Author: James

Spring racing started as usual with a trip out to the rain shadow in Sequim with 300 other local racers itching at the bit to get off the indoor trainer and see how their winter fitness was going to shape up against the local competition.

We have the routine dialed by now and Susan and I headed off for the morning ferry and donut stop ahead of my afternoon race.

It was just Wayne and I in the Masters 35+ (Cat 1/2/3) field for Apex and my only real goal was to get some race speed back in my legs ahead of the Mason Lake races later this month. Racing in a Masters field were people can be 20 years younger than me is getting progressively more difficult and the last couple years I’ve been dropped relatively early in the race.

This year was going to be different! (TLDR: 32nd / 46 with a pack finish)

We had 46 people in our field and the main reminder from Mick the evening before was for me to make sure I moved up ahead of the corners and didn’t get gapped to much (a recurring bad habit I have when I’m happy to hang out at the back of the field but then need to surge around people and close gaps when they get dropped and end up burning to many matches needlessly).

I kept channeling this throughout the race and it made a big difference. I was never right at the back and was never behind anyone who got dropped (though from the results about 5 people were at some point in the race).

All the riders were pretty smooth and experienced so it was a good opportunity to get mentally back into the flow of being in the middle of a pack. Small breaks went off the front most laps but nothing was sticking until coming into the final lap when a 5 man break with all the main teams got away. I was tempted to try to bridge up with Nate when I saw him going for it but wasn’t sure of my fitness so stuck with my main goal for this C race of not getting dropped. In hindsight I should have gone for it as I felt fine at the end and probably had some reserves.

Coming up to the latter part of the last lap I got talking with Wayne and tried to stick on his wheel coming up to the finish. I love this part of a race and it was a good incentive to keep moving up with him and keeping decent positioning near the front of our pack. The break was in sight up the road, never more than a minute away but didn’t come back.

In the run up to the final bumps leading into the finish I lost Wayne’s wheel and then had to dodge some slower riders that materialized in front of me (I think remanants of another field) which threw off my ramp up a bit but still comfortably finished with the pack. My current bike is very comfortable but doesn’t have much snap for a sprint and I certainly noticed the difference between it and my Kestrel. I may need to revisit what bike I race on if I actually start being in contention again this year in any races.

Overall happy enough with my result and riding, we averaged just under 25mph for the 60 miles and my finishing sprint was only 2 seconds slower than 10 years ago.

Susan was great, cheering along each lap, heckling with choice Irish phrases and ringing our big brass bell on each lap. Next stop, Mason Lake.

The last couple of years we’ve been off on family vacations just ahead of Spring racing starting up and my fitness has taken a hit each time (though the vacations themselves were great).

This year Apex were having a training camp down in Tucson and the timing worked out so down me and my bike headed for a week of riding in the sun.

We had a great week of hanging out and hammering the various local hills (Mt. Lemmon, etc..), trying out “The Shootout” (a long running Saturday local ride/race that any visiting pros tend to attend), and of course riding the Loop (a local trail network).

All in all a great way to kick start my season and get ready for spring racing.

This year Bob and I decided to reprise our old Furnace Creek 508 2-man team, rebranded as Wolfbaby, for the 24-hour World Time Trial Championships in Borrego Springs (http://24hrworlds.com).

This annual race is the last race of the season for many elite endurance racers from around the world.

“Every fall, the best endurance time trial racers from around the world gather in Borrego Springs, a quiet Southern California resort community.  They come to determine who is the fastest in the world, to set personal records, and to spend time with friends in the bicycle racing community.

Borrego Springs offers the perfect setting – the stark beauty of the Anza-Borrego Desert set against the majesty of the Coast Range.  Giant metal sculptures by Ricardo Breceda add to the beauty and add mystique.  Sunrises and sunsets are spectacular.  November weather should be ideal – warm days and cool nights – perfect for racing.

The course is flat and fast, featuring a main loop of 18.0 miles with 347’ of elevation change and a finishing loop of 4.8 miles with 63’ of elevation change.  County road crews prepare the road surface before the race, making repairs and sweeping to insure optimal conditions.  Racers compile as many miles as possible in 6, 12 or 24 hours.”

We flew down mid week to get settled in ahead of our 5pm start on Friday evening and had a chance to ride a shakeout social lap on Thursday, an annual tradition organized by Marko Baloh ahead of the race. It’s a good chance to reacquaint oneself with friends and the main loop as well as make sure one’s bike has survived the travel.

Friday morning started with a fine breakfast (thanks Martha) followed by packing up the van aka Wolfbaby Command Center to get set up in the pits. We were the first wave into the pits so got a prime spot up near the start line with Chris and Jim (The 508ers) directly beside us. We’re pretty low maintenance / budget compared to some of the support rigs in the pits and just have a cooler with gear laid out in the back of a minivan for anything we might need between laps. A step up from a cooler by the side of the road but no fire pit and s’mores or air mattresses for us!

Once we were all set up it was back to the house for a rest before attending the riders briefing at 4pm ahead of our 5pm start.

On to the race itself… we started in the fourth wave at 5:03 and I took the first lap. Our plan was to alternate laps throughout the 24 hours but with the option to adjust as necessary depending on how we were feeling. The first lap is always fast as the adrenaline and anticipation finally has an outlet. I held 22.5 mph around the 18 mile long lap for my fastest lap to date on this course (48:28), Bob then took over with a 21 mph lap to get us off to a great start.

The lap itself has distinct sections and as you get familiar with them you can get in a rhythm of what to expect. It’s pretty flat with one “hill” of 1-2% which feels progressively steeper as the race goes on. Lights are required after 6pm and it gets pretty dark out on the course with the temperatures dropping throughout the night (from 80s down to 40s). My speed really seemed to drop off during the night as it got colder. Although it felt like I was still going at a reasonable clip as I didn’t have my Garmin display backlit I didn’t check my actual speed or power on the road. My left hip also felt a little tight after about 4 laps on the aero bars, likely due to the fact that I hadn’t been on them and in that position for an extended period since last year and the dropping temps. I ended up just riding on the hoods in my normal position for the last couple of night laps which felt fine but was slower.

Alex helped us out in the pits throughout the 24 hours and was a rock star. He would take our bikes as Bob and I handed off our ankle timing chip for our brief 30sec exchange each hour or so and then see if we needed any food or drink top ups before moving on to help out the other Seattle racers. One of the funny things about racing as a team is that you really don’t see much of your teammate in this format. Bob and I only got to exchange a couple words during the race itself.

As dawn approached Bob let me know that he could use an extra lap off to get some rest so I doubled up on laps 13 and 14 and got to see the sunrise on the course. Then we got back to alternating and our lap times started to speed up significantly with the combination of daylight and warmer temps.

We got 22 big laps in before it was time to change to a shorter 4.8 mile lap for the last 1 1/2 hours. Bob cranked out the first two short laps and then I took over for the last three. I managed to average over 20mph for the last laps which isn’t bad after 24 hours of racing so was happy enough for that. We didn’t quite have enough time left to squeeze in one more short lap so wrapped up at 420 miles with 12 1/2 minutes on the table.

Great race all around with no real issues for either of us. I couldn’t ask for a better teammate, we had fun, raced hard and got a fine result. We’re already making plans for next year 🙂

148 miles (3793 ft climbing), 9:52 hours 17.4 mph

Final day of the tour was a relatively easy one, gradual climbing for the first 70 miles and then trending downwards for the rest of the day.

We had a big group pace lining to the first sag which made the time go by pretty quickly.

Bob unfortunately damaged his front wheel in a hole about 50 miles in (flat tire and damaged rim) and called it a day. Greg and I rode it in together, down one competitor for our county, river, stream, pedestrian crossing sign sprints (the rules are variable and the points don’t matter 🙂 ). Not as scenic as other days and primarily overcast with showers before lunch (which helped wash the final residues of cow shite sprayed up from from previous wet days off my bike). It’s not all glamour on the road!

Greg got a final flat 5 miles out on the bike trail into Kalispell so we quickly fixed that and then we were done just ahead of a torrential down pour.

Overall this has been a fantastic experience. Challenging and scenic riding, great support from Lon, Susan and the rest of the PacTour crew and a chance to spend the bulk of 12 days riding with good friends. 

At the end only 3 of us rode every bit of the course; myself, Frode and Steve. Our reward, in addition to incredible memories … we’re now qualified for an even tougher ride, RAAM. (I’ve no plan to do that)

134 miles (3271 ft climbing), 8:39 hours 18.5 mph

Today was a shorter day. There’s no guarantee on that being any easier on this tour but weather conditions were favorable and we ended up making good time with an initial climb to mile 40 and then all trending downhill after that for the remainder of the day. Despite some threatening clouds we managed to dodge any rain.

Our usual pattern emerged of arriving close to the front at the initial sag stops and then departing after everyone else and having a stream of people up the road to chase down. Some good stretches of fast pace lining by the three of us with 1 mile pulls for each rotation.

We eased off a bit to ride with a larger group leading into lunch and into the finish and had another good stretch of fast riding along I90 to get the freeway miles over with quickly. 

It’s great to get in earlier to our overnight to have a bit more downtime and recovery ahead of the last day of the tour tomorrow. Only 150 miles to go!

158 miles (6260 ft climbing), 11:09 hours 17 mph

I bounced back after yesterday thanks to Alka Seltzer cold formula, a good night’s sleep and DayQuil every 4 hours during the day today. My cold is still here but my energy levels were much better and I got through the day feeling pretty good.

We started of (sans Greg due to some confusion as to whether he was taking the day off or not). We woke him for breakfast but he thought we were rolling at 7am rather than 6:30am so when he eventually reemerged from his room everyone had left! We finally reconnected at the lunch stop later in the day.

The morning was stunning riding, 80 miles of trending downhill with misty vistas of mountains, “earthquake” lake and forests. Unfortunately I have no photos of it because it was cold and I wasn’t taking my long finger gloves off or losing contact with the group we were riding with. Still the memories will suffice.

We hit the first sag with the group we were riding with and then pottered around for a bit to find that everyone else had left. Bob and I then set off in pursuit and, reminiscent of Furnace Creek 508 when we had a never-ending string of rabbits with tail lights to chase down, kept a decent tempo going to gradually catch the scattered stream of people ahead of us.

There was a decent climb before lunch and then Greg arrived just as we were finishing up so we waited for him to eat and then rolled in together. A lot of people are only riding part of each day now it seems so we ended up being the last group on the road. We got in to Butte just ahead of a thunderstorm (thankfully) and early enough for me to get another massage for my legs to keep them “fresh” for the last two days.

135 miles (6400 ft climbing), 10:25 hours 15.5 mph

The day started off great with all three of us on the road again after Bob’s missed the last couple of days due to sickness. It was straight into a beast of a climb up Teton Pass on a protected old road bikeway. Great climb through the trees at 8-12% for the best part of an hour.

Then there was a long downhill and a chance to ride for most of the morning beside the Teton mountain range enjoying the views. We battled some side and head winds for a couple hours but then turned out of them for most of the rest of the day. 

My day went south from about midday as a nasty head cold that has been doing the rounds started to settle in and drained me of all energy. Bob and Greg dragged me along for the afternoon and we got to West Yellowstone at a reasonable time (~5:25) for me to stock up on Dayquil to hopefully get me through tomorrow. It’s daunting as if I felt this bad at home I’d be spending the day in bed. Instead I’m facing 159 hilly miles of riding.

214 miles (5968 ft climbing), 12:47 hours 18.6 mph

Fine day of riding today, the closest to a ‘recovery day” you get on a tour like this. Greg and I rode with a great group of people all day in pleasant conditions i.e. no snow, sleet, headwinds etc.. and only a moderate amount of climbing. It was just what I needed after yesterday’s epic effort.

Bob sat out the day and drove along the route with Lon, showing up at various sag stops and our lunch stop. He should be back on the bike tomorrow for at least some of the day.

I was worried going into today as on paper it could have been a tough one to finish in daylight but all turned out great. Still on EFI (“Every F…g inch”) status with 2 other guys going into the last four days.

148 miles (10900 ft climbing), 12:53 hours 13.3 mph

Toughest day so far, straight into a serious climb up over 8000ft which started off in sun but quickly deteriorated up top to snow and sleet. Bob packed it in early on during the climb as he is fighting some sickness and got in the van. Greg and I struggled to stay warm along the ridge before finally dropping down to decent weather again at Flaming Gorge. Stunning view from the viewpoint but alas we had to keep going so could only hang out for a bit.

Due to the conditions we were going pretty slow and lunch was moved up a sag stop to the 70 mile mark. As we approached that we got hailed on and then more snow as we huddled in the trailer eating. Most people had bagged it for the day by now but Greg and I headed on to the next sag at 90 miles in. Greg stopped there and I opted to try to make it in before sunset to keep my streak of riding every full day alive. One tough 60 mile time trial later I made it to the hotel with some buffer. Down to just 3 people now from the whole tour who have finished each day. Tomorrow is the longest day of the tour so an even earlier start than normal. This is tough!

146 miles (7500 ft climbing), 11:24 hours 15.9mph

Half way done!

Crazy day today leaving Colorado on the first day of summer. We started with strong headwinds and then shifting to freezing rain as we got closer to our main climb of the day up Douglas Pass. People were abandoning for the day by the second sag stop (only 7 people ended up completing the whole day in the end) and the support vans were getting full of bikes and wet people.

I borrowed and extra jacket from Susan before the climb started and then had to ride at my own tempo to try to stay warm going up it. The wind eased a bit as I got higher but then the sleet and snow started. It’s rarely a good sign when a snow plough passes you going the other direction from were your heading towards. Lon, Susan and the rest of the support crew took excellent care of us today making sure that everyone who wanted to keep riding were properly monitored and finding extra gear when needed.

Once I reached the top it was straight into the van for some warming up with hot coffee. Bob and Greg soon joined me and we braced ourselves to head back out for the descent to hopefully warmer levels. Had to ride the brakes going down as with wet wheels I didn’t want to risk picking up too much speed. We got down below the snow level relatively quickly but in wet gear the headwind descending kept me shivering. 

Hot tomato soup at the bottom of the main descent helped a bit but I stayed pretty cold until we finally got to our lunch stop and was able to dry out some of my gear in the sun.

Then it was off to Utah in sunnier weather though still battling a strong sidewind until we turned left and had a glorious tailwind for the last 40 miles to Vernal, rolling at 25-32mph for long stretches. A fine way to end an epic day.