6 Hours of Bootleg Canyon

For the 2nd year in a row I decided to head out to Bootleg Canyon for this race. Not being much of an endurance person (I usually consider a 90 minute xc race endurance), a 6 hour solo race is a good test for me. Bootleg Canyon gives you fun and technically challenging trails. The course was completely different from last year. It was about 6.1 miles with about 5.8 of those miles on good singletrack. Last year's course was a little shorter, but also a little tougher technically. Both courses were a lot of fun. I don't have any pictures from this year's race but here is one from last year.


Other than Super D's, this was the first Le Mans start I've been in. We had about 150yd run to the bikes and then we were off. I tried to take it real easy on the run, but I was still one of the first to reach the bikes. About 150yds of riding and we hit the pump track (yes, a pump track was part of this 6 hour race each and every lap). It was fun, but very different 6 laps in while trying to eat a sandwich.

After the first 2 laps I started to plan my race and figure out how many laps I could finish. I was coming in at around 40 minutes each lap. That would work out to 9 laps, but that would be with no breaks and being able to maintain that pace. That wasn't going to happen, so I set my sights on 8 laps. I tried to spend as little time as possible in the pits. Just long enough to change bottles and maybe grab something to eat. I switched bikes partway through just to give my body a little break. As the day went on 8 laps was looking less and less likely. My back had been hurting since lap 2, and on lap 6 my knees started hurting.

I took off on lap 7 and in doing the math it didn't look like I'd make it. I made the decision that I'd enjoy lap 7 as much as I could and then finish. It was getting cold and my knees were really hurting, but I still had as much fun as I could on the downhill section towards the finish. I came through the finish line, stopped my Garmin and started to walk back to the car. Then I noticed the official clock, and saw it was about 10 minutes behind the actual time. That'd give me just enough time to hurry back to the car, put on my light and some warmer clothes and then head out for my 8th lap. Part of me was disappointed as I was looking forward to laying down, but I was mostly excited to get that 8th lap in.

Lap 8 felt better than lap 7. Only trouble was I forgot to restart my Garmin when I started the lap. About 15 minutes into the lap I realized my Garmin wasn't running and I wasn't sure how much time I had left. It wasn't until the last 6-7 minutes where this got me. The last little bit of the lap is uphill and all I could think about was crossing that finish line 1 or 2 minutes after 5:00 and not getting credit for my lap. That little uphill at the end was excrutiating, and on the first few laps it didn't even seem like it was uphill. I pushed on and came through at 4:56.

Props to the promoters for putting on a fun race and for getting the awards done right away. It's very appreciated when there's a 4 hour drive ahead. Plus a cool goodie bag with a t-shirt, beer mug, and sunglasses. And the table with Hammer Gel, Heed, and other snacks at the end of each lap was a great bonus.

Preliminary results are posted and from what I can tell I was 9th out of 29 solo riders in the 6 hour open division. My race is here - http://connect.garmin.com/activity/58225256
Approx 50 miles, 6000' of climbing, 6 hours.

All the race info is here - http://www.sunsetracing.com/events/bootleg-canyon-12

It's a good one to put on your calendar for next year.

Jeff