Lewis and I headed out early-ish Saturday morning with the hope that she’d be able to get some time in on the Ibis Mojo she was demoing. But, by the time we hit 81 south, the skies were already turning pretty gray — 15 minutes later, the rain was steady and the wind was blowing. Things had finally cleared back up by the time we pulled into the race area, but it was clear that more rain was still on the way. I registered for the Super D while Lewis adjusted her test bike, but we weren’t able to hit the trail before the rain started up again. We waited it out under the timing tents with the few folks that had shown up, and then finally started out around 3:00 to climb the fire road to the ridge. It wasn’t until about half way up the road though that I checked with Lewis about the time, and we realized that we were never going to have enough time to finish the climb and ride the ridge before I’d have to be ready for the Super D. So, back down we went.
By the time we got back to the truck and I fastened my number plate, I wasn’t feeling up to another climb; so, Lewis shuttled me up to the gate so I’d only have to ride the ridge to Kaylor’s Knob. Lewis rode out part way with me, but then turned back so as not to interfere with the race. As it turned out, I was the third person to reach Kaylor’s Knob, so ended up hanging out a good 45 minutes before the rest of the racers trickled in and the start got organized. I felt bad that Lewis had turned back so early, but she was also nervous about dinging the carbon frame on those treacherous rocks. Eventually though, the race got under way, with racers going out in 30 second intervals.
Things went poorly for me right out of the start when I hung my front wheel on a rock and had to bail over the bars. Finally under control again, I took off down the ridge knowing that there were some sketchy sections that I might better handle on foot. Running turned out to be one of the better decisions I made, as my technical skills just never really appeared for this race. I dismounted again at the U-turn where the trail from Kaylor’s met up with the XC route and once more in the sketchy rocks just before the trail finally settled into the flowy, smooth descent. Kat and Chris had a perfect vantage point for my final endo, and tried to assume some of the responsibility for the stumble as they’d cheered for me just before the mishap; but, I assured them that it was strictly my own doing. After that point I figured I was in the clear, but noticed that I was having issues keeping my front tire from washing in the turns and off-cambers; which nearly sent me careening off the trail at several points. While much of it can be attributed to rider error (since my only other mountain biking since the fall was the Baker’s Dozen), I still made a mental note to swap tires before the next day’s XC. Finally, about a mile and a half from the finish, I found a bit of a groove and was able to keep my bike moving pretty well.
I made it to the finish about 5 minutes behind the leaders feeling a bit more defeated than I thought I’d be, but it was a super fun course and a good time. The Shenandoah crew hooked us up with Rolling Rock on tap and Papa John’s (there were no other prizes awarded) and new friends were made. Lewis and I hung out for a long time chatting, but eventually headed back to the Comfort Inn to hook up with Kat and Chris. Sadly, we’d missed them for dinner, so we grabbed burgers and cheese fries at Chili’s before turning in for the night.
After a good night’s sleep on the firm hotel mattress, we were up early again and hit the continental breakfast buffet before heading back to the race site. I swapped out the 2.35 Maxxis Ignitors for a 2.25 Panaracer Cinder up front and a 2.1 Ignitor in the rear. I’m not sure that I really like the Ignitor as a rear tire, but it was the only other thing I had. The Cinder turned out to be a good choice.
Other than the usual nerves, I was feeling ok about the race and lined up near Claman for the start. For some reason, the organizers started the Sport women before the Sport men, but we finally got underway with a climb up the fire road and a right turn into the singletrack switchbacking up to the ridge. With the mud created from the previous day’s rain, the general difficulty of the climb, and the mass of riders piling up, things continued to be pretty messy until we got dumped back onto the fire road closer to the top. Starting out with so much climbing quickly took a toll on me though and I had my first thoughts that maybe this race wasn’t going to go well. I used the fire road climb as an opportunity to suck down 1 of the 2 GU packets I had stashed in the leg elastic of my shorts and finally made it to the top.
The ridge and ensuing descent provided some much needed rest, but it wasn’t long before the loop started going up again. With each climb, I could feel myself getting weaker and weaker and I realized that I hadn’t properly prepared myself with enough food to get through the race. The temperature wasn’t helping either. And then, just to make matters worse, my rear derailleur decided to stop shifting properly. Attempting to use the three largest cogs in the back resulted in a skipping chain, so I started to rely more on my granny and fourth cog to get me up even the slightest incline. Not even halfway through the race and I was ready to throw in the towel.
As I finally exited the trees and rode through the field toward the finish chute, I knew I had to keep going; but, I still wasn’t sure how I was going to make it back up the climb knowing that I’d already hit a wall. The answer came pretty quickly — walking. Nearly defeated and with almost no strength left in my legs, the race became an exercise in mental stamina and survival rather than my hoped-for top 10 finish.
