I have done the 60 mile version of Skyway Epic numerous times, with the most recent (2017) leaving me fairly disappointed. That year saw me dropping from the 100 mile to the 60 a week before the race due to a heat exhaustion scare during my last long ride. I rode the 60 at a pace I could have done the 100 in and finished knowing I could have done more. Not good. A halfway effort feels bad, even if you place well! I had to wait five years for redemption and get a good shot at the 100 ish distance.
“Ish” is a phrase you will hear often around Skyway…because it is true. 60 and 100 mile distances are offered, but rarely right on the money. I think the 60 usually ends up a 68 and I ended up with 110 miles right on the money with a calibrated wheel speed sensor this year. It is part of the mind game to get this race done.
After a couple years of barely riding any, I got back rolling consistently summer of 2021. My looming goal was Skyway 100, so everything revolved around that. I even ordered a badass race bike for it, a Trek Supercaliber! After multiple delays I lost confidence I would have it for the race. Around the time of this realization, I lucked into Lee Neal’s old Vassago Jabberwocky singlespeed. A couple rides later, I committed fully: Skyway 100 in full idiot mode on a rigid singlespeed. I had fallen hard for the bike and as often happens, love isn’t very rational. I wrote a race prep plan for myself and whoever else wanted to buy it, then stuck to it best I could. I’ll detail this in a later post as it is a bit different than some others I have seen! As far as my bike goes, it is a bit odd so I’ll detail it briefly:
steel Vassago Jabberwocky frame
Niner carbon fork
Chris King headset
Shimano XT brakes
Shimano M520 pedals
M952 XTR cranks and BB
KMC X11 chain and Wolf Tooth cog
32x20 gear
Chris King hubs with Stan’s Arch rear rim and Race Face ARC 30 front built by me.
Maxxis Rekon 2.6 front / Ikon 2.2 rear w Orange Seal
Basic alloy cockpit parts
ESI grips
As I rolled down towards the start of the race, it certainly felt colder than 40 degrees. The wind blasted me and it felt good to be cold somehow. Adrenaline was high and it was time to race. I saw lots of familiar faces and any pre race nerves I had were gone from just enjoying where I was. Brian Toone rolled in from his 7 hour commute from home, got his number fixed in a frenzy, and it was go time. Skyway 100 had begun!
For those unfamiliar, here is a brief rundown of the Skyway 100 course: It starts at the Sylaward trail system near Lake Howard in Sylacauga with about 10 miles of fast twisty singletrack, then turns out some rolling gravel hills towards the real meat and taters: the Skyway Motorway. Around mile 20, the major climbing starts up towards Bull Gap and heads all the way out to the road climb up to Mt. Cheaha. You return the same way and eventually end up with 110 miles and 12-13K climbing. It sounds simple enough, but it is, to put it simply, unrelenting in its challenges.
My plan was to hang back at the start to ride easy in the singletrack so my legs wouldn’t feel dead from going hard in the cold. {Narrator: He did not in fact ride easy} I ran an easy ish gear this year (32 x 20) and got spit further out back than I wanted and had to really push on the road climb to get into the singletrack conga line mid pack. Oof. I ended up riding harder than desired the first 5 miles due to kinda being stuck in line. If you stop it can be almost impossible to get back in. My hands ended up being WAY colder than expected and I was a bit concerned I would crash through here because of it. I rode with Lee Neal and Brent Marshall and let them go once we got to Wiregrass. Jason Shearer rolled up in the Explorer and asked how I was feeling. I started whining then realized maybe just faking it til I felt good would work. Nick Butler, also on a SS, rode with me most of the way to Bull’s Gap where I saw Brent packing up to leave. Well, well…not that far ahead. Oh yea!
My legs were smashed from the hard initial effort in the cold. Or maybe my whole body. Everything just felt like hell and I didn’t want to ride. Knees hurt, quads hurt, my ab muscles cramped a few times. I was in a state and didn’t want to ride 90 more miles. Dammit! Brent seemed pretty upbeat so I pretended to feel the same the next 30 miles or so. I rode conservatively downhill, so I didn’t get too beat up by the rigid front fork. I realized during my pre ride, this would be critical to finishing. I had another Brent sighting at the 60 mile turnaround aid, and didn’t waste time filling bottles! Not long after leaving that spot, I saw him fixing his chain trail side but figured he would make quick work of it, which he did. Around mile 48, I popped out on the pavement at Adam’s Gap and made a resolution heading up to Cheaha: Don’t. Fucking. Walk. Brian Toone was pushing hard up Adam’s Gap with a commute from home also in his legs at this point, which was super motivating!
Walking is part of singlespeed racing, but having to do it on a paved road just feels pitiful so I stayed on the bike and had a really strong climb all the way to the top of Cheaha. I was able to count riders coming back from the 100 mile turnaround and was probably midpack overall and 4th Singlespeed. I knew the chances of me catching Chad Brandon, John Schwab, or Lee Neal this particular day was about that of me beating the mid 90s Chicago Bulls in a pickup game. Nobody, absolutely nobody, shows up for Skyway 100 with one gear that’s a slouch. You finish last place SS, and it would still be a victory!
I saw Jake Huggart, Hunter Cole, and Matt Ithraburn at the top of Cheaha and was jealous of their cohesive group. I made quick work of the aid station and did my best to catch them on the way back. I also saw my other singlespeed friends, Brent and Nick, grinding up Cheaha as I was descending. A bit too close for comfort with 54 miles to go. I had some things on my side at this point. My nutrition and hydration was dialed. 250 calories per hour of Uncrustables, Payday bars, gels, aid station Cokes, and potato burritos. Eat real food? I say eat it all! I stuck with Nuun for hydration and abided by my own advice at aid stations…no weird shit!
Something also kinda got together with my legs and mind here. I no longer wanted to quit and the chase was on. My descent energy conservation worked and I was able to really start ripping on the downhills headed back without worry of some kind of total arm and hand failure! I rode back and forth with a couple guys headed back…Chris and Jason I think? In my opinion, the hardest part of Skyway is the gravel climbs headed back in towards Bull’s Gap. They are steep and loose and it always seems to be sunny. Once on Skyway, Jeep traffic started picking up, but most were pretty easy to share the trail with. I only got yelled at once but kept my cool. I made a decision to leave my light behind at the 60 mile turnaround aid station to give myself some extra motivation to get back.
I rode back and forth with a group of Katie Bolton, Bo Bozeman, and some others back and forth towards Bull’s Gap. I had more mud and water on my glasses than optimal but also didn’t want to stop and mess with them. I ended up setting a PR on the Bull’s Gap descent. I guess if you can’t see much, it is also tough to overthink your lines. Point and shoot! I still figured anything was possible here with about 20 miles to go. Brent seemed to be riding well, and I know him well enough to know he wouldn’t just sit up and spin to the finish. What I didn’t want was a Hardwick type catch to happen. You know if you have been there. They stalk you for a while, then make a low key catch with 5-10 miles to go. It hurts, but is so well calculated, it feels like fate.
One of the most common failure points at Skyway is the last 10 miles of singletrack and I was determined to not implode here. I caught a few 60 milers on the way back in on Wiregrass and got my head in the game for the last 10-12 miles. I ate half a Payday and took a caffeine gel during the first mile of singletrack with my main goal to keep focused and ride smoothly. It is also important to stay realistic about the distance. I knew I had to ride 110 miles and it would NOT magically get shorter. I somehow felt really good the last few miles and was able to enjoy the trails and push hard! Jason changed up the last little bit of singletrack this year giving a cool run into the finish that makes pretty much everyone look like a badass…which if you made it that far, you are! I don’t know if I have EVER been more proud to finish a race than this one. I finished around 11 hours and Brent never caught me. The back and forth really made for a great time out there and I enjoyed myself once I got in the zone. It only took 50 miles to start feeling okay! This was also the longest race I have done since 2012. So pumped! I am not really back to great shape but well on my way.
Melissa was waiting for me at the finish, which was awesome. The whole finish line vibe is one of the best parts of Skyway. Everyone is stoked for each other, and I think the level of community involvement here is what leads to high finisher rates for a very hard race. I stuck around for a while to see other finishers come in, including Kellye Carlisle, who I have coached for months leading up to this race. This is the hardest race she has ever done and she finished! Patrick Wigley and his crew all had good races, which I was really glad to see. Finishing this on the Vassago was also special. That was the bike Lee Neal rode when we first started racing together long ago and I feel like I brought it what it deserved. Everything worked great on it all day long. Brent also rode his old Vassago, which was pretty cool. After the race, I already had next year on my mind…have fun and go faster! This probably means I’m a lunatic, but I have a feeling I’m not the only one planning a return. See y’all next year!
There is no way to properly thank Jason, Wendi, and everyone else that helps out with this race. Pete Foret (Cajun Sherpa LLC) washed my bike for me post race, after his 100 mile DNF, and had everyone’s back as usual! All the volunteers killed it out there. Josh Waldrop even put up with me putting him in charge of filling my muddy bottles out there, haha. You guys rock, all of ya!