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| Sam Koerber (MIA), Jeremy Bishop, and Wes who??? |
There was lots of rain overnight, and it didn't change much during the day. Stage one rolled off in the rain. Except for getting water in my eyes, the clawhammer climb went well. I stayed with the lead group. I don't really mind racing in the rain when it's fire/gravel road or single track that still has some grip.
So at at the mile 7 aid station things were looking pretty good. But soon we headed into single track. From here on, all of the single track and much of of the fire roads would be literally riding (or trying to avoid riding) in a flowing stream of water. I was doing OK, powering through the stream, but when we got to squirrel gap's "1/2 track" things got pretty sketchy. I really do not do narrow, side of the mountain slick trail well. In one sharp corner I actually slowed too much and the rock I thought I was going to roll over stopped me abruptly and I just fell off the trail. ...onto more rocks. I heard the unmistakable crack of carbon fiber. I thought my bike was killed, Turns out it was only a water bottle cage. This is where Morgan Olsson passed me. Later, 2 more would get by me.
Eventually I managed to get through this section and to the mile 22 aid station. I refueled, got a chain lube (Thanks volunteers!) and headed up the fire road climb. I was pretty recovered because of how slowly I had been riding and managed to pass back 2 of the riders that had passed me on squirrel. It was only 10 miles to the next aid station and I was hoping it was all fire road so I could make up more time. But, about 7 miles later we turn onto more single track. This section is much more rideable for me though. It's actually kinda fun. I can push the pace without fear of running off the side of the mountain. I think it was this section where we had to cross a stream (river?) that was pretty deep and flowing kinda fast. I actually had to lift my bike out of the water to keep it from washing away from me. There were quite a few stream crossings today, but being soaked from the start it didn't really phase anyone.
By now things have begun to take a toll on my bike. The brakes are constantly grinding, my water bottle is barely hanging on and my saddle bag straps are tearing off and it's swinging like a pendulum.
I blow through the mile 32 aid station knowing there is only 7 miles left, including the fabled descent down Black Mountain to the finish. I forgot how much hiking there was to get to the descent. Immediately after the aid station I'm off the bike hiking. Then on a little, but mostly off. Lots of hiking. And then the descent starts. The top is the most technical, and I play it a bit conservative because it's really quite slick. I hear a thud as my saddle bag straps finally give up. I decide to stop and pick it up. So now it's a jersey pocket bag. A begin downhill again - but only a few hundred yards before I hear a metallic clunk and I slide to a halt. The rear wheel is locked up. Well, it will spin backwards, but not forward - which is the direction I want to travel. Surprisingly, shaking it, kicking it and calling it names does not solve the problem. But carrying it does.
So I hike. And hike, And hike. It's like 30 minutes before anyone passes me. I think lots of other riders had issues too. There is no comfortable way to carry a MTB that far. Every now and then I drop it, or get stuck in some brush. Finally I reach the bottom of the steepest part of the descent and lo and behold the rear wheel spins. So I hop back on for the last 1/2 mile. Absolutely no rear brakes, but I didn;t really need them much at this point. I cross the finish line in the rain at about 5:15. A full hour slower than last year.
I did end up 3rd in my 40+ class, but probably a lot of minutes out of GC.
And my bike? Turns out I had only 3 brake pads left. One of the front ones is worn into the backing plate and the remaining rear "pad" is almost completely worn thru the backing plate. The other one must've gotten wedged into the rotoe causing it to lock-up. Eventually it fell out and that's why I was able to ride the last 1/2 mile or so.
Later I replaced all the pads, the rear rotor, the saddle bag, the bottle cage, readjusted my bent rear derailleur, and my front brake lever that was "adjusted" by a tree on a Squirrel.
Tomorrow we roll out of the "Cradle of Forestry" at 11:00am. Most likely to drier weather. Hopefully to less carnage.
Oh, and congrats to kinda-local-to-Charlotte racer Wes Richards for a fine performance. The Pro class was combined with the open men class and Wes put down a smoking time to come in right behind the 2 pros!!!
See you on the trails!
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| My remaining brake pads after stage one |
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