It seems that I have been slacking on my TR duties these past few days. So, here, I am doing a TR for the race.
I get off work Friday early so I can pack up the car and get as much stuff ready as I can. Get the car packed up, wife and daughter in tow and off to Hurkey Creek we head. It was a nice drive as the scenery is great and traffic wasn't bad at all. We arrive at around 8:00pm get everything unpacked(along with everyone else who arrived about the same time). Boom, camp is set up, food is eaten, beer is drank and sleep is had.
The morning of the race my wife and I sat at the campfire and watch the sun rise, it was awesome. I stuff my face with cereal/oatmeal/toast/bananas and quite a bit of other assorted goodies. I took a few minutes(actually about 30) to look over my bikes, since I would be racing both my RFX and my new 29'er SS I wanted to make sure they were both race ready. Everyone else was pretty much doing the same, even Emma, she was copying everything I did. I would wipe down the frame, she would wipe down her bike's frame and so on, it was great.
10:00am rolls around and it's time for the racer's meeting, all the stuff you would expect to hear,"be courteous, don't throw your trash on the ground, no iPod's, etc.". Apparently a lot of people were butt hurt about the no iPod rule, I could care less since I never ride with one. Got back to camp and the nerves started going a little bit as this was my first race and all. I got dressed, looked over the bike one more time and just waited to go to the start line.
At 11:30am I ride up to the start line, put my bike where I want it, and join the huge group of riders awaiting the Le Mans start. All I could think at this moment was,"Traffic is going to suck". That previous statement is known as foreshadowing by the way. I am also thinking, "Can I even make it around this course on my SS?". The clock is counting down and I am feeling good, very energetic, got the adrenalin flowing, I'm ready. We're off, running is nothing new to me so I am making good time(the run at the start is around 600 yards). I finish the run and try to get past as many people as I can before we hit the singletrack.
On the climb up to Keen Camp I am feeling great, however that traffic I was talking about is in full effect. Since I was on the SS it was hard for me to go slow on the climb since it forces you to work harder. One guy in particular is pissing me off, I tell him, "hey, no rush but when you get a second I want by". No response, so I try to pass him, get snagged by a bush, rip my team jersey, on my first lap, oh well. I got by him and it was open for a while so I made good time. I remember my buddy Eric telling me that if you are at the top of Keen Camp in under 15 minutes then you are looking at a sub hour lap as long as you keep up the pace.
I still feel strong at the top but run into some more traffic but they are moving pretty good so I just sit in and spin. Pass up some more folks on the second climb and just about have to sprint with this one guy to make it to Exfoliator first. If you haven't ridden it, Exfoliator is the shiznit, fast, flowy, fast, twisty, fast and fun. Make great time going down, sprint up the short climb and bomb down to the left hander to the third(very mean) climb of the course. It's my first time on this and I am hurting a little bit as I am not sure exactly where the top is so I don't know how hard I should be pushing it. I make it almost to the top before I have to walk. I only walked like the last 60 feet so I don't feel so bad.
Downhill some more, trail name: Rage in the Sage. Fun trail, then some short climbs with one rock outcropping that can be tricky if you are not used to tech stuff. Then it's rocky(big rocks) descending with drops and Manzanita bushes that want to rip you apart if you don't stay on your line. I have fun and hit all the drops. One of the drops is good size and there was a group of people yelling and screaming for all the riders here, they wanted to see some carnage but I wasn't going to be the person to give it to them, at least not today.
Then it flat, then some pavement followed by dirt road which runs right by our campsite. Everyone in camp is cheering me on, Emma is ringing the crap out of a cowbell, and I yell out to send the next guy to the start/finish. Scoot up the last climb(which is a beotch) and blast down the whoops section(which is awesome). Pull up to the line and the clock says 1:01(1 hour, 1 minute), I hand off the baton and roll back to camp. I feel pretty good about my time, but I know I can cut a faster lap.
Now I play the waiting game. Eat some light stuff, drink some electrolyte drinks, etc. Charlie's back, George is out. George is back, Gil is out. Gil is back, Hoser is out. I'm up, it's still light out and I am ready. Make my way up to the start/finish, pick up the baton and I'm off. No real traffic this time on the first climb and I make it to the top in under 14 minutes. Do pretty much the same as before except this time I make the mean climb. I get lucky and draft off somebody on the road segment (I am running 32x20, so I spin out on the flats), pass'em up at the last climb and I'm back at the line in 55 minutes. I was very happy with this lap.
And then the darkness came, and brought it's bitch of a friend Cold. And I mean really cold. The low that night was 22, freaking 22. Weather.com is a f-n liar. They said the low was going to be in the low 50's, liars. My night lap was around midnight and I rode the RFX to compare my times with the SS laps. MISTAKE. In comparison to the SS, it felt so heavy and slow but I made descent time(1:04), so I wasn't too upset. I was freezing my ass off though, and my toes, fingers, nose, basically everything.
When I got back to camp I made some coffee, poured some Scotch in it and tried to drink myself warm. It worked a little. I put almost everything I brought with me on and got in the sleeping bag. I only slept about 2 hours before it was my turn again. Charlie was having hip issues so he was done. I cut a 1:07 on my fourth and last lap. It was a great lap though, as I had the sunrise lap. When I was coming through the meadow and that first bit of warmth from the sun hit me I was ecstatic and rejuvenated. Got back to camp, and everyone was up. Emma was already wanting to ring the cowbell, that got vetoed real quick by the newly awakened campers though. She rang the bell for most of the day on Saturday though, she is a big fan of bike racing apparently(she gets it from her daddy).
We finished with 19 laps which is alright, not first, but not last either. I talked Hoser out of pulling a double at the end as it wasn't necessary, we had all done 4 laps except for Charlie who was injured.
We'll get'em next time, and there will be a next time, I assure you.
Relaxing after setting up camp
Race ready
Finishing the run
The "G" Out
Notice that both feet are still clipped in...haha
Refueling
Charlie ripping it up on Exfoliator
George ripping it up too
Gil returning from a lap
Hoser rolling the big wheels...and loving it
Emma ripping it up
Beautiful shot my wife took
Early morning bell ringing
Early morning coffee drinking
Parting shot...Hoser's not there cause he was on a lap
