At least I am finally writing this, but it has already been a week and a half so details might be a bit hazy. I finished putting my bike together late the night before and there were a few new variables such as a new to me crank, new brakes, levers, and bars. I was also using a bmx freewheel that I beat to hell last fall during 'cross that made funny noises for a while (I assume until the sand was ground to a powder in there)and the walls of my rims had a dangerous amount of brake wear that formed a deep concave along what was once the machined braking surface. So I was a bit nervous about this, but I left with plenty of time and checked things out while I was still close to home. I was riding my crossscheck with 42-16 gearing and 28c conti four seasons.
The race was well organized (thanks
Kittenfactory! and volunteers) and it was great to see so many friends there. I guess there were about 70 people at the start. I didn't have a good position during the neutral rollout, as I was busy chatting with friends, but I did briefly think about how I could easily pull a dick move and get right up to the front easily. Instead I held my position as I was expecting the same of everyone else - I just wished I wasn't sitting 40+ wheels back.
Once the race started in earnest I had a lot of work to do. It didn't help I was way undergeared on my single speed. I found myself spinning like crazy followed by getting into an aero tuck and drafting behind someone to rest a bit, then repeating for the duration of pavement. As soon as we hit dirt I was maybe 30 wheels back. I knew the trail well and was wondering if everyone would get single file for the narrow section next to the ravine. Nope, someone wasn't watching and went into the big hole, others scrambled for the narrow line and someone fell there too - holding everyone up. I acted quick, dismounted, jumped into the hole and ran up the other side - I probably passed 10 people here and the hold up left a gap in both directions.
I put my head down and worked hard to close the gap in front of myself and catch the leaders that were already out of view. I think I passed a few people before Lacy Rd and a few more after crossing Seminole. There was a 10 person or so chase group along seminole forming a paceline. I didn't think they were moving fast enough to catch the leaders, as I knew Jesse, Lyle, Nine and company were ahead and pulling away still. I rode along side them and saw we were getting close to the downed tree. I rode hard towards it so I could be the first over, hopped it like a 'cross barrier, remounted and was off as quickly as possible, leaving a gap behind. This section was grassy and the slowest part, but it was perfect for my gear at the time.
At this point I was all alone between the 5 leaders and the other chasers behind me, although I didn't know it yet. I put my head down and followed closely the line I had decided to be fastest the week before. Eventually I caught up to the group where Lyle was currently at the back. He glanced back quickly, not recognizing me at first. Then he took a longer look and I gave him a big smile knowing I had caught the lead group on my own, on a singlespeed no less. He said something along the lines of "you son of a bitch."
As soon as we hit the finished portion of trail I realized I had made a grave mistake in my gearing choice (my recon ride was on a ss 29er). I had to spin like crazy to keep up with any accelerations at the speed we were traveling. I asked if we could not speed up because I was running out of gear, but I think I was laughed at.
At this point it was pretty smooth sailing for quite a while. Nine chastised me into taking a few pulls, which I did, but I probably reached cadences in the 120 range in the process. It was hard enough just hanging on the back but I was hoping to make friends so they wouldn't drop me for a while. I was second to last into the tunnel and I got caught on the wrong side of some tape that I wasn't expecting. At this point I dismounted and went over it, holding Jesse up a bit behind me. He passed me and I chased after the reflective accents on everyone's clothing, as my light was worthless and I had forgotten to take my sunglasses off.
After the tunnel there was another barrier in the form of downed trees. A couple guys bunny hopped it but noone was tempted by the jump made out of rocks and dirt despite some strong encouragement from Jesse's brothers. Before crossing tunnel road Nine swung to the side of the trail grabbing his mussette bag hand-off while weaving dangerously in the process. I thought, "Wow - Nine must be serious - I just have 2 water bottles and a bit of food in my pocket..." After he emptied his mussette I noticed him holding it out in preparation for the toss. Having seen enough footage of mussette bags getting tangled in spokes, I gave him plenty of room. This was a good thing, because he just sorta held out his arm and let it fly loose behind him. Wtf, Nine? Don't you know that pros bunch it up and toss it to the side?
Shortly after the turnaround I saw that the chase was hot, despite being out of view from behind. The first group we passed was the paceline I had caught at Seminole - I remember Magnus being well represented, as well as some other strong riders.
Next up was the KOM section on Tunnel Road. It felt good to be on pavement and it's probably good we didn't have to ride through the tunnel again with other racers still likely going the opposite direction (it took me a while to realize we weren't passing through the tunnel again..). It took me a long time to notice, but the Polska rider from our group disappeared somewhere around here I think, so there was now 5 of us in the lead.
Jesse road hard up to and over the summit getting a bit of a gap. I was surprised to find myself climbing well and I lead the chase over the summit receiving encouragement from one of his brothers who had just handed off a bottle. Down the other side Jesse sat up and we were back together for a while. The second time through Belleville I fumbled with a food wrapper, finally trying to eat something solid. Jesse attacked once I had taken a large bite and I briefly thought of spitting the food out. I decided against it as there was already a gap and I couldn't close it being taken off guard, and undergeared into the wind as it was. I enjoyed my food and tried a couple more brief attempts to catch back on before deciding it was futile. Later I heard that they shared some pulls to make the attack stick, even though I was barely hanging on, and there was no way I would have been able to keep up on the pavement without gears... bastards! j/k.
Not wanting to wait around to get caught, I kept my head down and mashed into the wind in solitude.. all the way to Seminole. At this point I could see a few chasers behind me. In my oxygen deprived delusional brain I made a mistake and took Seminole a bit longer than I should have. My legs were dying and I could barely turn over my gear in the slow grass so it was oh so welcome. Certain the chasers had seen me and feeling no honor in making the top 5 after my error, I sat up and let the chasers catch me. There were only three of them and BJ was leading the charge looking surprisingly strong, so I was still looking at an 8th place finish, but my hopes of being the first singlespeed were dashed. I came clean about my mistake and told them to go ahead - jumping on the back at BJ's suggestion.
It was smooth sailing onto the pavement and over the beltline with BJ pulling the whole way. Maciej, the Polska rider who was dropped from the lead group earlier, and the only one with gears out of the group attacked before Midvale but then sat up, punching his thigh. I was thinking that there was traffic and now he had to wait, but apparently he was hurting and his leg cramped up. I took a bit of a pull and then pulled off, letting the others go ahead and following them into the finish (sorry I don't remember how the others in that group finished, but I was 8th).
