Wow, that was a hell of a fun race.
Aaron and I teamed up for a men's duo team for the Tri State 6 Hour race finale at Versailles. I haven't done a 6 hour race since the DINO 6 hour two or three years ago. It did not go well. Granted I'm in better shape, and a better rider overall, than last time, but still. In the end, I think the team method is the way to go!
But the race...
Pre-race strategy suggested a podium (out to 5 in this race) was possible, and in looking at times from last year, we agreed a lap time of around an hour and five minutes (1:05) would be a good goal. The course was run backwards from the DINO races. We started at the Schimmerhorn shelter, went along a short access trail onto the Creekside trail and then did the entire trail system clockwise, ending with Shadow Run, and a short section of trail called Turtle Loop. The final run into the finish was along a wide grassy access road/easement, before hitting the park road and heading back into the shelter area.
I'd only ever run the course in this direction once during the 6 hour DINO race. This direction seemed to have more climbing, although Versailles is certainly not a climbers course. Based on the 1:05 goal time, and based on results from previous years, 6 laps was very unlikely, and 5 would be the goal. Aaron has been in the midst of a massive home remodel and hasn't had much time to ride. We decided I would lead off and end the race as well on the 5th lap.
The race site was perfect. The shelter area is in a grove of trees with plenty of shade and bathrooms nearby. Great place to set up a tent and relax when you are off the bike. When we got there we found we weren't the only ones from Team Matthews. Jim Frazier and Mike Hufhand were day of registrants.
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| The base of operations during the race. Complete with a tent and a small camp fan. And my bike being used as a clothes line. |
Nice to have team mates, but DAMN. Those two are fast. Jim is a Cat 1 racer and Mike is just plan tough (may recall I was unsuccessful in trying to chase him down at the Gravel Grovel). Our whole analysis of our podium chances just got a last minute reshuffle.
The start was a half mile run on pavement to the start line before dropping into the trail. Things were pretty steady at the beginning and people were cool with the passes. I got away from a few groups but got stymied by traffic on a few climbs. During this time I passed Jim who had a mechanical somewhere on Grandview. I figured I would see him again, but I wasn't too concerned with trying to get a huge gap 15 minutes into the first lap.
I caught a Bicycle Station rider and passed him on a climb, only to have him get by me on a descent. I followed this rider for most of Grandview and into Cliffside. Exiting Cliffside, I was still behind him, with another racer between us, Both began to slow on the climb up to Shadow Run and I called out a pass. As noted all passes had been easy and friendly. This guy was determined to stop that. I called out the pass and the guy responded that he wasn't going to slow down and that he was racing too. I shook my head and said something along the lines of this being the first 40 minutes of a 6 hour race. No need to slow down....just edge over a bit and let me by. The climb leading up to Shadow Run wasn't exactly so wide and luxurious that I could just ride past him without getting a bit of leeway.
Oh yeah, somewhere before this, Jim had caught up and passed me. So yeah.
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| Me. Photo: Kent Barmgardt |
I concluded my lap and came into the exchange area. Jim had already been through and Mike was gone, as were the teams ahead of us. Now is when we can have fun with numbers and the split times. I put up a 1:04.08 on lap 1 which was good enough for 6th place. Not bad, but certainly room to improve. Our Matthews colleagues had 1:03:35 (with Jim's mechanical) so they had just over 30 seconds on us.
Aaron went roaring out, and I collapsed. I relaxed, changed into a new kit, and had some food and talked to Jim about his tire troubles. My plan was to start looking for Aaron after an hour, so around 11:05 or so. Jim came over to watch for Mike and all of the sudden there came a Matthews jersey into sight. Jim yelled that it was Mike, and a split second later I added a "Holy shit, Aaron is there too!" Aaron and Mike were right together. I had no idea the exact time for the lap, but it was clear that Aaron had found some serious speed. Turns out he had done a 1:00:08, the second fastest time for the duo men on that lap. He made up the 33 second deficit to Team Frazier/Hufhand and moved us into 4th place.
Now it was up to me to not screw this up too much. Jim got out a split second ahead of me, but I soon caught him on the single track. Over the course of the next lap the distance between us vacillated, although I always kept him in sight. On some of the climbs on Grandview I was able to catch him and hook on to his wheel, while he would put some distance on on the descents. I was feeling pretty good until we got to Shadow Run. the twist and turns and heavy underbrush limited my views of Jim, and just before the tight hairpin which signaled the beginning of the long fast descent I lost sight of him. Sight lines were better on the descent, but I still could not spot him and began to panic a bit. I roared into the exchange area and saw Aaron go out in pursuit. I had no idea how far ahead Jim had gotten but it was clear he had used the final descent to get away.
Time wise, I had done a 1:03:11, which was my fastest lap of the day and we were still in 4th. One of the contending teams (actually first place) apparently dropped out during this lap due to a bad accident with their lap three rider. We had a 24 second deficit to Frazier/Hufhand. This was going to come down to the wire. I knew we were in a race for third, and barring any mechanicals, I fully expected Aaron to catch Mike, which would leave it to me to try to keep tabs on Jim on the last lap. Yay.
In the hour I had to sit and contemplate things, I began to think maybe Aaron would be able to do two laps. He was riding well, and I knew he was more capable to take on Jim than I. Just in case, I prepared a water bottle for him in case he was willing to keep riding.
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| Aaron Photo: Kent Baumgardt |
Almost an hour later, I'm sitting in the exchange zone with the other duo teams, anticipating the arrival of our teammates. The first place team arrived and left. They had been putting up blistering lap times and were well ahead of everyone else. All of the sudden I spotted a Matthews jersey rounding the bend. One of those moments of excitement/nervousness which hits you straight in the stomach as I realized it was Aaron. And he was alone. As he came riding down the finish chute I held up two finger and yelled if he could do another lap. He shook his head and I took off.
I wasn't very clear on the tactical situation at the time. I had seen 1st place go out, but suddenly couldn't account for 2nd. Was he still in the exchange area or had he gone out? I was so focused on team Frazier/Hufhand, I hadn't noticed. Instead of wasting time thinking about this, I turned to the business at hand....keeping the time gap on Jim. A gap whose size I did not know. I went out hard and seemed to fly through the course. I kept glancing back excepting to see a Matthews jersey closing, but there was nothing there. I had a few twinges of a cramp in my left calf, but these were held at bay.
Leaving the Cliffside trail and heading into the Shadow Run climb I passed Aaron on the side of the trail. He yelled for me to push it, and that the climb was my specialty. I did push it and still didn't see anyone behind me. At the end of the Shadow Run descent I again passed Aaron who yelled that I was in good shape and the chasers were still a few minutes back. I didn't let up and continued to push into the finish. No time for a 5th lap so that would be it for the day.
As it turns out, we got 2nd. Wow.
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| On the podium, er....picnic table. Photo: Eric Lewis |
So what happened there in the end? First was Aaron's fantastic second lap which he did in 1:00:53 seconds, 40 second faster than any other team in the duo group, and THE fastest 4th lap turned that day overall. In combination with this blazing lap, the 2nd place team suffered a flat tire which knocked their lap 4 time down significantly. Aaron was also able to make up time on Mike and add on an additional 3 minutes. At the end of the fourth lap, I left the exchange area with gaps of 2-3 minutes over the 3rd and 4th place teams. My final lap was my slowest, at 1:05:07. No so blazing as it had felt but I still put time into Frazier/Hufhand, while the formerly second place team beat my time by almost a minute in what I imagine was a mad dash to make up time from their flat. In the process, they passed Jim to secure 3rd place, and came in two and a half minutes after me.
So, there you have it. A great finish to a fun race. I enjoyed the team aspect, as well as the drama coming into the final two laps. It is clear that Aaron's laps kept us in the game and closed the gaps which my prior laps had created. I was glad that I was able to keep things together on the last lap and maintain the gaps which Aaron had created during the decisive lap 4. A crash or a bonk could have easily ended our chances. Besides getting on the podium we were also surprised to receive $60 checks This was a nice surprise and marked the first time I've ever been paid to ride my bike. Tri-State 6 Hour puts on a solid event and I'm looking forward to jumping into some of the races next year.....as part of a two man team.
*Top photo: Kent Baumgardt
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