There have been a lot of firsts this year in my cycling life. Gravel road racing, event creation and now a 12 hr race. Honestly, these 12 (and 24 hr) loop races never grabbed my attention before. I like A to B courses much more, and I thought I would go a little more insane doing the same course over and over and over...
What I found from a totally newbie perspective was this... this is a long time to be on your bike, particularly on a really challenging course! After the first lap, I really doubted whether I had the skill to do this all day long. With only limited mt. bike experience, this trail was easily one of the hardest I had done. I also decided that I would continue using my rig set up as single speed. After consulting with a few people about gearing, I decided to go with a 32 x 20. This ended up being about perfect. But the course was very physical! I took one hard fall on an off camber corner and bumped a really big tree that didn't move (so my shoulder and hip did!). I thought to myself that this is going to be the most brutal days of riding I have ever had (think rugby on a bike). Ironically, as the laps started adding up, I found that I got stronger and more skillful at negotiating the course. I thought for sure my first lap would the strongest, but really the laps toward the end were cleaner and more satisfying.
This type of riding is challenging because unlike A to B courses (where you don't know what's around the next bend) you are fully aware of what to expect, what to fear, what to watch out for next time (that particular slippery root, that log that is really greasy, those two rocks that you have to ride perfectly between). The "pit" row, the tents, the loud music coming from the speakers, all make a nice place to come back to...refill water bottles, do a quick repair, slam some food (salt, salt and more salt) and do some bastardized yoga pose that might ease my tight back. But then it was back onto the lane to the start tent...take your number and wish you farewell again. Back onto the course that you know is going to be tough, physically and mentally. I would talk out loud to myself the first 100 yards of the trail going over things that I needed to watch out for, remember and other Jack Handy bits of encouragement. I think it helped. Then it is all focus. This course demanded all of my attention. I barely had time to drink from my bottle because the trail always demanded two hands on the bar.
At the end of the day, Charlie asked me what I thought and I said I wouldn't exactly call it fun. See said something to the effect that...no kidding, it's not like a day at the amusement park! I think this type of event fits squarely into the category of what my dogsledding boss Paul Schurke would say when he was asked why he did his epic arctic trips...it's like hitting your thumb with a hammer...it feels so good when you stop. I know there is some messed up psycho-something involved with endurance activities. What I have grown to love about the sport of endurance cycling so much is the discovery of what I can do in a day. You face demons, and total bliss and pain and relief. You make great stories and share adventure with others. And you expand your world of possibilities. All under your own horsepower. Pretty cool.
I think there will be another one of these in my future. I think a team 24 hr would be pretty cool.
Thanks to Tim Ek, Charlie Farrow and Jason Buffington for sharing bits of their years of cycling knowledge and being great travel companions. Look forward to the next one.
