My last RHR24 attempt in 2014 ended at ~8
hours due to a very tight back. Since
then my training time has been reduced significantly (kids will do that),
probably to about 50% of the volume I was doing in prior attempts. In 2012 I finished 16 laps which put me in
6th place. Since then, I've done the
Dirty Dozen a couple of times, broken my ankle, and mostly just ridden for fun
with friends (maybe done a couple of TMBRA XC races and a couple of Capital
Racing CX races too). I definitely have
not been riding my P29er singlespeed bike as much, or at all, mostly due to how
much easier the full suspension is for my ankle. So this year, having done the Dirty Dozen, I
wanted to try the 24 hours and get the Dirty Duel award. In spite of the reduced training time, I
felt I was in pretty decent shape, until the rains started this fall. That meant only a handful of off-road rides
in about 2 months. Because of this, I
was really worried about my upper body holding up during the race. In sharing this worry with @johnnyjmotox, his
reply was that everyone is in the same boat.
Because of the constant rain threatening a muddy race, I got my P29er
ready. I did exactly 2 road rides on it
in the week prior to the race, mainly to check and adjust the fit (and I don't
think I had any rides in it, in at least a year before that). I used the P29er to do the pre-ride and that
confirmed that I didn't want to use my geared bike in that mess. However, I was still really afraid to burn
out pushing a hard gear on the climbs.
On Saturday, the ground was still saturated, but I felt eager to get started. I was having stomach pain (@johnnymotox told me it was likely from nervousness), so once the start sounded, I felt better. I did the run and felt OK. The first lap felt like a sprint race, mostly because I never recovered from the run, but also because I don't warm-up quickly and that's how my body reacts. I walked the usual spots: the last climb to the top of Fat Chucks, and several of the steep and slick short climbs through the course. Some I skipped to save my legs, some because I just couldn't get traction while pushing so hard. My hands were going numb as usual, and my legs felt like they couldn't keep going at this pace for 24 hours. My back was starting to tighten up (a sure sign of too much torque, not enough spinning for me). I had no idea how I was going to even finish 3 hours, let alone 24. I finished the first lap, I stopped to pick up a bottle and stretch out. Laura told me @johnnymotox had done about a 45 minute lap, while it had taken me something like 1:10. It is hard to fathom how fast he must have gone on the climbs to do that.
Thankfully in the 2nd lap, my legs loosened up. My hands were still numb but there was some improvement overall.
By the 3rd lap I was feeling much better all around, I was thinking I could make it. I was still stretching after every lap but doing consistent lap times.
By the 4th lap, I was starting to have doubts I could make it. I just couldn't go slow enough and still ride most things. Walking everything is no fun at all. I still thought about my lesson learned at last year's Dirty Dozen: apply power strategically to save power. That means to spend a little extra power to keep momentum up, rather than slow down and expend more energy re-accelerating, or dismounting and mounting. So I kept riding about the same, but by now my stops were longer. My calves were cramping and my back was getting sharp pain when I walked or applied power. Laura Neighbors helped me out by hitting some muscle in the back (nailed the spot on the first shot--wow! That hurt, but it helped at least for a half a lap) and also hitting my left calf and showing me how to use my knees to massage it after every lap. That helped quite a bit, at least for a while...
I honestly don't know after this what happened in what lap, when I put my lights on, what I said, etc. All I know is that at some point, I reduced my goal from a podium in the 40+ class, to a certain number of laps and let the chips fall where they may. Things were looking more than good as far as pacing. At a later point, I was sure I couldn't make it the full 24 hours. What I couldn't decide on was: When do I stop? Should I stop now, shower, and start again in the morning with some fresh clothes? At this point my back was killing me--in spite of Laura's best efforts to restore normal function. It was getting worse, and now it was affecting my bike position, my wrists were killing me with every root I hit (and there are a lot of them!) I was seriously worried about how I was going to go to work the next day. I think the biggest thing to cause me to stop is when I was riding stupid. This is, hitting a tree on the inside of a turn with my shoulder for two laps, then over-compensating and hitting the outside tree with my handlebar for the next two laps. After 7 laps I wanted to quit, but Laura and Shawn told me I was moving up, and they were totally encouraging me, and helping me get over my pains. The last two laps were done 100% thanks the Laura and Shawn.
I think it was in my 9th and last lap in which Bill (Dirty Dozen 2018 winner) passed me while I had dismounted for some reason. When I saw who it was, I got on his wheel, and we chatted for quite a while. I could see he was also running into the same issues I was, namely hitting those slick roots and catching the bike just in time which saps your energy. (This got worse after 11pm or so when the dew started dropping and everything got very wet again.) We chatted for a while and he encouraged me to keep riding through the night to get a good spot. At some point we hit a climb and I lost him. This is when I had decided it was time to quit. I didn't have a chance at a podium in the 40+ solo class, and I was in extreme pain and worried about being functional for the coming work week. I had also decided that I would stop even if I was informed that I had climbed up in the rankings again. Sure enough, Shawn informed me I was in 3rd place when I stopped since it seems like everyone else had stopped to rest. I was sure if I could do 9 more laps I had a chance not only for a podium, but of winning. However, I listened to my body.
I still thought about maybe riding again in the morning, but struggling to stand-up, sit down, or walk kind of moved me away from that idea. I'd stay and support and cheer for @johnnymotox as best I could. I also got to hang around the fire and talk with Shawn and Laura. I gotta say that all of John's friends are beautiful people and a pleasure and a privilege to know and to hang out with. I got a chance to talk with Bill and also with Jose Bermudez, I got to meet John's brother and also his childhood friend, and see Dani and Dan Pedroza for the first time in a while. Of course, all the Terra Firma crew are awesome. (I don't know what they are drinking but I'll have what they're having!) Their enthusiasm is infectious. I just love the whole endurance MTB vibe.
In the morning, Kathy informed me that I was the 3rd of 3 singlespeeders and I was eligible for an award. If there'd been a 4th person in a singlspeed I would have declined, but I'm as happy to take this award home as I have been any other award in the past. I'm never doing this race in a SS again (4 days after first typing this, I'm having second thoughts, what's wrong with me?), but I definitely want to give it another shot with a geared bike. Maybe next year.
(Pictures
courtesy of Terra Firma Racing)
