22 July 2008

2008 Silver Rush 50 Race Report


July 19, 2008
John and I made the early morning trip to Leadville for the Silver Rush 50 Mile Mountain Bike Race. The start was crowded and the air was crisp, but the sun was shining and it was going to be a great day.

The start is the "Silver Rush"; we all run up the ski hill and the first guy and the first gal that make it up get a silver coin. It's madness, and a great way to start the race. I take it easy up the hill, but after getting going I realize that running hard up there is smart; everyone is jamming up on the singletrack.

I settle into my pace and when the climbs come I'm passing people, per my usual ways, us tall and skinny guys do better on the climbs than the flats. This course is pretty tough, no flats really, you're always going up or down.
The first half of the way out is pretty wet, there's no way my bike is going to stay clean through this race. After a seriously rough and rocky section we pop out on a road and the speed increases, it's all just fast miles and smiles to the first aid station, I go through at 1:27 and 54th place.
The race then dumps back onto singletrack and the roller coaster terrain continues. We go around Ball Mountain on a trail that the Marathon took as well so at least I knew what was coming up, and thankfully the snowfield had melted out. The descent down to the turn around point was treacherous, a lot of babyheads and steep terrain and a narrow trail. I was stuck behind a rider that was a bit timid so the going was a little slow as he smoked his brakes, nothing like the smell of hot disc brakes in the morning! Near the bottom the leaders were on their way up, looking strong and fast.
I get to the halfway point feeling okay, I top off my bottle and way hi to John and get back on the way. At that point I was 49th and turned around at 2:43. Maybe 1/2 a mile after turning around my stomach began growling, not good. I had been eating, but I guess not enough, lunch time was approaching. I slowed my pace a little and ate the rest of my food, I was passed by a few people, but I had to make sure I got food in or the end would hurt.
By the next aid station the food had perked my energy level up a bit and I was moving quickly again. John surprised me by cheering me on at this point too, that was unexpected and very cool, having friends cheer me on really helps me out. I came through with a head of steam ready to tackle the last climb and with a goal of catching the second place female that had passed me a little earlier.

The final climb was not the kind of climb that I excel at. I like the long steep climbs, the stuff that most people cringe over, this was my cringing climb, a long relentless false flat climb. The climb was always a middle ring affair, but man it sapped energy; the false flat energy made it seem like you should be able to go faster so you'd push harder. I passed a few riders during the climb, but I saw my target ahead and couldn't quite reach her, she was in a group of 6 people or so trading pulls up the climb, I was an island trying to chase them down, wasn't going to happen.
Finally, the climb ended and the technical descent began. I knew being on the hardtail would make me a little slower on the descent compared to the guys with the full-suspension rigs just behind me, this was all about damage control now. I went as fast as I could safely and was only passed by two riders and one was while I stopped at an intersection looking for the right way. A third rider caught me just as we were leveling out, the terrain was now rolling all the way to the finish. He was faster on the downhills, but as soon as it went up or flat he started cramping and I easily would pull away. Near the finish, while he was cramping, I went by and gave a cordial "Just spin it out man, almost there" and proceeded to create a gap he couldn't close on the last descent.
Once again I came flying towards the finish and then took a wrong turn! It's kinda becoming my signature move. Thankfully, this time the guy right behind me did the same thing so I didn't lose a spot like the last time.
Final Time - 5:13:29
Final Place - 38th out of 309
Place in class - 6th



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