Ahh man, this race was special. We drove up the day before
to pre-ride and got DUMPED on around mile 5. Holy cow
was it raining. Oh well… I have to get used to riding in the rain, since races
are typically rain or shine. This is a good learning experience.
Race day comes and it’s HOT. Trails are still muddy from
yesterday’s downpour, and my glasses are instantly fogged up from the 120%
humidity in the air. Racers line up and the sky turns gray. Here comes the rain
again. Starting a ride in the rain is always tough...
We begin with a road climb and dip in to the singletrack on the
right. I hear grumbles and see that everyone is already walking up the first
hill. The trails are super muddy and it’s only just beginning. I know that
climbing is my only strength, so I try to pass as many people as I can early
on. I get ahead of some of the sport women and I think I’m in third place. My heartrate
is around 195 and I know that Training Peaks says that my max heartrate is
really maxed at 187. I hope I don’t have a heart attack.
We come to the first sketchy downhill and it’s a total slip
and slide. I instantly go down (see me falling in the pic) and Christina Ross bombs past me, escaping the
fall. Now I’m 4th.
The mud is so caked on my tires that each one feels like it’s
5 pounds each. This must be what a fatbike feels like on climbs. My legs are
burning as I’m hammering up hills and hardly moving at all. I’m pretty much
doing everything in my power to prevent myself from drifting backward or falling
over. Not working very well. Almost 50 minutes go by and I look at my Garmin to
see I’ve only gone about 5.5 miles and my avg hr is 177. You have GOT to be
kidding me... I hear Greta breathing hard behind me and I tell her that I might
be having a heart attack. We both laugh, which feels good, and I start to calm
down for a few minutes. Almost done with
lap one!
We cross two streams and I decide to stop and clean the bike
a little bit. Michelle Beitko bombs across the water without missing a beat. She’s
had enough of this race and is ready to call it a day. I totally agree, and just
as we get to the end of lap one the sun comes out. I make the silly decision to
avoid the DNF and shoot for a lap 2. How much worse could it be?
I’m actually feeling pretty good now, and I coast up the
road and jet into the singletrack again on the right. This time I’m alone and
can actually climb the trail. There’s no one around me. I get to the top and my
stroke stops mid-pedal. What the heck ? My chain is totally jammed. I can’t move
my crank forward or backward. Crap. It’s stuck. I throw the bike down and I’m
pulling the chain so hard that my teeth are gritting. Greta catches up and
confirms I have a nasty case of chain suck as she passes me. I smile and
actually let out a little laugh. That girl is here to win. Time to catch her! :)
I manage to get the chain out and hold back tears as I see
the huge chunks of paint that have been ripped from my beautiful frame. I pedal
6 or 7 strokes and JAM! Chain suck again. Ok, this is going to be a problem. I
try a few more times and give up. Time to try to remove the gunk from my cassette and
derailleurs… but it’s just impossible. Sooo much mud and grass. I see that
there is a downhill coming up, so I run to the top and coast down on my bike to
where it dumps onto the road. I have to try to get out of this ring, which is
unfortunate. Bye bye granny gear…
The rest of the race was just plain terrible. I didn’t have
the strength to ride up the hills in my big ring in all that mud. So I ran and
walked, and mostly fell. I started to get lapped by the experts and I am blown
away by how they maintain control in such insane circumstances. Pretty fun to
watch.
Finally I make it to the last climb, and I actually get confused
for a second. I hear tons of people off to my right. I’m tempted to turn in
that direction, but turn left and eventually see the finish line. Turns out people
were just jumping in the creek with their clothes and shoes on. Not a bad idea!
For the first time, I shower off with my full kit and shoes on. My bike is
going to need some work.
All in all, 22 DNFs
in this race- and I took 5th in sport women. Even though it was more of a duathalon, I guess I will take it.
J
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