April Fools Gravel Camp
Leading up to this weekend I was not really sure what I was going to do. There was a new race in eastern Kentucky called the War Daddy. It sounded really hard and probably more like a gravel race where a mountain bike would be better used. This is the weekend before the Kentucky mtb race that I was planning on attending called The 45. It sounded like a great adventure, but I was hesitant about doing something this hard the weekend before the mtb race, then in conversation it came up about this Gravel Camp race. The name didn't really lead me to thinking it was a race. It sounded more like a weekend of good times and a good gravel ride. This was kind of true since there was a fun ride option and the atmosphere was set up for a full weekend of fun. Since I had someone to share a ride with to this race and also the fact that the drive was 1.5 hours closer each way, it was not that hard to talk me in to checking it out.
We got there on Friday afternoon, checked in to the lodge and went for a ride. I had never been to this part of the area before. The walking/bike paths were really nice and the gravel roads were too. The area is very pretty and there is a lot of different outdoor things to do there. After the ride, we grabbed a bite to eat and tried to get things ready for the next day and relax. The week before this one I ended up getting sick in the middle of the week. I was pretty wore out and out of commission for several days. I was really needing to step up my training and not take a week off of the bike. I was feeling better, but still coughing a lot and not really sure how deep my reserves would be for a 60 mile race.
I felt like I got a pretty good nights sleep. We were up plenty early to get moving and ready to go. We ended up heading out and getting to the start/finish area pretty early. The parking lot was filling up as more people arrived. We got signed in and waited around a little before heading out to warm up. We were a little early and didn't want to warm up too soon. I am sure I didn't warm up enough, but I did a little better than I normally do. I really need to work on this part of my pre-game.
The normal struggle of trying to decide what to wear. I went back and forth a little and then made my final choice and just rolled with it. It was getting close to time to start and we headed toward the start line. After some announcements we were off on a neutral roll out. The idea was to get us over the bridge and where it was a little safer before the race would officially take off. The lead out was a little quicker than I thought it would be, but I found a place close enough to the front.
As we hit the turn for the trail section, there was a little hesitation from a couple guys in front of me and I jumped in front of them and in to the woods. This was a pretty cool walking/bike path and I was really enjoying myself. I could see we were running in the top 10 guys, but so far I was feeling good. I didn't expect to be that far up there, but figured as long as I was not digging too deep of a hole I would take being as far up as long as I could. There was an intersection somewhere in this part that a couple of the front guys missed. This put me rolling pretty close to the leader for a little while.
I don't remember exactly when, but I let a couple riders around me and just tried to just ride my race. After one of the chunky down hills I felt water spraying on me or something. I first thought it was from a puddle, but then I noticed that I had TruckerCo sealant spraying out of the tread of my front tire. It sprayed longer than I wanted it to and just before I stopped to try and get it to seal, the TruckerCo did its job and stopped leaking. A little farther down the road and after a couple more chunky sections, I noticed more sealant spraying out of the tire tread. At the bottom of one of the hills I finally stopped to check it out. I was worried I would run out of sealant and wanted to plug the tire if that is what was needed. But, it figures that when I stopped so did the leak. Oh well, at least it stopped.
This had be loosing the front group and more on my own. I caught up to the last guy who went past and followed him for a little bit. As we hit another trail section he was struggling and I went by and pulled away. The race loop is an out and back with 2 loops along the way. As I was heading out to the rest stop I was passed by the leaders heading back. There were 2 that was pretty far off the front and then a smaller group that Lovins was in. Just after that, I came to the check point, so they were not that far in front of me, but I didn't think I had the legs to catch back up. After topping off my bottle and making some bad decisions on food intake, I was back on the bike heading toward the finish line.
The guy who I passed in the trail section pulled in to the check point right as I was leaving. Just down the road there was a pretty good climb and by the top we were back together. We discussed working together for a while. I said I was game, but I could also tell my legs were wearing out. At this point I was climbing slower than before. I told him I was not sure how long I could keep up with him. We rode together for a good amount of time, taking turns at the front. The longer we went, but more tired my legs were getting.
We hit another big hill and he was pulling away from me. At the top of the hills there was the second rest stop. I was ready to be done and stopped to see what was there. Next thing I know, I have a beer in my hand and trying to drink it as fast as I could. I knew I was no longer "racing" the other guy, but also didn't want to get caught be anyone behind me. The beer was not exactly the coke I was really needing, but it sure tasted pretty dang good. Well, that was until a mile or so down the road my body was telling me that it was really not a good idea. I suffered through and just hoped my body didn't want to get rid of the said beer. Luckily I had still yet to puke on the bike. I really have no idea why I haven't since I really felt like I would too many times to keep track. One of these day's it will happen.
As I was getting close to the end and was crossing the bridge again, I could see the guy in front of me. I was moving pretty good, but could not catch him. It really didn't matter since even if I did catch him, I would not have passed him. He pulled me way too much on the way back and looked like he was kind of waiting on me a few times, so it was his placing to have. I rolled across the line shortly after him. Went over to chat a little and then went to try and spin the legs out a little. I ended up finishing in 6th place in open. I was very happy with how I
rode after being sick and not riding for a week. I still need to catch
up from where I really should be, but at least I am finally heading in
the right direction.
Just a couple thoughts on this weekend. First of all, like I said at the top of this mess, the War Daddy was the same weekend. I think both of those races were worthy events both put on in Kentucky. I know they are not really that close together, but it would be nice to not have them on the same weekend. Also, I am sure that at least some racers didn't think this was really a race. I didn't realize it was an actual race and would not have looked closer if E2 was not already going. With the Dirty South race not that far away and can get the number of racers they are getting in just a couple years, I really don't know why more of those racers didn't attend. There should have also been a good group from Tennessee to completely sell out this race. The only other thing that might have been part of the reason was the price. This race was not crazy on cost, but it was higher than some other similar races. I will say that if you were going to hang out after the race, the cost of this race would have been well worth it for what was offered. So, I don't really have the fix all, easy button answer to getting a huge amount of people attending this race, but all I can say is the people who didn't show up sure missed out on a great event. I'm hoping I can make both races work out next year.
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