Spanked by Momma

Last weekend (Yeah, I'm a bit late posting about this race) was the Middle Mountain Momma. For those of us silly enough to sign up for the XXC, race start was at 9:30am. Roll from home by 6am to get there and ready in time. Got there, unloaded, changed, bike prepped, double checked, set up my camelback with Accelerade. I jumped on the bike and went to preview the start/finish as a semi-warmup and get comfortable on the bike. (I know, warming up for a 6 hour race isn't always the norm, but in this case the course starts with some major climbing and I felt like 10-15 min on the bike would save me 10-15 min on that climb.)

Warmup finished right on time, make my way to the rider meeting/start line. Felt confident and ready to ROCK. In no time, it was go time. I could have gone with the big dogs for the singletrack , but with 6 hours of trail ahead of me, I figured I'd catch who I'd catch. The first mini-uphill was a mess. Wet, rocky, rooty, super technical. Lots of people were off their bikes. I managed to avoid all the mess and stayed on the bike, no easy feat considering the trail and the carnage. The turn off the first mini-climb to the first mini-downhill put me in good position for the race. I was feeling great and rolling nicely.

Then came the first major climb. A few people slowly crept by, but not until towards the top, and I was confident that I'd catch/pass/drop them on the downhill. I always make my time on the downhills.

Then it happened. Switchback, no problem, except some chain skip. Skip. Skip. Skip. Pow. No chain. No problem, I've got stuff to deal with this, it'll cost a few minutes but that's how it has to be. Check my camelback; oh, that's right.. i used those supplies last week and didn't get them replaced. Let people by. At least my trusty chain tool was still there. Let more people by. Push out chain pin, toss broken link into the camelback, Let people by, reassemble chain, watch the chain's side plate bow. DOH. Let people by, sigh. Find hammer stone and anvil stone to straighten the link. Pound on it. Pound on it. No luck. Let people by. Push out pins on newly broken links, carefully reassemble. Repack camelbak. Note that no one has come by in a LONG time now.

Twenty minutes later, FINALLY remount the bike with a prayer that things will hold. Decide not to baby it and start giving it some power. Note that my legs are cold from such a long break and try to chill and let them warm back up. Finally, 20-30 minutes longer than I'd hoped for, top the first hill. Now, it's time to catch some people. I'm rollin', rollin' fast. 25mph, 28mph. Rocks, roots, air, turns, speed. Unfortunately, I'm feeling bad. I pushed too hard up the first hill to try to make up that chain time.

Luckily, downhills are my thing, so I'm moving fast and recovering at the same time. Drink, eat, roll. Second climb. Legs still warm, now I'm catching people. A few steep spots force me off the bike, but only for a bit, and I'm back on, moving. Had hoped to catch a few folks by the top of this, but no such luck. Feeling disheartened about that, wondering now if or when I'll catch anyone. 20 minutes is a long deficit to make up, and all that. But, I start the 2nd major downhill.. and there it is. The first of my many rabbits. The one that indicates that not only catch I make up that deficit, but I can start working my way up the field. As I said, downhills are my thing, and I catch that person fast. I pass fast, and I'm out of sight fast. Next mini-climb. Middle-ring, cranking time. I make quick work of this, and catch some folks who've stopped in the shade for a snack. Man, that sandwich looked good, but my camelbak fed me energy with every sip, so my energy was through the roof. Nope, no stopping for something tasty here. Top the hill, no one in sight in front or behind me, but I'm bombing it, and know in my heart that I'm making time on my next place. So, it's now time to wade through the stream for the 2nd time, and a short downhill back to the road and the 3rd major climb. Quick break to add some chain lube.. the stream took it all away and things sounded horrible down there.

I know this climb. It's gravel and not that steep. I passed 4 people here last year, so I know this is another place for me to make my time. I grab some solid food while i'm stopped, remount and ride. Pocket the food while I'm getting settled into my climbing rhythm. This climb goes quick, I focus on spinning, keeping my legs fresh while making time on people. Food goes down well, water goes down well, gravel road is over quick. Finally feeling good on the bike. But i'm careful..I know at the top of the gravel is a major hike-a-bike. Last time, I hit the gravel too hard and was beat for the hiking. This time, the gravel went fast, but I stayed fresh and hammered the hiking.

Then, it's my downhill time, and I'm feeling good. 28, 29mph on narrow singletrack. This goes fast. I love this downhill and I just let it roll. This chunk of trail builds confidence, and I was already feeling good. I'm back on the XC course now, so I lost a bit of count to who was in my category and who wasn't, but I know I passed a number of people. Water stop, one bottle in the camelback, one bottle on my head. I know what's coming.

Last major climb, and it's a doozey. Its long, and steep the entire time, but I've still got my legs and still feeling like I can catch people. Granny gear, crank, crank crank. Steep section, crank harder. crank, crank, crank, crank, grind.. staying on the bike though, so I know I'm making time, people hike these sections. I know the trail, and I know we're getting close to the first of 2 peaks. Legs start to go, though, I've cranked hard for a long time now. But I push on, keep cranking, and suddenly it's the first peak. Over faster than I thought. Short downhill, the one that messes with your mind.."Are we over the last peak? it's going down further than I remember. We've got to be over the last peak? It can't be yet, there's another short climb". Meanwhile, I'm passing people. I think this is the tail end of the sport class though. Ah, there it is.. the climb to the last peak.

Legs recovered nicely on that short downhill, so it's time to crank again. Elevation gain is nearly over, so this is where you spend any legs you've got left. I push. Then, the part of the course I always remember and the thing that makes me love it so much. The views. The switchback has such a great view, that they've built a bench. I slowed down long enough to savor natures beauty before I push on. And push I did, pushed hard and topped the rest quick. Now, it's time for some SERIOUS downhill, 2000ft or more of it. Again, confidence building single track. Tearing up corners, berming switchbacks.. whoa! Missed that corner, had to back up. 30mph.. 31mph, fast as I can go. Rocks, roots, streams, trees, I'm going too fast to see them anyhow, so we'll let the bike eat them up. Go Shatner (Did I mention I call my bike "Shatner?" because it's a trek-ky?) Down the hill, suspension bridge, cross the street. Oh yeah, one last mini-climb before the finish mini-downhill. Luckily, the legs found some strength on that downhill, and it was time to crank to the finish line. Crank, crank. Ooh, more people to pass, and these are definitely XXCers. Last mini-rocky-technical-challenging downhill to the finish. One more pass.

In the end, I'd made 13 places to claw my way from dead last to 31st. The broken chain caused me a lot of time, some to actually fix the bike, some to let my legs warm back up, and some to mentally recover from the insanity of it all, but in the end, the bike kept together under some severe climbing, darned fast downhills, and some tough course. However, I was happy with my ride, that my legs held up well to the punishment I'd put to them, and how beautiful the day was.

The team overall did very well. Everyone else at the race found a podium spot; Michele took 2nd in women's XXC while fighting off the tail end of a cold, Christy took 3rd in Sport, Luther took 2rd in Sport Vet, while Ken placed a solid 3rd in a big Sport Masters class.

Overall, everyone I talked to was bushed. The elevation gain on the XC course was over 4,000 ft in 21 miles, and the XXC course ranked in at 8,200ft in 44 miles. I think it's safe to say that the course spanked us all yet again this year. I can't wait for next year's beating at the Middle Mountain Momma.