July 29, 2012

  • 2012 Laramie Enduro

     

    2012 and it’s time for another Laramie Enduro.   The year of training has gone well and the day is almost here.  I figure I will do the Car Camping thing one more time as I don’t really want to spring for a hotel or drive up from Fort Collins. 

    So, I  take ½ day off from work and pack and drive up to Laramie to get may race packet.  The drive up was nice except for the wall of rain that I hit on the way up.  I was really glad that I decide to put the bike in side truck instead of the rack this time.   In any case I arrive at the cam[ ground and grab a spot under a tree.

    I want to get the bike ready for the A.M so I pump up the tires,  clean and lube the chain, stick the number on the bike, add the Garmin and Polar watches and I think I am good to go.   The only issue is that the "Stratos XC pro" shock is having issues and it doesn’t compress smoothly.  sad There is this horrible grinding feeling/sound when it compresses but there is nothing I can do about it except put in some air and hope that it holds up for the race.

    Time for sleep and life is much better than last year.   This year  I’ve got an air mattress and made sure to park on more level ground.    I must say that this is almost comfortable!  clueless Seems like I woke up in the middle of the night for some reason,  maybe the howling winds.   Before I knew it, it’s time to ready to race.  With the bike already to go,  all I need now is to get some fuel into myself.   There were some tasty smells coming from some of the other campers, but I had to settle for a leftover Subway Sub, some Pop Tarts, a few crackers and some ice tea.    I also figured I should do some Endurolytes and some vitamins (mufti, B, Calcium) so as to help with any potential cramping.  Ok, I think that should do it and I am off to races…

    I get down to the start and there is a wall of people standing around.stunned   I have never seen so many folks at this race before!  They were staged all the way back to the parking area.   On my way through the crowds I see some folks that I know,   Jo, Barb,  Yann etc.  There are a few folks that recognize me from the previous year and they are all friendly.   I  make my way to the sign-in page where  a  nice woman racer compliments me on my hair.   I used to remember when it was my bike!  Now that I am registered it’s time to wait for my start time.

    This year, they are starting folks in smaller waves, which is a good thing since there are a ton of folks here.   I am in the Pink Wave with all the 40 and 50+  male sport racers.  I think the announcer said that this was the largest class or some such.

    Finally I am staged and time to start the computers.   To my horror the Gamin drained it’s battery overnight, so now I won’t have any GPS data or speedo!   I am bummed at this point, cause I really wanted this data to upload to Strava. bummed Oh well, at least I have the Polar HR monitor and I can use that to gauge my efforts, which is better than nothing.

    Bang and we are off and running.  I am pretty far back in the wave cause I didn’t want to get caught up in the melee of folks going really hard up that 1st climb.    I am working with the HR in the 160’s which is fine at this point and not too hard.  I can see a wave of folks in front of me and I am thinking that there are a ton of folks in the class.

    Finally in to the single track and I must say that the Y bike is working well with the new fork.  I had thoughts of switching the bike from 90 .. 130mm but the bike seems to work so well at 130 that I just left it there.    There is a line of folks and the pace is still pretty easy, which is what I wanted to warm-up with.  There are a few riders struggling early on and I can hear they are breathing way to hard for an 70+ mile race.   I had to go around this one guy who was descending like a 95 year old man since he was letting daylight open up where I would be making up ground and certainly not loosing it!

    Soon we open up onto some of the double track/road and I can see the masses in the distance just a ramming and a thumpin.   My legs are starting to warm-up and I must resist the urge to go fast by pushing larger gears.    It takes some discipline to let folks pass me but it’s too early to be racing anyone and an easy trap to fall into.....   So far so good and my right leg seems a bit stiff but nothing to worry about.

    Now we are into the fast descending stuff where it was loose and my bike didn’t like it at all last year and was knifing all over the place.   This year was different!   I don’t know if it was the new fork or front tire choice, but the bike was handling the loose stuff quite well!  happy I was so happy to be able to descent with some confidence in those spots.   The real test came in a mile on “Break Neck” hill which was steep and loose.   The Y bike had no problem with this year and I could have gone faster if I would have known the bike was going to be handing this well!   I was surprised to see Mike, one of my group ride friends volunteering here and I believe he gave me and HP a shout out as I came by.

    Miles and miles seem to pass and I am not really passing many riders, but then again, not many riders are passing me.   In any case I am looking forward to some climbing as I think that’s where there is ground to be made up.   As the climbs do come, the early ones are crowded and I choose to walk one where everyone is stacked up.  There are some riders that are impatient trying to ride past as if they have special privilege because they are riding, and maybe they would have if it wasn’t so packed up.

    There is some sweet single track into the woods and the bike is working well.   I choose to lock out the fork for much of this and it makes a big difference.   I am also pleased with my choice of sunglasses, since they are photo sensitive, they allow for good light in the darker wooded sections.

    Lots of ups and downs and then onto this dirt road with a headwind.  Ouch!   I need to find some shelter and there are groups ahead of me and I wished I could be up there, but I don’t want to waste the energy.   I could go faster at this point but I fear cramping and so I just keep an eye on my HR and try to spin.   I find some riders that made for some good shelter and as faster, but not too faster riders would pass I would grab heir wheel.   I sat on this one guy for a long time and I don’t think he liked me back there and after a while just sharply pulled to the left and I was forced to do some  work.   I would have been happy to work with him, but I don’t think he knew how to draft.

    I must say that I am feeling pretty good and am having a pretty good time on the bike.  I was looking forward to this rooty  East Coast sections where I would loose so much time due to the fork not being up to the task.  This year I knew things would be better  and indeed they were.  I was able to ride it like I wanted to!      I  was on this section  that  some riders caught me and I used them to try and pull myself along, figuring that if they could do it I could do it.   I knew I could go much faster but there is a balance of Speed and Endurance that I need to balance, which is hard to do if one doesn’t race enough to figure that out.

    So I have been trying to do some gels at least once per hour and I think I am doing well keeping in some hydration.    I could tell that I was running low on fuel as my HR would drop and I needed to keep in some fuel if was going to keep the pace.    So far so good and not an inkling or cramping which means that I have trained well and am well hydrated, or that maybe I am not going hard enough.   

    With the race ½ over I think I am riding well.  I am skipping every other aid station and carrying a full camebak so as to have able liquid.   That strategy seemed to work well as I needed a full refill each time.   I could never do any of these events on just a water-bottle but it seems to work for a lot of folks.

    I get a chance to rip some sweet single track where last years bike was beating me up, this years was running really well and I was feeling so less beat-up.    I see some folks along the sides of the course resting as they are cramping or just gone out too hard.   Seems like I am getting to aid stations much faster than in previous years.  

    I am really enjoying the food at the aid stations where the potatoes, watermelons along with some gels are just the ticket.   I must say that the Hammer products are pretty good as I was using them after my Cytomax was long gone and I was still feeling good.   I may have to buy some of this stuff to try on the shorter rides that I do and see how that works out.

    With so many people in this race there’s no way to know what place one is in.   In the old days I would always try and run with the leaders, but those races were shorter and I had aspirations which are not the same…. But I digress,

    I reach the 2nd to last Aid Station and I am looking and feeling pretty good.  I know there is still a bunch of climbing to do but at this point, life is pretty good.  I get some fuel but I don’t hang out too long.  I think there are good chances that I can make my goal so I press on.  That next dirt road  with that up and down climb is long and I can’t wait to get into the single track.  My butt is starting to hurt and I am happy to stand up when ever I get a chance.   

    I am so happy to be into the single trak where I catch and pass a few riders whose legs no-longer have the strength to pedal over some of the rocks.   My legs are still pretty good and I think I could use some more fuel, but I am getting a bit sick or gels by now.     I still force them down as needed but I would rather have some real food….  There are some pretty serious little climbs on the way to that last station and I am doing OK on them.  There is only one that I have to walk and my calves are almost on fire doing so.   There are quite a few riders with me walking, but all but one of them stop and rest at the summit.    Several stopped riders, cheered me on as I cleaned some sections that they walked, which was nice to hear!cool

    There is some guy ahead of me moving pretty well, and I am using him as a carrot.   He does get away from me after a time as I refuse to push too hard and cramp.  Maybe I fear this cramping thing too much, but I’d rather not have to deal with it now.    Last climb of this section seems really long; I kept a good rhythm and caught a few riders so all is good….  At the summit a course volunteer says one more mile to the Aid Station.

    OK, final stop and I must say that everyone at all of the stations was so nice and helpful.    Of any of the races I have ever done, this is hands down the best supported of all of them.    They even had Coke at this one, but I didn’t have any.    I downed a few potatoes and some gels and it’s  off and running.   

    Last push of the day and  that rocky climb is really nasty and I choose to walk a section or two rather than get sloppy and crash.  Maybe if I had a 29’r I might have rolled this but,  “If wishes were horses…then beggars would ride”.   That final rooty section through the woods seemed rough, but  I had dialed up the compression during the ride from using the lockout on/off.    In any case it was so much better than the old fork.    There was a woman in front of me on 29’r and she was flying though the woods.    I was watching how her bike ran over the rocks and I can see why there are so many 29’rs out there racing today… they are just plain-old-fast.

    At last I can see the finish road and we are almost there.   I am happy that the rear shock held up and that I didn’t have any mechanicals…  I check my time on the way down and I see that I am going to beat my goal, of only by a little bit.  On that screaming downhill some guy passed and for some reason it seemed important not to loose that  spot,  So I  spooled up the FLT drive and blew by him before the finish!  Yes!  (Later he found me and was impressed by my finish)  

    A good time was had by all.  My time was 7:27:33 which was faster than my goad of 7:30 which was ½ faster than last year at 7”58:XX.  Yes.happy Results can be found here.