Posted to Team Wrong Way email list on Sun, 26 Jul 1998

Well, some point a few weeks ago I must have lost my sanity because I entered a 12 hour relay race. I guess it wouldn't have been so bad if I formed a team, but I choose to do this event solo. That means I would ride continuously from 10am to 10pm on Saturday and see if I could go farther than all the other nut cases who entered the solo category.

The course was a 9 mile loop. Mostly fire road, much of it hard packed but some was pretty loose. A couple of stretches where they had us go across an area that wasn't previously a trail - these areas were invariably very bumpy. There was also a 3/4 mile stretch of very rocky, technical single track. One fire road climb (perhaps a half mile) was a definite strain - lowest gear stuff when your legs are fresh, pure agony after a bunch of laps. Totaled 1140' of altitude gain per lap. Not much shade, and the temps were supposed to be in the low 90s, so it would be a hot one.

The race started pretty mellow. 9 solo riders and 8 teams were out there. I hadn't prerode the course, so I took it easy on lap one so that I could get a feel for where we could go fast and where you had to be careful. Kicked it in some more for lap two. At the end of lap 3, I was in second (about 10 minutes back) behind a guy on a cyclocross bike. The guy in third was with me when we completed the lap (actually had passed me for a while). We both hit the pit stop on this lap and I must have got out before him because I never saw him again.

On the pit stops - many thanks to my friend James Sanchez and his team. They helped me out a lot by giving me a hand at the pit stops. I had set myself up with bottles of Gatorade and Cytomax, two 70 oz CamelBak bladders, a box full of power foods, etc. The liquids were stored on ice in a cooler. Even with this preparation, having the support was key.

Laps 4 through about 7 were in the heat of the day. Pretty uneventful, besides the fact that I could only get 2 laps in before draining the CamelBak. I wasn't paying attention to what position I was in - I wanted to make it through 6 hours first to make sure I'd make it before I started worrying about where I stood.

About lap 8, I checked to see where I stood and I was still in second. Now about 15-20 minutes back on Mr. Cyclocross. I still have a chance, but its slim. The guy would have to have problems for me to catch him. But on this long a race, holding yourself and your bike together is not a given.

Now I have to start strategizing. Any lap started after 7:30 pm requires that you carry lights. I really didn't want to start carrying the weight of a lighting system until the absolute last minute necessary. I did a pitstop after lap 9 at about 6:15. My goal now was to complete another lap before the 7:30 cutoff, which would allow me to do one more before having to load up. I pushed it a bit and held to an hour lap, so got the lap without my lighting system.

Second piece of strategy was to make sure that if I can't get first, I at least get second. After lap 9, I checked and was still a bit under 20 minutes back on Mr. Cyclocross, but was told I am at least a lap up on the guy in third. Well, that gives me room to spare.

On lap 11 (the last lap before putting lights on), I pinch flatted coming down a steep hill. Bummer. Pulled the tire off, replaced the tube, and blew it up with a CO2 cartridge. I bent the screw in part of the valve stem while doing this, and because the CO2 makes everything very cold, I was afraid to try to fix it for fear that it would break. It was a little low on pressure, but seemed to be holding. I decided to finish the lap and try to fix it back in the pits. I was worried about it, but I did make it.

Once I got back, I checked in to see the status of the other riders. There is now a little over an hour and a half to go. Cross-dude was still out front somewhere on his 12th lap and I've given up thinking about trying to catch him. Third place had just completed his 9th lap and hadn't started 10 yet. I've completed 11, so have 2nd even if I don't ride any more. But I've now ridden 99 miles, and really want to exceed 100 miles (never done 100 miles of dirt riding in a day), so I load up the lights and go for my victory lap.

I took it easy on the lap and enjoyed the view. Saw a coyote, pack of wild pigs, and a whole pile of frogs and toads on the lap. Before that, all I saw of note was a lizard, so this was definitely a good lap for animal spotting. I got to the steep hill and allowed myself to walk up it. Finished the lap at about 9:30 and called it quits.

I could have gone for another lap if needed, but didn't want to. The legs, knees, back, etc. were all hurting, but not dead. But if I did that one last lap, I still would have finished 15 minutes back on Mr. Cyclocross.

I talked with Mr. Cyclocross after the race. Felt good to hear him say that I was making him push and he was afraid I'd get him. He races for Steelman. Turns out he is one of the top Veteran class cyclocross riders in the States. Doesn't feel too bad to lose to a pro. My friend's team also said that he had excellent support. His crew would run out to him and give him everything he needed. He even had a spare bike already set up with lights.

Besides perseverence, what did it take to complete this? During the race, I ate or drank:
20+ Gu packets
2 flasks (10 servings) of Hammer Gel
2-3 Clif Shots
1 Clif Bar
1 banana
1 Power Bar
~350 oz. of water
4 1/2 small water bottles of Gatorade
1 small waterbottle of Cytomax
1 can of Pepsi
3 Thermotabs (salt tablets)
2 ibuprofins
1 Aleve

I think that totals about 4 gallons of fluids and 5000 calories, and that doesn't include include the pile of food I ate before the race and the bagel, sandwich, and two Taco Bell 7 layer burritos I had after.