The trip down was long and included some standard traffic issues at Nashville and Chattanooga, but overall was not too bad. We did have some mapping conflicts that routed us down some back roads, but it did lead us to the house even if it looked like we might not be heard from again. When we finally found the house/garage, it was behind another house and looked pretty sketchy. We found our way in and it actually turned out to be not too bad inside. Guess that's why they say don't judge a book by its cover. After getting unloaded we headed toward the course to get a little ride in.
We went past the winery and parked down the road by the bridge. This saved us a lot of road riding and got us in to gravel quicker. We decided to try heading down the 38 mile route with the plan of riding the end of the race backwards for 30 min or so and then back to the car as an out and back. The plan sounded pretty good, but I had just put some different tires on my bike 2 days before we left and I had too much air in them. I stopped to let a little air out and when I started going again the other guys were out of sight. I figured I would be able to catch up to them or at least see them since I didn't stop very long, but they were just gone. There is one point where the 60 mile route joins the road and there were two guys on bikes sitting in the road. I went around them and saw the signs telling me to keep going.
Not too far up the road I noticed that there were no signs leading us back to the finish. This means I was on the 38 mile route and no longer going backwards on the finishing part. I figured I missed the intersection where the bikers were sitting. I figured I would keep going and get my warm up in. I got to the top of a good climb right about the half hour mark and turned around to head back. This is where I saw that the intersection I thought I lost them was not really where I would have lost them. I kept heading back toward the car and noticed where the end of the race joined the road. I decided to head up the trail a little before turning around to ride back. When I finally got back to the car, no one else was there. I decided to head down a little trail that was close and kill some time. Eventually they all came back, but in two different groups. Turns out that I was not the only one that got separated from the group.
We went and picked up our packets and had planned on getting a bite to eat there. As we were getting our packets, they put the food away. We had thought we were in the time range, but maybe not. So, after getting our things we headed in to town and found a nice place to get some food. We were worried about the places being busy, but we walked right in and got a seat. After eating we ended up missing a turn and taking a little longer route back to the garage. We then got our stuff race ready and crashed fairly early.
I didn't have the best sleep of my life, but I did feel like I slept pretty well. I was up on time, ate breakfast and got all my stuff ready to go and I was not the last one ready. We got to the start/finish area and dropped off our drop bags and got ready. After getting ready, I joined the long line waiting for the port-o-lets and then headed to the start line. After hanging out a little bit, it was go time and off the group went. The initial section of road can be a little harry, but everyone kept to themselves and I made it to the main road safely. My plan was to not go too hard on the paved section this year. I worked pretty hard to keep as far forward in the group as I could and I felt like my legs paid for it later. This year I felt like almost everyone was in front of me, but I did my plan and didn't go crazy on the spin/coast SS shuffle.
Before too long I started up the long gravel climb. I started reeling riders back in one by one. My legs were feeling a little heavy at this point but I hoped they could come around. The long grind was long and at one point the gravel was more loose. I was really having to work at it to keep traction while standing. My legs were still hurting and figured I didn't need to blow myself up this early and decided to walk a short section. I got back on after a little stretch and next thing I knew, I was turning the corner at the top. If I would have knew I was that close, I probably would have just kept riding. They hill didn't seem to last as long as last year and figured I had a ways to go yet.
I turned the corner and cruised down the road. The down hill was short lived and we headed in to the new trail section. This had more of an old school feel, but was a complete blast. I was probably going much faster than I should have with all the rocks and stuff, but I was having a lot of fun. I was riding well on the trail sections and all the down hills. My legs were starting to feel better on the climbs too. I was catching and riding with more and more people. It helped me not feel like I was in last place. There was a trail section a little bit before aid 1 that was a complete blast. As someone said at the stop, it was easy to party too hard on this section. Toward the end there were a couple guys off the side of the trail. As I went by I noticed one was Butch. I asked if he was fine and he said that he was and I should keep going. This made me think that he had stopped to help the other rider. When I got to the rest area the lady was asking if we saw the rider who had crashed and was knocked out.
Everyone said they were up and moving and they said help was on the way.
 |
| Photo credit: Dashing Images |
Off toward aid 2. I was starting to see of the say riders on and off at this point. Sometimes I would pass them and other they would pass me. It was interesting to see the different pacing of the single-speed compared to the geared bikes. I think this section is where the super fast road down hill was. I was riding well and went pretty fast in this section. The trail after that was also a lot of fun. Somewhere in this trail section I heard something making a little loose and I thought a rock hit the frame, but apparently it was my CO2 came loose and dropped off my frame. Now I just need to hope I don't get a flat.
 |
| Photo credit: Dashing Images |
I rolled in to aid 2 feeling better than last year. I make a quick stop and took off toward the toughest part of the course for me. The first part was going pretty good. Eventually I made the hard left on to the steep trail section. From here I was actually climbing pretty well and only had to walk the really steep parts. My legs were starting to hint that they were going to cramp, but so far were playing nice. I rode a lot more of this section than last year since I was not cramping. As I finally made it to the top and started down the other side I was happy with how I was feeling. The trail was a lot of fun and was cruising pretty good. There was one section that had some really mad hornets. They were flying all around and bouncing off of me. It was like the move Birds. It was kind of crazy, but thankfully none of them stung me.
The rest of this loop had a couple parts that hurt and the fun down hills were also wearing my legs out. I guess that is part of having a lot of fun. The last part of this loop took a lot longer than I thought it would and was feeling tired when I finally hit aid 3. I made a quick stop and tried to get my body ready for the last part. This section was a lot of fun too with a couple longer climbs thrown in. I was really wearing down and was ready to be done. I rolled on past aid 4 and hit the home stretch. I trying to keep my momentum rolling well. There was a couple tough stretches, but I was overall still moving ok.
I came up on another SS racer near the end of the trail section. I made the pass shorty before we made a right at the gate. He looked tired, but I think when he saw I was in his class, he picked the pace up and tried to hang with me. I tried to hit this last little section of trail hard and continued pushing the pace as I hit the road. I was really hoping he was hurting and if I looked strong, he would not want to keep up with me. It seemed like it was working, but the effort was really hurting. I might have dug a little too deep for this late in the race. I finally hit the paved section, but this too went way longer than I remembered. The last couple climbs were really hurting. I was starting to cramp in both legs, but could still pedal through it. Finally I made the turn off of the road and didn't see the rider behind me and limped the rest of the way home, but not with out a little more cramping when I rode the creek crossing.
I rolled across the finish line at a time of 6:22 and in 7th place SS. This was 1:13 slower than last year. It looks like the overall times were 40-55 min. slower for the front times. I was really not happy with my time as I was finishing the race, but looking at the over all times being slower makes me a little more ok with it. I knew I was not in as good of shape as last year, so it is really not as bad as my brain was trying to make it seem. I will say that my new Vassago bike did awesome!! This was my first race on it, so I figured I had to wear my Twin Six Metal team kit. I also ended up the 16 prs on strava, so I guess I didn't do too bad in some parts.
When I got all cleaned up and headed toward the food I found out that the rider that crashed and was knocked out was Butch and not the other guy that was with him. He has a messed up ankle, but overall it looks like it ended up better than it could have. Hoping he heals up quickly and can get back out there. It sure made for some interesting/comical situations the rest of the weekend, but that is in all good fun.
Until next time, enjoy the ride.
#teamadventuresmtb
#twinsix
#twinsixmetalmilitia
#carborocket
#esigrips
#wolftoothcomp
#truckerco
#truckercoposse
#hshive
#honeystinger
#stingorbeestung
#dumondetech
No comments:
Post a Comment