Fellow racer Dave Caster and I drove down to Mechanicsburg, PA the night before the race and stayed in the obligatory cheap hotel. Like most competitive cyclists, I am certifiably obsessive about the weather, and I had been checking the forecast and Doppler radar every hour for the past week. It had been stunningly warm and sunny for the past 10 days, a pattern that would, of course, break just in time for the race.
When we arrived at the race site and took a quick warm-up on the first climb, it quickly became clear just how bad the conditions were going to be. The ground was saturated; every pedal stroke caused the back wheel to spin in the thick, slippery mud, even when seated. We didn't pre-ride any of the single track sections, but Castner posited that if the fire roads were this bad, then the single track was probably far worse.
At the start, I lined up with 25 other Masters racers, most of whom I didn't recognize from the pre-reg list, which left me with no idea who my main competition would be.
Promoter Zach Adams sent us off with the crack of his bullwhip (a nice touch), and I began grinding up the first fire road climb of the 6.6 mile loop. I had the holeshot, and was first going into the singletrack after coming down the other side. It took all of about 50 feet to realize just how right Dave had been; there were huge, hub-deep puddles the entire width of the trail that couldn't be avoided. My feet were soaked instantly....luckily it was just barely warm enough for it not to be an issue. As the trail turned upwards again, it became a muddy stream, strewn with roots and loose rocks. It was somehow mostly ride able...well, at least until it got too steep. There was a 100 yard stretch at the top that pointed skyward; it was tough just to walk it without my feet sliding out from under me. I was pushing my bike up this liquid ravine in a parade of Open Class class racers that I had caught, when my competition was revealed. Two Shirks riders in my class ran past me carrying their bikes, and I reluctantly began to run (if I wanted to run with my bike, I'd do cyclocross) to stay with them.
As the trail leveled out the conditions deteriorated even further; the mud was so greasy that I couldn't steer my bike...at best I had to use a combination of body English, gravity and luck to navigate the slop. Soon the trail turned downward and morphed in a series of giant slimy mud pits and puddles, with rocks and roots hiding in the murky waters. It was here that I actually felt the most comfortable, and I was able to slip past the two Shirks guys and regain the lead. The next climb was steep and greasy, but I was able to clean it without dabbing. It started on single track, then dumped us out on a fire road before continuing upwards to the summit. The Shirks guys had caught me by then, and we rode together for the rest of the lap, which was mostly downhill on fire roads from that point to the finish.
As we started the climb for the second lap I started chatting with my new found rivals, bonding over the horrendous conditions. I introduced myself, and learned their names were Dave and Pete; they seemed like very cool guys. It was clear that they were both riding strongly and that I'd have to work hard to stay with them. By the time we reached the second big climb, the mud on my drive train had accumulated to the point where I could no longer use my granny gear (My Superfly still has a 9 speed triple) without getting chronic chain suck. With 900 feet of climbing per lap, this was not an uplifting development...as it looked like we would probably be doing 5 more of them.
For the next four laps, I stayed together with Pete and Dave, taking turns accelerating, and then backing off. They showed no signs of weakness. It became clear after a while that they were a bit quicker slogging up the Mud-Run, while I was a little faster on the technical downhills. Here I could get a small gap, but they would always close it down on the next climb, where I had to grind it out in my middle ring or walk. This was definitely going to be a close finish.
The course conditions got worse with every lap, and with rain now falling, it wasn't going to improve anytime soon. Things got interesting on lap 5...On the second big climb, the 4 previous laps of having to grind it out in my middle ring finally took its toll....both my quads started to cramp. I jumped off my bike and started pushing, and popped some Endurolyles while stretching out my quads. The Shirks closed down the gap I'd opened on the technical downhill, but my cramps released and I was able to jump back on the bike and stay with them. On the last single trackdownhill, Dave pulled off with a flat tire, and Pete kept going. Tough break! Race time was about 3:50 and it was clear that we'd have to go out for one last lap. By the time we came through the start / feed zone, I was struggling with glasses that were so caked with mud that I could no longer see, plus I needed water, and I really had to piss! I had no choice but to stop. Pete didn't. By the time I was rolling again, he was barely visible up the climb. I was feeling ok, but not strong enough to reel him back in. Eventually I lost sight of him and just rode out the last lap at the best pace I could summon. I rolled through the finish to take second place. Pete earned the well deserved win, and Dave fixed his flat tire and was able to hold on for third. We were the only Masters that made the cutoff and were able to go out for a 6th lap. I talked to both of them after the podiums and congratulated them on a great race. In conditions that miserable, they were very good company. If they show up at the rest of the M.A.S.S. endurance races, I'm definitely in for some tough competition this season!
When I saw Dave Castner after the race, I learned that he had tweaked his knee in a race ending crash on the 2nnd lap. Another tough break, but thankfully he was not seriously hurt. As I was cleaning myself up, I realized there wasn't a single inch if my body that wasn't covered with mud. 3 days and 3 showers later I'm still finding flecks of dirt in my eyes. We dug into some great post race food, and relaxed a little before the long drive home. Despite the abysmal conditions, this was a well run race... with clear course markings, accurate timing, quick results, and really cool prizes and food. Kudos and thanks to Zach for that! I'm happy with my 2nd Place finish and I'm looking forward to the Dragon’s Tale in VA this weekend.
See you on the trails,
-G
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| Pete, Dave and I on the Podium with beer and hatchets |
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| Spots!!!.... |
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| ...I see spots!!! |
Nice write up..
ReplyDeleteCrushing 2012.....