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(seven time 24-hour national solo racing champion)<br />
was based in Baltimore, and Jeremiah Bishop (one<br />
of America’s top cross country pros) was based in<br />
Harrisonburg. So, I knew it was doable.”<br />
A year earlier, at Schalk’s first pro race at the<br />
Mammoth ski resort in California, Schalk had introduced<br />
himself to Bishop and picked the veteran pro’s<br />
brain about the life of a pro mountain biker.<br />
“I don’t know if he thought I was serious, but when<br />
I got out here I contacted him right away. Jeremiah<br />
agreed to meet me for a ride. We went out to Front<br />
Royal and rode the trails at Elizabeth Furnace. It<br />
was winter and it was the first time I’d ever ridden in<br />
snow! It was only about an inch of snow but I thought<br />
it was so strange, but at the same time fun. Trails back<br />
here are generally much more rocky and technical<br />
than I was accustomed to. As a West Coast rider I had<br />
no idea what to do with mud or rocks. Truthfully, a<br />
hard tail bike (with no rear suspension) was all you<br />
needed on the West Coast. I can’t compare the heinous<br />
rocks of Elizabeth Furnace with anything I’d<br />
ridden before. I also remember the first time I rode at<br />
Gambrill (State Park in Maryland). I had no idea how<br />
difficult riding could be.”<br />
Just prior to this first ride with Bishop, Schalk had contacted<br />
Steven Hoover, the manager of Trek’s East Coast<br />
factory team. Schalk described his experience as a racer<br />
and discovered there was an opening on the squad.<br />
“My dream was falling into place, quickly. A few<br />
months earlier I’d won the California series and now<br />
here I was on a pro team getting ready to live the life<br />
of a professional athlete. That’s as good as it gets.”<br />
Schalk quickly immersed himself into the highly<br />
competitive world of Harrisonburg’s Shenandoah<br />
Mountain bike culture. He rode regularly with Nick<br />
Waite (also a mountain bike pro, currently riding<br />
for Kelly Benefit Strategies) Bishop, Chris Scott of<br />
Shenandoah Mountain Bike Tour, and others.<br />
Schalk attributes his rapid climb in the sport to his<br />
dedication and to his methodical nature. “I’m incredibly<br />
meticulous about my training. I keep training logs<br />
that document pretty much every aspect of what I do<br />
and how I train. I have spread sheets upon spread<br />
sheets. I can tell you within five minutes how much<br />
riding and training I’ll do in a week. Everyone who<br />
knows me knows I’m over the top ridiculous.<br />
“Don’t get me wrong, I’m pretty laid back as a person,<br />
and I’m not a neat freak, but when it comes to my<br />
training I try to control everything.<br />
“I guess it has a lot to do with the fact that I turned<br />
pro at 33 and I knew the clock was ticking on my pro<br />
career. I couldn’t and wouldn’t waste time.”<br />
No question, the highlight of his short pro career<br />
was winning last year’s Shenandoah 100 race in the<br />
mountains near Harrisonburg on September 2. He’d<br />
had good results early in the year, coming in second<br />
at Greenbrier in Western Maryland behind national<br />
champion Todd Wells, a first at Big Bear Lake in West<br />
Virginia, and first in the two man open division at the<br />
seven stage British Columbia Pacific Traverse (teaming<br />
with Chris Eatough).<br />
Reigning Tour champion Floyd Landis had been<br />
challenged earlier last year by mid-Atlantic mountain<br />
bikers who wanted to see Floyd return to the mountain<br />
bike fold by entering the legendary 100 mile<br />
Shenandoah event.<br />
“Floyd came in a couple of a days early to pre-ride the<br />
course with a couple of us, Chris Scott and myself.<br />
Floyd had no idea who I was, but after riding together<br />
I think I left him with the feeling I could be tough to<br />
beat. On one pre-ride it was just the two of us, and<br />
we raced each other up those hills. We both had our<br />
poker faces on. He kept talking on the climbs, and I<br />
remember being worried. I mean here I am working<br />
pretty hard on the climbs and he’s still talking.<br />
“Now admittedly, his skills seemed a little rusty. It had<br />
been probably ten years since Floyd had ridden competitively<br />
off-road. He seemed especially rusty in the<br />
rock gardens. So I thought the only way to beat him was<br />
to pull away on the technical sections, because he was<br />
going to be hard to pull away from on the fire roads. I<br />
mean his cardio capabilities are pretty legendary.<br />
Chesapeake Bay Asthma Ride<br />
Bike Tour & Inline Roll<br />
May 30-June 1, <strong>2008</strong><br />
Salisbury, MD<br />
www.AsthmaRide.org • 1.800.642.1184<br />
AMERICAN LUNG ASSOCIATION®<br />
of the Atlantic Coast, Inc.<br />
TRADING continued on p.14<br />
301.663.0007<br />
<strong>April</strong> <strong>2008</strong><br />
13
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