Nice Rump!
Well organized, Excellent communication, Fun course... Great job Bulldog!
My Race:
Got a good night sleep and woke up with plenty of time for breakfast and some time to relax before hitting the road. My wife had to borrow my truck for the day, so I dropped the top on her convertible, threw my bike in the back seat, and enjoyed the nice cool morning air for the drive up. Actually had to blast the heat to keep from getting too chilly. Rolled into the lot around 9AM and chatted with Rob, Jeremy and Dana for a few. Pumped my tires to 24psi, which is a bit higher than usual, but I didn't want to run too low and risk flatting, as this place is notorious for eating tires. Then I put on my superhero outfit and rolled over to the sign-in. I must have been feeling especially good, as I wrote my age on the waiver as "28". Luckily, Kirt was looking over my shoulder and pointed out that I was off by about a decade. Oops.
Linked up with Kirt, Ilya and Jeremy for a preride. Not that I really felt the need to warm up, but I wanted to get a feel for the course. Took it nice and easy, enjoyed the ride and took a few mental notes on the right lines thru the tricky areas. Came across Myles out there preriding too. [Myles and I have been battling for the podium in the past few races, and I suspected that this race would be more of the same. While I would certainly have the upper hand in the techy stuff, he's got more endurance and power in the smooth stuff and the climbs. This course was a perfect mix of techy and smooth...should be interesting.] Waking from my daydream, I realized that my preride partners were no longer behind me, so I waited a minute, then turned around and headed back to find them repairing Ilya's flat tire. [Glad I opted for the higher tire pressure!] Rolling again... Fun trails! On one of the descents, I got a little out of control and almost got thrown off the bike, but somehow rode it out. The rest of the preride went well, though we had to cut it a bit short and bail out when we realized it was already 10:15 and we all needed to go back to our cars to resupply.
Start: I lined up at the front all the way to the right. About six people shot ahead of me right away. I'm no sprinter, so I hung behind them as closely as I could and hoped that I reel them back in the woods. I was about #7 going into the singletrack. The rocks were slick, but I managed to stay in the pedals and made the pass whenever I got an opportunity. About 5 minutes into the singletrack, I lost track of what place I was in, so as I was passing this one guy, I asked how many more were still ahead of us. He said from behind me "I'm leading". I grinned in surprise and thought to myself "not anymore!"
My first time at the front of the pack. I push hard and try to keep it that way... I see Brett up ahead on the fire road walking towards me, and as I pass, he calls me a 'showoff' or something like that and I give him a big smile. Always good to see spectators out in the woods, especially if they're folks who you know.
I occasionally catch a glimpse of somebody behind me so I stay on the gas the whole lap. More effort than I would like to put in on the first lap, but I know the race is relatively short so I dig deep and keep it going. At one point, I hear a guy closing in from behind, but I'm not too concerned because I hear chainslap. [Chainslap = derailleur = not SS 🙂] He passes and I never see him again.
Coming down out of the woods at the end of the first lap, I turn the corner off the gravel towards the field and see a pickup truck completely blocking my road crossing. The crossing guard chick stars screaming at him to get out of the way and his eyes bug out when he sees me barreling towards the side of his truck with no apparent intentions of slowing down. He steps on the gas and lurches forward as I swing around his rear bumper without skipping a beat. Haul ass thru the grassy field and I'm thrilled to see so many cheering spectators at the finish area. [Bing, bing, bing with my bell in appreciation!]
2nd lap: Feeling strong. Not overheating. Staying well-hydrated. Enjoying the challenging singletrack. Soaking in the novelty of being in the lead. [Hmmm, if I get first place, what am I going to do about the podium situation? I don't have enough time to stick around for the awards ceremony...I know, I'll just get somebody to take a photo of me on the podium right after the race, and then later I can photoshop me into the 'real' podium photo.] Argh!! Oh no!! Abruptly awakened from my daydream, totally out of control going way too fast on a slick bony descent, body-slammed at full speed into a washing machine-sized boulder on my left side, stopping me instantly, leaving me sprawled across the top of the boulder like a blue and orange rag doll. I start lifting myself up and assessing the damage. I see Myles approaching, and he calls out "Are you OK?!" But I don't answer because I don't know. My left elbow took the hardest hit, and it is bleeding pretty good. Hit my calf hard, as well as my thigh, hip, ribs and bicep. I don't think anything is broken. Again as he passes me, "Are you OK!?" I say "I'll be OK" as I start to shake it off and realize that I may not need to leave on a stretcher. The bike looks OK...the end of the front skewer is smashed and bent, but it is still holding tight. So I get back in the race. At this point, Myles must have a good 30-second lead and it will be near impossible to regain that. Dumbass! Serves you right for making top-of-podium plans while the race is still in full swing!
Much to my surprise, I catch up to Myles within a few seconds! He's off his bike at the side of the trail dealing with some kind of rear tire issue. I ask if he's got everything he needs, no reply, and I take back the lead. [I wonder if he had been daydreaming about how well his tires were holding up.]
Again, I see Brett out on the racecourse. I hold up my left arm to show him the damage and his look of disgust is priceless. I don't hear any racers behind me for a good long time. At the left turn around the storage shed I look back up the fire road, nobody in sight. At this point, I'm getting pretty cooked, so I ease up a bit to avoid cramping. I'm certainly due for a good leg cramp right about now.
As I'm rolling thru one of the grassy fields, keeping a comfortable pace in the solitude and what seems to be a solid lead, I spot Myles behind me, coming up fast. I start pushing hard again, but my legs are protesting, and he grinds past me as the trail starts climbing. "Nice work." "Same to you." Then we head back into the singletrack, where he promptly spins out on a loose branch and dabs, and I sneak past him again. Then I give it all I've got. I know that I've got to get as much of a lead as possible in the final singletrack if I want any chance of holding him off thru the grassy field to the finish. I stand and mash the pedals up every climb, use the brakes as little as possible on every descent, and just generally pedal like a maniac. To my amazement, no cramps! I bomb down the final descent, furiously pedal down the gravel path and across the road to the grass. At this point, I have no clue where Myles is. Could be right on my back tire, could be minutes behind, but I'm not going to risk looking back. I just pedal as fast as I possibly can, breathing harder than ever before in my life. Again I pass the awesome cheering spectators, charge up thru the finish line and...I won?! I think so. Slowly continue pedaling to the exit ramp and turn around and see Myles right there behind me. As it turns out, I only got him by 4 seconds! We congratulate and commend each other on a hell of a race.
On my way off the course, I make my way thru the spectator area, where I get a hearty 'congrats' from Willy and others, and Ruth takes a pic of my bloody arm. Then I swing by the well-stocked Racer Hospitality area, grab a drink and a snack, and chat for a few minutes with other finishers. Then I head straight for Rob's canopy, where I collapse onto the ground in the shade, bask in the pain and enjoy the company of all who gravitate to Rob's Oasis.
Thanks to everyone who made it a Day to Remember! Congratulations to everybody who took the podium or gave it their best shot!
