No Vision, but lots of Quest...

Six months ago the thought of racing one of most difficult and prestigious endurance races in SoCal sounded like a good idea. Of course the plan was to do lots of training beforehand, but living in the mountains derailed most of that. I counted and this was my 10th ride on a bike since January, and 3 of those were SS races!

So I guess you can say I had a lack of Vision but I definitely had a Quest.

Having done this race a few years ago, I knew what I was in for; long painful fireroad climbs, tire popping descents, and a long, rocky hike-a-bike at the end.

New Ride

What I didn't anticipate was building and riding a brand new bike just days before. My new Ellsworth Enlightenment rolled in, and thanks to a few friends in high places, I was able to get all the parts I needed to build it up. I only manged to get one ride on it to make sure it shifted right and I figured I was good go.

This was definitely one of the fanciest and lightest bikes I've ever ridden! You gotta check them out.

The race

In short, the pros (Manny, Tinker, Doug...) the took off faster than you can imagine. I managed to hang off the back for the first 1.5 hrs and then popped like a pool floatie left out in the sun. After that I realized I needed to chill out to finish.

Shortly afterwards I ran in Gerry Cody and Ben Bostrom on the first nasty decent. I stopped and gave Gerry my air tool and then asked Ben if he needed help. He crashed bad and was pretty bloody. He said he was ok and was going to stop at the aid station below. As luck would have it, with no air tools, I semi-flatted at bottom and road most of the next climb on a low rear.

The rest of the race was fairly uneventful, just slow - for me anyway. The biggest bummer was flatting on the last descent to the finish. Everyone that I had caught and passed, passed me back again. Everyone had also already given up their air, but thanks to Chris from the Don's team who stopped and threw me one of his last CO2s.

It's not over until you crash...

The last crazy thing that happened was when I approached the finish line, I kind of got off the trail a little and they were waving me in. When I cross this ditch full of leaves, my front wheel disappeared and endoed at about 20 mph. Everyone saw. Nice!

I think I finished in about 6hrs 30min, which I thought was pretty good considering everything that happened.

The Bike

As for the bike, it was totally awesome. It was definitely the lightest bike I've ever ridden (right around 22lbs)! Since it was my first ride on it, I definitely took it easy, but everything worked perfect. The frame was strong and absorbed everything I threw at it. The only issue I had was that my front derailleur locked itself into the small ring about half way through the race and since SRAM uses torx bolts and my toolset only had allen keys, I ended up single ringing it for most of the race. No biggy, I ride SS most of the time anyways.

Lessons Learned

1. There's no training like actually riding your bike.

2. Heavier tires are always the way to go for endurance races.

3. Don't assemble and ride your bike the day before a giant race.

4. You will never be as good as your bike is!

Lastly, I gotta give a shout out to Adam Hart. I bumped into him on the trail the week before the race, and he gave me a little inspiration to get out there and get it done. And plus, he and his wife even drove our sorry asses out to the race 3:00 AM! Thanks bud.

AL

12hrs of Rim Nordic: Race Report

Thanks to Jason and the Ranoa clan, this race turned out being one of the most exciting and unique endurance races so far for the Socal 12 Hour Endurance series. This "first ever" 12hrs of Rim Nordic event had something for everyone.

Event

• Over 450 riders
  
• Live music Friday night
  
• Free T-shirt with sign up


• Awesome raffle and prizes at the end


• Cash giveaways (fastest lap, hardest effort or just saying "hi" to Jason on the course. How cool is that!)

Course

• ~1356 ft of climbing per lap
  
• ~8.6 miles per lap (on my GPS)
  
• 2.7 miles of granny gear climbing
  
• silty, switch-back climbs


• rutted switch-back descents


• fast fireroad descents


• flowing single track
  
• rock-hop sections


• daytime temperatures 65-70
  
• base elevation 6775ft

Race Report

I was racing solo, so I didn't have a whole lot of time to chat, but everyone on the team seemed to survive just fine. Congrats to the 4 person team for improving their race from the last one from 14th to 4th! Great work.

As for solos, we really started off at a blistering pace and I knew that wasn't going to last long. I had a small flat on lap 1, but fixed it quickly. After that, I just tried to settle in and maintain a fast, but steady pace. I spent the rest of the race jockeying back and forth with different riders for 1st place, and on the last lap I gave it my all to catch the leader, but just couldn't close the gap. Thanks for all of the cheers and support out there!

In th end, here's how the three teams finished:

2nd - Men's Pro Solo (AL)
4th - 3 Person Open (Cy, Chris, Gerry)
4th - 4 Person Open (Russell, Margaret, Jeff, Colin)

Lastly, the whole team sends out a "get well soon" message to Adam Hart who had to pull out early after seriously gashing his knee on a rock. Next time Adam!

So this was a new course for everyone, and as challenging as it was, I think everyone will context that it was a great event. Personally, I thought it was really awesome to race up in the mountains at a new venue, so hats off to Jason for making this a first, and hopefully not the last!

See you guys at the next Socal Endurance Series event: Fat Tire Epic 50, Oct 03!

Don's Team

Preparing for Endurance Races: 15 things to think about...

There are lots of things to think about before every endurance event, but here's a quick checklist to help you get prepared before the event, and stay prepared during the event.

1. Plan Early
   Start preparing early in the week, or better yet, the week before.
   
2. Strategy
   Decide on a race strategy long before the race. There are many options and the one you choose should match your training regimen, racing experience and overall goals:

   1. All out. Ride hard from beginning until you fade (not necessarily the best, but what most people end up doing).
   2. Reverse split. Start slow and increase your tempo mid-race.
   3. Steady pace. Start at a moderate pace and try to sustain it for the duration.
   4. Others...

3. Rest
   Don't cram lots of riding into the week before, you'll just be extra tired for the event. Try to get an extra hour of sleep each night.
   
4. Pre-ride
   Try to do a 45-60min ride the day before to "wake-up" your legs, but do not over exert yourself.
   
5. Hydration
   Start hydrating at least 5 days before the event. Don't wait until the day before to load up on water and electrolytes! And be careful not to over hydrate as well.
   
6. Nutrition
   This is probably the most important element of the race. Plan very carefully what you will eat during the race. Use an electrolyte mix that you trust, and stick with easily digestible foods such as oranges, rice and mashed potatoes. Don't overeat or take in excessive amounts sugars as this will leave you with an upset stomach.
   
7. Bike
   Don't make major changes to your bike that aren't proven or tested. Clean the drive train thoroughly. Go over every bolt and check all cables. Replace tires if necessary.
   
8. Parts
   Try to have an assortment of parts available if you run into problems. For example, spare tire, two tubes, extra CO2 canisters, chain and brakes.
   
9. Cleaning
   Be sure to bring a bucket with Simple Green, chain cleaner and rags so you can clean your chain during the race. This is often overlooked.
   
10. Clothes
    Think about the different conditions you could run into and the different types of riding gear you might need. For example, long sleeve for the night, head cap, thick socks, long finger gloves, warmers...
    
11. Lights
    Ensure your lights are charged and you have all of the proper mounting equipment.
    
12. Course
    Print off the course map so you know how to plan each lap. Figure out what the average time of each lap will be so you know approximately how many you will do. Endurance races don't start until the half-way point.
    
13. Downtime
    Plan what you need during your breaks so that you can be comfortable and actually rest when (and if) you decide to take a break. Chairs, sunshade, cooler with ice...
    
14. Forms
    Print off and fill out all entry forms before you get to the event.
    
15. Relax
    Prepare to have fun!