I did a search here and didn't find anything on this race. Anyone, any thoughts? Thank you.
Anyone do the High Cascade 100 mile mtb race?
1sportsdoc
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I did a search here and didn't find anything on this race. Anyone, any thoughts? Thank you.
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I did.
I did, and I'm looking forward to doing it again this year. Mike Ripley/Mudslinger is a great promoter, and he did as good a job of organizing as I've seen done in 4 years of racing enduros. Most of the same cast of characters involved in supporting the Cascade Cream Puff are working on the High Cascades. Which means, if you show up with your bike and a couple water bottles, everything else will pretty much be there waiting for you at every aid station. LOL, there was even mosquito repellent awaiting those poor souls that had to do the last, lower loop near dusk. The post race BBQ and awards were fantastic too.
As for the race itself, it's a highly technical course. In abstract, 80+ miles of singletrack sounds great, but, I was mentally fried by the end of the race. There weren't many places to take a "Mental Margarita" along the way - pay attention or auger in was the order of the day. I don't think I took my hands off the bars/ sat up to stretch for the first 70 miles. I would call this race the polar opposite of Leadville. Along with the mental part, my upper body was more tired in this one, than say, the Cream Puff. Which is an equally difficult event, just in a different way.
Hope that helps. Maybe I'll see you there this year.
Here's a link to last years gig:
http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=543320&highlight=high+cascades+100
And just look at the happy face [mine] at the finish!
I did, and I'm looking forward to doing it again this year. Mike Ripley/Mudslinger is a great promoter, and he did as good a job of organizing as I've seen done in 4 years of racing enduros. Most of the same cast of characters involved in supporting the Cascade Cream Puff are working on the High Cascades. Which means, if you show up with your bike and a couple water bottles, everything else will pretty much be there waiting for you at every aid station. LOL, there was even mosquito repellent awaiting those poor souls that had to do the last, lower loop near dusk. The post race BBQ and awards were fantastic too.
As for the race itself, it's a highly technical course. In abstract, 80+ miles of singletrack sounds great, but, I was mentally fried by the end of the race. There weren't many places to take a "Mental Margarita" along the way - pay attention or auger in was the order of the day. I don't think I took my hands off the bars/ sat up to stretch for the first 70 miles. I would call this race the polar opposite of Leadville. Along with the mental part, my upper body was more tired in this one, than say, the Cream Puff. Which is an equally difficult event, just in a different way.
Hope that helps. Maybe I'll see you there this year.
Here's a link to last years gig:
http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=543320&highlight=high+cascades+100
And just look at the happy face [mine] at the finish!
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Similar to the BBFT?
I've ridden the BBFT and day #2, coming after day #1's ~ 52 mile course, was a test--though tons of fun.
29er's love that course, as you know.
-Z
The course appears similar to the Bend Big Fat Tour day #2. Have you ridden both? Are the technical & fitness demands similar? Of course, the BBFT isn't a race....jms said:
I've ridden the BBFT and day #2, coming after day #1's ~ 52 mile course, was a test--though tons of fun.
29er's love that course, as you know.
-Z
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Signed up for it this year, did 4 NUE's last year so I'm looking forward to some West Coast goodness, aka it will kick my ass 
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I've ridden [unknowingly] much of last years loop while on holiday at the in-laws in Bend.
And I have ridden most of the trails up there over the last ten years and do not find them too technical [or with epic length climbing] - HOWEVER I completely agree that this course WILL BE VERY demanding due to the endless twisting and turning....It will be the trail that never ends!...NOT to say there aren't some sketchy spots :thumbsup:
I will be toast after this bad boy and look very forward to the post ride and end of season brew!
I've ridden [unknowingly] much of last years loop while on holiday at the in-laws in Bend.
And I have ridden most of the trails up there over the last ten years and do not find them too technical [or with epic length climbing] - HOWEVER I completely agree that this course WILL BE VERY demanding due to the endless twisting and turning....It will be the trail that never ends!...NOT to say there aren't some sketchy spots :thumbsup:
I will be toast after this bad boy and look very forward to the post ride and end of season brew!
Here is my report for High Cascades 100 (I posted this one last year after the race)
Pre-race concerns:
1. Duration of race and specific training. My longest ride going in was 6 hours, but I did tons of intensity.
2. Hydration. Bend tends to be dryer than Boise and I was warned by Chris Bondurant to drink tons.
3. Descending Kwohl Butte. I had heard a lot about it and had no idea what to expect. I was very concerned about ripping a sidewall.
4. Tire choice. Race director Mike Ripley suggested that I run 2.2's or bigger. I have never raced on them and decided to again listen to Chris and go with the Kendas that I used at Creampuff. I did use 2x the amount of Stan's.
5. Chain lube. I brought lube and a small towel. I did not use either
6. Food. Getting the food right was a big part of this. Gary Stott ate his was through Creampuff, I planned to do the same.
7. Bike. Would the Cannondale Scalpel (soft tail) hold up?
http://www.mudslingerevents.com/high-cascades-100/
The race is well planned and put together. Think Creampuff with fewer aid stations. It would be very difficult to place aid in the outlying portions of the course. The race starts on a wide, fire road sort of trail, but it is very dusty. I mean very dusty. Wear a mask dusty. Also, you really can't see for the first 5-10 minutes because of the stuff being kicked up, you just have to hope for a good line. I made one mistake in trying to ride off the side of the trail and almost lost it. As the pack splits up you begin to get your first glimpses of Mt. Bachelor. It is impressive in the distance and also a little daughnting knowing that you have to ride around it. After a few miles of the dusty road bit you move on to single track. Very sweet singletrack that goes on for miles. I had a great time on that stretch. I mostly big ringed the trail and then kicked down to my middle ring for some of the small rises. Also, during this time I began eating (mostly Chomps) and drinking. I was very glad I brought my Camelback. I filled it with water and electrolyte mix. My goal was to finish 2 bottles and the whole CB by the time I got to aid #1 at 25 miles. I almost did it. I was well hydrated for this race, in fact, I stopped to pee at least 6 times throughout the day. I also had a goal of 3 hours to aid #1, I was surprised to do it in 2.5 hours. Just like Creampuff, the aid stations were great. They had gels, Perpetuem, HEED, Endurolytes and water. They also had other foods which I really didn't use. At each aid stop the crew would take my bike and lube the chain, I never heard a noise from my chain.
The climb up Kwohl began after aid #1. I knew from the pre-race meeting that descending Kwhol behind people could be difficult. I made my first major effort here. The climb is about 2000 ft. and an easy one to get a rhythm on. I passed a lot of people. Over the top I was very careful to steer around the large jumbles of lava and go a little slower. Imagine the baby head section of Sweet Connie (in Boise), but with lots of dust, much steeper and much longer. That descent took about 30 minutes?? and I had no problems. I stayed steady and passed 1 or 2 people. It was technical, but in a different way. After Kwohl there was a long trail/road/dust section which included several hike a bikes, then on to the Swampy loops.
At the start of Swampy there is an aid station which you will go by 2 times. This is the best supported station at the race. The first 1/2 of Swampy was, in a word, fun. You can flat out rip it. Mostly big ring single track with some rollers. I did go off course here due to the markings and added about a mile to the day (others added more than that). The last part of Swampy is a long climb of about 1500 ft. I did not expect the climb to be that long and actually ran out of gels at that point. As luck would have it, I found one on the ground and ate it right then. Dave Byers writes about a dark spot in every long race he does http://davebyers.blogspot.com/ . This was my dark spot. It also proved to be several other people's dark spot because when I got to the top the aid worker first asked me if I wanted to drop out or keep going. I thought it was a joke!! I want to keep going! Apparently most of the drop outs occurred here. At this point I downed a can of Coke and took some Endurolytes. I felt recharged and took off for my next loop of Swampy. This time I knew what to expect and ripped the singletrack. It was amazing. The only issue at all was that the trails were not closed to recreational riders and I had several close calls both going up hill and down hill. I was racing, I wasn't thinking.
Coming out of Swampy was another long climb followed by some dusty trail and fire road. Some parts of the fire road were covered in deep dust (6"-8") and a few sections were actually hardpack. The fastest speeds of the race were on the hardpack. I probably went 25-30 mph for 2 miles. At 80 some miles in it was nice to go that fast. Finally, after what seemed like a really long time, I made it to the start/finish/aid station and the final 12 mile loop. Again, the aid work here was great and this was the first time I found out how I was doing. I was very suprised to find out that I was in 26th place. I thought I would have been in about 60th. That was invigorating. I found this next trail section, Funner, to be slightly more technical than the earlier stretches. It was tough to do at the end of the race, but I still really enjoyed it. Similar to Swampy the trail descends first and then finishes on a climb. On a good day, the climb would be 100% middle ring. I mostly small ringed it. My legs were a little tired. I had one person pass me toward the end of the climb and I did not have the desire to chase him down. Really, what is the difference between 26th or 27th. I finished in 11:45, my time on the Garmin was 11:22 (did not include stops).
Post race:
1. Good, hard, satisfying race. The fatigue I felt was very different than a long road race or even long local mountain bike rides. I think there is so much total body movement throughout the day that it just wears you out.
2. Unexpected pains: Wrist, knees, low back, neck - I'm a wimp
3. Food is good. Gary was right, eat your way through it.
4. Creampuff comparison. Because I did not finish the Puff I cannot say. It is different. It is unrelenting. People who completed both said the same things. Matt Erlenbusch from Bend said, "Hard to compare the two races, but they are both harder than Ironman."
5. Dust. The dust sucks. Learn to ride it, bring a mask, get through it because the singletrack is soooo good.
6. The bike. My bike did very well. It was squeaky at the end and it was pretty anoying, but it rode very well all day. The Kendas were the best tire I could have imagined. I have not looked at them to see if they were cut.
7. The berms are not berms. Bondo told me that the things that look like berms in the trails are actually dust piles. I am glad he told me, I rode in the middle of the trail.
8. Only do this race if you know you can do it in under 14 hours. It gets dark fast. I would not want to be out on those trails in the dark.
Pre-race concerns:
1. Duration of race and specific training. My longest ride going in was 6 hours, but I did tons of intensity.
2. Hydration. Bend tends to be dryer than Boise and I was warned by Chris Bondurant to drink tons.
3. Descending Kwohl Butte. I had heard a lot about it and had no idea what to expect. I was very concerned about ripping a sidewall.
4. Tire choice. Race director Mike Ripley suggested that I run 2.2's or bigger. I have never raced on them and decided to again listen to Chris and go with the Kendas that I used at Creampuff. I did use 2x the amount of Stan's.
5. Chain lube. I brought lube and a small towel. I did not use either
6. Food. Getting the food right was a big part of this. Gary Stott ate his was through Creampuff, I planned to do the same.
7. Bike. Would the Cannondale Scalpel (soft tail) hold up?
http://www.mudslingerevents.com/high-cascades-100/
The race is well planned and put together. Think Creampuff with fewer aid stations. It would be very difficult to place aid in the outlying portions of the course. The race starts on a wide, fire road sort of trail, but it is very dusty. I mean very dusty. Wear a mask dusty. Also, you really can't see for the first 5-10 minutes because of the stuff being kicked up, you just have to hope for a good line. I made one mistake in trying to ride off the side of the trail and almost lost it. As the pack splits up you begin to get your first glimpses of Mt. Bachelor. It is impressive in the distance and also a little daughnting knowing that you have to ride around it. After a few miles of the dusty road bit you move on to single track. Very sweet singletrack that goes on for miles. I had a great time on that stretch. I mostly big ringed the trail and then kicked down to my middle ring for some of the small rises. Also, during this time I began eating (mostly Chomps) and drinking. I was very glad I brought my Camelback. I filled it with water and electrolyte mix. My goal was to finish 2 bottles and the whole CB by the time I got to aid #1 at 25 miles. I almost did it. I was well hydrated for this race, in fact, I stopped to pee at least 6 times throughout the day. I also had a goal of 3 hours to aid #1, I was surprised to do it in 2.5 hours. Just like Creampuff, the aid stations were great. They had gels, Perpetuem, HEED, Endurolytes and water. They also had other foods which I really didn't use. At each aid stop the crew would take my bike and lube the chain, I never heard a noise from my chain.
The climb up Kwohl began after aid #1. I knew from the pre-race meeting that descending Kwhol behind people could be difficult. I made my first major effort here. The climb is about 2000 ft. and an easy one to get a rhythm on. I passed a lot of people. Over the top I was very careful to steer around the large jumbles of lava and go a little slower. Imagine the baby head section of Sweet Connie (in Boise), but with lots of dust, much steeper and much longer. That descent took about 30 minutes?? and I had no problems. I stayed steady and passed 1 or 2 people. It was technical, but in a different way. After Kwohl there was a long trail/road/dust section which included several hike a bikes, then on to the Swampy loops.
At the start of Swampy there is an aid station which you will go by 2 times. This is the best supported station at the race. The first 1/2 of Swampy was, in a word, fun. You can flat out rip it. Mostly big ring single track with some rollers. I did go off course here due to the markings and added about a mile to the day (others added more than that). The last part of Swampy is a long climb of about 1500 ft. I did not expect the climb to be that long and actually ran out of gels at that point. As luck would have it, I found one on the ground and ate it right then. Dave Byers writes about a dark spot in every long race he does http://davebyers.blogspot.com/ . This was my dark spot. It also proved to be several other people's dark spot because when I got to the top the aid worker first asked me if I wanted to drop out or keep going. I thought it was a joke!! I want to keep going! Apparently most of the drop outs occurred here. At this point I downed a can of Coke and took some Endurolytes. I felt recharged and took off for my next loop of Swampy. This time I knew what to expect and ripped the singletrack. It was amazing. The only issue at all was that the trails were not closed to recreational riders and I had several close calls both going up hill and down hill. I was racing, I wasn't thinking.
Coming out of Swampy was another long climb followed by some dusty trail and fire road. Some parts of the fire road were covered in deep dust (6"-8") and a few sections were actually hardpack. The fastest speeds of the race were on the hardpack. I probably went 25-30 mph for 2 miles. At 80 some miles in it was nice to go that fast. Finally, after what seemed like a really long time, I made it to the start/finish/aid station and the final 12 mile loop. Again, the aid work here was great and this was the first time I found out how I was doing. I was very suprised to find out that I was in 26th place. I thought I would have been in about 60th. That was invigorating. I found this next trail section, Funner, to be slightly more technical than the earlier stretches. It was tough to do at the end of the race, but I still really enjoyed it. Similar to Swampy the trail descends first and then finishes on a climb. On a good day, the climb would be 100% middle ring. I mostly small ringed it. My legs were a little tired. I had one person pass me toward the end of the climb and I did not have the desire to chase him down. Really, what is the difference between 26th or 27th. I finished in 11:45, my time on the Garmin was 11:22 (did not include stops).
Post race:
1. Good, hard, satisfying race. The fatigue I felt was very different than a long road race or even long local mountain bike rides. I think there is so much total body movement throughout the day that it just wears you out.
2. Unexpected pains: Wrist, knees, low back, neck - I'm a wimp
3. Food is good. Gary was right, eat your way through it.
4. Creampuff comparison. Because I did not finish the Puff I cannot say. It is different. It is unrelenting. People who completed both said the same things. Matt Erlenbusch from Bend said, "Hard to compare the two races, but they are both harder than Ironman."
5. Dust. The dust sucks. Learn to ride it, bring a mask, get through it because the singletrack is soooo good.
6. The bike. My bike did very well. It was squeaky at the end and it was pretty anoying, but it rode very well all day. The Kendas were the best tire I could have imagined. I have not looked at them to see if they were cut.
7. The berms are not berms. Bondo told me that the things that look like berms in the trails are actually dust piles. I am glad he told me, I rode in the middle of the trail.
8. Only do this race if you know you can do it in under 14 hours. It gets dark fast. I would not want to be out on those trails in the dark.
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rdmmspt.......
I'm in Boise as well and am riding the HC100 this year. You referenced sweet connie....but I've only ridden that a couple times and wanted to confirm the area you were talking about. I think you might be talking the area toward the bottom of the trail, where it opens up and kinda meanders through a field...right after you leave the creek bed. Does this sound right?
Was also wondering if you have posted your garmin tracks online anywhere....if so, can you throw up a link?
Thanks...I REALLY hope I haven't bitten off more than I can chew with this race!
I'm in Boise as well and am riding the HC100 this year. You referenced sweet connie....but I've only ridden that a couple times and wanted to confirm the area you were talking about. I think you might be talking the area toward the bottom of the trail, where it opens up and kinda meanders through a field...right after you leave the creek bed. Does this sound right?
Was also wondering if you have posted your garmin tracks online anywhere....if so, can you throw up a link?
Thanks...I REALLY hope I haven't bitten off more than I can chew with this race!
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I did it. Great course, excellent support. We took a week and spent it in the Bend area and did the race as part of a vacation, I would recommend that as well if you can swing it, really nice area. Lots of riding for all ability levels. It will be dusty that time of year, be prepared for it. I was a good mile or two in before I was able to see more than 5' in front of me. After the initial few miles it will thin out and be much less dusty.
I had shoulder surgery prior to the race and had no business doing it from a fitness standpoint, managed a top ten, but it was certainly painful. It is a fairly technical course, I was really scared to crash and hurt my shoulder again so that may have skewed my perspective. I would agree with JMS above. There was no point at which you could just zone out, for many it will be the toughest race they've done, it is certainly a race to put on the "Bucket List".
I think everyone should challenge themselves and do a race like this. Prepare yourself and it will be a blast. Show up unprepared and you might get pulled, Mike was very clear about the seriousness of his cutoff times. It's a lot of jack to spend to not be prepared.
Here is the GPS profile from my 305.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/11922249
I had shoulder surgery prior to the race and had no business doing it from a fitness standpoint, managed a top ten, but it was certainly painful. It is a fairly technical course, I was really scared to crash and hurt my shoulder again so that may have skewed my perspective. I would agree with JMS above. There was no point at which you could just zone out, for many it will be the toughest race they've done, it is certainly a race to put on the "Bucket List".
I think everyone should challenge themselves and do a race like this. Prepare yourself and it will be a blast. Show up unprepared and you might get pulled, Mike was very clear about the seriousness of his cutoff times. It's a lot of jack to spend to not be prepared.
Here is the GPS profile from my 305.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/11922249
That is the area of Connie that I was thinking of. The other thing I would do is practice energy conservation on higher speed turns such as on Buck Trail or East Side. Learning to do that stuff fast, while sitting is very helpful.
I will post data as soon as I get a chance to download. It has only been 8 months.
I am also planning to do it again this year. I am working through some knee pain issues and I know that will impact my training.
R
I will post data as soon as I get a chance to download. It has only been 8 months.
I am also planning to do it again this year. I am working through some knee pain issues and I know that will impact my training.
R
Steady Grind said:
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Right on.....I'm planning on driving up on the 5th and coming back on the 8th. I might be able to offer a car pooling opportunity if wives don't come with my friend and I. Maybe one of these days this sh*tty weather here in Boise will turn to spring and training will be a little less miserable!rdmmspt said:
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Which Kenda's did you run? It is important to use tires you are confident with, though higher volume models can help reduce your fatigue on a long, rough day.rdmmspt said:
(Sealant does little for a tire torn on lava, regards of the amount used.)
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I was planning on Ardent front, crossmark rear, tubeless on Arch rims thoughts as I know you've just ridden there plenty?
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Cake mix and razor blades
Last year I used a Continental Mountain King 2.4 @ front and a Conti Race King rear run tubeless on Arch rims w/mid twenty psi. I liked the rear more than the front - The Mtn. King was slightly lacking in volume for me.
This year, Nobby Nic [snakeskin] front/Race King rear is my current thinking. That and a one of those little electric motors in my seat tube. I hope Mike has spare batteries @ the Aid stations.
Seems a reasonable choice. Maybe a bit more volume in the rear and bigger "teeth" in the front? Air volume is definitely your friend @ that course. And as noted by Kosmo, "robust" sidewalls, because it's like navigating through cake mix and bowling balls covered in razor blades at times. Rampages are another popular choice @ front up there, and I can see why. The course definitely get's "All-Mountainy" in places [I love that]6thElement said:I was planning on Ardent front, crossmark rear, tubeless on Arch rims thoughts as I know you've just ridden there plenty?
Last year I used a Continental Mountain King 2.4 @ front and a Conti Race King rear run tubeless on Arch rims w/mid twenty psi. I liked the rear more than the front - The Mtn. King was slightly lacking in volume for me.
This year, Nobby Nic [snakeskin] front/Race King rear is my current thinking. That and a one of those little electric motors in my seat tube. I hope Mike has spare batteries @ the Aid stations.
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Sounds like a lot of rubber, but Rampage front Ardent rear is the only bigger combo from my spare tyres I could go for?
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