My legs never felt super from the get go when the Le Man's style run to our bikes began; but not awful either. I started cramping after lap three all the way until the finish. Very odd as I prepped my body well enough going into the race and was surprised at the cramping issue. I just rode through the cramps and they would come back on every hard climbing effort. Typically my Thermatabs work awesome but for some reason I wasn't able to get rid of the cramping issue. I never felt sick to the stomach which is typical for me at this event. I was running Tailwind in my bottles for most of the raceIt was warm out but not hot like the 24HITOP in February and the AZT 300 in April. Whatever. I kept telling myself to keep tough mentally and go! When the mind goes the body will certainly follow.
I have done a lot of multi loop races since the year 2000 and they get ever more annoying with the 'freds' that show up for these events. It doesn't help when the course is all tight single track with little spots for passing. Race etiquette is not part of their nature. I just give them the benefit of the doubt that they are ignorant at this type of racing. I tend to vocalize my thoughts and give them some cliff notes on riding these races. LOL!! On the other hand there are lots of cool people out racing having a good time and using common sense and being considerate at the same time. It's the nature of the event style. It is what it is.
My ultimate goal going into the race was to ride 8 laps and a podium spot to boot. The 8th lap eluded me again and I settled for 7 laps with a 4th place podium placing in the single speed solo category. 116 miles and nearly 10k of climbing. I'll take that to the hardware bank!! Fellow Kokopelli team mate Shawn Gregory took the win with 8 laps. Great effort Shawn!
The Kokopelli Bike Co 29er bike rode great as usual. I had a few issues such as the rear hub on the Stan's wheel getting loose and making a god awful noise. I had to stop twice on lap 2 to hand tighten it. Not sure what the deal is with that but it happened during the AZT 300 as well. Other than that it was a clean ride.
Overall it was a great day with pretty ideal weather. Thanks to Dani Gregory and company on another successful event. You guys rock!
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| Pit stop after lap 6. |
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| Podium!!!! |
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| Celebration with LK after the awards. |
1 comment:
Nice work, I'm glad that there are dirty Fred's as well as road Fred's. Good job, We'll be out for Ironhorse Classic in a few weeks. I think Mike Hielman will be there too. You guys should try and make the trek over and have a beer with us?
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