Boondoggle Forty5

 

Saturday John Switow and I headed up to Kentucky for the Forty5.  It is a mixed surface event, that has 16 miles single track, 2 miles of double track, 13 miles of pavement, and 14 miles of gravel. This year, due to torrential rains, the Middle Ridge double track was left out.  Middle Ridge is infamous for its mud holes (who knows what's at the bottom).  Normally you can skirt around them, but this year would have required a flotation device.  So an additional mix of gravel and pavement brought the total mileage to 49, instead of 45.  

Waiting to start, even though the temperature was 41 degrees, I was shivering.  When the Keith blew his truck horn, I was warm within 100 feet, as the start was a 2.8 mile paved climb to the single track. The legs were feeling pretty good, but I still held back some, as I did not want to blow a gasket.  I entered the single track behind a few guys, but they were moving fast enough that I did not have to scrub any speed. 

With the rains in the days leading up to today, that first descent was sketchy.  For one, the trail was blown out, there were diagonal roots everywhere, and it had been a minute since I had raced in the mud.  It felt like I was riding on ice. The first 2 miles were the most challenging.  This 8 mile section of single track is very similar in feel to Brush Creek at the Ocoee Whitewater Center.  You can really haul ass when it is dry.  But man, those roots could be treacherous.  There was only two small punchy climbs that I came off the bike, mainly because of traffic ahead of me.  I made it down the root ball plunge of death in one piece ... whew!

The latter half of the trail was blistering fast as it shed water well and was mostly dry.  There were 3 guys just ahead of me going at EXACTLY the same speed as me.  I tried hard to bridge the gap, but could not quite get there.  And once they popped out onto the pavement, they slowly pulled away even further.  So I was in no man's land for that 5 mile stretch of pavement.  

Once I hit the gravel loop, I began to slowly reel them back in.  Two pulled off at the aid station at mile 15, and then there was just one.  I finally caught up to him, Denny was his name.  He was super strong ... and 67 years old.  I met him at the start of the race.  He was proud of his Specialized Epic 8 and I could tell he loved that bike.

We played leap frog throughout that 20 mile loop which was mostly gravel.  And buttery smooth gravel it was.  It rolled well and was fast!  There were only a few stout climbs, but none that lasted more than 1/2 mile.  The young bucks caught back up to me and I rode with them for a while, until they petered out. I was alone once again; Denny was behind me as well.

I was still feeling good and light in the legs.  So began to stand and hammer the climbs.  All that winter/early spring strength training was paying off.  Only one thing made me mad during this gravel loop and that was the clusterfuck of cars at the bottom of a descent.  One in front of me came to a complete stop and another was turned sideways in the middle of the road.  So instead of a blistering descent, I had to scrub ALL my speed, coming to a complete stop, and losing ALL my momentum for the climb just beyond this madness.  Deep breaths, Carey.

I stopped at the aid station at mile 34 and swapped one bottle and slurped a gel.  From there it was backtracking on that 5 mile section of pavement.  I saw a rider just behind me and slowed up a little.  It was Denny.  Together we took turns pulling on that pavement.  It made the effort so much easier.  Once we got near the entrance to the 8 mile single track section, Denny pulled off to grab a bottle from his wife.  I yelled out to her that she has an awesome husband.

The single track had dried out considerably and the roots played much nicer on the way back.  Before we parted ways back out on the pavement, Denny mentioned that his grandson would get on to him if he was beaten by a girl.  So I tried to get a little gap on Denny in the first 2 miles or so.  But he was like a horse fly and would not relent.  His fitness and skills are something I hope I can hang onto when I am his age.  I did let him by, twice, but passed him back along a techy section of the trail.  He later told me that he just couldn't hang with me on those last few technical climbs.

I cleaned everything on the way back, including the gnarly root ball section, now a climb.  But only because it had dried out.  There wouldn't have been a chance in hell, had it been wet like on the way out.  The last mile began a painful slog uphill.  The legs were now tired and ready to be done.  One final climb up to the finish and I rolled through in 3:47:30, first woman and 20th overall. 

I want to give a shout out to Tracy Cook, who took second, and was only minutes behind me.  She is another OG, who has been putting in the training, and it has paid off.  She is getting fast!

Instead of the traditional podium pics, we got ours taken individually as we finished.  There was an amazing spaghetti dinner for the racers.  I did not partake, but brought my own post race food. John had a good day on his gravel bike.  We actually met in 2019 at this race, when he introduced himself to me at the start line. All I could think was, "This idiot is on a gravel bike."  But our friendship hit it off and we have had many adventures since.  This year there were a lot more gravel bikes, but much different that the one John rode 6 years ago.  With mountain bike tires, mtb gearing, progressive geo, and some with front suspension, they are way more capable of handling that 16 miles of single track.

I would like to thank Keith for one of the coolest trophies I have ever received.  He just couldn't be one-upped by John Maggard and his War Daddy trophies.  And for continuing to have this race in a time when it has become extremely difficult for race promoters to break even. It was a great day to play bikes in Kentucky.

Snake Creek Gap TT

The March edition was moved to April after high winds and storms were forecasted for March 15.  I was tickled pink that the race was rescheduled. For once in a long time, I felt ready to dig deep and go hard. Race temps were going to be 72-83 degrees, perfect for me.  My muscles just don't function as well when the temps dip below 50, and the sauna sessions I had been doing at my gym had me prepared for the heat.

Happy to have his company once again, John spent the night and then we drove down together to Dalton. Probably the one and only time I will wear a sleeveless jersey at The Snake, I was able to get in a proper warm up.  I lined up close to the front, as I wanted as clear a course ahead of me to hopefully work some magic and finally get a sub-4 hour time that has eluded me for 6 years.

As Kevin Crowe pulled up behind me, he said, "Ah, good, someone to pace me."  Taking that as a compliment, but knowing how strong he is, I figured he would pass me on the flat 2 mile lead out to the first double track climb of the day.  Sho' nuff, he did come around me and I could only hope that I might see him later on in the race.  

I knew that I needed to settle for the first half, keeping something in reserve, as well as keeping the engine from overheating.  I kept a comfortably hard pace up that first climb. When I entered the first single track, I was pleasantly surprised that trail fairies had blown the leaves off and removed the loose rock, making the trail highway fast! 

As I made my along the first half, I could feel the sun's intensity between the cloud breaks.  Fortunately there was a nice cool breeze, so I never felt hot.  I cruzed along, cleaning all the techy bits, save for that one little creek crossing that had two lines, both of which could potentially end disastrously for me, so I chose to dismount and jump over the higher line.  This did not sacrifice any time, but kept me from having to waste energy by hitting that grunty climb hard enough to clear the ditch on the bike.

Having raced The Snake a gazillion times, saving energy where I could would allow me to hit that last and most difficult single track section fast and efficiently.  So after gassing myself a bit during the harder parts of the first section, I would recover on the "flatter" sections by soft pedaling a minute or two before ramping it back up to tempo.

I cruised into the aid station at 1:43, slurped a gel, and grabbed my bottle of LMNT.  I was out of there in less than 30 seconds. I went at a steady endurance pace up that first climb.  Once I topped out, I picked it up and began focusing on "Slow is smooth, smooth is fast," mantra.  Being able to see the trail allowed me to pick the smoothest most efficient line and not bumble around wasting energy.

I caught sight of Kevin during one of the climbs just before the descent down to Swamp Creek.  Finally a carrot I could latch onto.  I caught up to him, he said something like, "You suck," which just fired me up more.  I did let him by on the descent, but then caught back up to him on the gravel climb.  As I passed him the final time, I told him that he shoulda followed his own advice back at the start line.

I entered the final single track at 2:41, giving me 1 hour 18 minutes to finish the last 10'ish miles.  It ... was ... gonna ... be ... close! I just kept envisioning a sub-4, which kept me focused, steady, and positive.  I felt great, I felt zen, I felt the flow!  I cleaned everything up to The Wall.  And The Wall was in the best shape ever.  If ever was the time to attempt a clean ride up this beast, now was it.  But, old and wise Carey was playing the long game.  Having never cleaned it during a race ( I have cleaned it twice in my life when JRA), I knew I would waste valuable time and energy trying to stroke my ego.  But I did a HAB FKT! 

Once at the top, I remounted and tried to push just a wee bit harder.  Once I got to the Dug Gap fire pit, I realized I was going to have to TT it to the finish as I had 22 minutes left.  So I gave it my all!  A few spots I ran it, knowing that was the faster way.  In races past, by this point, I felt like a pinball.  Not today, as I was in the groove!  I came upon two racers just as I was about to hit the "gunsight pass" section at the end.  They dismounted to walk; I yelled out, "I am going for it!"  They moved aside and cheered me on.  In the past, it was a 50/50 chance of making it.  Today, I had to clean it, and I DID!  From there, just another minute of suffering and I could enjoy the final descent.

In those final minutes, I super tucked when I could and pedaled when I needed to.  Sprinting to the finish, I passed through the arch in 3:58:03.  Hot damn!  Last time I had this fast of a time was 2019 with a 3:53. I attribute this to perfect weather, perfect conditions (what with a clear trail), stepping up my strength training this winter, and sauna sessions at the gym, and the wisdom I have gained over the 21 years of racing this beast. 

John had a PR and earned a buckle to be proud of.  This was the first time he has raced The Snake and he said on the ride home, quite possibly the last.  I give him a month to forget the pain.  And, he had raced the Waucheesi 90 last weekend in absolute horrid conditions (rainy and brrrr cold).  

Once again, thanks to NWGA SORBA for an amazing day playing bikes.  From the cool schwag to the volunteers at the aid station to the smorgasboard of post ride food and beverage, you guys have one of the best events in the SouthEast.