lined up at the start, the rain has stopped, there are roughly 150 people waiting to make the 200yard run to our mountain bikes and begin the first of 4 laps (some would have 1 - 3 teammates, some owuld do it solo, and some with even more issues than i've found will do it solo on a single speed mountain bike: choose gearing wisely).
the dash to the bikes is slippery and great for clogging cleats. grab my bike and off i go. lots of kicking and cursing to clear the mud from the cleats before i can clip in.
all right this is fun, the course is fully muddied up my tires are clogged and mud is taking over the bike. i settle into a comfortable pace fully aware this will be a long day. i quickly notice the seat seems a bit low, i'll fix that after the first loop.
LOOP 1
the plan - go easy and see what the course looks like - the reality, i rode way above my head very early, had a great lap, some good findings and managed to stay upright. the entire course was fire roads, some skinnier than others, but no real single track, 2 longish kind of steep climbs, the first comes after a fast fun downhill section, it lasts about 1.5 miles, and climbs from 7400' up to around 7900. then there is a good downhill section (dropping down to 7250' over 3 miles) through some tight turns and through a near constant rock garden, lasting about 2.5 miles. leading into the 2nd climb: 3.5 miles taking you from 7200' up to 7900'. then you get to cruise through a fast pretty simple (translation point the bike down and don't hit the brakes) downhill section: ~1mile coming down from 7900' to 7650' ish.
on the way up the first climb (roughly 13 miles into the ride), i was hungry and thirsty. luckily i was smart enough to pack all the nutrition i could possibly need for the day in my camelback. the irony: despite my dragging knuckles, my arms are not as long as a typical apes, and i can't easily access anythign in my camelback without stopping. and since i'm racing, stopping isn't really in the cards.
well, i'm going up hill, so nows a great time to try this, i manage to take my camelback off, swing it around to the front and open the pouch. i transfer several items to my jersey pockets. still haven't fallen, nor have i stopped pedalling. now i need to close it up and swing it around to the back. nothing special, works, i'm still climbing and upright. that's good.
Up to the start of the 2nd climb, i was going back and forth with some fast riders, then it dawned on me, i have 3 more of these things to do, i've ridden my moutnain bike for a total of 4 times since getting it in february, for a total of maybe 80 miles, never more than 25 miles in one sitting? perhaps it's best to sit back nad let them go.
coming into the start finish area, there 3 things i need to address, the seat must be raised, food must consumed, and transfered from my camelback to my jersey pockets. sara is there cheering me on and enjoying the sun.
i raise my seat a good 2 inches. and am back out on my way.
LOOP 2
this was probably the most arduous loop of all. i'm back out the suns out trail is dry, my back is tight (bike fit is important), ass hurts (seat choice is important), and my legs are a bit tired. so i ease back on the pace a bit. nothing exciting on this loop, i vow to not walk any portion of the course, other than the mandated barn traversal, and keep my head down. i start thinking, how the hell do people ride like this for so damn long?
then i think back to a conversation juan and i had. i commented on needing aeorbars for my mountain bike since the course was pretty non-technical (mostly fire roads). i'm looking ahead, its nothing but dirt road, my legs are displeased, and i'm riding sittin up right, and the best part, my small chainring is innaccessible, good thing i don't need 27 gears, because i've been reduced to 18 (middle and big ring work up front, all 9 work in the rear).
click click click, wait, i have an idea, i can't pedal worth a damn right now, my back hurts, my ass hurts, and i'm used ot riding for hours on end in a tt position. f- it. here goes. i rest my elbows on the bars and start spinning a way. all of a sudden, i'm pushing into the big ring, starting to hold a decent pace. getting a good flow, legs are coming around (sort of). other than few sketchy moments on some of the washboard sections. this aero thing seems to be working (mental note, train like you race).
i do this on pretty much anything that isn't a steep climb, overly rocky, or downhill. it saves my legs a bit, helps my ass and back and keeps me going. this loop, i'm eating and drinking regularly. i'm figuring out on long stuff, if you don't have it in you, or you get that feeling that it's justnot there, i start eating and drinking. everytime i've started this, within 20 - 30 minutes, i feel things come back around.
by now the trail is dry, the sun is coming out, and i'm making my way over the 2nd climb and back into the start finish again.
another pleasant greeting by sara. this time i've got 2 thigns to address: raise the seat (yep, 2 inches wasn't enough), raised it close to another 1". more food in my belly, the juggling of food from my camelback to my jersey pockets. get this damn long sleeved thermo shirt off so i can stop sweating so excessively. and i'm off. sara mentions 1/2 way there, i hang my head, chuckle, and respond, might be a bit more than 1/2 way depending on how thigns go this round. it's now 11:11, that leaves me 4:49 until cut-off, the 1st 2 loops were done in 4:11, should be ok for the 9 hour mark.
LOOP 3
more thinking, mmm, there's an interesting concept, the end of the transition/handoff area is stocked wiht coolers and all sorts of crap from other people doing the solo ride.
yoou mean i odn't have to carry everything with me on every loop? sometimes i really believe i'm dumb as a gorilla (probably dumber, when was the last time you saw a gorilla pack food for a long trip?). damn even a gorilla knows you can restock food periodically. oh well, shite, i haven't refilled my camelback since starting, how long has it been, how much fluid does it hold 100 oz, times 4 divided by 3. i ran out of fingers. did i mention my feet hurt now too? these 8 year old shoes are in need of replacement.
back to the liquid math. so 100 oz is 4 water bottles, just over 4 hours at elevation i should probably drink more than 1 bottle an hour, but i'm feeling ok and still have some left. there is a self service aid station at around mile 10 which i will stop and restock - gatorade/water and powerbars/gels.
i get there, grab 2 power bars (these things are pretty tasty after sufficient warming), 2 gels, fill my camelback with gatorade and water (which i still haven't emptied yet) and am on my way.
i soon catch up to another rider (doing the solo single speed). i manage to pick the 1 tight spot in this 3 mile descent to try and squeeze by. of course i don't bother mentioning my intentions, as my front wheel is passing his seat, i see we are choosing the same line. big rock to my left, big single speed rider to my right. oh yeah, this has ground in dirt goodness written all over it.
i try to squeeze left without hitting the rock, then realize though we aren't physically touching, there is a lot of overlap on our bars. ooooh f--- bars touch riders go down. i'm not 100% sure what happened, but something like this is what i've figured:
our bars touched pulling me into him and him into me, my bikc went down first pulling him on top of me. i slid a bit, as did he. when the dust settled, i looked over apologized for the dumb-ass move, and asked if he was ok. he said he was all right, but was opting to just lay there for a bit. i laughed and responded likewise.
i remember crashing a lot when i first started riding mountain bikes, i don't really remember it hurting quite this much. i used to be pretty good at crashing, and avoiding potential breaks. however based on my abrasion patterns, i landed in a good fashion to break a collar bone. good thing i got that milk on the way out here. after laying around for a couple mintes, simon and i got up dusted some crap off. he asked how my bike was, i said its fine, i'll ride and see how it goes.
over the remaining 40 miles, i discovered my rear derailleur seems to have bent, and my bars twisted as a result of the crash. not too bad, i was able to ride both of them in that fashion the remaining 40+/- miles.
something happened on that crash, once i was back on the bike, there was a fire burning, and time to be made up, i took off at a good pace, and started pulling people back. simon and i traded back and forth for the rest of the loop (he would go by me on the climbs, and i'd go by him on the descents). i told you i'm a knuckle dragger, don't learn my lessons.
just starting the 1st climb, my left quad threatened something awful to cramp up and render itself useless. i off loaded a lot of the effort to my right leg and drank a bunch of gatorade. i attribute this tightness to crashing hard on that side and getting a charlie horse. it lasted through the 1st climb and most of the 2nd, then would subside and not return.
back in for the 3rd time, more food, from the camelback to my jersey pockets and back on my way. this loop felt the best, except for the donation to kaibab national forest.
LOOP 4
all right, last go round, fake it till you make it. nows the time to see where you really want to be. i passed by simon on my way out of the solo alley (he was getting stuff from his cooler). damn i have some learning to do.
back on the trail, i came out pretty fast, and feeling pretty good. good days and bad days, high points and low points, that's what it comes down to, and managing them appropriately. i passed 3 or 4 people on the last loop and felt solid, except for a couple sections.
about 4 or 5 miles into the loop, i went by one guy, got inot my tt position and kept cranking it out. my legs seemed to take a break. what the hell? i felt sluggish, after several minutes of this, i looked back, and he was nowhere to be found. did i make a wrong turn? surely i can't be riding this strong. i kept going, just make it to the top of the what the ????
an elk ran across the road in front of me. those things are ginormous. honestly bigger than my truck.
the 1st climb, then i get a downhill and some reprieve (sort of). i eat and drink pretty regularly, am feeling pretty strong. so i keep laying it down and seeing where i'll get caught.
the last climb, ok, it's time to go, one decent effort gets me over the top, then i can relax for a bit and finish it off. i manage to get over the top and piont and go.
a speedy descent a fast turn, and 1 mile left. hooray finish line.
what i learned on saturday:
- vocalize your intentions to pass
- pass with caution and make sure you are clear
- eat and drink often
- mountain bike fit is important - i will be fit on my mountain bike
- raising the saddle alleviates pain in the front bottom of the knee.
- raising it again alleviates the same pain
- specialized epic saddle is not made for 100 miles (perhaps the gobi is)
- dirt is really good at getting under my skin.
- wearing your new jersey for your first mountain bike race is an expensive mistake.
- road/dirt rash hurts more than riding 100 miles on a shitty seat with a poor fit.
timing estimates:
loop 1 - 1:55
loop 2 - 2:26
loop 3 - 2:20
loop 4 - 2:14
TOTAL - 8:45
