Unlike all of my previous races this season, at Iron Hill, the “challenge” for me was less about the course and competition, and more about logistics. For over a week prior to this race, I had been down in Maryland recording vocals with a certain very talented singer at my friend Josh’s Ambience Recording Studios. As usual, I had taken up temporary residence in Josh’s spare bedroom for the duration of the sessions. The plan was to make the 5 hour drive home on Thursday night after my last session ended, meet up with Monte early Sunday morning, and head back down to Delaware for the race. It was a good plan, but a short lived one. Monte texted me and said he would not be recovered from the previous weekend’s Cohutta 100 and needed a week off from racing. Then I got a call from another client of mine to do a gig in DC early the following week. There was no way I was going to go back to Jersey, then to Delaware for the race, then back to DC, then back to Jersey…too much driving, and a logistical nightmare. So…I juggled my plans, contacted Rob Campbell and secured a place to sleep on his couch for a couple days. He agreed to drive up to the race. Then I’d come back and get a hotel before the DC gig.
This was all well and good except for one little wrinkle; I didn’t have my race bike with me! What I did have was my training bike; a Trek rig with mostly stock parts, built up with 1 X 9 gearing. It’s a bit of a tank…but I love to train on this bike because it’s heavy and when I get on my Superfly after riding it, I feel like I’m floating. It’s hardly the ideal race bike, but better than an extra 10 hours of driving…I’d have to make due. Fortunately, the Iron Hill course didn’t have any climbs that would require anything other than my lone 32 tooth front chainring. I was lucky enough to have my BTR clothing kit with me, so at least I would be able to represent the team.
Fast forward to Sun AM. A pre-ride of the Iron Hill course revealed it to be slick and muddy…not too technical, but with enough rocks and roots to weed out any true roadies. There were some cool dips and drops, two longish, moderate climbs and a few gnarly sections where the mud was like peanut butter, and packed up on the tires. The start was a bit of a clusterfuck. They sent the endurance open men and singlespeeders off in one wave, then the women, and then my group (Master men) behind them. This amounted to a huge traffic jam on the first lap. I got the hole shot and was out front, trying to pick my way through dozens of women, singlespeeders and open riders on the first lap. As expected, Dave Funk was right on my wheel and I saw Jesse Kelly of Team CF in the hunt as well. I knew I was burning more matches than I wanted to making the repeated accelerations necessary to pass the slower riders…I had to back it down a bit. I managed to shake my competition on a muddy run up near the end of the lap that I was able to clean without dismounting.
I rode alone for 3 full laps, feeling good and really enjoying the variety of terrain and conditions of the course. Suddenly Jesse was on my wheel. We rode together for a while and then he slipped by me on the short paved road section. I sped up and kept him in sight, and passed him at the start finish when he stopped to pick up fresh water bottles. A few hundred yards later, I slid out on a slick wooden bridge, flipped over the handlebars, and landed in a thorn bush. Scratched up and shaken, but unharmed, I was back on the bike in a few moments, chasing after Jesse, who was in front of me again after the crash. Once I was back on his wheel I spoke words to this effect:
Me: “Hey, did you see me crash”
Him: “No, but I heard it…it sounded bad”
Me: “Nah, but I bet I looked great…too bad you weren’t wearing a helmet cam”
Before long Jesse had pulled away again, he was looking very strong, and I felt myself starting to fade. The over-the-top efforts from the first lap had taken their toll, and the extra 4 pounds of bike I was lugging around was starting to hurt on the climbs. I lost sight of Jesse, only to pass him again as I came through for my sixth and final lap. For some reason he was stopped again at his pit area. I popped every supplement and energy substance I had in the hopes of getting a second wind but Jesse came by me again on the open field downhill. He opened up a big gap and was soon gone from view. It was a full half lap before I started to feel some power come back to my legs. I was able to lift my pace and finish strongly, but not strong enough to reel Jesse in. He took the win and I grabbed second…AGAIN!
Now I don’t want to seem like a douche by complaining about 3 consecutive second place finishes, especially since my ultimate goal is to win the overall MASS series in my class, but come on…I’m starting to feel like a friggin' bridesmaid here (minus the horrible pink chiffon dress, of course)!
I’m not a fan of the lap format for endurance racing, as things can get a little boring. Iron Hill is a fairly small area, and the organizers did a great job of setting up an excellent 7 mile loop that made the most of the limited space. Congrats to Jesse for a great win…he rode a very smart and strong race. Rob also kicked ass, with an impressive top 5 finish in the open endurance class. I had a blast, even though victory continues to elude me. No worries. It’s a long season, with much more racing to come.
