I was probably the least prepared for a race of this magnitude as I've ever been. Although my training has been going well, my work schedule had consumed most of my remaining waking hours. I was hammer down at work all week doing what we call "half days". You know, when you are at work 12 hours or more. After working Saturday morning it was time for a break. Me and the wife headed to Damascus, Va for the Iron Mountain 100K.
We got there in time to register and do a pre-ride on the famed Virginia creeper trail. It was a great place to just spin the legs and enjoy the outdoors, but it was nothing like what we were going to race on the next day.
The race started on Sunday morning in the Damascus Town Park. We had a vehicle escort us down the road to the creeper trail. After a few miles of sorting out the racing order and dodging puddles, we were introduced to the first section of single track.
Normally I have an elevation profile taped to my top tube. But, like I said earlier, I was not very prepared. I had read that the trails were quite technical. The elevation profile that I had seen was pretty stretched out and rather undaunting looking. So, when we started to climb I really didn't know what to expect. What I got was some steep, technical climbing. It seemed like I was always on the verge of debating whether to hike or ride the slippery steep sections. And while riding it was a constant struggle between fighting for rear grip and keeping the front end on the ground. This was small ring technical climbing at it's finest (worst?). Unfortunately, I am more of a big ring gravel road climber. That would come later.
After battling back and forth with 2 other riders we drop out of the single track onto the open road at aid station #1. I decide to blow thru the aid station and drop my riding partners. After traveling along the open road for a while I no longer see any arrows indicating that I am on the race course. I have been diligently looking for them, so I'm pretty sure I didn't miss any, but still...
There have been some options to turn off. Normally these would be marked with arrows to go straight. They are not. Maybe I am not on the course. I blow by a guard shack with a little stop sign and some cones. No arrows. Apparently I am entering (or leaving?) a campground. Okay I am pretty sure I am off the course now. I am too far along to turn back and salvage any kind of result. No riders ahead. None behind. I pedal on at what can only be described as an awkward pace.
Finally, I can't take anymore. I am about to turn around, but then I see the 2 riders I dropped at the aid station. They have been working together to reel me in. And then, to my amazement, I see the arrows indicating a right turn. All 3 of us blow by the corner, turn back around and head up the single track. Literally. It's more of the steep, technical single track. I find myself repeatedly spinning in the small ring - sometimes in the big cog. Lowest gear. Occasionally it seems more prudent to hike. The mud gets in my shoes making it difficult to clip in sometimes. This only adds to the complications of the on-again/off-again climbing. Some of the trail reminds me of the trails in Trans-Sylvania where they called the rocks "tombstones" because they were embedded in the trail, but stuck through the surface significantly. I bounce up the climb and am soon greeted to a very rocky fire road descent. I am faced with a different kind of balancing act now. How fast can I descend without flatting? It's impossible to hop over all the rocks. I stay off the brakes as much as possible and opt to hit only the smoothest looking rocks. This seems to be working well. I am looking for aid station #2 which, according to the mileage recorded on my Garmin, should be approaching soon. And then I hit something. I didn;t see it, but it was big. Soon my rear tire deflates and I'm off the side of the trail installing a tube. All goes well until the inflator won't inflate (I later found out this was operator error). So I push my bike along the merry way. I've pretty much decided that when I meet my wife at aid station #3, I'm just going to abandon. Aid station #2 turned out to be only a little more than a mile away.
The volunteers ask what I need. I tell them "air". But the tube wouldn't hold air. Perhaps it punctured on the push in. They try a foam sealant in the tube to no avail. Since I've made up my mind to abandon, I don't hurry the volunteers along. I just stand back, relax, and let them do their job. Eventually they give up on the sealant. They don't have a 29'er tube, but I told them a 26" tube would do. They struggle a bit getting the tube and tire back on, but the new tube holds air, though I would notice later the tire was mounted backwards. They set my pressure and send me on my way. In the mean time I've watched about a dozen riders roll by.
The next section of climbing is fire road and suits me better. I can climb in the big ring. I had ridden most of the race with no one in sight. It was nice to have other racers to catch and pass. I keep pedaling away. I'm feeling pretty good. There's no pressure now. Just a day to enjoy riding my bike. Before I know it, I find myself at aid station #3. Which, my wife, on the other hand, did not find. So there really isn't even an option to abandon now. On to more climbing.
I really underestimated the amount of climbing in this race! This section of trail had some sweet ridgeline descents. It was only a short distance to aid station #4 (or maybe it just seemed that way?) where there was one volunteer with a racers' bike on the workstand. I continue on. I did know that this last leg was predominantly downhill. I did not know how much climbing was left. It turns out, there was quite a bit. On a long climb, I pass the leading SS racer. He asks how far the next SS racer is behind him. I told him he was comfortable and he told me to catch the 2 riders up ahead. Which I did.
I hammered down a long descent, not really caring if I flatted or not. I thought this may be the final descent to the finish line. It was not. One more climb. And then the final descent. The one with the time clock ticking away at the bottom. It clicks off 5:38 when I roll thru. Even with the flat, I beat my goal time of 6:00 and got some good training in for ORAMM next weekend. I was provisionally scored 10th. Final results would list me as 11th.
After an unbalanced week, it was good to find a bit of balance once again.
See you on the trails!
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