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Written by Jason Mahokey
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Wednesday, 17 October 2007 |
Little recap of the 2007 season
The 2007 seemed like a strange season. I only did 6 races, but race over 550 miles. Unfortunately I spent no time on the podium, but got some good top 10 finishes in the 4 Solo races did which included a 13 hour, two 12s and a 24.
I also raced two races in the National Ultra Endurance Series including the Mohican 100 in Ohio and the Wilderness 101 here in PA. Both were a blast. Well, I should say they were a blast when they were over and I was sipping a beer and talking bikes with friends . I had the opportunity to hang with Bikeman.com racer Rich Nelson at the Wilderness 101. That was cool. Living 500 miles from Team Bikeman.com HQ it was nice to finally meet a teammate. Plus Rick and I share a "unique' sense of humor and had a good time.
My season seemed to end rather abruptly. After my Solo 24 in September I got sick, and then once I recovered I jacked up a muscle or something in my rib cage. Riding hurt, let alone racing. By the time I felt "race fit" again, I looked up to see the season had ended. Crap!
There were a couple of CX and XC races that I could have done, but after you spend a season in the zone training for the steady tempos and suffering of endurance races, making the adjustment to a cross race or XC would have been a slap in the kisser. Or at least a whole new kind of suffering.
So now it's time to just ride for "fun" and to keep the weight off until November when I start to focus on the 2008 season.
Now on to some bike stuff- This was my first season exclusively on 29" wheels. The Salsa Dos Niner continues to be my favorite bike for Solos and long rides. Between the 1" Relish shock, the 29" tires and my Rock Shox Reba set to 100mm it's been damn comfy.
I also rolled the Salsa Mamasita. With it's quick handling and snappy acceleration is hard to pass up the Mamastia when doing fast training loops or xc racing. Plus it's just so damn sexy looking. The Mamasita looks fast just sitting still.
Tires- The first half of the season I ran the Panarcer Rampage 29er on one bike and the Panaracer/IRD Fire Pros on the other. My fave set up of the year was using the fat 2.35 Rampage on the front and the Fire Pro in the rear. The big fat Rampage rolls over everything and has some surprisingly low rolling resistence (in my opinion) and the Fire Pros hooked up nice for climbing.
This also the first year I tried Ergon grips. I poo-pooed them at first, but was given the opportunity to try them this year and I can NOT say enough about how comfy they are. They took a few tries to get the grip angle and and bar end position dialed in, but once I did- whoa mama! I can never go back to regular grips.
Thanks as usual to Bikeman.com and Big Al for all his help with all the team stuff. Also to team sponsors- Salsa Cycles, Panaracer, Rock Shox, SRAM, Jagwire, Lazer and our other Team Bikeman.com sponsors for helping me rock the mid pack in 2007.
All in all, it was a fun year, and as with each season I learned a lot. I hope to build on the experience for 2008. Time to raise a pint or 4 and toast the end of another season and the prospects of another. Hope you all have a fun and safe off season and if you're racing cross good luck!
Jason
"The Soiled Chamois"
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