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Outside Adventures 6 Hour |
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Written by Doug Southwick
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Thursday, 05 June 2008 |
Outside Adventures 6 Hour MTB Race
Schenectady, NY
May 31, 2008
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This was the inaugural 6 hour race at this venue. The race is put on by Heather Mason, who is one of the crazy people that race solo 24’s including a win at the 24 hours of Old Pueblo. I am very familiar with the course being its only 30 minutes away from where I live. The course is on the short side, but the combo of short steep climbs, roots, bridges, and switch backs adds up to a demanding loop with no place to rest or recover. The weather forecast of rain and thunder storms scared a few pre registered racers into not showing up, and just one solo signed up day of. You had a choice of racing duo open or male / female solo open. I was entered in male solo.
I set up my assigned pit area with the basics like pre mixed bottles, extra co2 & tubes, some food and just in case my spare bike. Now its race time and we leave our bikes and walk down a hill to the lemans start area. Take a few deep breathes, and now we off running. I grab the bike and end up 3rd into the single-track. The guy in front of me bobbled a few times and by the time I got around him the 1st place rider was gone. I had no desire to chase him down but I did ride strong enough to finish the lap in 2nd over all and 1st solo. I glance down and see that lap took just 24 minutes. Most of the 1st and 2nd laps I felt stalked with 3 or 4 riders on my wheel including the 2nd & 3rd place solo and none of them were saying a word. Eventually I got them talking some, but soon after I was passed and dropped back to the 3rd spot solo, so I decide there's a lot of racing left and I settle into my endurance pace.
It starts raining which doesn’t bother me, but as the race goes on the course gets muddy, and the roots and bridges get real slippery. The rain stops and the humidity level shoots up. I start riding a little slower every lap but my breathing is doing the opposite. My body is not happy about the humidity level at all. The rain comes and goes again, and now I feel like I am biking in a sauna. I am surprised none of the other solos have caught up. It’s about 4:30 into the race and my motivation is pretty low when I stop at my pit. Two of my friends come over to make sure I am not taking an extended break and help fill a bottle (I already drank the 6 I had pre mixed) and they tell me 4th place is 18 minutes back. Off I go and during that lap it rains again, but this time the temperature drops 5-10 degrees and I start to feel better. My motivation comes back and after each lap I see I am keeping 4th around 18 minutes back. I pull in after my 12th lap at 5:45. The question is will 4th make it in by 5:59 or not, to play it safe I go out again to insure my podium spot. All I had to do is finish the lap but I ended up with my fastest lap out of the last 6.
Even with the small turnout the prizes for podium were impressive including $330 for 1st place solo and a pair of Niterider Trailrat lights for 1st place duo. Heather even gave out a little swag to all of the finishers. The laps may have been short, and the conditions muddy and overly humid, but everyone left with a smile on their face.
Doug
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; "click to enlarge")
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