the third and final 2008 Snake Creek time trial was this past Saturday. the weather was amazing and the trail was nearly perfect. some wet spots and deep water crossings, but probably the best condition of the three events. i felt a little unprepared going in but i was relaxed and looking forward to it. we get there and as usual we are the stragglers. we load up our bikes on the trailers and jump in shuttles for the start line. for some reason the trailer with my bike doesn't show up until most of the riders had already started. i had hoped that i would get an early start so i wouldn't be spending excess energy making passes. while i waited for my bike i talked with last year's winner and find out that even though he wasn’t registered for the 17 miler, he was sent to be the spoiler – to “knock me down” - by an APB rider no less... it was cool and friendly and i was actually thinking that if i could get him to start right before me he could be a good rabbit to chase.
i finally get my bike and spin around the parking lot for a quick ~warm-up. i decide to go ahead and shed the leg and arm warmers and before completing the first climb i knew i had made a wise decision for once. i start my ride at 10:59AM and there isn't a whole lot to tell. i rode hard and hoped for the best. i felt pretty good and made it to the long gravel road climb before my only split marker - no Les Savy Fav yet! this made me really excited and i started to push harder. i made it over the climb and back into the second half of the course just as the song came on so i knew i was probably around 3 minutes ahead of my January pace. i was sloppy in parts, slow in parts and fast in other parts. i had no falls this time and a handful less dabs. i did suffer through the couple usual hike-a-bikes and the long one took a lot out of me. in the previous events i pretty much forgot about water and nutrition. this time i had decided to try to remember to take down a gel during the ~100' hike. that may have been the toughest moment... being completely anaerobic while dragging a bike one handed up the climb and digging for a gel with the other and then trying to get it down and drink water all without stopping. i nearly gagged, but i think it helped in those last brutal miles where fatigue won't allow you to concentrate on finding a line. i had one close call that was a lot of fun... i was pretty much screaming on a downhill and there was a quick left that i missed. i ended up off the trail and endoing through briars and dips just between trees. i somehow stayed upright and clipped in and eventually made it back up to the trail and later got my heart rate down after letting out a 'HOLY CRAP!!' or something.
it was the same bumpy (gross understatement) trail and i was feeling the same fatigue but having a really good time. i realize that it's almost over and i'm approaching the last ridge and eventually the towers (if you've ever been on this trail you know how important 'the towers' are). i come across some spectators hiking up the trail and they give me some words of encouragement. i think they said something to the effect of "looking good! only 200 more yards and then it's all downhill!" no more than 20 yards later and i thought i was going to bonk. for some reason those last '200 yards' were really tough and felt like 2 miles. i reach the towers and hammer down to the finish line and this time there are 10 songs left on the playlist. SWEET!!! i was happy to have improved my time from January and after the mechanicals i had in Arizona, i was super relieved that my bike performed like a champ. funny thing though, both of my tires were completely flat by Sunday morning. i somehow got a slow leak in both of my tires but no flats on the trail. that is some good luck!
so... i guess i closed the series with the proverbial 'hat trick' and first overall for 17 miles. the after party was great. we enjoyed some 'sports beverages' and lots of free food. the supergroup, A Fine Mess (i think?), dad-rocked our faces off with covers of everything from Billy Idol to Puddle Of Stained. joking... but seriously, i hope to have some pictures just so you can see these guys. there was also a father/son trials duo in the lot giving a really cool demo.
unfortunately our brofessional FasterMustache crew suffered an upset in the end. we went into the finale with seven of the top eight times between the four of us. we were shooting for finishing with first through fourth overall in the end. there was a 34 second spoiler that showed up and knocked our number three guy off the podium. he only rode the March event and finished with third overall but i guess that's the way it goes at Snake Creek.
Here are the Overall Results.
i felt pretty good once we got back to Atlanta. we decided to ride to get some celebratory Mexican food and then possibly find something to get into. i ended up riding to a couple parties and then to see some friends in the Highlands. i think the combination of being up and riding the fixie around town until 3AM finished me off and left me with some blasted legs yesterday.
1 comment:
congratulations!
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