2010 Knickerbocker 8-hour recap

Posted on October 19, 2010 by Michael W 1 Comment

Sweet Redemption Race!

They say the third time is the charm and I guess that description fits my relationship with the now notorious Olmstead Loop in Cool, California.  On my previous two attempts to even finish, much less compete in Cool were met with less than satisfactory results.  But that is all history now, as I’m happy to announce the Olmstead curse has been broken!  This year’s Knickerbocker Canyon race would give me my first clean event in 2010 with no mechanicals or bonking.  As the days rapidly approached the event I was beginning to wonder if I was going to get a good race in at all this year.  Earlier in the month, it didn’t look like that was going to happen.  I was again plagued by a sinus infection about 4 weeks prior to the race and spent what was supposed to be my two weeks of hardest training either on my back trying to get better or suffering from the antibiotics that were trying to help!  Needless to say, I wasn’t training.  That left two weeks to cram before the race and basically I did not taper at all.

And due to the sinus infection I was forced to change my goals from a podium attempt to just finishing.  And I was happy with that.  In fact, I was pretty much unconcerned with the race until I started packing the night before we left for Cool. Maybe this is a good thing.  I think that too often I get wrapped up in my eating and training and general worry to enjoy most events…  This time, however, my goals were to enjoy being around new friends and just trying to have fun on the bike.  The day before the race, my wife and I packed up the car in our usual manner but this time there was considerably less stress emanating from me as we put things in place.  I ran my usual check-list but when we left I spent the drive talking more about what my wife and I were going to do on our next vacation than worrying about pit stops and race prep.  It was a road trip that just happened to include a bike race for me.  Another thing that made this race especially enjoyable is that we’d be spending the weekend with our friends Joe and Heidi who live just outside Cool.  Joe was racing on a two-man team in the Pro field with his neighbor James.  And let’s not forget Koda, Joe’s friendly black Lab that loves cows, bike races and bagels…

Race Day

Unlike my other two attempts at Cool, today would be a dry and dusty affair.  Gone were the soupy hollows and raging stream crossings.  All were replaced by a chalky dust that lingers in the air and clogs your nose.  Locals call it ‘moon dust’ because when you walk it bounces from around your feet and  just floats there.  It would make the day dusty and the start tricky but I’d rather have that than mud.  To make matters more interesting, today would be a mass start with no lead-in or neutral start.  We started at 9:00 with a bang and the 200 or so bikes roll out in a massive dust cloud that put everyone more than 10 bikes back from the front into a fog.  I was in the top third as we hit the single track and even there I was riding by braille.  Visibility dropped to zero and my nose and mouth were immediately choked by the silty dust.  Just trying to stay focused, I rode as fast as possible so I could escape the dust and get to the rockier single track.  Nevertheless, we were underway and it felt great to be racing.

I was pleased by my pace on the first lap but was constantly fighting hard to keep my heart rate in a somewhat normal zone.  I was fixated on my GPS on every climb to make sure I didn’t blow up on the first lap…  Fearing my fitness wouldn’t hold in the attacks I just kept myself calm as the “A’ pack rode away from me.  ‘Today is about finishing’, I kept telling myself.  About a third of the way in I almost ended my day early when I lost control of my front wheel in a sharp right turn.  The front tire washed out just like it did in Tahoe early in the summer.  That spill left me with a nice tear in my arm, if you remember…  Anyway, the bike went horizontal but somehow I managed to recover and keep both tires on the ground.  Once I got control I literally sighed in relief out loud while pedaling.  A close call and it again forced me to recognize that the skills were rusty today.  About half way through the 10+ mile loop I noticed something else.  My chain was creaking and groaning as if I hadn’t put oil on it in a year!  The dust had completely sapped my chain-lube in only a few miles.  Knowing that there is over 1,500 feet of climbing per lap, fears of breaking a chain crept into my thoughts.  Mentally, you have to block this kind of crap out and keep racing but I knew I would have to make an unplanned stop after just one lap.

Cardiac Drift

I moved through subsequent laps fairly consistently.  I was dropping a couple of a minutes per lap as my usual cardiac drift kicked in.  The laps get slower, I get slower but so does everyone else – just at different rates.  The key to these types of races is to get slower than everyone else at a slower pace…  Make sense?  My worst lap was at the usual 5 hour mark.  I don’t know what happens to me here, but I always do worse and then bounce back for the last two or three hours.  It’s really bizarre but it happened again.  My wife looked worried as I dragged myself up the last hill on that lap.  She said I was slowing down too much but was holding on to fourth place.  Honestly, I was happy.  I could’ve finished in fourth and been perfectly content, so when I rolled out for lap 6 I was just going to cruise and let the chips fall where they may.  But again, it happens.  I start to feel better and my pace picked up.  Somehow, I had worked my way up into second place and my vision and thinking had cleared.  I was still slower than I would’ve liked to have been but I was surprising myself with each hill.  In fact, I only got off the bike once all day when I dropped a chain.  Other than that, I cleared every hill.

Finishing up lap 6 I pulled in the pit to clean the chain and replace my bottle one last time.  My wife said that I had held on to 2nd place but it was impossible to catch 1st short of a mechanical.  Oh well, I can think of worse ways to finish my day.  I set out on my final lap and it was genuinely fun.  I think the mental effort of the day had passed and I just enjoyed the ride.  My energy levels were rising even though I was getting a little cramping, I honestly didn’t want to stop riding.  I was loving every minute of it and my last lap was by far my most enjoyable.  So, despite myself and my horrible sinuses it turned out to be a great race and good showing!  I finished up the day with 74 miles pedaled with over 9,800 feet of climbing.  Not a bad day for a weekend warrior…

The Sweeper

I think the best part of these is the after-race.  We all sat around the tent and shared stories from the day ‘recovering’ with a beer (or two).  I think that’s the real reason we all do this and it’s something I don’t want to lose sight of.  Racing is fun, competing is fun but being with your friends on a warm day enjoying each others company is what makes it worth all the suffering.

Packed up and ready to go.

Race face or sleepy face?

Koda knows the way!

In between laps for Joe.

Joe, waiting for his next lap.

A little video action at the finish….

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viBQtCVxVaw]

All done.  Am I walking funny or what?

Post race.  Have you ever seen a dog that smiles for pictures?

My main squeeze!

Podium?

The real hero of the day, the guy who makes all this fun happen.  Thanks Jim.

It would be easy to say my season is over, but alas there is one more race!  One month until the Lake Oroville 8-hour.  So, I should finish this up and hit the bike.  See you soon.