6 Hour Race to Sunset @ Blankets Race Report

Sleeping in and getting ready at a relaxed pace was nice.

Fueling pre-race was the hard part.  Normally, it involves just one meal.  But today I had to come up with two meals.  I had the bright idea of trying to make gluten-free biscuits to go with my eggs.  It was like a cross between a rice cake and a hockey puck.  And that lead weight sat in my stomach for hours ...  I attempted to take in a few more calories around noon, but my stomach was not happy. 

Seeing as how I had not ridden here in 4 years, I took Karma (2011 Niner AC9 SS) out for a pre-ride just after I arrived around noon.  This was definitely a perfect course for one gear.  I rode a lap, just to make sure I chose the right gear ... and I did, a 32 x 20.

A tight squeeze ... especially at 12-15 mph!

The temperature hovered right around 90 at the start.  The course was technically demanding, with short, grunty climbs, roots galore, rocks that moved with you, and stutter bumps everywhere from the super dry conditions the past month. 

The race started out LeMans  style, with a 1/4 mile run to your bike.  Coach's orders were to ride at 90% and NOT race the boys.  However, I intended to run hard so as to avoid as much of the 1st lap cluster as possible. 

Loose gravel, carbon soles, and metal cleats makes for an interesting start.

The race went off at 3 pm and as I was running up the gravel parking lot, I looked down and saw a bike shoe all by its lonesome.  Within seconds, the owner was trying to run against 200 race-hungry individuals to claim his lost "sole."  It was quite a push and shove match to get to your bike first.  I am just glad that she was in one piece when I arrived to leap upon her and be off on my 6 hour adventure.

I chose to summarize each lap in a few sentences.

Lap 1:  Really, not even a mile in to this thing and I am down with a bloodied forearm.  So much for avoiding the cluster.  Come on people, just "ride that thang!"

Lap 2:  Welcome back, my friend Momentum.

Lap 3:  Wheeee!

Lap 4: I think there are more people laying trail side with cramping issues than are racing.

Lap 5:  Wow!  Red Bull does give you wings!

Lap 6:  A 100 lumen light might work well on the TNGA, but it does NOT work well on a tight, twisty single track race.  Oh, well, I will consider this my parade lap.

Karma's first race and first win.

I ended up 1st woman, 1st SS, and 2nd solo overall.  And I adhered to Coach's orders.  I swear, I was not racing the boys ... they just seemed to keep getting in my way, so I had to pass.  I had a great day on my single speed.  The legs were happy all day, but my lower back and balls of my feet weren't.  The course was very jarring!  I was happy to be finished.  It was nice to be able to get cleaned up at night and not worry about sweating again.

The bike rode well and had no issues:  powerful, yet quiet.  Even with a slightly longer wheelbase than my Specialized SS, I had no issues maneuvering around the switchbacks and other tight twisty sections of the trail.  Now that I have the fork dialed in, I am quite happy with the Reba.

Lisa Randall (Mountain Goat Adventures), her husband Chris, SORBA Woodstock, and the Bike Patrol executed a perfect race.  Inexpensive fees, combined with lots of shwag (pre and post-race), and quick reporting of results made for an awesome race. 

My podium shirt.

Zeke also rocked it!  3rd place in the SS field.  He spanked some guys half his age!

SERC #10 Fontana Race Report

Happy that the season is almost over.

Wow!  It has been a long, but fun season!  I think the racing was the easy part.  All the prep work leading up to each race was a race in of itself ... especially when you have an 8 year old in tow.  But I had help from family and friends and I do believe it has drawn Carly and I closer to each other.  Yeah, there were times when we fought like sisters, but there were many more times when we hugged and laughed and gave each other high 5's.

Team Outdoor Store is in da house!

Fontana Village was the perfect place to have the finale.  Probably because they had an AWESOME pool with an attached lazy river.  Over the course of three days, Carly got in 10+ hours of pool time and countless laps on the lazy river.

How I spent 50% of my pool time.

The kids course was also the short track course.  It was located between the restaurant and the pool on a grassy hillside.  It included a steep downhill, which Carly bombed down ... but it also had a nasty gravelly-grassy climb, which Carly hated.  This steep little grunt was also part of my course, which I had to climb up on each lap.  No fun for a little girl with a heavy bike.

Carly had to do 3 laps.  She led on the first, but then lost her bearings and slowed down, allowing a couple of her competitors to pass.  She pushed the climb up to the Start/Finish line.  By the end of the second lap, I could tell she was done.  Grimacing through the 3rd lap, she persevered and finished.  I was proud of her efforts.  This was definitely one of the hardest and least fun of the series, but she finished strong.

The head cocked to one side is an indicator of "not fun."

Carly's biggest issue is the heat and humidity.  You see, along with the orange hair and fair skin, she also got Grandmom Sandy's heat intolerance.  Heat rashes, flushed cheeks, light headedness, yucky stomach ... you name it, when Carly gets hot, this is what happens.  Even though she raced at 8:30 am, the sticky heat has been there.  Carly can swim all day, but mountain biking is hard for her in the summer.

I, on the other hand, relish the heat.  It is actually to my advantage.  But one thing I have discovered this year is that is has slowed my recovery.

My course was hard.  Not as technically difficult as Monte Sano, but there was a lot more climbing.  Most of the climbing was on pavement or gravel.  The first big descent was steep with lots of loose "baby-heads."  It was easy to get hurt here.  The second descent on Turkey Pen was way more fun.  Smooth and fast with a few water bars that you could get more air than you wanted to.  I opted to run gears as I was coming off a big block of training which had included a 28 hour ride through the Chattahoochee National Forest on "The Yak."

Single track entrance -- if I had to do 1 more lap, I would have needed a machete.

The course started out with a 0.4 mile lung/leg busting climb up pavement to the single track.  I got a good start and entered the single track in 3rd, hanging on tightly to Anina's wheel.  Kim was just in front of us, but slowly pulling away.  I settled into a sustainable pace for me.  On the first lap, I surged ahead of Anina a couple times, just to see what she had.  She did not waiver and stayed up front.

Coming through the Start/Finish area, a couple spectators said that we were 35 seconds behind Kim.  I followed Anina back up that steep paved climb, but could tell that she was faltering a bit.  She entered the single track first, but after about a mile, I could tell she was slowing.  Thinking that maybe she was playing team tactics and not wanting to drag me up to Kim, I passed and upped the pace a bit.  Anina was right there behind me.  But when we began climbing back out of Lewellyn Cove, she popped.  (Anina had raced the short track the night before ... and won.)

The second lap hurt more than the first but I had managed to gain a little more time back on Kim.  On the third lap, I went hard early, hoping that I might be able to reel Kim in, but by the time I began the false flat climb to the Lewellyn "descent of death," I blew up.  I came to the realization that pushing on was only going to increase the probability of something catastrophic happening, I backed off and finished the lap more conservatively.

I ended the day with a 2nd place and 2nd in the series.  This netted me a little cash, which I can finally put towards the purchase of 4 new truck tires.  Carly also ended up with a 2nd place in the series as well.  Pretty cool, if you ask me.

Going through her bag of goodies.

I have to thank Terri and Dave for a great season.  Awesome venues, nice and low entry fees, timely score keeping, and post-race watermelon.  I enjoyed racing my SS, the Specialized SJ aluminum.  A responsive and "mechanical-free" machine, out-fitted with the awesome Endless Bike Co. kick ass cogs.  Chamois Butt'r kept me chafe/saddle sore free, and Ergon kept my hands pain-free.

I am not sure what adventures Carly and I will have next year.  I wanted to expose her to a "real" sport; hopefully she will one day want to pedal all day.  But I will not force her.  Whatever endeavors we take up, we both hope that Daddy can be more of a part of them.  Such a busy man working for Ducks Unlimited, his hard work is what allowed us to partake in such an enriching activity.

Our biggest supporter of all -- the "Big Daddy."

TNGA and Trips For Kids WNC

TNGA ... it is going to be brutal, no doubt about that.  With 350 miles and 56,000+ feet of climbing in 90 degrees and sweltering humidity, I am going to be in the pain cave more than I have ever been.  Along with attention to detail, fitness, and the ability to adapt, motivation is going to be the key to success.

During my recent bike packing recon, I learned that motivation will be my limiter.  Let's face it; I am a single track kind of gal.  Miles and miles of gravel road just does not grind my grits, especially when pedaling 40-45 pounds of bike and gear.

So I have decided to team up with Asheville local Stephen Janes and Trips for Kids WNC.  I met Stephen a few years ago at the Cohutta 100.  Since then our friendship has grown.  His love for kids is genuine and his devotion to the Trips For Kids program is overwhelming.

What better way to see our sport grow than to get kids involved.  And what better way to fuel my spirit through the mountains of the Chattahoochie National Forest than to know that I am racing for our future.  My goal is to raise $1000 in the weeks leading up to TNGA.

So please, sacrifice just one Starbuck's and donate $3.50 on my behalf.  That's only $.01/mile people!  Let the children keep my adrenalin flowing and not the sound of banjo music and Sasquatch calls.

A link is to the right. Please click on it!

SERC #9 Huntsville Race Report

Having never been to Monte Sano State Park,  I was uncertain of what to expect.  I had heard that it was technical and rocky; but that was about it.  Both Carly and I were pleasantly surprised at her course:  a mix of pavement and smooth, buff single track.  What rocks?

While Carly and Zeke pre-rode her course, I went off to do mine.  The first few miles were fast and had a few rocks.  I was on my SS, running a 32 x 19.  At first I thought I might have to go bigger.  But then I encountered steep rocky climbs and steep rocky descents.  These rocks were sharp and slick.  And there were enough roots thrown in on top of the rocks to make it really fun.    Whoa, Nelly!  I would call it Pisgah Lite or Syllamo-ish.  There were a couple sections that I rode over and over again, trying to find the best line.  I don't think there was one.  I was wishing I had brought my full suspension bike. (Shoulda, coulda, woulda.)

After the pre-ride Carly and I finished up our day with 3 hours of pool time, while Zeke went back out to get his single speed fix on.  We capped off the evening with dinner at Chili's with Ursula and Jay. 

Race faces on!

Sunday morning came way too early for Carly.  Biscuits with sausage and gravy was her pre-race meal.  Carly had a good race with no bumbling boys to maneuver around and finished strong.

Pavement start.

Totally focused 10 yards up the trail.

My race started out with 1/4 mile of flat road.  My start was good and I was up front for about 1/2 of it.  Then I heard the gears shifting down behind me and I quickly went from 1st to 5th.  I managed to get around Paula when she bobbled in the first techy section (note:  Paula raced the Tn State Championship Road Race the day before) and passed Catherine when it opened up to double track. 

Kym, who won the Tn State Championship Road Race, was flying up front in first place with Gerri hot on her heels ... well, until she flatted.  After moving up to second place halfway through the first lap, I noticed I wasn't feeling all that sparkly.  Heavy legs and breathing way too hard, I knew that I was not on form to finish at this pace.  I backed off the pace and tried to settle, but on this course it is hard to settle.  The climbs are hard on a SS as they come quickly, around corners, and are strewn with rocks and roots.  All of a sudden the 19T felt like an 18T.  I had to run 2 short climbs (10 yards) and 1 long one (40 yards).

I actually looked forward to the final 0.8 mile paved climb as I could establish a rhythm that was not torturous.  And having Jay hand me an ice cold cup of water helped as well. 

The second lap was agonizingly painful.  Even spinning the flats at 120 rpm hurt.  I felt like a pinball in the techy sections.  Dabbing became a constant on that lap.  To top it off, Paula began to close the gap and at one point was only about 10 seconds back.  Although I felt I was at the end of my rope, I was able to dig a little deeper on the climbs and pull away from her.  Finishing never felt so good!

At the finish with a smile ... or is that a grimace?

As much as that race hurt, I would do it all over again.  Because with the pain and suffering comes a HUGE endorphin rush.  You just cannot beat that feeling of utter exhaustion and exhilaration, knowing you left it all out there on the trail.  Why do drugs or alcohol when you can race, I ask?  I friggin' love my bike!

Karma

is what her name shall be.

19.02 pounds

Karma is the concept of action or deed, understood as that which causes the entire cycle of cause and effect.  Some might say that my new steed is fate; others would say "happenstance."  I will let you be the judge.

My troubles began back in the winter.  Specialized had been great to me up until this point.  But I could not even buy the bike, a 2011 Specialized S-Works SJ SS,  unless I went to another shop.  And that I refused to do.  I even wrote a letter to Mike Sinyard and Rebecca Rusch was kind enough to make sure it got into his hands.  Well, at least it made it to the desk of his secretary.  The end result of that was the regional rep telling Bruce that he did not have the privilege of being an S-Works dealer.

Well, it just so happened that I finally committed to racing the 6 Hours of Warrior's Creek, after being asked 3 years in a row by the promoter.  It always coincided with the Ouachita Challenge.  But I was wanting to do a 6 hour on my SS and I had heard great things about this grassroots race.

It just so happened that Mike Stanley was going to be there with a van full of Niner Bikes to demo.  Zeke talked me in to trying one out.  I did, an A9C with a rigid fork.  As much as I love my Specialized fleet of bikes, I was quite impressed with the Niner.

After much hemming and hawing and with Zeke talking my ear off about the company, I decided to get one.  That was a BIG STEP for me.  I have ridden nothing else but Specialized for the past 12 years.  Their bikes are the best, the components and gear comfortable and durable, and their customer service and advocacy has been top notch.  But ... they just seemed to be more interested in the road aspect of cycling and their "concept" stores.  The small LBS's got kicked aside.

After waiting 2 1/2 months, she arrived.  Bruce meticulously (and I do believe with love) assembled her.  And yesterday I got to try her out at the Whitewater Center.  Just so you know, I paid for this bike, so my opinions are completely non-biased.

I "cut my teeth" on technical rocky trail at The Snake.

After just one 3 hour ride, I cannot say that the bike is friggin' unbelievable or da bomb, but I must say I was most impressed.  The cockpit felt perfect and racey.  She soaked up small bumps; a smoother ride than my Specialized aluminum SS.  Power transfer was instantaneous.  And she was quite nimble through the switchbacks.  I was also able to flick her through rocky sections like I was on my Specialized Era.  

Westfork Trail.  She begs to climb.

I will need some more time on her before I can give a complete thumbs up.  Racing her this weekend at the SERC Huntsville will be a true test.  I have also never ridden a Reba, so I am sure that making some adjustments will help to smooth the trail out as well.  I was riding on the Specialized Renegade tires.  I like them on the rear, but they wash out in sandy or deep loose over hardpack.  Slapping a Specialized Captain on the front should make her rail through the turns better.

I am hoping that this relationship is only the beginning.

Mike Stanley is an awesome rep.  He works his arse off.  Down to earth, goes above and beyond, and loves his job.  I had a good rep with Specialized, but I think his hands were tied.  It might be just me, but I think the corporate leaders are more interested in world domination and sponsoring road racers who throw their $10,000+ bikes into the ditches of the French countryside.  The last (and only) time I threw my bike down in anger was when I was 9 years old.  And that earned me a week of being grounded.

Where is the scracth 'n sniff sticker?

TNGA Recon

With the TNGA only 2 months away and I being a bike packing virgin, I decided to pull an overnighter on a section of the course.

At the start

I began my adventure at Moccasin Creek State Park at 8 am.  My bike and gear weighed in at a hefty 45 pounds.  That is 41% of my body weight!  Having never ridden with weight like this before, I immediately felt it ... even on the beginning flat section of asphalt.  Climbing up the Wildcat Creek forest service road gave me a chance to get used to the weight and how it was distributed on the bike.  I think I packed Stumpy, aka The Yak, pretty good, as the bike felt balanced.  The downhills took some getting used to, especially the tighter turns.

The morning hours were quite pleasant with the forest service roads offering plenty of cover from the sun.  I was just at a cruising pace and had planned to make Helen by 11 am.  But ......  then I made the approach to Hickory Nut Trail.  I looked for it for several minutes, first going to the right and then to the left on trails that led nowhere.  I then came back to the intersection, switched my GPS from breadcrumb trail to compass.  The cue sheet said proceed around dirt pile and head south.  So I did and entered the bushwack from hell!   Poison ivy, poison oak, and blackberry briars greeted me.  Nice!  I finally found a resemblance of trail, only because of the wild hogs that had cleared some small sections looking for breakfast.  The next 2.5 miles was a combination of pushing, soft pedaling through derailleur-eating sticks and large rocks, hoisting Stumpy over downed trees, and hoping no copperheads were lurking in the thick underbrush.  A few choice words were said, including "tartar sauce!" and "pickle juice!"  (Carly has taught me well.)

The last mile of the trail was rideable but not what I would call fun.  Those 3.5 miles took an hour to get through!  And then I had to stop at the lake, remove socks/shoes and scrub the ivy/oak resin off my legs.  Was I ever glad to get to Wendy's!  Although I had to wait in line due to the lunch hour rush, it was worth it.  The last time I had a Wendy's burger was after the 2006 12 Hours of Oleta in Miami, Florida.

Hunger satisfied, I began the long pedal up Hogpen Gap.  This is a 7 mile paved climb, with grades ranging from 8-15%.  Pedaling a fully-loaded mountain bike was a far cry from riding a 16 pound road bike during the 6-Gap Century!  From there it  was a 4 mile descent to my next turn.  As I began my descent, my speed approached 40 mph.  As I came around the second sharp turn, there stood a mama bear and 3 cubs!  I had nowhere to go and could not stop.  I managed to wrestle the bike to the middle of the road and just as I became even with the bears, she jumped over the guard rail and the babies followed.  Whew!  That could have been ugly.

The remainder of the day was anti-climatic, just turning over the pedals while a steady drip of sweat fell from the tip of my nose.  I was happy that I had chosen Stumpy with 120mm of travel, fore and aft.  I call her my "recliner" bike and felt comfortable all day.  Some of the fire road descents were pretty eroded and rocky, but seemed effortless and fast aboard my full-suspension steed.

After 11 1/2 hours, 95 miles, and 10,500 feet of climbing, I found a nice spot along the Toccoa River and set up camp for the night.  The ThermaRest Neoair pad, size M (14 oz) was very comfortable and the Kelty Lightyear down 40 (11oz) kept me warm when the temps dipped down to 60 degrees.  Yes, at about 3am, I got cold and had to burrow into the bag.

The next morning Loretta joined me for the ride to Mulberry Gap.  We got moving shortly before 8 am and the Aska trail system was the first real bit of single track that I encountered on my HEAVY bike.  A bit more pushing was involved and it was harder to steer through the switchbacks.  Amazingly, my legs felt great and I was able to ride more than I thought I would.  My body had finally adapted to The Yak.  The descent off Stanley was fast, but not screaming XC fast.

Loretta and I refueled at the small grocery just before the climb up to Watson Gap.  Unfortunately, this store won't be open when I come through during the race.  This section from Shallowford Bridge Road to Mulberry Gap is devoid of stores.  It will be imperative to find water to purify (easy enough) and have enough food on board to make it without putting myself into a deficit.  At least on this section Mulberry Gap will be my carrot.

Mulberry Gap food!

The South Fork Trail was chewed up by recent horse traffic.  We encountered a group of five horses, but the people were very congenial.  Surprisingly, if you just use common sense and give the horses and their riders respect, you come to find out that they are mostly good people. 

The climb up the remainder of Potato Patch from Buddy Cove was brutal.  It was here that I hit my lowest point of the ride as I had expected a short journey from the Pinhoti to the 3-way intersection.  Fortunately I had drunk a Red Bull which helped to see me through.

It gave me eagle wings, but I was really needing condor wings at this point.

We finished up our ride with the Bear Creek descent.  We opted to skip out on the P1 and P2 as time was getting away from us and we both had families that were expecting us home soon.  Mulberry Gap was fulfilling, what with a hot shower and Ginni's cooking.

A PR for Loretta ... longest MTB ride, ever!

We covered 61 miles and 7500 feet of climbing today.  This was a great test for both my gear and myself.  I felt sparkly the whole way, save for Potato Patch.  This also had been the longest I had been on the bike this year.  If I can keep my bike and body working well and the weather is good (meaning hot and dry), the TNGA is definitely doable ... and perhaps winnable!

My hands held up well, but I think I will swap out my Ergon GC2's for the GS2's.  With the GS2's having a slightly longer bar end and with the grippy rubber, my hands and ulnar nerve will be happier over the long haul, especially if I get wet during the race.

The Chamois Butt'r 1oz packets did their job well.  No chafing/sores, but I still had some sit bone soreness after the ride.  I suppose the only way to fix that is to ride more ... which I can do.

I had so much fun than another bike packing session is being planned for late July.

Lumberjack 100 Race Report

Danielle had been trying for the past 5 years to get Zeke and I to do this hundie.  Persistense finally paid off as we made the journey up to Manistee National Forest to race our single speeds.  However, this journey was a much a visit of childhood memories as it was a race for me.

Our travels included a stop in Lima, Ohio where I lived from the ages of 4-9.  Wednesday we hooked up with Bob and Ann, who had lived across the court from us.  His hobby is rebuilding Model T's and we were lucky enough to ride in one of them to dinner.

What with all the pedals/levers these T's have, it makes a stick shift a piece of cake to drive.

 

 

 

 After dinner we drove to my childhood home.  This house had tons of wonderful memories both inside and out.

The Williams household ... not much has changed except for a 2nd floor addition on the left.

The next day we opened up our legs on the local greenway.  We were way undergeared as we had thought we were going to ride some trail up in Danielle's neck of the woods, but the weather was being uncooperative.  That was o.k. as I happened upon one of the local parks that we would have family picnics.

32 X 20 forced me into neuromuscular endurance mode.

From Lima, we headed up to Danielle's in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  I lived in "Town Grapids" (how I said it when I was a toddler) from about 3 months to 4 years of age.  About the only memory of my life here was being chased around the duplex we had lived in by my Mom with a broom.  She refuses to remember that memory and I have no recollection of why I was being chased.  I also think I had a brief stint of taking ballet as a toddler.

Thursday night Zeke and I stayed at Danielle and Scott's house and caught up on racing, dogs, and life in general. On Friday we headed up to Manistee and got a short pre-ride in on the inner loop.  Oh my God, the bugs and mosquitos!  These guys were vicious!  Seeing as how I had not brought any bagged blood of mine, I slathered myself with repellent.  

I chose a 32 X 19 and it was spot on for the pre-ride.  The trail was smooth and flowed very well.  With all the rain in the past few weeks, the sand had settled and the trail was tacky ... perfect!

So green and lush, like Tennessee but without all the lung-busting hills.

Wow!  4 am came way too soon.  It has been quite a while since I have raced a hundie and I forgot about those 7 am starts.  XC racing has spoiled me!  The start of the race was a 1.5 mile paved road, slightly downhill ... a single speeder's nightmare.  Luckily I only had to do this part one time.  It was frustrating as I watched half the field pass me.  As I entered the single track, there was a line of racers as far as I could see.  I was patient and passed as efficiently as I could, although in my head I was screaming, "Are we on a group ride or are we racing?!?"  But knowing that every person was racing their own race and for their own goals, I settled.  Having done enough of these, my time would come.  And going slower on that first lap would keep me from blowing up.

I had no idea where the other women were.  I could only assume that they were all ahead of me and I had some catching up to do.   I was a little worried on the first lap that my gear choice was too easy as I easily motored up the hills ... and was really spinny on the flats.  There were 3 flat dirt road sections per lap, easily totaling 4-5 miles of misery.  Just when I had passed a group of racers in the single track, they would pass me back on the roads and I had to do it all over again.  There should be an unwritten rule that if you get passed by a single speeder in the single track "like you were standing still", you MUST yield to them on the roads!

Towards the end of the first lap, I managed to catch several of the top 10 geared ladies.  Now I was no longer on tour; I was racing and it felt great!  I came through the feed zone, swapped out Camelbaks and headed out for Lap # 2.  On this lap I rode with several groups of men, chitty-chatting with them, and then moving on as their pace began to slow.  One gentleman was from Chicago and when he found out I was from Tennessee, he asked what I thought of these hills.  I replied, "Speed bumps."

At the end of the second lap, I was still feeling great.  This was a good sign for me because usually around the 60 mile mark is when I hit a slump in a hundred miler.  I also thoroughly enjoyed the last bit of single track:  a twisty, flowy bench cut downhill,  followed by a short, but grunty climb which then rewards you with a rippin' straight descent.  The remainder to the Start/Finish area is flat but fast!  

As I came through the feed zone, I had a Red Bull shot and swapped out Camelbaks and gel flasks.  Scott asked me how I was doing to which I replied, "I am feeling great; this is fun."  I was looking for some sort of facial expression that would tell me how/where Danielle was, but he had a great Poker face.  I was disappointed I had not seen any other SS ladies and almost allowed myself to feel o.k. with 2nd or 3rd.  I then gave myself a mental slap;  I had not come all this way to not go down fighting.  How bad do you want that axe?  How bad do you want a top 5 o/a?  I repeated those questions in my mind and pumped myself up for that third and final lap.

On the inner loop those speed bumps suddenly became hills.  Holding my ego in check, I chose to run several of them ... and was probably faster doing that.  And no, my head and shoulders were not slumped over the bars as I pushed my bike up those hills.  I was running them; it may have been more of a jog, but my feet were moving fast!

I happened to see a black jersey at the top of one of those hills.  Could it be ...?  As I got closer, it was!  My good friend and stiff competitor Danielle.  I was feeling good and trying to motivate her when I said, "You had better find a bigger gear because here I come!"  We rode together for awhile and then she told me to go.  Her legs were fried!  She thought she was pushing too big of a gear, but I think she was just not used to racing her SS.  Besides that she had just finished an 8 hour duo on her SS last weekend whereas I had just done an XC.

After I passed Danielle, I ramped it up to XC pace for the next 10 miles.  With Danielle being super tough, she had the ability to dig deep and catch back up.  Besides, she has so many axes already, she doesn't even know where they all are ;) 

In the last 20 miles, I was able to reel in one more geared lady.  Passing her was a bit difficult as there was this guy in front of her that did not want to let me by.  I passed her as she yielded to him during an opening.  Then when I asked to pass him, he said something, the gist of which went like this, "No, you are going to have to fight for this one as I want to see how this plays out."  Well, thank you very much, as conversation like this ALWAYS fires me up.  Needless to say, the next opening I passed him, punched the gas, and never saw either of them again.

I finished in 8:15:23.  I was 5th overall.  My IT bands were quite happy the whole race, so a huge thanks goes out to Benchmark and their physical therapists for getting my knees back into racing shape.  The only part of my body that really hurt were the balls of my feet.  All that mashing had the nerves screaming.  The Ergon GS2's kept my hands happy and pain-free the whole race.  Ergon needs to look at a shoe/insert set-up that would do the same.

The NUE series has the sweetest trophies!

Danielle may have not gotten the axe this year, but she took the win in the role model contest.  You see, at the end of the race, an 8 year old girl (whose name I forgot) approached her and asked for her autograph.  Her mother said that Danielle was her "Chris Eatough."  How cool is that?  Trophies eventually make their way to the attic.  But being a role model lasts forever!