Having not ridden my mountain bike much this year, as I have been having way too much Type 2 Fun on the gravel bike, I was thrilled when John invited me to team up with him for this race. There is not a better way to refresh the trail skills than at high speed. I came up the week before and got 2 laps in, just to familiarize myself with the tread. It was a lot like Enterprise South, what with the loose over hardpack, but not near as tight and twisty. You could really mess yourself up, flying down the trail and carrying too much speed into a loose corner.
The morning of the race, we decided that John would go first. Unless we were able to get sub-hour laps on every one of them, we would only be able to do 5. I was 40 hours out from receiving my second Covid (Moderna) vaccination, and while I was feeling o.k., the day prior I was pretty wiped and ended up going to bed at 8:30. So I was pretty stoked that I only had to do two.
The race started at 10 am. John told me he thought he would do a 1:01 on his first. I had about 30 minutes to chill before I did my warm up. After my warm up, I felt pretty good. I didn't think I could get a sub-hour lap, but I thought I would be pretty close. Just like clockwork, John showed up at 11:01. I headed out going full gas. I though that there was one Coed team ahead of us. Should I go hard or stupid hard, I asked my inner self. Well, I only had to do two ... I tried to keep it in the red on the climbs and flats and smooth on the descents and corners. I only had one "Oh, shit!" moment when my front wheel nearly washed out into a loose turn. How I managed to save it, I do not know.
I caught Misty (first Coed team) a little over halfway through the 12 mile lap. She graciously allowed me around and then I just continued to lay down a blistering pace (for me) for the next 4 miles, hoping to gain a few minutes on them. The reward is that the last mile is not too strenuous with final 1/2 being a fun descent. I came through the chicane finish with a time of 58:32. Hells yeah! I was pretty stoked about that one. That gave John about a 90 second lead, but Misty's partner was really fast (and also 20 years John's junior). That was just fine; we both love a good challenge.
While I was waiting, I got to hang out with one of John's UK college buddies, David Brockwell. We talked about our kids, but mostly our pets. John's partner had bailed on him, so he decided to do the 3 hour, which didn't start until 1 pm. We strategized over lap times and what they would have to be in order for me to have to go out for a 6th one. I was pretty confident that wasn't going to happen, but tried to get in the right frame of mind if it did.
Misty's partner came in at 12:58pm. Duly noted, I tensely awaited John's arrival. I was hoping he would arrive before the 3 Hour racers left. And ... he didn't. He came in 1:03:27 lap, putting me 5 minutes off of Misty and 3 minutes behind all the 3 hour people. Glad I packed a book of matches as I figured I was going to use a lot of them on my second lap.
Hitting that pavement hill the second time was NO FUN. My legs were on fire! Oh, the burn! I began catching the 3 hour racers within the first mile. I must have passed 25 of them over the course of the lap. I was very patient and let them tell me when and on which side to pass. I did not want to disrupt their race at all, so most of the time was passing slightly off trail. And yes, those little bursts of power to get around them began to take their toll. Oof!
I caught up to Misty around the same spot as the first lap. This time I was really tired from using all those matches so I sat behind her for a few minutes, catching my breath and awaiting the next hill, where I would make a move. She was very smooth on the descents and didn't seem to struggle at all on the climbs. I was worried that I might not be able to pass her.
But then that awful hill on the back half of the lap showed up, and I had to go, no matter if my legs barked or not. So I did and sure enough, slowly pulled away from her. But I was dying on the inside! And my breathing sounded like a freight train! I slowly ticked off the final miles, one by one, telling myself that this was all I had to do, all that was left, so get your ass moving!
I came through with a 1:01. I was hoping I could hit an even hour for that lap; perhaps if I had been able to start ahead of the 3 hour racers. But I know that John had laid it all out there on both his laps, and so I was perfectly ok with that outcome. I had bought John another 90 second lead, but I knew, unless something unfortunate happened to Misty's partner (and I did not want that), we would take second. But I also did not want anything bad to happen to John, so as I tagged his hand, I told him to just enjoy this last lap.
At the end, Misty and her partner, Dave, took the win, with John and I in second (we ended up being 2 minutes behind, so not bad!). Another mini goal of mine was to have the fastest woman's lap ... and I did. So, once again, stoked for that.
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| The Grill Master |
All in all it was a beautiful day playing bikes with friends. To top it off, John prepared a wonderful meal for Dave and I. Grilled ribeyes, potatoes, broccoli, and cauliflower. It tasted so so good and I didn't have to play any part in the cooking process.
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