Cowbell Challenge Marathon
Davidson, NC
6/20/2009
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Last Spring I began what may become an annual tradition, pick an epic mountain bike race, plan a vacation around it, pack up the car and drive a couple thousand miles and put myself through an enormous amount of pain and suffering both physically and mentally. Back in April of 2008 I drove down to the mountains of Tennessee and No. Georgia and competed in the Cohutta 100 mile mountain bike race. That ride was a point to point race that took me 9:40 to complete while climbing over 12,500 feet. This year I scaled things down a bit. My destination was Davidson NC to race the Cowbell Challenge Marathon on June 20, The Cowbell is stop #5 on the 2009 USAC Ultra Endurance Mt. Bike Series. A 50 plus mile race which began in Downtown Davidson, after a mass start, about 125 racers rode about five miles on the streets and paved bikeway to Fisher farm Park where we began 6 laps around an 8 mile track consisting of some tight twisty rooty single track and open field single and double track descents and climbs. The single track wasn't too technical but did have its tougher sections, a lot of roots and rocks to roll over, a great course for my 29" Salsa Mamasita. The bike handled great and I want to give Big Al and the shop for the borrowed Reba after I blew mine out about two weeks prior to my trip.
I raced in the Masters 40+ class and there were 27 of us. All the races wore timing chips around our ankles, our number plates were random and there was no way of knowing who anyone was racing against unless you asked. It was a bright sunny day for racing although a bit hot for someone coming down from Maine. How hot was it? How about 98 degrees, brutally hot. Hydration was the key to surviving. I went through 1 and 1/2 to 2 bottles of water and power aid per lap. My primary source of fuel was gels, I did manage to eat 1 cliff bar to fight off the hunger pains but the extreme heat made my stomach nauseous when ever I swallowed anything.
I must have done a pretty good job at hydrating and staying fueled up, I was riding well and my lap times were pretty consistent, around 45:30 to 50:00 minutes. Many riders dropped out because of the heat but I kept telling myself that I was tougher than the course and the heat and that I didn't drive 1000 miles to quit. After 5hrs 6 min I crossed the finish line for the six and final time feeling a tremendous amount of relief and satisfaction just to finish. I had no idea my position and wasn't to concerned. I hung around for a while after chatting with other riders and replenishing the fluids. It was about 3:30 when I decided to head back to the hotel to get cleaned up and put some food in me. Awards were not going to be presented until 5:15 after every rider was off the course.
Before heading out I decided to check if any results were posted. After finding my class they had the results after lap 5 and I couldn't believe what I saw, I was in first place after five laps and I knew that I was not passed during lap six. I said to myself HOLY CRAP! I won! Guess I'll be coming back for the awards. It was pretty cool standing on the top step of the podium and collecting $120.00 check for the win that paid for a few tanks of gas. By far the biggest victory I have ever had.
One final note, it was great to see former Bikeman teammates Shey Linder and his son Jansen, I was able to hand out with them and there team from Georgia. I want to give a big thanks to Jansen who gave me my handouts for the entire race.
Chris
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