Putting together my aid station drop bags.
Last night I put together my gear. The plan was to eat more frequently than last year and keep the hydration going. I made a schedule to plan what I would consume between each aid station and packed accordingly. The bike was prepped and gear ready to go.
I woke up at 5:50, five minutes before my alarm was set to go off, and was out the door at 6:08 with bike on the roof and gear in the trunk. Unlike last year I didn't see any other vehicles toting bikes and heading south on SR3. Arriving at Mohican Adventures I parked across the road from the finish line and went to pickup my race packet. It was about 6:35 as I geared up for the race. Last year I was feeling rushed about this time thinking I was going to be late to the start line. No worries this year, I knew it was less than 10 minutes of pedaling away and there was no need to be there too early.
Tim Bonifant and I rode to the start on the bike path. I lined up about two-thirds of the way back and only had to anxiously stand around for about five minutes. Breakfast happened on the way to the start, a banana and Espresso Love GU with half a bottle of water.
The race started and we rolled south through downtown Loudonville. Suddenly I heard some commotion and saw the mob of riders splitting left or right. I caught a glimpse of two riders down, one laying motionless with a messed up arm/shoulder and the other getting himself up. Ouch. That's not the start these guys were expecting.
Crash caught on video: youtube link.
We climbed the big hill out of town. This year I wore my heart rate monitor and paid close attention to it throughout the race. On the hill out of town I kept my HR around 170 and advanced some spots in doing so. A left turn onto a dirt road and we then entered some woods. The mud greeted us shortly. Though it's been very dry this spring and early summer, there was some consistent rain in the past 24 hours and the private property "trails" through the woods were pretty sloppy.
I knew it was about 5 miles of riding before we would enter the state park trails, and I remembered a couple little hills that would be walkers in the early crowded conditions. On the setup for one such hill I attempted a downshift on my 1x10 setup and felt something go very wrong. I looked down to see an outer plate sticking straight out to the left atop my single chain ring. Uh-oh.
The damaged link. Not a pretty sight.
I flipped my bike over alongside the drive we were on. Out came the handy dandy multi-tool that, thankfully, has a chain tool on it. I've never had to fix a chain on the trail but certainly knew the procedure from my basement mechanic work. In a handful of minutes I had a link removed and the chain back together. But then I realized my chain guide was also jacked up.
It appeared the chain guide actually caught the outer plate of the chain, bent it away from the chain, and deformed itself in the process. Since installing the higher tension SRAM Type 2 rear derailleur I have not been sure the chain guide is even needed anymore. With this thought in mind, I bent the chain guide so as not to interfere with the chain and fiddled to tighten it's clamp in this position.
Ten to fifteen minutes later I'm back on the bike. A few tentative shifts later and I decided the problem was fixed and really didn't think about it the rest of the race. I was impressed by how many people asked "are you okay?" or "do you need anything?" as they rode by while I was fixing things. I kept this in mind and did the same for anybody I would pass broken down or wore out later in the race, and there were plenty of both.
This year we entered the state park trail in a different way, but like last year it was nice to be on familiar ground. For the next 15 miles of trail I was mostly passing people. I kept to my eating and drinking plan, especially with the humid and sweaty weather. The roots were slippery with the rain from last night and moisture still in the air.
On the downhill to the covered bridge I had an issue on a gentle corner and a rut and ended up on the ground. It was a pretty soft crash, unlike the one I would have later.
Mount Doom was good. I passed a handful or riders and kept my HR in check. As I had planned, I jumped off to walk a couple of the steeper uphill switch backs. Each time I stretched the fronts and backs of my legs before jumping back on. I hoped this would aid in cramp prevention and I believe it helped.
Coming in to aid station 1 was very entertaining. Several hundred yards up the trail before the station there was a fully suited up Gumby, a Homer Simpson, and some other character up in a tree. They cheered us along and Gumby smacked my butt as I rolled by standing on the pedals.
A contender for highlight of the race was the party at Aid 1. The aid station staffers were great at refilling bottles, fetching food, and tending to the riders. But to make it even better a guy with full drum set was setup under a canopy rocking out. Looking around, everyone's heads were bobbing to the beats and the energy was thick. My two bottles were empty, no hydration pack this year, so I refilled, ate a watermelon slice, and got back to business. The drums faded away as I rode off into the woods.
Speaking of volunteers, the race director said there were twice as many volunteers out on the course this year compared to last. It was noticeable, there were people at every significant crossing and the aid stations were full of helping hands.
Dropping down to a bridge.
Photo by Butch Phillips.
On the switchback leading downhill to the fern forest section I made a mistake. Apparently there was a root crossing the corner and I completely lost the front wheel on it. I guess I never even saw it, as I was looking through the corner and didn't even try to lift over it or shift my weight to the outside. The slipping front wheel threw my handlebars sideways in an instant and I hit the deck Superman style. Meanwhile the rider behind me nearly ran over my bike but somehow ditched it and stopped behind me. I got up, shook it off, apologized for having my bike and me blocking the trail in front of the guy... and got back on the bike.
For the next several miles I kept a steady pace and passed more than a few riders. I stopped once to get one of my homemade energy bars out of my jersey packet and took the opportunity to stretch my legs. Still no cramps, thankfully.
The hike-a-bike exiting the state park loop was intense. The ground was muddy and slippery and it was no less steep than last year. I think my max HR of the day was pushing my bike up that hill, ouch. From the top of the hill down to the road crossing at SR97 was sloppy. The horse trails were soupy in many places and the water bars made for some pucker on the way down. The sloppiest trails of the day came after SR97 on the bike hiking hills after the stream crossing. I was sinking in ankle deep mud with each foot step.
I was surprised when I popped out onto the road, it seemed like there was more offroad leading up to the road last year. It was interesting throughout the race to evaluate my memory of the course from a year ago. It didn't take long to reach Aid 2.
At the second aid station I was met by a volunteer with my drop bag. I pulled out another homemade energy bar, a couple GUs, and a bag of drink mix. After filling my bottles I ate a piece of watermelon and drank half a Coke. I remember having a Coke at this aid station last year.
Leaving the aid station I passed a couple riders in the woods and then got to work on the road. Like last year I felt like I was making good time on the road. I tapped out a good pace on the road climbs and enjoyed the occasional fast downhill. Big Hill Road didn't feel to big this year and I was into the woods at the Wilderness Course.
Back on singletrack I felt a little slow. Just like last year it seemed like the trail was coming at me really fast; my brain was just trying to keep up. I managed to ride pretty clean and soon popped out at the Tree Frog place. Across a stream and back through the woods, but a surprise was next.
Last year Aid 3 was at the bottom of downhill, not so much the case this year. It was a grinding gravel road climb to Aid 3. I passed a couple riders who were off the bike and hoofing it. As I came around a corner I saw some familiar faces up ahead!
I've been spotted.
Grinding into Aid 3.
I yelled out "there's my kids!" Daniel, Ellen, and KT were cheering me on from the side of the road. They were excited to see me and I was elated to see them. They had been cheering on the riders and awaiting my arrival. Not to be out done by the drummer at Aid 1, Daniel was honking his harmonica to stir up some excitement.
My fan club.
It was a quick visit as I refilled bottles and posed for some pictures. Daniel pointed out that my bike was dirty. He was right, I was carrying along some mud. They cheered me on as I saddled up and rode out.
The trail to get over to Wally Rd was new to the race this year. It had some fun sections and before long I was pedaling down Wally Rd. thinking about the big climb to come on Valley Stream Rd. It was a tough climb and I jumped off to walk up the left hand corner. I was soon back on the bike and finishing the climb before enjoying some downhill sections.
I rode steady on the roads and picked up some more mud in the off road sections. Next stop was Aid 5 at the entrance to the state park campground. Half a bottle was all I needed to make it to the finish, so it was a very short stop.
About this time I began to realize I was not going to beat my time from last year by very much if at all. I felt like I was faring much better this year, not suffering through cramps, but I guess I was not much faster as a result. Some quick calculations in my head and I decided coming in under 8 hours was going to be a challenge. I got to work.
Similar to last year, I passed quite a few riders in the final 4 to 5 miles of singletrack. I was jumping on the pedals every chance I had to keep the speed up. I made it to the offshoot into the Mohican Adventures campground and realized I was just minutes away from 8 hours. On a gravel road in the campground I passed another rider who was riding slumped over, staring at his front wheel while pedaling. I was glad to have some gas left and mashed the pedals on the short section of road leading to the campground and finish line.
With 50 seconds to spare, I crossed
the line 7:59:10 after starting.
the line 7:59:10 after starting.
The family joined me for a delicious post-ride BBQ chicken meal and we watched other riders finish. A nice, cold Dortmunder Gold from the Great Lakes beer trailer tasted great and felt well-deserved after a long day on the bike.
Daniel enjoyed picking the dried mud off my legs.
My finisher's glass and t-shirt.
So was it a successful race? I'd say so. On a whole, I felt much better throughout the race this year with no severe cramping like last year. My food and hydration plan seemed to work. I was able to enjoy the race instead of just survive it. Thankfully my aching left knee was a non-issue during the race. It actually felt better during and after than it did before. Strange.
Yes, I would like to go faster. I think the next step is to figure out a better pacing plan. And, get in more long rides leading up to the event. In April I was feeling pretty prime but May was not the same. I was denied on two attempts for double laps in the month prior to the race.
No doubt, it was a fun day out on the bike with about 500 other riders!
See, it was muddy!
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