Grind on the Green

I love racing!!! For some reason I will go through all kinds of obstacles to make it to a race. Then there is the nervous feeling at the beginning, just wondering if you are ready. Are my tires good? Did I eat right? Is this the right gear? How is my body going to react to the first race in 5 months? Then they say “GO” and it is on. The pain, suffering, regret, and reward.
I had spoken to Toby P. the weekend before and he said the winner last year was running a 52” gear. So I pre-rode the course on Thursday to check out the 52” gear and after two laps I knew I could not push it for 6 hours. Apparently I am a wuss, but how much of a wuss am I? I could not decide whether to run a 50.5”(33x17) or a 47.7”(33x18). Since I have not been on the SS for more than a month, I had no idea how much the percentages would affect me. I settled on the 50.5 in hopes that I would not get dropped too early in the beginning.
The first lap started with a mass start at the bottom of a soggy, grassy hill that we had to climb every lap to the start / finish. Nothing is worse than riding through an area that has not been packed down. We headed down some fire road that bottle necked into single track. Like every other timed multi-lap race I have participated in, the first lap sucks! There were people in front of me just cruising along like it was a Sunday recovery ride. The trail was mostly tight single track, so passing was difficult, especially if the person holding up the group was 5 people in front of you. After the first lap I felt pretty good… I was on the edge of pain, just had not stepped over it yet. At this point I did not see any of the fellas that were there. I believed that Toby P., Dennis K., Broussard, and Eric were in front of me. That is a good assumption due to that fact that most of the time they are. I was guessing that Dennis M. was behind me, but I did not know for sure.
The second lap was probably the best. The early single track was open and fast. The second part of the trail, which was tight, rooty, sometimes sloppy, singletrack was a lot faster when I could plan the climbs and rail the downhills. About half way into the lap I passed Toby P. He was definitely regretting the 52” gear. We chatted a while. I kept at my pace and the next thing you know, he wasn’t behind me any more.
The third lap was beginning to get uncomfortable. I was still riding mostly everything out there and having a good time. Almost halfway into the lap I see Dennis K. up ahead. I am starting to think that I am either having a really good day, or everyone else is just hung over. Chatted up with Dennis for a while and kept on moving.
The forth lap is where the pain really started. My gut started to get that feeling that it was not digesting any energy, and I may just crap myself at any moment. Then the cramps started. I walked most of the sloppy stuff and even the mushy hill at the bottom of the Start/Finish. When I finished that lap I noticed that Dennis M. was at the RV cleaning his drive train. The mud had taken its toll on his bike and he was making some repairs. He had finished 3 laps and looked to be suffering pretty good. It was almost 3PM when I finished that lap. I knew that I would have to put in two 45 minute laps to make the 7th lap. Chances are that I was not going to be able to do that, but 2 more laps would be required.
Lap 5 was as bad as the 4th. Somewhere along the back half of this lap Dennis Kuntz passed me. I cussed him and he just kept motoring on. I passed him back in the pit area while he was taking a break, I just kept on rolling. Dennis M. was hanging at the RV with street clothes on. His day must have ended after lap 3. I figured any day now Toby would be passing me too.
Lap 6 was pretty good. My stomach pains and cramping had gone away. I was now riding most everything again. Then, Dennis K. passes me for the 2nd time. He was moving pretty good too. There was no way I could have caught him. Finished up the lap and not make the cut off. I knew that I wouldn’t, and not sure that if I did that I would have gone out again.
I think that I finished 8th out of 14 single speeders with 6 laps in 5.75 hours. I had hoped for a better placing, but the mileage is about what I expected. Looking at last years results; the same finish would have landed a 3rd place finish.
Congrats to the guys that placed:
Broussard 2nd in 30-35.
Eric 2nd in 45-50.
I think Dennis K got 5th in 30-35.

The 69SS was a lot of fun to ride. The simplicity served me well in the mud, but some suspension would have been nice on that trail.
All in all it was a good day. I got in a great training ride before PMBAR and met up with some good people.