald’s were there this weekend. I raced in the Ironman 70.3 - 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run. This was a first of this distance for me, longer than past races and I loved it, a little sore but psyched to race another.

The day started off with the swim. Sun felt warm but the water was 53 degrees . . . damn cold even in a wetsuit. The pro field entered the water first and took off. I was a few waves back, racing in my age group event. Led Zeppelin cranked over the PA system as I tried to get my breathing controlled in the cold temps. The horn blasted and the race was on. A few people were plucked from the water by rescue boats, but most racers rounded the buoys and made it into transition 1. I was glad to be out of the cold, and felt plenty strong for the bike ride ahead. Pulled off my wetsuit to reveal orange and green beneath.

Onto the bike. I had been looking forward to this for a while. Thanks JayP for the new fit on my Cervelo. It worked great, felt faster and I was able to hold position for the entire 56. The course winded over flats, hills, bridges, and finished in downtown Boise. People were out cheering. Cops on motorcycles. I saw one crash behind me as a guy came into a downhill turn too hard. There were two massive downhills that let me tuck in and hold on - probably hit 40+ mph on those . . . pretty awesome. About thirty miles in, I felt my glutes getting tight. I passed lots of people. Still, a handful of guys flew by on their bikes and I was tempted to chase, but knew the half marathon was ahead and would be the biggest challenge for me.

Bike shoes off, running shoes on. At this point, hydration and nutrition were pretty big deals - It was getting hot. I handled this well with gels and shots and the run course provided support at every mile. When first trying to run off the bike, my hamstrings felt like tightened balls about to snap. After a couple miles they loosened up and I was able to get into a decent rhythm, then eventually pick the speed up.

In the end I finished 49^th in my age group of 154 racers. 324^th of 1221 total racers with a time of 5 hours 23 minutes. I expected the bike to be my strongest leg and was surprised to find that my run was slightly more effective. I’m racing again in two weeks at the USAT Rocky Mountain Regional in Loveland, CO.