18 Hours of Cold

First things First-
Thanks to my crew for the night, you guys and gals all rocked. Caleb W., Nolan and Becca L., Denelle G, Dave T., Shannon R, Luther B, Jon C...........

Now the race:
6pm start time.
Line up on the front with the other guys, look around, and realize, this is a large field and most of these people next to me are racing duo or 4-person. Make the decision to not go out guns.
6:01pm Neutral start behind a single speed, roll out on gravel, then grass, start into single track. Pace car out of the way, race on.
6:54pm- First lap done, feeling good. Charles Clarkson and I are together. I pit quickly for a bottle, and back on course. Charles is just out ahead, but soon we are back together.
7:47pm Through on second lap, realize I am not getting enough drink in, start focusing more on eating and drinking.
9:00pm Come through the pit area, get news that Denelle left pit area just ahead of me and I am supposed to go catch her.......
9:10 Find Denelle on course, helping one of the kids from the Boy and Girls Club team. She is riding a lap with him. Sure is great to see these kids started into the sport young....Luther and that group are doing a great job.
9:50? Through pit zone on lap ? No idea what is going on at this point, just know I need a new bike, this one is clicking and crunching funny, Dave latter tells me I broke a middle Chain ring - XTR carbon Titanium- that will be expensive. They set up a new crankset on the bike
10:50? Through the transition, take a slightly longer break to grab a bottle and gel. Back out and rocking. Kevin Cox is off the front, I am third, Charles Clarkson is in third and only slightly behind. The time gaps are all less than 10 minutes though, so really we are all riding together. I arrange for my crew to start warming my next set of clothes for the 6 hour change out.
midnight- In the pit zone- time to change and get dried off. The sweat has started to soak and I am getting chilled. Cycling shoes and shoe covers are swapped for full on winter cycling boots, cold weather gloves, balaclava and fleece lined tights. Dried and warmed, I am out on course, now behind both Kevin and Charles, I set to work.
2am- In for a new bike- Swap the carbon Top Fuel out. Was supposed to go back on the Top Fuel 8, but apparently something is wrong with the cranks and the bolt won't seat right. They have prepped the Fuel EX 8 and put it in service. This bike rocks and will scream. The Jones XR tires are probably the right ones to go to now anyway- the course is starting to get to a churned up peanut butter-frost-slime type consistency, so additional cornering traction on the roots will be good.
3AMish- Charles and I are together, I am riding behind him. He is starting to struggle a bit, so he lets me by and I go. Full on time. Through the pit, hardly a stop for a bottle. Make the request to swap the Revolt Super X tires out on the Top Fuel 9.9 for Jones XRs with the way the conditions are working out, things are really slippery now, roots are treacherous in places.
5:45 AM In the pit zone, nauseated. Too much liquid- drinks and gels have left me with a sloshing stomach, a guaranteed way to get that ill feeling on a mountain bike. I am in the trailer for an extra layer of clothing and a clif bar. Back out on the bike.
6:50ish Through transition, Bike Swap time, back on the Fuel EX, lights out.....day has arrived.
By this time I have managed to lap the field, and I continue to press forward, trying to do the math of when I have done enough. Denelle meets me in the pit zone...kitted out in her Xterra champion garb, ready to go ride a lap. Really nice to have her along for the lap....she sings to me, even askes for any requests, but I have nothing I really want to hear, so she sings what she knows.
8:00amish, Through transition, I now have two laps on Charles and one and a half on Kevin, the rest of the field is at least a lap behind them.
9:05ish. Through transition. Dave comes out on a lap with me. I make him ride every log over and uphill log jump, he does it no problem, I struggle to follow suit by this time. On this lap, I pass Kevin, that give me two laps. I can stop on this lap when I get in.
1000am In my pit, chocolate milk in hand, needing to shower and dry off. My race is done, I have done enough to this point and even stopping now, they would not be able to catch up and get in one more lap. 14 laps done- about 130 miles of single track and 21,000 feet of climbing or more. Time to start recovering.


A great race, a few things learned from the racer side.
1st-Solid food early- Power bars, Clif Bars, Chips, and Pop Tarts----anything to settle the stomach a bit

2nd-Knobby tires as soon as conditions change- Don't wait until you start slipping out a bunch, get the right stuff on early. The Bontrager Revolts hook up great on everything except wet roots and peanut buttery rocks, their low- rolling resistance was great early, but when traction needs to happen. Get on the Jones XR's

3rd And maybe most important- The Fuel EX is perhaps the best bike in my arsenal- This bike can do anything you ask of it. It climbs like a XC machine, descends like downhill bike, and truly is a no-compromise solution to bike choice. The extra travel and stability were much needed at 3am. For all out cross country speed, the Top Fuel still gets the nod, but when it you are talking enduro riding, the Fuel EX design is incredible.