Snake Creek Gap TT #1

Last weekend was the first of three TT events in Dalton, GA. I have heard about this race for the last few years and thought it sounded like a blast, but was a little far to go 3 different times. The entry fee is one price, but you can race all events. This year I found a couple of guys to share the trip and expenses with to make it too inviting to pass up. I went a little safe and signed up for the 17 mile route, but kept it in the SS class. I had thought about taking and being “smart” and all, but I am not usually accused of being too smart. I was also thinking that since I signed up for the Big Frog 65 in the SS class, I might as well get some good training rides in.

I went down there thinking the worst. I heard all the horror stories about the trail and figured I might not be able to finish. My goal was to finish in under 3 hours. I was not holding my breath, but I thought it sounded reasonable.

The trip down was not bad and before I knew it, we were signed in and back at the room getting all of our gear ready. This is where I noticed that I forgot to pack my little bag of energy bars and gels. I knew I should have put some in the pack before I left. At least I didn’t forget my mustard this time.

The morning was filled with a lot of waiting. When it was finally my turn, up the hill I went. This was as far from how I like to warm up as possible. I was winded and my heart rate was threw the roof less than a mile up the trail. I had to walk a section or two, but was still climbing a lot for how bad I was feeling. I was burning up and had to stop to take off my arm and knee warmers. It is crazy that I was riding in January in shorts and a short sleeve jersey with only a short sleeve under armor on under that. No complaints on the weather.

The trail finally had some sections that was not all climbing and I could get my heart rate under control. This let my legs warm up and start to work correctly. I was not going to kill myself, but wanted to keep moving the best I could. I rolled up on to the rest stop and kept on going. I really should have stopped and ate something, but I was in my keep on moving mode. The food might have made a difference because for the whole ride I only ate a banana and 2 cookies. Not exactly what should have been on the menu.

The rocky section was rocky and technical, but for some reason all of the talk had me thinking it was going to be worse. There were a few sections that were real bad, but I had in visioned climbing the hum-vee section for 4 miles straight. The “wall” was not easy at all. After that, I kept looking for the antenna tower everyone said I would see near the end. It did not come as fast as I would have liked, but it did finally show up and it actually was all down hill from there.

I had one section in the rocks that my leg cramped when I came to a sudden stop. I had to stop and down a few mustard packets and I felt much better and moved on. Near the end I stopped to lend Garth a tube and pump so he didn’t have to run the rest of the way down the road. He had already been running way longer than I would have.

In the end I finished in 2:47 and 8th place in the SS class. I would be very happy if I was in 8th place for the age group, but I was not. I know I can go faster with a few modifications and a little effort on training. I will see if I can do enough to get stronger, but it might be hard to figure out if I really did ride better next month. It depends on the weather, but I am thinking about racing the 34 mile route. I heard that the first 17 miles are a lot easier then the last, but they never said they were easy.

I have to call this ride the shakedown ride because Jerry was singing to me about Shakedown Street at least 3 times during the ride. I don’t think I heard any other song more than once. I am just glad it liked a good tune.

1 down, 2 to go!

Good bye 2011

I ended the year up with a nice back road ride. It ended up shorter then I would have liked, but longer then I figured it would have been. Not sure that makes any sense or not. It ended up 33 miles and that was all I wanted. There was plenty of climbing and wind to make things interesting. I am still rolling that 42×20 gear with the fat Race King 2.0′s. It was a good combo for a lot of the ride, but sure hurt for some other sections.

The hard gearing is probably a good thing since I want to get stronger and the fact that I am signed up for the Snake Creek Gap TT series on my SS. One good thing about this is that I wimped out and signed up for the 17 mile version. I figure that I could see just how hard the 17 mile is before trying the 34 mile version.

It feels like I have a lot to do before next weekend. I already changed gearing and did a once over the bike. I am waiting on a tire to put on the back that should be here in a day or so, but it if does not make it, I will have to put a different tire on there then what is currently there. I started looking in my pack to make sure and have everything in there that I would want. For the new year I plan on being more prepared this year then what I have been in the last year.

I still need to put together my clothing options that I will be ready for different weather conditions. So far it is looking better then what it could be. I hope I don’t pack too much since I don’t know how much room will be in the car. I don’t think it will be an issue. The big thing that I am not sure about for this weekend is how my legs will feel on Sunday since that is the first bowling tourney for the year. I will not go if I don’t think I can bowl very good, but I would rather bowl.

Hopefully it will be a good start of the year.

Taking a second drink of coolaid

Not only was my first drink awesome, I figured it was so good that I needed to take a second drink. I have been torn between a few decisions for the last month or so, but when all the stars aligned, I decided to take a step. I might second guess myself at some point, but I don’t think I could have made a better choice of the two issues with out taking care of both issues at the same time.

Before we get to that, I wanted to let you know that I have signed up for the Snake Creep Gap TT series. Against a lot of suggestions that I didn’t really listen to, I signed up in the SS class. Yes, I know that it is hard and all that stuff. For some reason when I ask people if I should do something on my SS or on a geared bike, if the person does not ride a SS, after I I hear that I should take my geared bike every thing else sounds more like blah blah blah and I forget what they suggested.

I did have a few tell me to take the SS and those are the people that have a good understanding of what riding a SS is like. There are a lot of people that say you can’t or its too hard. I have yet to find a bike that is easy to ride, unless it has a motor. Well, I have had some trouble riding those too, but nothing a telephone pole wont help with. So, I listened to myself as to what bike I really wanted to ride. Yes, I may have to walk some stuff. That is not a shocker. However, I did chicken out some and only signed up for the 17 mile. I will see how it goes and maybe roll the 34 mile the next two events.

Now, back to my decision……. I now have another Misfit on the way. I will be replacing my AL with a ALC. I really had a lot of fun riding the AL over the last year, but have had a desire to try out a ALC. So, the dark side is getting a little darker since this frame will be black and not the raw that the other one is.

Now, before you can ask how can I. The AL is not getting kicked to the curb. However it will have to swallow some humility and take its place in the pecking order. She will receive a brand new drop out that allows for some shifty bits to be added and turned in to a 1×9 beast. This will probably be my go to bike for my XC races and the big stuff in NC.

The only issue I currently have with keeping both bikes running and wanting to not steal everything from the Fuji, I will be needing to get some parts. Mainly I will be trying to pick up a seatpost, stem and bars for the new ride, preferably in white. Looking for white parts have taken a few options out of the list, but I will have to keep looking. After those are all done, I will be looking for a drop bar and brake/shifter levers to put on my Fuji and turn it in to a monster cross gravel beast. Lots to do and in my opinion can not happen soon enough, but I will have to just wait until it all comes together.

Back on the bike

I had been wanting to get out on the bike for the last few weeks, but some things have kept me from it. Last weekend it was the last bowling event for the year. It was a invite only event for the people who finished at the top in the points and the entry fee was waived. I didn’t do too bad and did make 2 cuts, so it was well worth the effort.

I finally fixed the flat on the Surly I had from the Gravel Grovel. I put the Race King 2.0 tires back on there and swapped the gear from a 42×22 back to the 42×20 that I had on there before. I was determined to get out this last weekend to test it out. When Ralph said he was going for a gravel/back road ride, I knew I was in. It was decided to go Sunday and we waited a little before we started to let the sun come up. The weather sounded like it was going to be real cold. I took a few clothing options to decide when I got there.

For some reason I went a little lighter then I felt I needed to, but it turned out to be more than needed. The sun was shining great and the roads were a blast. There were a few good climbs to keep it interesting, but there were sections that let me recover. The bigger tires were a nice addition that helped on the ride comfort, but the new gearing options was not the most pleasant. There was several times I found myself cussing my gearing choice, but I feel like I climbed just fine.

I only had to walk one small section that I was not real happy about, but it did follow one of the steeper sections on the ride and near the end. I was happy that I rode the steep part, but I could not maintain for the next section that was still a good climb. With that being said, then maybe the gear option is just what I need. I want to get stronger before the new season starts and what better way to get stronger then to make it hurt.

It was great riding with friends and on a route that was fun. I hope to keep these kinds of rides up as they help push me to go harder and it keeps it more fun. It is so easy to back out of a ride when you are the only one going. Heck, I even felt like backing out of the ride half way threw, but since I was not alone I had to push on. It was not long enough of a ride to back out, but it did feel longer then the miles show. Here is a little image of the route that we did. I really don’t know how it will look or if the link will work, but here we go. Edit: the link on the image did not work. Click here to see full gps info.

Time is running out on making some decisions for some events next year. If I wait too long, some will sell out and other will just cost me more. I have been thinking about hitting the Big Frog 65 this year. I know better then signing up for another 100 until I can make some major gains on my training. I am also trying to figure out if I want to do the 3 Snake Creek Gap races or do the Southern Cross. They both are in the same area, so it would be either going for one race or going for 3. I have been leaning on the Southern X simply because I could not find someone to ride with me for the Snake races. This problem just might be solved. This is good news as I would rather race trail over gravel, but this means I better step it up because I will be racing in 3 weeks, not 2 months and that is a little scary. I guess I better try a little harder to get to that next level.

2012 DINO Series

I think this might be record time for releasing the race schedule for next year. I know I am normally have races and options running thru my head all winter. Most of the time not having a clue as to when the races are or what else will be going on that would get in the way. I already have a few races early in the year that I am trying to figure out if I can go or not. If they were closer, it would be a no brainer.

Over all I thought I rode much better this year then last year. Well, all up until the end of the year when I kind of fell off the wagon or more like a small pull behind yard trailer. The plan is to ride even better next year. I have a new age group to race in and hope to hold my own in it. I am already behind with all the added weight and it is not even to all of the holidays.  I have big plans to work on getting rid of the extra weight, but that is normal for this time of year. I just hope this year I can actually do something about it.

I know it is possible for me to ride some what fast. I have been there in the past, but it has been a long time. I don’t have any plans of ever racing Cat 1, but I would like to be closer to the top 10 in Cat 2 or at least finish near the same time as the rest of the group if I do any longer events. There are a few big events that have been a major focus over the last couple of years that right now I don’t even think I will be doing. Times change and so do plans, so it is hard to say anything is set in stone right now. The big thing would be if I would do one of them, I would have to be ready to actually compete and not just be a participant.

Here is the Dino schedule for next year, so get out your calendars and start planning things that will probably change by then. Oh yea, I think there is a good chance of rain that day too.

DINO Mountain Bike Series 2012

May 19 (Sat) Warsaw IN: Winona Lake Trail

June 3 (Sun) Nashville IN: Brown County State Park

June 16 (Sat) French Lick IN: French Lick Resort

July 1 (Sun) North Vernon IN: Muscatatuck County Park

July 22 (Sun) Versailles IN: Versailles State Park

Aug 12 (Sun) Logansport IN: France Park

Aug 26 (Sun) Indianapolis IN: Southwestway Park

Not sure I can get there from here

I felt like I had a good ride last weekend at the Gravel Grovel. I turned the cranks over well all day and climbed a lot of hills that I have had trouble with in the past. I felt like I made good time on Combs road and did not stop long at any of the rest areas. I needed to finish in under 5 hours to beat last years time. I didn’t quite make it, but considering the extra miles at the start and the walk at the end because of a flat tire, I am sure I would have finished in less then 5 hours if it would have been the same distance. So, I was disappointed, but understanding. Well, that was up until the results came out.

Looking at the results, I finished 115th place overall and 7th in the SS class. I was 27 min. behind the next SS racer. That would have put me all the way up in to tied for 94th. But, that still does not sound real good. I know there were a lot of really fast guys out there and that is evident by the finishing time for the top placers. It is hard to imagine being able to take 2 hours off of my time. Realistically I need to take at least an hour off of my time. That is just hard to imagine. I have no doubt that I could take some time off of my ride even with a SS and even more if I would ride with some gears.

I like riding my SS, but the flat and open road sections is the real down fall of only having one gear. Yea, if I had a granny I could have climbed a couple of more hills, but the bigger time loss was when I would spin out on the other sections. I have had a desire to have a geared CX bike for a little while now and after the race I really have that on my mind to get one. I just don’t know if I can come up with the money to get something worth getting. The other issue is trying to make up my mind on what kind of bike I really want. I keep going back and forth from a full on CX bike and more of a monster cross.

The flat tire I had and all of the flat tires I saw on the side of the road have be thinking a little larger tire would not be a bad thing. With that would also come disk brakes. I am a fan of disk brakes over the canties that are on the cx bikes. I am sure they would do the job either way. I could also see myself riding this bike instead of riding my road bike most of the time. For that kind of use, I would think the smaller tires would be better. it is a hard choice, but one that will not need to be figured out until I have a little more money.

I do have an itch to head down to Georgia to check out the Southern Cross in February, so I might need to make a decision by then. I guess I really need to do a better job with winter keeping in shape. I don’t want to burn out, but I need to not pack on a bunch of pounds and maybe do some cross training type stuff. That all sounds good, but will probably not happen any more then normal. Oh well. Maybe my time to be fast has past me by.

Gravel Grovel 2011

This years Gravel Grovel had a lot of changes from the previous years. There was a new start/finish area, a little different rout, food after the race and most importantly great weather!! There is nothing like being able to race in shorts at the end of November. The start/finish area was nice with the inside building for eating and awards, but it would have been more of a benefit if it was as cold as the last two years.

We got there plenty early to get signed up and get ready, but it never fails that the start time rolls around quicker then I am ready for. I hurried up and packed up and went to the start. I figure that I was forgetting something, but I was out of time to figure it out. After the pre-race meeting, I went back to the car to grab some stuff that I didn’t have and everyone seemed to be going to the top of the hill. I thought the start was at the bottom, but then again, maybe the lead out car was going to change that, so I headed up the hill with everyone else. We were not up there long and the bus came rolling up to tell us that we needed to be at the bottom of the hill. I stopped by the car to peel off the knee warmers and grab some more stuff that I still forgot.

The start went well and I was feeling good. We went by the road that I thought we were supposed to turn on. I just figured with the neutral roll out there was a change in the start to use the car longer. Well, that was until it stopped and turned around to head back to the road that we passed. I didn’t think it was a good thing to start the ride with that many miles extra. I figured the day was going to be hard enough. After we made it back to the correct turn, it looked like it was about 5-7 miles longer then it should have been.

Overall I had a great ride. The legs were strong for most of the loop and I could keep moving at a good pace. I think the gear choice was right on for my condition. I had to walk part of a hill close to the start, but the gravel was a little think and it was steep. I might have been able to climb it, but I didn’t think it was worth the extra effort at that point. After that I didn’t have to walk anything until I was on Combs road on the way out. There were a few tough hills, but I managed to climb them. After the paved hill from hell I made the turn on to the first out and back it was good to see all the front groups as they were heading back. I felt like I was off the back pretty far, but to see all of the front groups made me feel like was not that far back.

I was starting to wear down on the way out to Story and my legs were starting to feel like they could cramp. They were holding in there, but the hills were not nice to them. I had a great time on Combs road. I got a little air on some of the rollers and cleared the first tree that was down. I had to calm down a little and make sure I didn’t crash or break anything.  The rest of the way to Story was uneventful except for the big climb. I grabbed a few pretzel sticks, topped off the water bottle and headed off. The trip back to Combs was not too bad other then the climb at the Nebo parking lot.

Somewhere along the way I ran up on a guy that was walking. I asked him if everything was ok and he said he was cramping bad. So, since I finally remembered to pack the mustard, I made a quick stop to dig out a packet and give it to him. I said no matter how it tastes, it will help. A little way up the trail my legs were starting to hint that they were going to cramp. When I had to stop to go under the one tree, I decided to not wait for the legs to cramp and go ahead and eat some mustard myself. Right before I got out of the dirt section of Combs road, the guy who I gave the mustard came rolling up. He seemed to be doing much better. He thanked me again for the mustard and we rode together for a little while.

After crossing Maumee bridge I was starting to really get tired, but I knew I was getting close or well at least close to camp. That added loop around the camp hurt like hell. There were a few climbs that really hurt and I was wearing down fast. I finally made it to a corner and thought I was getting close now. Well after a few sections of thinking I saw the road for the camp, I rolled up on 925 and made another turn. I was bummed that I still had a ways to go, but knew that this time I was on the last section of road. I was doing well for this section right up to where I was just about 3 miles out. I felt a few rocks a little harder then I had been and thought to myself that I would have a flat tire by the time I got home. Well, I didn’t make it that far and I was flat. Damn it! Well, I think some animals heard something a little stronger then that and louder. Why did I have to flat so close to the end! I decided to walk the rest of the way. I knew it was only a few corners and changing the back wheel was more work then I felt like doing. If I would have been on just about any other bike, I would have changed the tire. But, having to re-adjust the disc brake and re-tension the chain didn’t have me wanting to fix the problem. So, I limped the rest of the way back in to the finish.

At this point I could really feel my ankle hurting. I was having a little trouble waking and figured that I would not be able to walk the next day. It had been hurting for most of the day, but more of a annoying pain for most of the ride. I have no idea what I did to it, but I knew it was hurting. As soon as I checked in at the finish line, I headed straight to the car for a Mad Anthony IPA. Man that tasted good! I changed and put things away and had some good conversations with friends. It didn’t take long and it was about time to eat. We headed down and stuffed our faces. I really don’t know what we were eating, but it was very good. It sure hit the spot and I even went back for more.

The awards ceremony was quick and I have to send out a congratulations to Jason Pruitt for winning the SS class and Garth Prosser for winning the 40+ class. I ended up with a door prize and won a shirt. The shirt was nice and all, but I think everyone wanted the wheel set. I know I would have found a use for them.

My garmin had some incorrect information so it is hard to tell exactly what is what, but it seems I was right at 66 miles in 5:22 min., but my bike computer had a couple more miles. My elevation chart shows that it is only 30 miles for the whole loop and a moving time of 2:38, so I am not sure what is wrong there. I had the unit on my wrist and sometimes I end up hitting buttons that I don’t want to hit. The thing that does not make any sense is that the summery had the correct miles and time. I really wanted to finish under 5 hours to improve from last year, but it is hard to tell if I would have if it were not for the extra miles at the start. I know I climbed more hills this year, but I also had a little smaller gear. This is good for climbing, but back for going fast. I felt like I rode strong for most of the ride and was turning the pedals well. I didn’t stay at any of the check points for very long, I felt like I ate and drank well, so I am happy with that. Maybe some day I will be able to keep up with the faster guys. I will be back again next year if at all possible, maybe with some gears maybe not. What else is there to do after stuffing your face on Thanksgiving?

The gears keep on turning

With the Gravel Grovel quickly approaching, I have had gear ratios running around in my head. I have been struggling on what gearing to put on the Surly for the ride. I still hope to make a trip up to the area to see how well I like the tires and current gearing, but I am not sure I will make it up there before the event. I did take it out for a ride and was happy with the climbing I could do. I also did not have any big issues with the tires on the deeper gravel. I am sure event day weather might make a difference on both choices more then just how I like them.

I currently put on a 42×22 gearing after riding a 42×20 for a bit commuting. Over all the 20 was good, but I know there is a lot of climbing in Hickory so I figured I could use a little easier gear. When I left the house on the last ride, the gear choice seemed a little bigger  then I might want, but by the end of the ride it didn’t seem too bad. This had me thinking I might need to go a little easier, but after looking up my last years gearing choice I don’t know what to do. Last year I ran my standard mtb tires with a 2.4 front and a 2.2 rear. This year my tires are a lot smaller then those, so that in itself will make the gearing a little easier. I could not believe it when I looked up what gear combo I ran. I had a 34×16 set up on there. After doing some math, this is a harder ratio then the 42×22 that I currently have on there. Humm…. maybe it is not too hard.

So, now I am trying to figure out if the current gear is good, too hard or maybe even too easy. I could always put that 42×20 back on there and be some where in between the current gear and last years choice. Then again, I could put on a 32×16 and be in between the 42×20 and the 42×22. Or maybe 34×18 and it would be a little easier then what I currently have. AAARRGGHHH!! The issues of riding a SS.

The real issue is I could probably put any of those on and be able to finish. No matter what gear I pick, I am sure I will not be able to climb some hill out there and I will probably spin out on some flat section. The big this is to try and keep from cramping up real bad this year and still putting in a good time. I guess I still have a little time to make a desision, but  I will probably end up going with what has the least amount of maintenance needed.

Back road rolling

Last weekend as I was still going up Pilot I thought to myself that I was not sure when I would want to get back on a bike again. Well I guess this did not last too long. Friday I sat at work with the sun shining so bright and my window open, I could not think about doing anything else but getting out for a ride. I knew the trails might be a little wet and I am not sure my mtb’s were ready to ride anyway. I am 3 weeks away from the Gravel Grovel, so the bike choice was easy. It was time to try out the new gear on the Surly.

I checked to see if I had other plans before heading out the door. I knew the direction I was going to head and off I went. I went back toward the closest gravel road I know of and went to wonder down some intersections I have yet to check out. My first new road when around a corner and then down a huge hill. As soon as I was at the bottom of the hill, the road turned in to a farm road that looked more like a private lot. So, I turned around and climbed right back up the big hill.

I turned down another road that I have not been on yet. I was trying to figure out a section that I had seen on a map, but could not remember exactly where it was since the last turn was not it. This section of road did not have any right turns and I ended up rolling up to Hwy 56, but not until after I saw a huge buck running in the woods next to me. I am sure someone will be looking for him next weekend. I decided not to turn around and took a left on to the highway. I took the next road to the right to continue my adventure. This was another nice section of back roads right up until I went flying down a hill only to find myself at a dead end section right by the river. So, one again I turned around and headed right back up the hill.

This time I decided to take a turn that would lead me a little closer to home since the legs were starting to feel all of the hills. I turned on to Kellerville road and made the journey back into town. I thought about taking a few more turns at some intersections, but in the end I figured I would just head back toward home. The ride ended up being close to 22 miles and only 1000 ft. of elevation gain. It sure felt like more then that to me. I know that most of the climbs were on the steep side and not too easy to do.

I am not sure about the gearing yet. I have to look back and see what I used last year and maybe try to figure out what other options I have. The gear felt big on all of the climbs, but there was a lot of road sections I could have gone bigger. Gearing is always a balancing point for a single speed. This is more of an issue when you are on the road then on most trails. I was happy that I could climb everything, but the 22 miles did hurt. I am not sure I could do that for 63 miles and I think there is even more climbing in Hickory then the roads that I was on. I will just have to make a judgement call with what options I have and live with it. I have 3 weeks to get in a lot better shape. LOL

Double Done 2011

Well it is now Monday night and I am still feeling some effects from the Double Dare. Things did not go as planned or even hoped, but things did go one way or another. I headed down Friday night in hopes of getting some sleep. It was a long drive that was mostly in some rain. It was the first trip I have taken down there by myself and it sure makes the drive seem longer, but I made it. I crashed at my teammate’s house and made some race plans. I do have to thank Pisgah Productions and all of the volunteers that made this race possible. Also, hats off to all of the other racers that put in some crazy efforts out there and picked up a lot of check points.

Thanks to Brad O for the pic

Saturday morning came and it was time to get loaded up and head toward Cove Creek. We made a quick stop down town for breakfast before heading out. After we arrived it was time to set up the tents and get our gear ready so we could sign in. I didn’t have my pack ready because I was going to make some judgement calls on what to put in there as far as gear depending on weather. The other problem was that gear was not the only thing I didn’t have packed and had to start cramming things in there just hoping I had everything. We finally made it to check in and was still missing a few things, so after I ran back to the car to stuff more things in to my pack, put some air in my back tire and make a quick pit stop, I didn’t hear most of what Eric had to say for the rules.

Rick picked up our passport and we took a quick look at it to see what some options were. We were not really going in to this race with any thoughts of actually racing it. But, that didn’t mean that we didn’t want to do as good as we could. I know I am not in good enough shape to be a contender, so the plan was to hit the mandatory check point and see what else we could pick up. It was a long haul out to 276 and that was just to get started. We took a quick stop at 477 to look at the check points again when the Pisgah Works duo came rolling out of 477 having already picked up the Club Gap check point. We decided we might as well go pick that up on the way, so off we went. I was not climbing very well at this point already. I was doing fine on the flatter stuff, but just didn’t have the power to go up the steeper stuff so I had to drop in to the granny gear and that made progress really slow down. I ended up walking most of the way up to Club Gap to get the check point. I was hoping that my legs would wake up and start to do something.

Next it was decided to take the trail over toward Pilot and not to go back down the hill and hit the road. I really don’t know if that was a good decision or not, but I am fairly sure I walked more of the trail then I would have done on the road, but there were some teams going both directions. Next up on the agenda was to hike up Pilot Rock to the next check point. I have to admit I think I finally know how my teammate from PMBAR felt. I thought it was not that bad, but my legs were feeling a lot better then they were this day. I didn’t think the climb was ever going to end. I was having trouble walking and guiding my bike with out tripping over everything. After what seemed like 3 hours, we finally made it up to the rock. I knew there was some trail after that, but I didn’t think it would be horrible, but I was wrong. I could not believe how long it took us to get up to the check point from the rock. I don’t know how I didn’t just sit down and not move.

I kind of figured when we hit the check point I would just sit down for a while and try to re-group myself for the trip back down. But, there was a problem with that plan. It was freezing at the check point! I have no idea how cold it was there, but the wind was horrible and if I would have seen snow, it would not have been a shock. We tried to warm up a little with their fire, but it didn’t seem to matter. The first thing I did when I got there was to take some weight out of my pack. I wish I would have weighed it before we left. It felt like it was 80 lbs or more. The quick way to lighten the load was to take out and drink the 2 beers I had stashed in there for the top of Pilot. The beer was nice, but it would have been a little better if I could feel my fingers or toes.

We headed back down Pilot and were hoping that we could make it back to camp. At this point we knew that we were not getting any more check points then the 2 we already had. The easy way to pick up 2 more would have been to do the hike out to Mt. Pisgah, but after the climb up Pilot, I didn’t want to walk another step if I didn’t have to. The thing that did make me feel a little better was that we passed a few teams still going up as we were going down. There was also two more teams that were out on the hike.

The road ride back to the top of the Cove Creek trail took for ever. We had hoped to get back before dark, but a few miles before the trail we had to make a stop to put on our lights. At this point we figured out that Rick’s light was not going to work. It was freshly charged, but would not turn on. He had to put his back up little light on his head and use some of my light to make our way back. The trip down Cove Creek trail took way longer then I would have liked, but that was the norm for the day. My feet were freezing and I could not feel my toes or the front half of my feet. It hurt to get off and on the bike for the bridge crossings. Walking was getting more interesting each step. I was trying to not fall down with miss steps or cramp something any more then I was already feeling. Eventually we turned the corner and could see the fire allong with a bunch of people cheering.

We were not really expecting much, but that does not mean we weren’t disappointed with only getting 2 check points. If we would have been back sooner or still feeling stronger it might have been a little different, but the truth was that we were toast and didn’t have enough to show for it. It was decided l0ng before we made it to the bottom of Pilot that we were not going to wake up at 5:30 the next morning to head out for day two. But, this did mean we could hang out at the fire and watch everyone else come in and not worry about the next day.

Thanks to Brad O for the pic

What happened next I did not plan. Good times were being had by several and before long the group dwindled down to a small group. There were lots of laughs and good times being had by all. So much fun was being had that I could not believe it when I finally looked at my watch and realized that Eric would be up in a little bit to wake up the racers. Most of us stayed up to watch the racers head out for day two and as soon as I thought everyone was gone, I headed for the tent. I don’t think I moved an inch for the next 3,5 hours, then I must have rolled over and the blanket that was covering my head had moved and let a bunch of light in and woke me up. I covered myself back up for another half hour or so, but could not get back to seep good enough to stay there. I am sure everyone near by thought someone had a chain saw running getting some more wood for the fire, but it was just me trying to get a little rest.

I would never suggest that anyone ride around in Pisgah for 8 hours then stay up all night drinking only to get 4 hours of sleep before eating some breakfast and driving 7.5-8 hours home. I though the drive down sucked. Pft, that was easy. I don’t know if I will ever do this race again. If I don’t figure out how to become a lot stronger rider, it just seems like a waste. I would rather drive down to hang out and do a casual ride. It is not like our ride was easy, but not good enough. We ended up riding 36 miles and climbing a little over 5,000 ft of elevation. We might have actually gone farther, but it is hard to tell. My computer kept pausing because it thought I was not moving.