As I was sitting at work Friday bored as usual, I looked at the forecast for the weekend. Looked like it would be a bit warm. It occurred to me that there was a 6 hour MTB race a couple hours away, so I checked the forecast for there too. Well lo and behold, 78 degrees and sunny.
I had done this race a few times on 2-person teams, and I've gone to these trails to ride a few times, so I knew the course well. Pre-riding would not be necessary. I checked some local forums and the word was the trails were in the best shape in years, with even the normally wet spots dry as a bone.
Then something snapped in my brain and I decided to do the race solo. What the hell, I'm in better shape this year than ever before, and by pure dumb luck I was pretty well prepared and rested for this. Since Dalton I had done several LONG road rides with a few trail rides in there for good measure. The last few days I had been basically resting except for one easy trailride with a girl and husband-and-wife.
My goals were pretty simple. Ride the whole time, and finish 5 laps of the 9.7 mile course which has 1100 feet of climbing per lap. I consulted with Westy on how to get my stomach to cooperate which was my main concern. The course basically starts with a couple miles of fireroad climb right after the transition area, so solid food was not an option, at least for me. The King Monkey informed my that I "should" be able to make it on gels, although I would probably need to eat something else at some point.
I visited the shop to pick up some supplies, and T-blazer informed me that the speester himself, greasey monkey, would also be doing the race. So I called him and we decided to carpool the 2 hour (each way) drive. T-blazer was also kind enough to once again supply us with the beautiful Kona EZ-Up tent.
We headed out at about 6am and got to the race site shortly after 8. Set up our pit area and got registered, and proceeded to wait
We did a quick recon of the fireroad climb just to get the legs warmed up. The weather was perfect and I felt great.
The race started with one of those damn LeMans things. Damn I hate running. I ride a bike BECAUSE I don't like running But I did it and got on my bike about mid-pack. The first lap was spend either passing people or riding in single file on singletrack. It went well though, I was just going with the pace knowing I had a long way to go. Most of the first lap I was shadowing a dude on a singlespeed, which helped me keep my pace up on the climbs. Completed the lap in 1:04, a little faster than I planned but oh well.
Second lap I stopped in the pits, lubed the chain, checked the bike over, ate a gel, refilled my water bottle, took some endurolytes and some Advil, threw a couple gels in my jersey pockets, and headed back out. This would be the pattern for the race which seemed to work well. I still felt strong the second lap and the course was a lot less crowded which was nice. I didn't check the clock after that lap but I'm guessing it was about the same as the first.
Third lap, I did the pit routine and got going again. Still felt good, and was starting to think 6 laps was a possibility. I was cruising along when towards the end of the lap in a rockgarden I heard the dreaded PSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS. Went through the sidewall on YET ANOTHER Michelin UST tire. At this time I would like to extend a big "FU!" to Michelin for their sucky UST tires. Good traction doesn't mean crap if the tire comes apart all the time. I've been through 4 Michelin UST tires this season, all sidewall failures. Anyway, it was pretty much all downhill from that point, so I finished out the lap at a crawl, trying not to destroy the rim. That cost me some time and I crossed the line at 3:30 race time.
Into the pits, where thankfully I had brought a spare wheel and Kenda Nevegal UST tire (although the wheel was a front). I removed the tire without losing the Stan's, mounted it up on the back rim, said a quick prayer that my CO2 cartridge would seat the bead, and let fly. WHEW! It worked. Life was good. Only lost a total of about 20 minutes on the whole ordeal. Did my pit routine and headed back out.
Lap 4, I started getting a little tired. Put down and extra gel and dropped the pace a bit which helped. Finished the lap without incident, although I had to pedal through some slight cramps towards the end. Did the pit routine and headed out for lap 5. I knew I wasn't going to make it in time for a 6th at this point, so I just rode that one out at an easy pace trying not to make any mistakes in the tech sections. Finished at 6:21 race time with a big smile
All in all, it was a great time. I accomplished my goal of 5 laps and didn't wreck or bonk. Without the flat, I think I could have done 6 laps, but man that 6th would have been painful. Next year :devil:
I had done this race a few times on 2-person teams, and I've gone to these trails to ride a few times, so I knew the course well. Pre-riding would not be necessary. I checked some local forums and the word was the trails were in the best shape in years, with even the normally wet spots dry as a bone.
Then something snapped in my brain and I decided to do the race solo. What the hell, I'm in better shape this year than ever before, and by pure dumb luck I was pretty well prepared and rested for this. Since Dalton I had done several LONG road rides with a few trail rides in there for good measure. The last few days I had been basically resting except for one easy trailride with a girl and husband-and-wife.
My goals were pretty simple. Ride the whole time, and finish 5 laps of the 9.7 mile course which has 1100 feet of climbing per lap. I consulted with Westy on how to get my stomach to cooperate which was my main concern. The course basically starts with a couple miles of fireroad climb right after the transition area, so solid food was not an option, at least for me. The King Monkey informed my that I "should" be able to make it on gels, although I would probably need to eat something else at some point.
I visited the shop to pick up some supplies, and T-blazer informed me that the speester himself, greasey monkey, would also be doing the race. So I called him and we decided to carpool the 2 hour (each way) drive. T-blazer was also kind enough to once again supply us with the beautiful Kona EZ-Up tent.
We headed out at about 6am and got to the race site shortly after 8. Set up our pit area and got registered, and proceeded to wait
We did a quick recon of the fireroad climb just to get the legs warmed up. The weather was perfect and I felt great. The race started with one of those damn LeMans things. Damn I hate running. I ride a bike BECAUSE I don't like running
But I did it and got on my bike about mid-pack. The first lap was spend either passing people or riding in single file on singletrack. It went well though, I was just going with the pace knowing I had a long way to go. Most of the first lap I was shadowing a dude on a singlespeed, which helped me keep my pace up on the climbs. Completed the lap in 1:04, a little faster than I planned but oh well.Second lap I stopped in the pits, lubed the chain, checked the bike over, ate a gel, refilled my water bottle, took some endurolytes and some Advil, threw a couple gels in my jersey pockets, and headed back out. This would be the pattern for the race which seemed to work well. I still felt strong the second lap and the course was a lot less crowded which was nice. I didn't check the clock after that lap but I'm guessing it was about the same as the first.
Third lap, I did the pit routine and got going again. Still felt good, and was starting to think 6 laps was a possibility. I was cruising along when towards the end of the lap in a rockgarden I heard the dreaded PSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS. Went through the sidewall on YET ANOTHER Michelin UST tire. At this time I would like to extend a big "FU!" to Michelin for their sucky UST tires. Good traction doesn't mean crap if the tire comes apart all the time. I've been through 4 Michelin UST tires this season, all sidewall failures. Anyway, it was pretty much all downhill from that point, so I finished out the lap at a crawl, trying not to destroy the rim. That cost me some time and I crossed the line at 3:30 race time.
Into the pits, where thankfully I had brought a spare wheel and Kenda Nevegal UST tire (although the wheel was a front). I removed the tire without losing the Stan's, mounted it up on the back rim, said a quick prayer that my CO2 cartridge would seat the bead, and let fly. WHEW! It worked. Life was good. Only lost a total of about 20 minutes on the whole ordeal. Did my pit routine and headed back out.
Lap 4, I started getting a little tired. Put down and extra gel and dropped the pace a bit which helped. Finished the lap without incident, although I had to pedal through some slight cramps towards the end. Did the pit routine and headed out for lap 5. I knew I wasn't going to make it in time for a 6th at this point, so I just rode that one out at an easy pace trying not to make any mistakes in the tech sections. Finished at 6:21 race time with a big smile
All in all, it was a great time. I accomplished my goal of 5 laps and didn't wreck or bonk. Without the flat, I think I could have done 6 laps, but man that 6th would have been painful. Next year :devil:
Was this the Ellicotville race?
neaky: