Fools Gold 55

I did this race last year for the first time. Last year I had a really good race and it solidified that I should be riding my SS for a lot more things. This year after my plans changed about going to Marji Gesick, I knew this race would be an easy substitution for me. It is a lot closer and should be some great riding or at least I hoped. This year that race started at a different location than last year and very little of the trail was the same that I was on last year.

Leading up to the race I didn't get in the riding that I would have liked. I hoped my fitness was good enough to get me by. I had a lot of ache's to go along with the lack of riding, but still thought I could at least have a good day on the bike. I was not sure how fast I would be. We headed down Friday and picked up our race packets. We only had so much daylight left so we didn't drive anywhere to ride, we just rode the start section out for a half hour and turned around and came back. We made it part of the way up the first big climb so it was a good warm up.

After riding we went in to town for a bite to eat. There seemed to be a lot of people all around down town. The down town area was pretty cool and reminded me a little of Nashville, IN with all the shops and people walking around. We found a nice little place to eat and headed back to the hotel to get things ready for the morning.

I didn't sleep too bad, but I got up earlier than I needed to and had trouble getting back to sleep. Maybe I was a little worried about oversleeping. Eventually it was time to get moving and over to the race start. We found our parking spot for the day and finished getting ready for the long ride. There was several things to do, but I felt pretty good and everything seemed to come together with out having to rush. 

I didn't really get to ride around much to warm up. I do not do a good job about warming up for races. It was time for the pre-race meeting and get to the starting line. It seemed like everyone was ready, but it was not time to start just yet. I didn't hear the start, but everyone took off so I figured it was time to go. The start has a fair amount of road section before hitting the gravel climb. The pace was faster than I wanted, but as we left the winery I was feeling fine. I was rolling the best my gear choice would let me go. There was a lot of down hill sections that I could keep up with everyone, but the flatter parts had me seeing a lot of people pull away. 

Photo Credit: Thomas Turner

I was hoping I didn't go too deep while trying to spin to keep up, but I do tend to get a little excited at the start and go a little hard. It didn't take long and we were on the gravel. The first part was more of a roller section but the down hills didn't last. The main part of this climb is pretty tough. It says it is 10 miles long and 2000 foot of elevation gain. Not much time to recover.

As I have said before, the SS tends to have a pace that it wants to go. I do what I can to keep the bike happy, but there are times this effort hurts more than I want it to. So far I was turning the pedals over pretty well and passing a lot of riders. I had a couple SS'rs around me, so that is always comforting, but a couple pulled away from me. Towards the top we took a left turn. The section right before that really hurt. I was wanting to walk some of this section, but I just kept talking myself out of it.

After the turn there was some down hill parts that let me recover some. I had a geared wheel to hop on and help pull me along. I was thinking this down hill section was going to take me most of the way to the first rest stop. It didn't take me too long to figure out that I was not correct. I still did a pretty fair amount of climbing and still didn't see the rest stop. Somewhere in this climbing I was passed by a couple SS racers. Then I had one come up on me and say lets go get them. I was feeling a little better after backing off for a little bit so I jumped on to his wheel. We were moving good and passed a couple of them back.

Photo credit: Dashing Images

He ended up stopping at the first rest stop and I kept going. There was a super fast gravel descent with some tight corners. I was rolling pretty good, but I guess not as fast as I thought. He caught back up to me and went flying by. This did help me go faster since I could see how tight the blind corners were as he took them. We were passing several riders and ended up catching another SS rider that I got away from me at the start.

The trail sections in this part were really nice. I was moving pretty good and tried to keep myself from going too hard. Later in this section I was starting to feel all the efforts and was really looking for rest stop 2. I looked a my mileage and figured we should be there already, but we weren't. I had a section that I decided to push so I didn't blow myself up too soon. Eventually I came around the corner and could see the volunteers.

They had my drop bag waiting on me before I got all the way there. I topped off my bottle with some Carbo Rocket and grabbed a quick bite. It felt good to stop pedaling for a minute, but I didn't want to hang around too long and get tight. The bike shop that was set up there had some tunes rocking. When I was at the rest stop there was a Cake song on. I could not have asked for better tunes. I started to sing along as I was wrapping up my stop and took off. This song kept me motivated for quite a few miles. Eventually the climbing got steeper and more technical and the song faded.

Photo credit: Dashing Images

I had a few people that I went back and forth with in this part. There were times I would pull away and then they could catch me again. There was some tough parts that I had to push. This section was very difficult and was really hurting. There was one guy I wish I knew who he was. We rode together and went back and forth for a lot of this section. We had some nice conversations in this part. Somewhere in this part of riding and pushing combination, I finished pushing and went to get back on the bike and my thigh completely locked up. This was not good as I still had plenty of miles to go.

With my cramping issue there was one of the singlespeed riders that caught up to me. I tried to keep in front of him, but my legs kept cramping. I had to back it off some and try to take care of the issue. Somewhere in there I started to feel a little better and caught back up to the other SSer. I jumped on his wheel with me there, he picked his pace up. We rode together for several miles pushing each other. This was a lot of fun as it lasted, but then my legs started to cramp again and had to let him go.

Eventually my legs started to feel better and I was moving along better. I kept hoping I would catch him at some point but still didn't see him. I did pass a couple riders, but they all had gears. I rolled in to the 3rd rest stop (same as the 2nd) and made filled another bottle. I was looking for pickle juice or mustard, but they didn't have any there. I grabbed a couple shots of coke, a quick bite to eat and took off. As I rolled out I saw one of the other Pivot SS guys coming in to the rest stop. I was finally over half way and heading home and from there it was a mix of trying to keep pushing to catch the other SS rider and a little running scared, looking over my shoulder hoping I didn't get caught by the Pivot SS behind me. 

Photo credit: Dashing Images

I was rolling pretty good in this section. I had a couple moments where I thought I was going to cramp, but I could keep going. I tried to keep drinking to carry me onward. I kept catching riders and passing them, still looking for that SS guy that got away from me. This whole part was kind of a blur. I know there was some super fun trail sections, some creek crossings and still plenty of climbs. I'm not sure where, but the spinny SS guy from Florida passed me again. I was not sure where he got behind me, unless it was at the rest stop, but I really didn't see too many people there.

Eventually I saw aid station 4 and rolled right on by. I was getting close enough that I knew I could make it home from there with out anything else than what I was carrying. I was getting pretty tired, the back of my arms were worn out and my legs hurt from all the cramping. But, I was still on the gas hoping I would catch the other guy and/or not get passed. When I hit the intersection that we took a right at in the morning, I knew I was really close now. I was still riding pretty good for the gravel sections and was passing more riders who some where part of the 38 mile race. Once I hit the paved road I had a harder feeling like I was on the gas, so I just kept turning pedals and was ready to hit the finish. After I finished I was checking the results and saw the SS guy that I was chasing, roll across the finish line. I have no idea where I passed him, but I'm glad I didn't know I did. He helped motivate me to keep pushing.

I rolled across the finish line with a time of 5:09 and that put me in 8th place SS and 55th overall. I felt really good about how the day went even with the cramps. It was good to feel like I was competing for most of the race. I came in thinking I would be happy with 5.5 hours or averaging 10 mph. I was really hoping to be able to finish in under 5 hours and almost made that. My time would have been good enough for 16th place in the 40-49 class. Although I was right at an hour off of first place SS, I am happy that I was less than 30 min from making the podium. I still have a ways to go, but I feel like I am heading in the right direction.

I want to thank Lisa @ Mountain Goat Adventures for putting on an awesome race. The volunteers did a great job and were very friendly. I want to thank Adventure's Recreation for helping me with more things than I can list. Carbo Rocket for keeping me fueled and on the gas. Honey Stinger for having food items that I still wan to eat after pushing the pace hour after hour. ESI grips for keeping my hands happy. TruckerCo for keeping air in my tires and my brakes stopping me. I also can't say thanks enough to Drew Dillman Coaching for helping me get to this point that I am at. I know I could have been even farther along if I could have followed his plan even more. Maybe next year I will be able to come back and see if I can do even better.


Race results