The first few days in KC passed pretty quickly. I mostly relaxed, ate too much, and thought about RIM (something that doesn’t mix well with eating too much). Race day came early, but I was alert and ready to go. I had been getting pretty stoked for this race; I wanted to try and win it. I knew it would be a bit of a long shot, but if I wanted to do well, I could not count myself out. As my dad and I drove to Crowder State Park, we could not help but notice the scorching (72 degree) temperature. What more could you asked for from an August mountain bike race in Missouri? Maybe the race would have more rapture than misery this year. I pre-rode the first section of the course. It was pretty rocky. Having just raced rocky Cedro Peak the weekend before, I was feeling pretty confident. However, everyone seemed to be saying something different about the course; so I did not really know what to expect.
As usual, RIM began with misery. The Heartland Race guys had us lined up near the bottom of a steep, rocky fire road for our Lemans start. After destroying my cleats, not destroying my ankle, and watching Cameron start his destruction of the rest of the field, I hopped on my bike not far behind Jonathan Schottler and Jeff Winkler. I knew I needed to keep up with those guys. My heart rate went to 178 bpm almost instantly. I had Jeff in my sights; Jonathan was a little further up the field. There were only a few in front of Jonathan—none of which were racing 6 hour solo. I chased hard but my heart rate did not want to fall below 173 bpm (with a max of 190 bpm). I knew that my heart rate was high at this lower altitude (or higher humidity, I don’t know), but there was no way I could maintain this effort.
With the start of lap 3, I eased off the gas a little and enjoyed some lower heart rates. Now, since nothing too eventful happened until lap four, this seems like as good a time as any to digress. The trails were primed for racing and rapture and misery. There were plenty of chances to go fast downhill. Rapture came when I let off the brakes and let it fly. Rapture came on the top of the four hills the required me to drop from the big ring to the middle ring. Great trails, big thanks to all who got them ready or ever worked on them.
Lap four tasted bitter early, but ended sweet. First, as I crossed the dam going out, I saw Jeff Winkler coming back. What! He had to have about a 10 minute gap. He encouraged me, but I heard “look how far I am in front of you; trying to catch me would be a vain effort.” Of course, I was encouraged by what I heard and started going a little harder. I came back across the dam and made my way back into the woods. I heard someone coming up behind me; I glanced back. “Jonathan?” He replied, “yes.” “I thought you in front of me,” I retorted. Well, turns out he was but the misery got the best of him. When a guy like Jonathan is having a rough day, it’s a rough day. I had a few cramps already. I guess he had a few more. I dropped him on the next climb. He started catching back up on the last climb of the lap. I started going a little harder and didn’t see him again. I was glad to move into second in the overall, but it was not the most satisfying gain. I look forward to racing Jonathan again when we are both having good days.
With lap five came a few more cramps and the realization that I was too slow to race eight laps. Lap six was my slowest and was accompanied by sprinkles. I started lap seven knowing it was going to be my last. I rode it as hard as I could. Still, Cameron (racing 12 hour duo) finally lapped me like I was a legless tortoise and he was a methamphetamine-addicted jack rabbit. After racing in some more sprinkles, I crossed the line in 6:13, having ridden lap seven faster than laps five and six. I finished 22 minutes behind Winkler with an average heart rate of 166 bpm. Jeff and I were the only two to complete 7+ laps. I may not have taken the win, but I can’t complain about 2nd or learning a lot. Big thanks to Rich Bowman for the support from the pit. I headed over the pit area of the Smithville guys and got cleaned. I also began hydrating and then followed that up with some dehydration (thanks Left Hand Brewing). My dad and I left around 8:15; as we drove home through the rain, I was glad I was not racing for 12 hours.
I got home, ate a tasty sandwich (thanks mom), and showered. Then, I immediately left for Josh’s 18th-23rd birthday party. I had a good time there. It’s always nice to see friends I don’t get to see often. I came home and passed out for a few hours before waking early to meet my family for breakfast. Sunday evening I headed to Rolla. I enjoyed more of the company of friends I haven’t seen in awhile. Still behind on sleep, I woke early on Tuesday to that same annoying cell phone alarm and headed back to Albuquerque. The Ozarks were shrouded by fog; it was quite beautiful. It was hard to listen to NPR and stay awake for a 13.5 hour drive. I drove through the Sandias and was welcomed back with a magnificent sunset. I have never felt so glad to be back home after leaving KC. Going to Rolla always seemed bitter sweet, but Albuquerque feels like home.
I have started my penultimate block of mountain bike season training. It’s nice to come off a good result this far into the season. It even motivated me during my core workout tonight. My next race is September 12th in Las Cruces; it will mark the start of the collegiate season. I’m excited to race collegiate this year. The UNM team is going to be great and nationals are in the Sierra Nevadas. Now I just need to transfer teams for Missouri S&T to UNM.
Here's the Overall 6 Hour Solo Podium and Two Guys Who Know How to Put on a Great Race:
One of the Fast Downhills (Thanks to Rob for taking pictures):
No comments:
Post a Comment