The warm up is more about trying to calm the jitters before the race then about getting the legs ready to tear into the single track. We are gonna be on our bikes for over 5 hrs. After some race instruction by Jeff we line up by category and start the 50.
The open men go off first and then us 45+ guys start 5 minutes behind them. Me and teammate Clapper stay together with the plan to keep it dialed back at tempo on the flats and fire road climbs but push a little in the tech stuff to flow through the rocks. This worked until about pickle were the course began to get gummed up with guys off there bikes. With Clapper behind me I was riding aggressively yelling UP UP as I approached people fumbling through rocky sections. UP UP is my nice way of saying get out of my way and it seemed to work. I made it through pickle and rattlesnake cleanly but when I looked back Clapper was not with me any longer.
Kris Weber became my riding partner up rattlesnake, he made an Aerosmith reference when he mumbled rattlesnake shake. At the time I just heard him say Aerosmith rattlesnake. Aerosmith Chip Away at the Stone would have been more accurate at wayway. For the record Mama Kin is my favorite Aerosmith song. Ok lets move on.
So me and Weber are trading places back and forth for like the next 10 miles. Coming into sitting bear I decide to thrown it down, its so much fun bombing down into it in this direction. I've done this section enough times to know the lines but still dab in a few spots. Coming out of sitting bear and heading toward the aid station I put a gap on Weber and a few others that I was riding with. These guys find me again on the climb up red, my chain popped off when I downshifted and they pedalled by me.
I put the chain back on the ring and continue the climb up red behind Weber and crew. At the top I decide to pull out ahead and bomb the downhill, another section I know well and feel confident with carrying speed. As I take off Kris stays right behind me all the way to the bottom and as we make the hard right to the punchy climb I hear Weber yell from behind me have a good race Chris I'm out. But at first I didn't know what the hell he said. After I continued on and realized he wasn't behind me my brain pieced together Weber's message. After the race he told me he double flatted, bummer.
Alone again I roll the rest of the way solo and finally come to the start finish. The last few miles of the lap seem to drag on forever, its always more fun when you're riding with someone. At the start of the next lapped I rolled along with one of the VTC/Bike tech guys, I didn't get his name. But it made the time go quicker and we pushed a good tempo pace to keep from lagging on the second lap. We stayed together until the climb up to lookout, at the top my VTC friend was not in sight so I bombed down and headed toward pickle.
This time this section hurt more, I didn't have the energy to power through the tech stuff and had to dial it back. Pickle then the climb up rattlesnake took a lot more effort then the 1st lap. Despite the fatigue I felt no cramps and was still passing people along the way.
There were sections on the course that I saw no one for awhile and I would panic until I saw an arrow indicating that I am was going the right way. Occasionally I encouterd hikers that seemed befuddled. One woman asked me inquisitively as I rode by Is this the end ? Not knowing what to say I shot back just as inquisitivley of the world?
Finally I caught up to someone in team colors, Santalucia. 26er is a real good technical rider but his tank was running low and I ended up passing him. As encoragement he gave me a heart felt fuck you as I passed. This seemed to work, passing 26er made me feel good. He also told me Kirt was about 1 or 2 minutes up the trail and he didn't think there were many 45+ guys up ahead. Suddenly there seemed like light at the end of the tunnel.
So with thoughts of placing well in 45+ in my head I continued on through fisherman's with renewed vigor. Coming out of the turn I hit the gas and my chain just went clunk. I looked down and saw my derailleur dragging on the ground and in and instant my strong finish was smashed. Game over.
I walked out to the fire road and wished 26er luck as he passed me and I stood there with my useless bike. I took note of the time and waited for the next 45+ guy to come through so I would be able to reference myself with his finish. Clapper rolled by me 9 minutes later, which was good enough for him to get 4th place at the finish line.
So I guess I would have finished 4th if I didn't break my derailleur, but I guess a lot of other guys who had mechanicals could have also said the same thing. oh well. The funny thing is with very little endurance training this year I was pretty much putting in the same finish I had as last year, 4th place. The thing that helped me this year was I felt a lot more comfortable in the tech stuff. I really enjoy the big 25mile laps as well, it feels like your going on an adventure when you start the lap. I wish they had this race again in the fall, it sucks that I have to wait until next year to do this again.
Congrats Clapper
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