Improved race machine
In addition to the fork, Chanson gave me a set of Ergon GP1 grips to try out. I decided to put them on the Bianchi since my ESI grips were torn up from the last crash which separated my shoulder. I think this has something to do with my hatred towards this bike. I didn't touch this bike until the week before the race since the accident in September. I still had a bad taste in my mouth. I remember taking it out on a trip to Old Camp for the first time since and I crashed uphill! WTH!? This bike has it out for me and I was I ready to toss it over the side of the trail.
Enough of that...let's get onto the race. I was able to hitch a ride with Jeff Burke the morning of. Thanks Jeff for driving. We found a good spot on the course to setup the double wide Tecate EZ-Up as we would be supporting 4 solos and a 4 man team. I picked up my registration stuff and listened to about 10 minutes of the race meeting before skipping out. I felt time was running short and I still needed to get my bottles prep'd as well as suited up. My fuel for the day would rely heavily upon First Endurance products. My goal was to stick to a bottle a lap with 1.5 scoops of EFS and a serving of EFS Liquid Shot. The plan also consisted of Ultragen every 4 hours and trying out the PreRace for the first time when the energy levels are low as recommended by First Endurance. In a rush to get all geared up and ready for the race, I forgot to have a scoop of EFS 30 minutes prior to the race. I ended up getting to the start line 2 mins before the parade lap. If I've learned anything from the 2 prior races it would have to be pacing myself. I always get caught up in the heat of the moment at race starts and I end up putting in too many big efforts early on. I guess that's the XC racer in me where I'm used to 2 hours at a time. My goal was not to go out hard early on, but try to settle into a good zone 3 type pace.
First Endurance party.
The race started and off I pedaled. I had no idea who my competition was, but there sure was a lot of single speeders out there. I will say that this course was definitely not SS friendly. This was my first time racing the course with the "Dam Climb" and this first lap was my first experience with it. As I approached the climb, it didn't seem all that bad and I started to wonder what everyone was fussing about. Then about 2/3'rds of the way up, the pitch got pretty steep. It reminded me of parts of Mathis and Dripping Cave. Now, on a geared bike, I wouldn't have thought much of it, but on a SS...it's brutal. I struggled for traction in spots and my goal of keeping my efforts easy just got ruined. The effort required to clear these sections took a lot more than I wanted to exert. I was happy to find out that the majority of the climbing was done in the first 1/3 of the lap. My first lap happened to be my fastest lap in the 48 min range and I was holding back while doing recon work on the course picking my lines.
My 2nd lap was more or less the same and I came into the pits to get my 2nd set of bottles. My 3rd lap slowed down some and I really started to feel fatigued. What was going on? I was only 3 laps in and my energy levels were dropping quickly. The weather was nice, but maybe a little too warm and dry. I could really taste the salt in my sweat and I started to think that maybe I didn't put enough EFS in my bottles. I would clear the Dam Climb for the last time that afternoon. My time ended up in the 57 minute range.
At this point, I really started to feel bad and sick like. All I wanted to do was sit down and rest, but I knew I had to just plug away and fight through it. The last 2 races I had breaks of more than an hour at a time and I didn't want to play that game again. I figured it would be better to just keep moving and eventually I would get my 2nd wind. My wrists were hurting and my hands were going numb due to the Ergon grips. I really think the platform style grips were the problem. I sure missed my nice and comfy ESI grips at this point. I tried to keep drinking fluids, but it was hard to. My stomach was upset. I decided to try a half serving of PreRace for the 5th lap. To be honest, I didn't really notice any changes in my performance of energy. It's possible I needed a full serving since I drink way too many energy drinks as it is. I changed my nutrition plan to coke and M&M's. For some reason, this combo seems to settle my stomach down and helps with the energy levels. The routine became something like this. Drink a coke, have some m&m's, sit down for 5 - 10 minutes, curse out the race, contemplate quitting, force myself on the bike for another lap.
Steph showed off her arts and crafts skills.
It wasn't until midway through the 7th lap where I started to feel the 2nd wind come on. I came into the pits and put my lights on. The temps were starting to get much cooler especially in the valley's. That "DAMN" climb was still a little toasty. I ran into Chanson and El Juan on course on lap 8. Chanson was out there for moral support pacing El Juan. His sturdiness gave me the extra motivation I needed...lol! My lap times started to get closer to an hour or less. I went out for lap 9 with the intention of doing at least 10, but I was on pace to do 11 laps. I was able to clean the dam climb for the last time. Once back at the pits, James informed me that I had a 3 lap lead on 2nd place. Awesome! This was the first time I checked my position and it would be my last. I decided to call it right then and there. No point to suffer anymore. I pedaled through the finish (our pit was a minute before the finish line) and I found Chanson and Steph at Juan's pit. They offered me an In-N-Out burger which I gladly accepted. My race was done and I took 1st place.
In retrospect, I wish I kept pedaling on to go for personal glory, but there will be plenty of other opportunities for that. It was my time to enjoy this win on along with my 12 Hour SS champion overall jersey.
I'm officially retiring from racing solo 12 hour events on a single speed. I will be on a geared FS bike for sure at the next one. Thank you to all my friends for the support throughout the whole season. It was a fun one. Thank you to First Endurance for keeping my race and season cramp free as usual. This stuff works!
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