The Tahoe Sierra 100 (I wish it was 100, I will get to that) was Saturday out of Soda Springs. The 3rd stop on the Leave No Trace Series. Going into the race I was second behind Tinker with Mike Harrison from Breakaway Bicycles 12.5 miles back (1 lap at Cool). I went into the race wanting to top Mike, but the reality was , since the race was based on miles, I only needed to finish to keep my second place...BUT why just show up to one of these things "to finish?!"
Mike and I hung out Friday night before I met up with Linda and Lou at their place in Soda Springs. So nice staying 5 minutes from the start! However, I maybe slept 4 hours at best. I have had a crazy time sleeping lately, and the race didn't help anything.
We started at 7a.m. sharp with a blazing decent down Soda Springs Road (rough dirt road) toward the days first climb - Lyons Ridge Road (4x4 access road). The trip down was better than I thought, I expected the single speeds to get blown out the back but tucking in behind people and taking some risks kept me in good position to the first "up" of the day. I started grinding away and QUICKLY realized I felt terrible. I usually do early on, but knowing Mike, Jared and Zol were fast starters I wanted to keep it close early.
Jared and Mike were gone, and Zol was pretty close in front of me, but I felt like I was going backward. I slowed even more to try and get my heart rate down, but I was starting to get nervous for my race. Been there before, so I kept slogging away. Linda cruises by with ease, I eventually catch back up to her after the summit and pass by hoping we could help each other out through the day...unfortunately I didn't see her again.
Lyons Ridge done, the decent to French Meadows was spooky!! The dust was so thick you seriously could barely make out the trail and the rider in front of you. If you have ever ridden at night with a head lamp in thick fog.....this is what it felt like. Bizarre and nerve racking!
Bottom out and we eventually hit the next climb out of French Meadows, another 1800 to 2000 feet to climb....Now my legs are feeling better. The climb is not as steep and its a fire road so you can choose your lines carefully to avoid slipping.... Passed a few people, one single speed makes his way past me.....he's spinning a small gear....no worries its early.
Hit Mary Allen's aid station at the top, ride through and begin the grind up a long piece of "single track" called RedStar Ridge.... I was riding with two bottles and my Deuter (camel back) so I was fully self-supported. I had an identical pack already loaded waiting at mile 52 w/ Marja and Pete at their Aid Station. Running self-sufficient would prove wise later on.
Redstar, wow, really powdery - wait its the Sierra in mid-September, duh!?! Its challenging, and hey its single track...then we hit the brush from hell. The trail is:
- Chewed to hell by motorcycle traffic
- runs through previous fire ravaged terrain, i.e. more powder
- its steep and its rocky
- disappears through thick brush
Not whining, just pointing out the obvious...a ways into it I remount and start cranking away when the powder gets deep....there I am turtled about 10 feet below the trail, still clipped in, now covered in powder... at least I was able to make people laugh!!
There are several hike-a-bike sections for everyone, not just the SSers....then comes the descent in the powder. I really had fun, it was dicey and you really had to pay attention to the ruts in the powder, but what a blast....
Here we are at mile 30, Madcat has an aid station at 37, I remember thinking we'll be there soon! Seeing that the first 30 flew by, the next 7 took an eternity! We had 1.5 miles on the road, a good chance to eat. A wee unnerving with my Deuter hanging in front of me, digging through the pack with both hands at about 40 mph heading down the pavement...fig newton in hand, now I can put the hands on the bars just as we hit dirt again....
The dirt rolls along for about 3/4 of a mile, then a 90 degree turn to the right and up we go. Up in a hurry. Although not brutally steep, the 4 inch deep powder with what seemed like marbles in it made it impossible for me to grind up....I caught myself getting irritated, and hopped off and began the death march....100 feet, hop back on and ride for a several hundred, then the next switchback....hike.... I got rid of the negative thoughts and realized everyone was doing the same, and those riding were going the same overall pace I was.
Problem was.....I was HURTING...legs were on fire, lungs felt fine.... I was having the mental battle like it was 3 a.m. in a 24 hr race. I accepted that I was losing big time on everyone I wanted beat. I hoped my legs would rally, that I would rally.
FINALLY, Madcat aid station at mile 37...I ride by and notice there are about 15 people there and most look destroyed. All the people I climbed to the aid station with are off their bikes, i.e. losing time :)
It was the first ugly part of the race, a well maintained fire road that was barely an incline, i.e. spinout in my 34x19 for a few miles then it kicked a bit, then it kicked me in the face, on two occasions - I was hike-a-biking again!
Finally the left hand turn at mile 42 that meant what I hoped was a descent to Pete and Marja at their aid station at 52. With only a few little rises the next several miles were a riot just bombing down the single track....I use that term loosely here, lets just say it wasn't a road, it wasn't double track...it was what one could call a line through the trees and the rocks...
We plopped out on s nice fire road and climbed up to 52. This 2+ mile climb felt good, FINALLY!!!
Pete and Marja's aid station - Marja had my burrito (turkey, rice, cheese and salsa) along with a Fresca! MONEY!! I joked with Sharon as I devoured my food...off I went. Marja told me Mike was already on the loop (we looped back to the aid station after a 7 mile stretch of single track). This meant about 40 to 45 minutes Mike had on me.
The loop was gorgeous, fun single track. The views were amazing, at one point a 2000 foot wall of granite across the canyon. Incredible!
I leave the aid station after a diet coke and start grinding back up toward Madcat, this time covering the elevation in a "more direct fashion"...ouch!
Two SSers pass me. Whoa, just relax and keep ticking away.
Madcat aid station, one of the SSers is blown to pieces on the ground with his helmet off. The other on a trek 29er is out of the aid station already. Damn!
As I pass I notice about 10 to 15 people in that aid station, again I am so happy I was self-sufficient! Although I am hurting, I am able to keep better focus and grind away at the climbs in what seems a more deliberate pace.
Fast forward to Robinson Flat Aid Station...
25 miles to go, I grab a regular coke and pull out more fig newtons as I roll on by.... I am alone on the course now, alone since the Madcat aid station. At Robinson we had over 3000' left to climb, its a long "rolling" slog toward Mary Allen's aid station that's 15 miles out. Along the way I realize I am grinding away at a good clip. I starts pouring rain for several minutes, very refreshing and knocks what dust in left in the air down.
15 miles to go, still alone. Mary reminds me of the tricky decent ahead, gives me a cherry coke as I ride through.
Second rise on the descent to the final climb back up to Soda Springs....there's the Trek 29er, walking on what seems to be a rideable climb.
The next rise I catch him, he is walking and I am riding.
"You've been kicking my a$$ all afternoon, get on that bike lets go!!" In retrospect I should have hit him hard and made him work mentally and physically. Sometimes it doesn't pay off to be a nice guy. But what can I say...
"You're an animal, I'll try"
We talk for a while as we ride along. Its mellow terrain now, the ups are not so tough and the descents are FAST. We hit the bridge that marks the 7 mile to go point and the bottom of the last 2000' of vertical...
He kept asking about aid stations and if any were left, I told him NO and offered a bottle of water. He said he didn't need it and offered me half of a Red Bull....I declined. The road kicks and I begin to pull away. I am hoping his Red Bull kills his gut but he dangles at about 10meters behind me. Several minutes pass, then he is next to me....then he opens his can of WHOOP-A$$...it was the slow release kind, the ones that slowly choke you to death instead of slapping you in the face, hard....
I passed probably 6 more people on the climb to the finish. Once there I see Mike and Jared sitting at the finish. Jared won it. He was only 5 minutes ahead of Mike, Mike was 6 ahead of the "whoop-a$$-kid" and I was 4 in the rears of him. After being as much as 45 minutes down on Mike I got within 10 freaking minutes....
My Garmin read 89.2 miles....if the race was 100 I feel I would have caught Mike and maybe Jared! I would hope Whoop-a$$-kid too but who knows. In the end it seems I was riding myself back into contention.
Moral of the story, I hate to do it, but I need to quote someone here. It seems I wasn't really having that bad of a day after all....
"...it never gets any easier, you only go faster..." Greg Lemond
Until that final climb I would have told you I was having a horrible day, but the fact that the top 4 SSers all finished w/in 15 minutes of each other after roughly 10 hours says something. I am very satisfied with my finish, now if I could get a "start" worth talking about, damn!
Race Stats:
- 10:08:12
- 89.2 miles
- 12,480 feet of climbing
- 4th place Pro/Expert Single Speed
Like I always tell Cameron and Annika, "Don't give up! Don't EVER give up!!"
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