Warrior Creek 6 Hour Race Report

I am very fortunate that Jim Horton took over as race promoter for this event.  This is the best lap format race I have ever done, and last year could have been its last.  I was excited that Perry asked me to team up with him.  This would be my 7th year and I can now say that I have participated in every category possible.  This would be my first time on gears.  I decided to run gears to see if there was any advantage and because I did not feel single speed strong, even for only two laps.

Glad that Perry got to battle the masses on the start lap.

Perry did have a good starting position until racers started filling in front of the front row.  By the time the race started, he was sitting about 60 racers back.  After I saw him cross the road after the parade lap, I began my warm up.  The weather was absolutely perfect:  55 degrees, a cool breeze, and not a cloud in the sky.

After seeing a half dozen coed teams come through on the first lap, I was eager to start chasing rabbits.  Perry came in hot and I was off.  It took me a few minutes to find my single track, berm riding legs and for the nerves to settle, but by the first mile I found my rhythm.  Even though I had not pre ridden the course, my body remembered every berm, root, rock garden, and climb.

I was in an unfamiliar spot though, as Perry had come across in the top 25 racers.  I had an empty trail before me, but had a lot of fast men come upon me in the opening miles.  They all played nice and were around me in a flash.  Within the first few miles, I was upon one of the Industry 9 coed teams and she allowed me the pass in the most respectful manner.  I knew Bevin, of the second I9 coed team, was somewhere up ahead and kept it redlined hoping to pass her by mid lap.

I caught up to her around mile 6 and made the pass.  We were now sitting in 5th or 6th place.  The trail was in perfect hero dirt shape!  I kept it pegged the whole way, hoping to build up enough of a buffer for Perry.  I came in with a lap time of 1:07:50.

While Perry was out on course, I cooled off, ate, drank, rested, and warmed back up.  I ran the numbers through my head and we would have to keep our laps hot, if I was going to have the chance to race a third one.  Time ticked by and I watched Jacob come through and hand off to Bevin.  Perry was just a couple minutes behind.

I tried to go out hard, but the legs threw a fit. It felt like I was pedaling through quicksand.  I told myself to give them a few minutes and they would come around.  My heart was doing its job, pumping fresh oxygen to the engine at a rate of 170 bpm, but the carburetor must have been gummed up.  Ten minutes later, I felt better and more fluid, but not near as happy as that first lap.

I managed to come upon Bevin and pass her, earlier than I had the first lap.  I jokingly told her I was going to make Jacob earn that 3rd lap.  I am all about trying to inspire women on the trail, and I was hoping that this would light a fire underneath her wheels.  I think she kicked it into a higher gear as it took more time this lap to shake her off my tail.

Halfway through the lap, I was in a world of hurt.  I fought through the pain cave, but knew that this was going to be a much slower lap. Unlike the first lap, where I was hammering the climbs like I was on my single speed, this lap I definitely made more use of my easier gears. At least, I told myself, I would not have to torture the legs with a third.  I came in with a time of 1:11:05.  Pitiful, by my standards.

Credit:  Daren Wilz

Perry took off on his third and our final lap.  I hoped that his legs were happier than mine, as Jacob rolled out after him just a few minutes later.  While I waited to see what our final placing would be, I contemplated my bike choice.  I came to the conclusion that, aside from the first lap, a single speed is just as fast, if not faster, than gears.  Gears allowed me to make that decision to spin easier and suffer less.  My single speed would probably have been the faster bike, as I would not have had any other choice but to grunt it out.  Either that or walk!

Perry was unable to hold off Jacob, who crushed it on his last lap.  Perry said Jacob came by him like he was standing still. We ended up 7th out of 24, which I gladly took.  Our field was stacked! Hell, every field was stacked!  This race, by far, is one of the most competitive I have ever been party to.

Although I was mostly happy with my performance, i.e. gave it everything I had, enjoyed the ride, played nice, I was sad I was not going to get another pottery mug to add to my collection.  But then I saw that the podium prizes were growlers and I became less sad. Although I am sure there are those who liked those aluminum growlers, I wish that they had kept the pottery mugs going. Maybe they will change their minds next year?

Standing next to a future legend, the Zoe!

6 Hours of Warrior Creek Race Report

A bermalicious experience!

Last year when Melissa Cooper asked me to team up with her for this event, I was on the fence.  Just days before, I had received a heartbreaking email that this edition of Warrior Creek was going to be the last.  I really wanted to race the finale in the solo SS division.  I couldn't give Melissa an answer just yet.  And then, just before registration was to open, I received another email, stating that 6WC would live on under new management.  Hallelujah!  I told Melissa I was in.

After realizing that Melissa had raced 6WC twice, but had yet to stand on the box, my goal for this race was to secure her one of the infamous mugs.  And we were both using this race to prep our fast twitch muscles for Marathon Nationals.  We both had plenty of long rides under our belt, but needed to get in some speed work.

And then a first for 6WC:  they released a starter's list.  Whoa!  15 ladies' teams and some tough competition to boot!  I flip-flopped back and forth on what gear to run and finally settled on 32/20.  I had used this same gear 2 years ago when I teamed up with Ursula and had happy legs then.  I knew I would get shuttled back pretty quickly at the start, but with the heavy training load leading up to this race, I did not think I could push a 19.

I had Melissa hold my spot at the start while I did a lengthy warm up. Gone are the days when I can just hammer hard from a cold start. About 10 minutes from "go time," I approached the start line, but then hung out for a couple extra minutes, just watching Melissa squirm a bit.  You see, she was in her long pants and tennis shoes.  She definitely got nervous about whether or not she was going to have to race that first lap!

Finishing up the parade lap.

I had given brief thought to racing my geared bike for that first lap, thereby avoiding all that nonsense that happend mid-pack.  But the purist in me would not allow it.  Not to mention I would be black-listed by the SS community.  It seems every year I get to wrap handle bars with a fellow racer.  This year was no different.  Some gearie rode "up my butt" and entangled his bars with mine.  How we managed to not go down was a small miracle, but after a couple pedal strokes, we were able to free ourselves.  Nothing like a little adrenalin to help keep my HR and cadence up!

The first lap is always highly entertaining for me.  In the beginning miles, I was behind a dude that was jumping everytime there was a rise on the trail.  He was making me tired just watching him.  After a mile or so, he began to fatigue on the climbs and I was able to pass.

Then I came upon two dudes racing so close to one another it looked like they were on a tandem.  I soon found out they were "momentum-challenged" when we approached a steep descent followed by a sharp left-hander with a high berm on the right.  I seem to remember some centripetal force equation from physics (F = mv*2/r).  Anyway, this particular berm was slightly muddy.  For whatever reason, the dudes brake checked upon the approach to the berm. I was about 2 bike lengths back, my mind frantically making calculations to avoid the imminent crash that was about to happen.  Well, the dudes reached the highest point of the berm, but slowed down to a point where gravity intervened and sent them both sliding down the berm and off the trail.  I managed to put in enough power in 2 pedal strokes to maintain the minimal amount of speed necessary to clean the berm.  (I would have loved to have had a GoPro for that one!)

After about 6 miles, I found myself mostly alone, and able to find a good sustainable rhythm. Although the gearing was perfect for the climbs, I noticed that I was a bit too spinny on the flats.  I began to doubt my gear choice.

I rolled through the transition area and Melissa took off.  Now, only time would tell.  After cooling down and refueling, I went to check the first lap results.  We were in third!  Hells yeah!  Now to wait for Melissa's return.  She came rolling through about 3 minutes down on second.  Our goal looked achievable.  I took off after Hannah, hoping I could reel her in.  My legs came back around rather quickly and I was in a good zone.  With no traffic, I could save any matches I had left for the last lap. I focused on being smooth and consistent.  I soon came upon another SS'r; it was Kip!  Sweet!  He soon began to talk all about the past couple months, with most of it focusing on P36.  How he could manage to talk in sentences, all the while pedaling a tall gear, I don't know.  A real motivator for sure.

We rode most of the lap together ... and he was racing solo!  When I pulled through the transition area, Melissa yelled out that I had gained some time on second place.  Boom sauce!  Could we secure second?  It was worth a try.  I've got to hand it to Melissa.  She dug deep into her arsenal of fitness and was able to catch Lilly on her second lap.  They came through the start/finish, separated only by seconds!

Oh, boy!  The race for second place was on!  Upon entering the single track, only about 50 yards separated us.  I pedaled so fast, I thought my legs were going to become entangled around the bike like a bolo.  I was equal to Hannah's speed on the climbs, but was losing time on the flats.  Now I was really wishing I had a 19.  I could only hope that she would blow.  But mile after mile the gap slowly increased.  Around mile 7/8 I lost sight of her.  Ugghhh!  Oh well, now I focused on finishing up with a clean run.  I did not want to make any mistakes that would cost us our 3rd place.

Melissa and Lilly were on pins and needles that entire race, waiting to see who would exit the single track first.  I rolled though the finish, 1:07 behind Hannah. I was stoked that we were able to secure a position on the podium and accomplish our goal.  This was the first time I had undergeared for a race. I am not sure that had I chosen a 32/19 that it would have made any difference in the outcome, as Hannah and Lilly are super strong young women.  But, what I do know is that Coach Lynda has me on track to potentially become the strongest I have been in my mid-forties.

Stoked to share the podium with some uber strong women!

So thank you, Melissa, for asking me to partner up with you. Sometimes the best races are not the ones you win, but the ones that push you beyond what you thought your limits were.

6 Hours of Warrior Creek Race Report

First race back since the 6 week lay off.  No structured training leading into this one.  I was excited to be back in competition, but nervous that my engine would misfire. I chose an easy gear, knowing I would hate the first lap, but at least be in my comfort zone during the final ones.  A little pre-ride shake out of the legs and nerves the day before and I was ready to see how I would perform come race day.

Each lap was 13.8 miles and 1350 feet of climbing.  So many twists and turns and ups and downs that my Garmin could only handle 11.5 miles and 1100 feet of climbing.  The course was in perfect shape. Many hours of work had gone into making this course race ready.  The weather was cooperating this year; the course was dry and with a nice light rain the night before, the dust had settled.

Although I was initially in the 5th row, late comers funneled in the front, past the "official" start line.  This put me well back in the field.  The start was fast and furious on the initial 3/4 mile parade lap on the pavement through the campground.  I was spinning a cadence of 100+ but still was passed by hordes of racers that are super fast on their geared full squish bikes ... until they hit the single track where their roadie skills did not transition to the dirt.

I knew Lap 1 was going to be a party train.  In year's past, I would blow a few matches to get around racers.  This year, I had decided that I would ride with the train, saving my energy for future laps.  An experiment it was.  I was EXTREMELY patient until I came upon a racer who I swore was drunk.  This guy was on a full suspension with a skateboarder's helmet, flat pedals, and pads.  I don't think he realized he had gears as he was pedaling like a hummingbird.  He was fine on the straightaways but when he came to any sort of turn, he was all over the berm and nearly bit it several times.  I knew I had to get around him before he took me out.  I did and said a prayer of thanks.

My body was functioning well and I was almost into my little bubble of happiness when, trying to pass a racer through a rooty section, my chain came off.  Doh!  Taking way too long too get it back on, guess who passed back by me?  Yep, Mr. Tipsy!  I had to play that game all over again, this time passing him as he was wallowing around in the leaves after having folded his bike in half on a huge berm.

Short, but steep, grunty climbs

I finally found my bubble on Lap 2.  I came upon Eleanor midway and noticed she was pushing a much harder gear.  We chatted for a bit and then I knew I had to go.  One of these days, I hope to be able to throw on that big gear again.  But for now, I was happy with my dinner plate cog.  Lap 2 was my fastest.

Midway through lap 3 I came upon Mark Stewart.  He was a hurtin' buckaroo as he rode with Lisa the previous lap.  Little did he know that she sometimes likes to play with guys the way a cat plays with a mouse ... just before the kill blow.  I was beginning to feel the fatigue settle in as well.  I chose to stay with Mark and follow his lines, and perhaps learn a little.  Mark is a very skilled rider.  I told him that the highlight of the race for me would be able to see him hit those four jumps at the end of the lap.  I think that this pushed him a little harder, and he nailed the biggest one!

Prior to heading out for lap 4, I chugged a can of Red Bull.  It took about a half lap before I grew wings.  While waiting for my overdrive to kick in, I settled in behind another rider who had a great pace and was super consistent.  This allowed me to turn AutoPilot on and enjoy the ride.  Once I felt the energy return, I made the pass and motored on.  About a mile before the rock gardern, I fell in behind Melissa Cooper who was racing duo.  When I made my presence known, she kicked it into high gear and left me choking on her dust on the climb.  I managed to crawl my way back onto her wheel and then passed her when she bobbled in the beginning of the rocks.  Must have been fate as she rode my line through the tricky portion of the garden and cleaned it for the first time!  I could hear her squeals of gratitude, which in turn made me feel good and bolstered the inner fires.

I went out for my 5th and final lap.  I wasn't sure if it was necessary, but I needed all the miles I could get.  My body was not happy with all the jarring.  With every G-out or set of roots, my left foot sent out electrical waves of pain and it felt like someone was taking a knife and poking it into my lumbar area.  The upper body was holding up well, but the lower was all to hell!  I was ready to be done.

With about 3 miles to go, Gordon Wadsworth and Wes Richards, racing neck in neck in the single speed division, blew around me quickly and effortlessly.  I was "sucked" into their vacuum and for a brief moment, I do believe I entered a time warp.  This last lap was my second fastest, no doubt thanks to those two.

I rolled through the finish line with a first place in the single speed category ... 5 laps in 6:21.  Slower than my last solo performance, but I was happy.  Happy to be back at my passion.  Happy to have my body perform as it should.

Jason knows how to put on a fantastic race with equal payouts, incredible schwag, and a post-race raffle filled with high dollar items.  Winning the single speed division netted me some Benjamins and a Endless Bike Co. musette bag filled with goodness!

The 33T will come in handy at Marathon Nationals.

And beer for my hubby!

The Jedi Master of trailbuilding Jim Horton

Warrior Creek is my all-time favorite 6 hour race.  I will be back in 2016, perhaps mixing it up a little with one of my friends.

If you missed out on this one, check out their fall race, The Wilkesboro 100K.  It uses the Warrior Creek Trails, the Overmountain Victory Trail, and the Dark Mountain Trails.  I raced the inaugural one and highly recommend it.