Karl and I drove the Element up to Hatfield for the Levis Trow 100 Endurance MTB Race. Neither one of us had done a mountain bike race.....especially one that lasted 6 hours.
We met Chris, Gail, John, and Michele who had arrived earlier in the day. (and saved us a sweet parking spot, Thanks!) Upon arriving, we noticed an inordinate amount of ambulances in the parking lot.....not a good sign. We thought maybe they were preparing for our inevitable crash. (No doubt they had heard of our mad skilz' on the mtb's, and were anxious to practice their triage technique.) Thankfully it turned out to be some fairly minor crashes, but we were still a little worried. Experienced, fully capable mountain bikers were being carted off by ambulance...this did not bode well for us. The weather was surprisingly cool....and occasionally rainy. Thankfully by the time our race started, the sun had come back out, sort of.
The race begins with a Lemans style start. (everyone running to their bikes) Karl and I were probably two of the fastest runners there. Unfortunately, we were also probably two of the slowest mountain bikers. We could have led the race....for about the first 20 seconds or so, but opted to hang back and stay out of the way.
The start was fairly uneventful, since it was double track for the first 1/4 mile or so. Once we dumped into the single track, the fun really started. I managed to stick with Michele for awhile. The course got pretty technical, and Michele graciously let me go around. (so she'd have a better view of me crashing no doubt.) I actually felt pretty good that first lap. There was A LOT of climbing, and riding the single speed with a 32/19 gear didn't really help. I could have used a 22, but no such luck. The trail eventually leveled out and got faster. I was just starting to get a good flow going.....and the next thing you know my front tire rolls off the rim. Sweet, now I have a fully inflated tube wrapped around my fork. I jump off and commence to the repair. (while Michele passes me by the way) Karl stops to make sure I'm ok, and hangs out for awhile. (Thanks!)The tube seems to be in good shape, so I re-use it. (of course that causes a problem later on) I used my hand pump, instead of bringing CO2....big mistake, way too slow. I re-mount and take off down the trail, trying to make up time. Unfortunately, the tube must have a slow leak, so I end up stopping again to replace with a new tube. Nice, there goes another 5 minutes. I eventually roll back in around 1 hour 54 minutes.
I grab a quick bite to eat, and head back out. The second lap was less eventful...as far as no major mis-haps. I did manage to almost launch myself over the bars. I over cooked it into a loose left hand corner, and the front wheel started to wash out. I saved it, but at the expense of some skin. The momentum from the slide threw me forward on the bike. I smacked my knee on the two bolts holding the stem....needless to say, this was really painful. I told myself to keep pedaling and work it out. I knew if I stopped, it would lock up tight. Also on my second lap I rolled up on fellow blogger Brittany. I linked to her blog off Renee's Madcross site. I introduced myself best I could. (although breathing was difficult at the time) Brittany always has some interesting, funny, and entertaining stuff on her blog...check it out. We parted ways at the 25 mile turn off, and I was on my own for awhile. I started cramping later in the lap....never a good sign. I did manage to roll in at 1 hour 44 minutes....better than expected.
Karl was back at the vehicle re-fueling, so we decided to try and ride the last lap together. I was doing ok until we hit the first real climbs. The cramping kicked in with a vengeance. I was relegated to walking a few times....even on some of the "easier" climbs. Karl was nice guy and waited for me....although I think both of us were feeling the affects by then. Karl gave up one of his gels in an attempt to stave off my cramping. We managed to straggle in with a 2 hour 3 minute lap time. (including our rest break) We debated going out for a 4th lap, but decided against it. I was cramping bad enough during the last lap, a 4th would have been really tough. Hind site....we probably should have gone out for the 4th, but at the time, it was the right decision.
Michele was riding like a woman posessed, and ended up first in the Women's 50 Mile Solo. She was riding consistent 1 hour 40 minute lap times. Nice job Michele, way to go! Gail rode a strong race knocking out 3 laps, and finishing in 4th place.
Chris and John were battling it out for bragging rights. Chris finally heard the unmistakeable "ding-ding" of John's infamous compass bell. John eventually pulled in about 9 minutes ahead of Chris. Both rode some pretty impressive lap times...in the 1:20's for most of the day. John finished 15th, and Chris 16th, in a very competitive 50 Mile Men's Solo Division. Nice job guy's! Here's a link to the detailed results.
After the awards we packed up and headed towards Black River Falls. Everyone was pretty hungry, so we chowed down at the local Perkins.....good food, but kind of slow service. I also had a MAJOR hamstring cramp while sitting at the table. Needless to say, I was hopping around trying to work that out. I'm sure the other customers thought I was a freak....but you gotta' do what you gotta' do in a situation like that. We ended up rolling into Stoughton around 12:30 am. Overall a really fun race. I learned a lot....things I'd have to put into use at 24 Hours of 9 Mile.....but that's another post all together.
Here are a few pic's courtesy of Karl...
The Element comes in real handy
John, Michele, and Chris hang out in style
Chris welcomes Gail back from her last lap
Do I really need to say anything?
No comments:
Post a Comment