From May 17- Highland Hex Enduro

So it ended up that the p/1/2 race at Syracuse was canceled. That made my decision a lot easier. 6 hr enduro it was...

Saturday had rain in the forecast, but luckily it would hold out for most of the day. We got there early enough to do things like set up the tent and make pb&j sandwiches, but late enough that they didn't have any pint glasses left. I lathered up with a generous handful of chamois cream and lined up just in time to head to the start. Then we were off.

Out of the start we started up a gentle climb along a dirt road. The ambitious riders and those on relay teams were quickly well ahead as I settled in, focused on enjoying this as much as I could. I would still give it some effort (you can't really fake 6+ hrs of riding), but I wasn't going to hurt during the first lap. The course was decidedly not technical, but had a ton of climbing, mostly on fire roads. This quickly sunk any plans of keeping my heart rate low and having an easy time of this. I passed a few riders with my superior technical ability and then left them well behind on the subsequent climbs that followed. I was only forced off the bike on a really high and slippery log pile. I fell the first time, but on subsequent trips I used my sweet 'cross skills to make it a rather efficient dismount. But I was still stuck by myself in no-man's land. Only 5.5 more hours...

As I passed through the first lap I was still somewhat intent on making my feeds quick and keeping the race somewhat continuous. I grabbed some food and headed out. Ok, easy enough. On to lap 2.

I stayed in mostly the same mindset for lap 2 (e.g. don't hurt that bad), but made little goals to make distance on anyone I could see ahead. I began to see Vanya just ahead and I figured I could ride most of this thing with him if I could bridge up. At least that could keep me more motivated to continue riding for the whole time. With knowledge of the course, this lap went pretty quick, especially on some of the faster singletrack descents. Fun stuff.

As I came off a pretty steep and sharp transition from singletrack to a fire road, I think I hit a rock a little too hard as I heard the familiar hissing sound and subsequent softening of my ride. Everyone ahead went out of sight. Everyone I had passed came rolling on by. I took the opportunity to eat a little and do a rather casual tube change. This was decidedly the end of considering this a "race" in my roadie world. I remounted and continued on, slightly annoyed but also very relieved that I could justify taking a race easy because of a "mechanical". I did, however, manage to roll back a few riders in the remaining half lap without any real effort. I guess that's fitness?

With this new perspective on the day, I came rolling through the lap hungry for a pb&j sandwich. Vanya had very much the same attitude and was seated next to his bike, also eating. We conferred for a bit before heading back out for lap 3 together. I suspect my break lasted 10-15 minutes. I got slightly puzzled looks from riders I had just passed moments earlier. One woman racer remarked that she'd love to eat a sandwich, but it would take too long.

This continued for several more laps, until we were approaching the 6 hour limit. Rather than risking having to ride a seventh lap, we waited for an extremely long time, hoping that Cameron would come through and we could ride the last lap as a Cornell triumvirate. He did, and we went out for our last lap, just as rain started to fall. This certainly changed the face of the course.

Once again I flatted... probably due to very low tire pressure, but also probably due to my heavy, haphazard riding style. If I actually cared, this could have been extremely demoralizing. No matter, though. Flat repaired, we finished the lap, getting sufficiently cold and muddy on the quickly deteriorating course. I can't imagine what it would have been like to ride for 6-7 hours in that. Seriously, I can't. It could have been a lot of fun, or totally miserable. It certainly would have increased the technical requirement and almost certainly wrecked all the nice trails, though.

So that was that. I think I rode for 6:45 total, completing 6 laps, and probably 6 actual hours of riding. Then I ate a bunch more food and went to sleep. THE END.

[Disclaimer: I'm realizing that race reports for largely solo events lack the usual flair. To that end, I'm not sure when I'll do my next enduro, since the race report will most likely suck as well.]

Decisions

So next weekend is both the Syracuse Race Weekend AND the Highland Hex 6 Hour Enduro MTB race. Which one should I do?

Syracuse Race Weekend:
Pros: Opportunity to see how I stack up at this point, possibility of upgrade points, good training for future racing like Fitchburg, getting used to long road races.

Cons: I got crashed out in the crit last year, I'd only be racing like 10-15 guys. Long road races are boring.

Highland Hex Enduro:
Pros: Low pressure, probably a ton of fun, new kind of racing, probably amazing training for longer racing (it's still time spent on a bike, after all)

Cons: 6 hours of off-road riding is probably super intense, I'll be a total newbie and probably look stupid in some way, my body will probably be super beat-up since I'll be riding a hardtail (albeit a titanium one)

I think I'm leaning towards the dirt...

Cool New Things

Last night Steve and I headed down to camp out at T-town for the annual spring swap meet. Items on the wish list included a 10spd rear hub for my future 'cross tubulars, aero bars for my track pursuit setup, and possibly an aero front wheel (Hed H3 or similar).

Overall the swap was decent and there were some deals to be had, but I ultimately don't know if it was worth all the trouble of driving 3 hours each way. Although I got to use my new tent, which was cool. Unfortunately, there wasn't all that much track-specific gear at the sale- most of the merch was geared toward the rather significant hipster crowd present. I wasn't really in the market for a purple anodized stem. There was even a booth with pamphlets/guides about "fixed gear freestyling." I didn't come back with much, but I did score one great deal: a set of Easton Attack TT bars.

These bars apparently retail for $490...I paid $150. Sure they're used and don't have arm pads, but that's nothing a carefully cut mousepad can't take care of. Long story short, though...they make the track bike look amazing.