|
|
|
Home  Team BIKEMAN 2008 Leesburg Bakers Dozen
|
|
|
|
|
2008 Leesburg Bakers Dozen |
|
|
Team Bikeman -
Race Reports
|
|
Written by Jason Mahokey
|
|
Tuesday, 29 April 2008 |
2008 Leesburg Bakers Dozen
Leesburg, Virginia
April 19. 2008
 | | click to enlarge |
Friday a.m. Wifey, B-Man and I loaded up the Soob to the brim with every piece of camp/bike equipment we have and headed to Leesburg for Plum Grove Cycles 2008 Bakers Dozen. I was pretty excited for this race. It would be my first race of 2008 and I did the race last year and it rocked. Rob and the folks at Plum Grove put on a hell of an event and I was anxious to get back. This time Wifey and B-Man would be coming too. Wifey would be there to help me out in the pits a bit and B-Man was set to throw down in the Bakers Dozen Kid's Race.
When we got down to Leesburg it was a nice, hot 80ish degrees. It felt so damn good! B-Man and I took a little walk and ran into Plum Grove Pete. Pete directed us to a great spot in the Solo Pit area right along the course. Just down from the Start/Finish, and close to, but not in the "smell zone" of a the porta potty. Close to the crapper = good. Close crapper smell = bad.
 | | click to enlarge |
Wifey and I then set up The Worst Pop Up Tent In The World and our new 4 person tent. We soon agreed that the tent rocked, but The Worst Pop Up Tent In The World would be going in the race venue's dumpster when we left! (It did!). After everything was set up, I got a quick pre-ride in, then we headed to our hotel for a night of pizza, grocery shopping and watching Ben Ten Alien Force with B-Man. I SORTA slept, and woke up early to get 2008 on it's way.
The weather was perfect and seemed to be a WEE bit cooler than Friday. It was still warm though, and hydration would be key. With this being early spring, even time in the woods could leave you a bit exposed to the heat of the sun due to the just budding trees. I would use my hydration pack filled with a variety of Nuun, Zym and Elixir, combined with some Carbo Pro and gels to keep calories coming in.
 | | click to enlarge |
There were 370+ racers made up of Solos, Duo, and 3 person teams at the race this year.At 11 a.m. the starting line was PACKED with about 180+ racers ready to get going.. Plum Grove Pete and I tried to get up to at least the middle of the field so as to stay clear of major bottle necks. As with any start the bottle necks still happened, but they could have been worse. Oddly as Pete and I made our way through the mass of racers we were smacked in the face with every Dead Head's favorite "stank mask"- Patchouli Oil! I mean REALLY! Who the hell is wearing that stuff during a race??
As we entered the single track Wifey and B-Man were up on top of a big ass rock. B-Man yells "Go Daddy!! Venga! Venga! Venga!" Everyone around me just started cracking up! I was so proud of my little Tour de France watching boy! I'll need to track him down a vintage ONCE mega phone! The site of the long line of racers snaking though the open field single track was one of the coolest things I've ever seen.
 | | click to enlarge |
The first lap eventually got spread out and by laps 2 or 3 I was shocked at how much time I spent riding alone given the number of racers. I was feeling good. I was taking in fluids, having a gel every lap, and my legs felt strong. I was confident in my nutritional plan, and just kept reminding myself to drink and eat.
I have to admit the want to go faster got the best of me. I found myself having to tell myself to lay off the gas. Through the entire race I never took the Dos Niner (which rocked!) out of my middle ring. I don't doubt that many of the stronger guys big ringed a lot of the course. I had to try to avoid burning out too quick!
Through much of the first 10 laps the only real issue I had was my lower back. Not sure if it was a position thing, or if I was pushing a little too hard of a gear at times. A few Tylenol cleared it up. At least for a while.
About mid way through, Wifey said that I was going back and forth with some guys for 4th through 6th place. Not bad at all I thought. I did begin to notice I was no longer going through bladders like I had been. I had been averaging one bladder every 2 laps. Now after 2 laps I had nearly 3/4 of a bladder left! NO flavor of ANYthing seemed to do the trick. Everything tasted like dog balls (not that I know what dog balls taste like, it's more of a general assumption of the supposed taste of a dog's balls).
After lap 12 I believe, I did a little (OK a LOT) of dry heaving in the pit. My apologies to nearby campers for the sound of my stomach trying to find SOMETHING to project out my mouth. All it found was a little bit of sports drink and some half digested gels. Wifey then helped me get my lights on. Something that is MUCH easier to get done when you haven't been riding for 90 miles. Then I headed out for lap 13. It was a lllllong lap.
The ONLY good part of lap 13 was the fact that I was sporting my Princeton Tec Switchback 3 light system for the first time. I was very happy with the way it performed in conjunction with the "custom" modified PT Apex on my bars. I needed to play around with the light's angles a couple times, but that's to be expected the first time in single track with a light system. I found the beams length was great and it was plenty bright. I was digging the fact that I didn't feel like I had a 2 pound weight on my helmet like my old HID light. I really didn't have to pay attention to anything but riding, which is great. It was also nice to be out and not even have to think about burn times given that the battery get nearly 6.5 hours on HIGH!
I clawed my way back to the pits. My stomach was a mess. Heaved up sports drink running down my legs, and eyes and veins bulged out of my head from the dry heaves. I had a seat and now decided that I would do one more lap. One more lap would put me over 100 miles for the day which was another goal. One more lap would do. For lap 14 I alternated between riding, standing along the trail letting riders pass, and craving a giant beer belch. I have to thank Plum Grove Pete and Buddy "the keg breaker" for stopping to make sure I was OK as they passed me during that lap. My man Fernando T. also made sure I was OK as he passed. Much appreciated guys.
That easy roll through the team pits up to the finish line was such a good feeling. I rolled across the line. Lap 14 done. I was just exhausted and glad to be done. There would be no lap 15. Drat! But I did get over 100 miles of single track riding and ended up in 9th place out of 37 Solo Males. At 11:30 I was in 6th, but some other Solos were able to keep in going and knock me back a few places. Had my stomach stayed under control I had enough time for at LEAST two more laps. But that's all "hindsight" and "what if?" talk. ?Nothing I can do about it now except learn from my mistakes.
I was stoked that my fitness seemed pretty on for this race, but jacked that the nutrition plan that I THOUGHT was on, was clearly OFF! There was no doubt I was badly dehydrated. I must have just been pumping out WAY more than I was taking in for sure. During the race I had one trail side "nature break". I noticed that my "output" was like pop corn butter, so I knew I was getting dehydrated. After the race, I drank over a 1/2 gallon of water and STILL did not even have the urge to "go" even a little until I woke up in the a.m.. And that was like tying to get water from a rock. Not to mention you could see every vein in my forehead, making me look a tad more like a freak. Aren't you glad your read this far?? If you hadn't you would have missed all the potty talk!
The best part of the weekend was seeing how much fun B-Man had. He raced in the kids race and had great time. When I came into the pit after his race he could not stop talking about it. It was a blast to see him when I came in the pits. Every time I left the pits he would yell "go daddy! I love you!" If that couldn't keep me goin' nothing would!
Wifey was tops too. I never had to fill a bottle or bladder, and she was the perfect tough but loving Pit Boss. Thanks!! My Salsa Dos Niner and it's Reba Race performed perfectly through the race. I never had to switch to my back up Mamasita. NOT that she would have be a slouch, but the Mamasita's Reba is on the fritz and needs some love. I have to mention my Ergon grips too. (and not just because they're a sponsor of mine). Last year at this race my hands got beat to hell and I had a blister the size of a silver dollar on my palm. This year WITH Ergons I had not ONE hand issue. If you have hand issues during long races you HAVE to at least try these things. So big thanks to those folks and of course Bikeman.com for the support.
Next up is a 6 hour at the Mid Atlantic Super Series French Creek Enduro. Race #1 in the Mid Atlantic Super Series Endurance schedule. LOTS of rocks, rocks and more rocks.
Later.
Jason Mahokey
Excerpts from "The Soiled Chamois"
The Complete "The Soiled Chamois"
Photos from TooFatToRace Photography, Gear Shift Photography, and JoErin O'Leary (Wifey!). |
|
|
|
| |
Team Rider Profiles
|
Andrew Freye, Winthrop ME
Pro UCI Elite U23 MTB
Profile Inside
|
|
|
|
|
; "click to enlarge")
; "click to enlarge")
; "click to enlarge")
; "click to enlarge")
