Rain the past few days and more rain off and on during the race made it muddy and a race of attrition. It seemed the longer the race went on the worse it got, and when the sun came out for a while the mud turned to peanut butter that clogged everything up. Even the SS's were having some troubles today.
Not my bike but an example of mud buildup after one lap. Photo from Tom Lining http://luv2mtb.smugmug.com/gallery/1457010
Count me as one of those with troubles. The first two laps went great but the drivetrain started having problems as it gunked up so I switched bikes and our team member Joel was kept busy cleaning everyone's bikes. Thanks Joel. I kept switching bikes until on my 5th lap the mud got so thick it bent my derailleur hanger. I decided to finish the lap walking so my 40 minute lap turned into 1.5 hours.
Back at the pits I took out my SS but the gearing was too high and I struggled on the hills and even the flats where the mud was. After a few laps I pulled in to change the gearing. Going back out I noticed that I was starting to feel weak, I hadn't been following my nutrition plan with everything else going on. I decided to pack it in after 7.5 hours. At the time I was tied for 2nd with 2 others but I didn't care. Everyone was working for 2nd or below with the amazing and nationally ranked Mark Hendershot also running in our class. I will probably end up finishin 5th or 6th. I'll just look at it as a long hill ride, since it seemed like every pedal stroke was a struggle.
Getting the SS ready to go. Photo from Paint Creek Racing http://www.paintcreekracing.com/addison.htm
I have to commend all those that were able to keep racing, especially Danielle who was still going strong when I left and Jay Jones who was winning the single speed class. My team mate Pete ended up winning his class in the 6 hour.
The trail the next day, one side for the feet, the other for the bike.
On a positive note I finished building the Rush on Thursday night but have only ridden it up and down the street for about 5 minutes. Given the weather forecast it looks like I won't be riding it for a while. I still need to get the seating position dialed in. Sure glad I didn't take it to Addison. I'll post some pictures of it someday. For now here are some pictures of the parts and of the frame. The frame has reflective trim that shows up when the lights hit it.
1 comment:
Sorry about the mechanical Steve. You were riding really strong too.
On one of the laps I was going to see if you had any extra "secret drinks" cooked up but I forgot by the time I got back through the pit area. Darn. I thought about it for the whole lap too :-)
PS. Your new bike is sweet!
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