The race is point to point which is probably how I prefer to ride when possible, I like it more than loops of the same trail over and over. The Mt. Borah Epic is similar in length to this one and I really enjoy that as well. This one is about 30mi and a lot of double track with a bit of singletrack mixed in. None of it is really difficult or technical compared to other stuff, the challenge is pushing hard and going as fast as you can. For me, with rides only about 1x a week this year it was going to just be how fast I can go without cramping up and slowing down.
I decided to head over early enough to pre ride the final parts of the course, that is where there is some singletrack, and also the finish loops all over the place and back on itself so it was nice to know where the actual line was. I ran into Ken, Mike, and Chuck when heading for my preride so I had some company.
After the preride I ended up figuring out where I was going to sleep for the night. I'd come with a tent, a sleeping bag, and that's about it. I figured at worst I'd just go to the national forest and get out somewhere and set up camp or even camp in the truck. I ended up slightly better being in a State Forest campground only about 2.5mi from the Rasho Rd parking lot. It was pretty much shut down for the season, I was one of only 3 people in camp. I set up the tent then went to pick up my packet and check out the expo. I grabbed firewood from a local place on the way back to camp.
Sleeping outside was great - I usually sleep pretty well when I camp. The fresh air helps, and the fact that it was pitch black by about 7-8pm meant I went to bed earlier than normal. It was cool, about 25-30 overnight but with my gear I was fine.
In the morning, I got up, went to the parking lot, geared up (in the warm truck), and then got on the shuttle to Kaskala. It was a short wait for the shuttle then a 45min or so ride. It worked out well to go this way as the truck now was at the finish so whenever I was done I could leave reasonably quickly (plan was to get home to GB that evening).
I was in wave 31, as you can imaine, starting with 30 waves of 150? riders ahead of you, many of which have done the race before means there were a lot of people to pass. I am not crazy fast but I definitely don't anticipate being in wave 31 for my start next year as the people who were year 2 and beyond that were in my wave were not people I ever saw after the start. I don't know how these people ride with all this gear on - jackets, hoodies, etc. I was pretty hot in just an under armor and jersey over it.
The course was very fun actually, double track for most with rolling hills. Not incredibly wide in most parts so while there were two tracks there was typically a "good" line and a "bad" one that was less traveled and usually covered in leaves. I'd get into those when it was time for a pass but there were times where there were stuff in the "bad" line that I'd choose to wait a bit before passing. I found that I was must faster down the hills than most people and that more often than not people were walking up all of the hills where I was able to ride them all minus one. The hill I didn't ride was due to a wall of 4-5 people wide walking up the hill so there was no way to keep riding it. I instantly cramped up when I got off the bike so it was excruciating to not be pedaling. This is typical and I just know that if I want to get rid of the cramps I need to be back on the bike and running a higher cadence than typical to get ride of them. That worked and I was back in business.
I ran my 1x10 setup with a 11-36 rear and 32t in the front. I felt like that gearing was good for where I was at but a few of the tough climbs I wanted a shorter gear. That's typically where I feel I am with the 11-36 in the back. Short rides I just muscle up the tough stuff but as rides get longer pushing that taller 32-36 granny gear wears my legs down more than I'd like. I will probably want/need to do something different before any longer stuff with big climbs.
I finished the race in a time under my goal of 3hrs, I was at 2:37. Lots of room to get faster but I was very happy with where I was at in the end given my training.
At the finish I felt great - bike worked amazingly well and while I was pretty spent I felt OK. I needed some cookies and I then headed back to the truck to get moving along towards home.
On my way home I stopped in Petoskey at Beards Brewery. An old rally buddy and his friend started a brewery a few years ago and I'd never checked it out. It was great, awesome brews, really good to catch up with Ben. I really recommend that anybody in the area heads over there.
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