A couple of weeks ago, Troy Fraske called me to see if I would do a race with him, Kevin Koen, and Ric Tinney. SURE! We would race under Bike Lane, for 24 hours at Rocky Hill Ranch, in the Expert 4 man division.
Well, Kevin got sick a couple of weeks ago, and was bummed, so I called up Noel Rueter, all around good guy, and super strong bike rider to take Kevin's spot.
We started the race with the best support system in the world. Peggy(mom) and Magan(girlfriend) were brought to the table by me. They stand alone to do the best job as support. But added to that, was Laura, brought by Ric. She brought another level of support. And Kevin Koen came and helped set up, and brought Cameron.
Race time, was 12, noon. I started the lemans run, and with idiots wanting 50bucks they outkicked me by 10 yards, but was soon blown past by me in the ally. I take the whole shot with Pete Stewart rubbing my back wheel on the first climbs(literitly). I rode conservativly, trying not to overdo myself the first lap, and to ride smart and learn the course. I came in around 3 minutes ahead of 2nd place, Austin Bikes' Sol Frost. We got off to a good start.
Ric would ride second, then Noel(who showed up late after watching his kids' sporting activities) and then Troy.
Ric wound up taking the fastest lap so far, with a 50minute romp in the woods.
With around an 8 minute lead, Noel went out and stomped some power and put a good 10minute gap with Troy getting in some good times to keep a lead.
Lap 2 for me, lap 5 for the team... I take off going for a fast lap. I big ring everything, pushing hard on the climbs....not as hard as I used to push though when doing the fastest lap. I felt more in control, never breathing heavy, just letting the legs work. I soon caught some slower riders, most of whom would get out of the way, but 1 out of every 5 riders didn't know what to do....or was just stubborn. I ran into 5 riders this lap, and none of them were at a good time....at a bottom of a hill, in the mix of a single track with the tightest turns, in the creekbed and roots everywhere. I love how they hold you back, then when you pass them, they want you to hurry up and get by fast. I stay on trail most of the time, taking the wrong line a couple of times, but end up getting in under 49 minutes. Good enough for the fastest lap.
After everyone got in a single lap, twice. We switched off for 2 laps a goround. With darkness looming, it would allow for a longer rest time, and the ability to stay warm after getting warmed up. I got in the dusk lap, where light is so weird, and it is super hard to see anything. And the first real night lap. Afterwards, around 9pm, I got some food in me and took a good 5hour rest. I woke up and was ready to roll at 2am. I got my bike in order, put chammy cream on, did some stretches and finally got the pass off from Troy. I head out, feeling good. The legs weren't sore or tired, and I wasn't sleepy. This was going to be a peice of cake. Then about 10minutes in, my stomach growled. I haven't eatin for over 5 hours. Normally 3 is too much for me. I could feel the power decline, as the legs just wouldn't push the gears. I relied a lot of skills to keep momentum high, at such a slow speed. Eventually I finished the first lap....in an hour or something rediculous. But, I had to go out again, feeling the hunger, almost a bonk feeling, I slowed way down. Eric Hess came up and I tailed him for a while, before somehow passing him. I finished as strong as I could, and knew my 6 laps were done. So I just needed to let the team do it's thing now. I got some good food in me, and proceeded to sleep until morning.
The team was doing great, taking there 2 lap pulls and allowing each other to relax and hang out. I ate some more, as it looked like I was going to need to do another lap.
I set up the single speed, and got ready.
The last lap was fun, I RAILED the single speed out there, and although I lost time on the jeep roads, the single track was OWNED! The great thing about the single speed is the quiteness. I ride up on riders, super stealth like, and then let the rear hub(which is super loud) make the bzzzzzzzzzzzz. Most riders move out of the way then, feeling bad I guess as I coast while they pedal....uphill. But then again, 1 out of every 5 riders 'THINKS' he is fast enough, or that the hill we are climbing is short enough for me to wait. One guy in particular made me laugh. We're on the back section, when you are doing a little climb, and are encountered with a steep rooty climb that is one spot where you might have to walk. The guy is on the lower slopes(of a shallow rise) and knows I'm there. I'm being patient, and riding very slow and at a low RPM. This guy, after 20 seconds of riding, tells me to let him know when is a good time. Right after, he takes a line to the left of a big root, which is the exact line I take. He slows down and I am even with him. I tell him I'm on his right, although it was an accidental pass, and the guy goes towards me, messing up his line and taking mine. He kinda gets pissed that I didn't do something, but I just laughed as he killed all the momentum, that would've wasted maybe 1 second if he just pulled off and let me by, instead of wasting 5 seconds after 20 seconds of slowing me down.
I think that lap time was around 49minutes....the scoreing was messed up, but It was a good lap.
We ended up with 26 laps, we probably could've done 27, and won the race.
Sean Ansley did Solo Sport and ended up 3rd. Brutal performance. Sleep tight:)
The Cowboys lost again...to the Rams. I'm not sure what is their deal, but it needs to switch PRONTO. My fantasy team, which is pretty good on paper, SUCKS. We scored 11 points. An average total would be around 30. Some guys score 60. So yeah, I'm not even caring about that right now.