Crank Racing : : News

Before I get too far into the race, I first want to say how incredibly proud I am of Jean. This was a tough, tough race. There were SLICK roots, wet rocks, muddy-sections, fast downhills and lots and lots and lots of uphills. I saw guys crashing, laying down at rest-stops and I'm sure there were plenty that dropped out. As I was challenged by many of the things along the way, I was really getting worried.

Jean not only finished strong, but she came in second. Jean, you kick ass.

I've also got to give a shout out to Doug. Doug was a HUGE help (as always) and went out of his way to get to the different aid stations in case Jean needed any help, and he paced that last 12 or so miles in with her - goading her up the hills. As if that wasn't enough, after Jean and I went to sleep, he cleaned our bikes (I'm sure to the chagrin of the maid), tightened bolts, got some extra towels and on and on.

Nathan and Zippy, you're both crazy. Mad props to my runnin' dawgz, yo.

Okay - here's my story.

This was the best race I've ever done.

We took off at about 6:20 AM, It was dark, but fortunately, not too cold. To be honest, I think the start was a little screwed up and there were many sport riders that got a few minutes head start, but whatever. We raced downhill on the road until we hit a flat dirt road section. I nailed a pothole pretty good and sent some searing pain into my thumb for a bit, but it helped wake me up. The first 20 miles ticked off pretty quickly, and I blew through the aid stations - only slowing down once to drop off my jacket. I would have liked to have stopped at aid station #4 - because the view was simply incredible - but this was a race.

I tried to take a mental photograph to enjoy later. The view, from the top of a mountain, was of beautiful rolling green valleys, while the fog was still lingering down below. The sun was still low in the sky, and it was sparkling blue. There were hot air balloons in the distance and it was amazing. In honesty, it was just one of many, many incredible vistas along the way. The scenery really made this race special.

Anyway, my plan was to carry what I needed (food/fuel, clothing) and not stop at any of the aid stations until #6, at mile 33. I had a drop bag waiting for me and I was going to swap what I had and really start the "race" at that point. For the first half, I followed everyone's very good advice and took it slow. I used the granny gear a lot and walked when it was as fast as riding. It was hard to do, especially when I felt good and people were passing me, but I kept thinking that there were still many, many miles (and hills) to go.

Unfortunately when I got to aid station #6, my drop bag was nowhere to be found. I wasted at least 12 minutes looking around for it, dumping some clothes off, and trying to figure out what of the available food would work for me. The aid stations were STOCKED with cookies, fig newtons, M&M's, peanut butter & jelly sandwiches (cut in 1/4's), turkey sandwiches (cut in 1/4's), water, Gatorade and lots of other stuff. My problem was that I sometimes get stomach cramps when racing/eating and I'd been experimenting over that past few months to figure out what would work for me. Clif bars and Gu worked really well, but I was all out. My other problem was that I like eating small portions (like 1/3 of a bar) every 20-minutes or so, rather than a whole bar at once. There wasn't really any food that I could take with me, so that meant that I was probably going to eat larger portions and/or have to stop at the other stations along the way.

I was bummed, but I grabbed some cookies and took off. There were a couple of miles that I was zoned out, and I remember walking my bike up a hill and forgetting to get back on. Twice I had to remind myself that I was in a bike race. I aslo had a couple of major cramping events and a few miles that my hamstrings were threatening.

I got my second wind and the last few miles were a blast. I ended up in 4th, which was OK, but not as good as I had hoped.

Results be damned, I still had a great time. The course was soooooo much fun. I can't wait for next year.