The Second Half

As I have mentioned before, open class racing is the best. No age groups, no ability categories, just put everyone in the mix at a mass start, and see who gets to the finish line first. The Whiskey 50 brings a wide range of riders in the southwest for a slugfest through the mountains of Central AZ. Pros who finish in 3:17 to Joes who death march the ride in 7 hours plus. I finished the 50 miles in 4:48 – 165th place out of 438 riders including men, women, gears, and single spinners.

Back in January I circled this event as my motivation for the winter. 14 times I rode the 2,000 foot climb up Snowbowl road between January and early March on snowy roads in the dark, getting used to climbing out of the saddle for 45-50 minutes straight in a big gear. I got used to riding the trainer inside, and running helped tremendously through February. By the time we finished the Dawn til’ Dusk event in early April, I felt ready to roll.

Race day came, and from early on I rode smart, managed my efforts on the steeps carefully, and rolled into the checkpoint at Skull Valley with a lot of energy left. I filled my pockets with food, turned around, looked up at the 3,000 foot climb, grinned knowing what was ahead, and started pedaling. The first 9 miles of the climb are at 4% - a mild grade and pretty easy to spin out on a singlespeed with a 32x20. The last 6 miles are at 7% - 10% with some 12% walls that had me completely folded over the handlebars pushing 4-5mph max. One by one, I picked off riders, maybe 50 or so over the course of the climb. At the top we were greeted with cowbells, music, and cheers – man that felt good. All I had left was another 40 minutes of mostly downhill singletrack.

As I rolled back to the finish line, I thought I might be close to the 5 hour benchmark I was hoping to reach. Maybe, maybe not, but I felt completely at ease because I was toast, but not toasted. There would be no cramps today, no puking in the park after, and a deep satisfaction in the reward of some hard work this winter. There it was – the clock read 4 hours, 48 minutes, and 12 seconds as my tire crossed the line. 37 minutes faster than my 2007 time on a geared bike. Shit man, I couldn’t stop smilin’!

The reality, though, is that results can always get broken down so that you feel better about your effort. Considering one cog on my bike, and 42 years, I did pretty damn well. However, before I get all full of myself, the first place finisher was 1:30 (that's 1 hour and 30 minutes) ahead of me – on my best day even. Finishing in the 62nd percentile is a stark reminder that beating local teammates to stop signs in February doesn’t necessarily translate to beating the best of the best in the southwest come April. Ya mo be there again in 2011, why don't ya come join me?