I raced the Laramie Enduro mountain bike race over the weekend, and really enjoyed the event. As no more than a recreational mountain biker for the past 20+ years, I was unsure what to expect, beginning when my friend Matt signed me up back in the spring.
In talking to Matt, and one other friend, Andrew, who had both participated last year, I began to feel a bit more at ease. Matt encouraged me to try to start near the front to avoid an early bottle neck area. Andrew encouraged me to ride a less aggressive tire at a higher pressure, not to wear a hydration pack, and to spend little time at the aid stations.
The day before the race, we drove part of the course, giving a good idea of what to expect for the first 20 miles. A delicious Calzone for dinner in downtown Laramie at the Grand Avenue Bistro was followed by a 5 1/2 hour rainstorm the night before the race, making packing for morning a little more difficult. We even discussed whether or not to start if it was still raining in the morning.
The main preparation on the day before consisted of drinking lots and lots of water and getting the under the seat tool bag ready. I had gone through the bike earlier in the week and was confident in the condition and performance of my MOOTS YBB SL, despite it's 12 years of age.
Based on the reviews I had read of this course, I rode my Moots YBB SL soft tail, as opposed to my full suspension bike. The lack of significant technical riding allowed me to run Continental Explorers with about 50% tread wear both front and rear, and run them just over 40psi. The vintage Scott AT-2 LFx handlebars were very comfortable for the nearly 7 hour duration because of the multiple hand positions provided by their built-in bar ends. I used a Jandd Mini Mountain Wedge under the seat pack to carry 2 tubes, and patch kit, multi-tool, chain repair links, zip ties, etc. On my bike, I ran 2 bottle cages with 30 ounce bottles, one each of water and Gatorade. This left my jersey pockets free for nutrition. I was able to ride without a pack, giving me freedom of movement and keeping me cool. The ride quality was much improved over early spring riding, since swapping my old Manitou Skareb fork for my FOX RL100 fork. Much less flex.
The 4:30 wake up call came and we loaded the car and headed to the free breakfast, which the Quality Inn had started a half hour earlier than their normal 5:30am, due to the race. Raisin Bran, yogurt, waffles, bananas, bagels and juice were to be my fuel to start. On the way out, I grabbed another banana and slapped some peanut butter and jelly on a bagel to put into my jersey pocket for later.
At the start line, we found a near record low temperature of 39 degrees, and clear skies. Despite the chilly, shaded start area, I began the race in only a short sleeve jersey and shorts, so I would not have to sorry about removing a jacket or knee warmers later. Matt and I edged our way up to the back of the Open/Pro and SS class to insure a good start position for our second wave start 5 minutes after the fast riders.
The flat start turned quickly uphill on a wide dirt road, but narrowed to single track in less than a mile. Therefore, the object was to get to the singletrack before the the crowd, in order to avoid delays caused by the bottleneck. I let the faster riders go ahead of me and settled into a nice pace, hitting the singletrack without delay. In the singletrack, the wet tree roots kept my attention, but having ridden some of these trails before, I was comfortable enough to be able to make up several places. After the singletrack section, much of the next 20 miles was forest service access road, and was big-ring fast. Some wind made working together in a pace line necessary.
I was feeling good and decided to pass the first aid station. So far I was thinking this is easy, averaging 13.6 mph thus far. Back into the singletrack section, we kept a pretty good pace, but there was little room for passing leading to the second aid station. The trails up to this point were still familiar, so went by quickly. The second aid station brough a stop just long enough to fill both bottles, one with water, and one with Heed, and grab a couple of bagel halves. The volunteers were cheerful and friendly here, and at all the aid stations.
Entering unfamiliar territory, I was still having fun. The scenery and weather were great, and I was really enjoying myself. There were some sloppy stream crossings and some fast riding to keep us entertained. I tried to eat and drink as much as I could on the fire road sections, to keep me going. Still feeling good, I passed aid station #3 and made for number 4. Along with a couple of other riders, we missed a turn on a long climb, but were stopped and pointed in the correct direction by a father and son combo that were pleasure riding and watching the race. Thankfully they caught us very soon after the missed turn, and we lost very little time. A thigh deep water crossing in this section was quite refreshing.
By aid station #4, I was beginning to tire, so took about 5 minutes and got off the bike, snacked, and filled my Gatorade bottle. The next section would end up being the biggest challenge, with more single track, climbing and technical riding thant the rest of the race. Because of having to concentrate on controlling the bike, I found I was not eating and hydrating enough, leading to a bit of fatigue. My average speed dropped significantly between aid station 4 and 5. By aid station 5, however, I knew the end was near. At mile 63, one encounters Headquarters Hill, a reasonably technical, lengthy climb, that is not too bad when you are fresh. With this many miles under your belt, however, it is a bit of a attitude adjustment. After a short break, I climbed the beast, sometime on, and sometimes off the bike. At least I was on the bike when I encountered the race photographer!
The last few miles went by fairly quickly. Because of the number of rocks and the technical nature of the end of the race, I was riding a bit conservatively to avoid a pinch flat. I was in no mood for a repair at this late stage of the game. I was able to finish reasonably strong.
My total time on course was 6:51:30, which was good enough for 33rd overall in the Sport Class (230 racers), and 19th in the 40-49 year old sprot class (out of 100 racers). For my first endurance race, I was pleased with the results. Preparation and planning seemed to make a difference, along with lots of regular riding. I didn't necessarily train, but just took more rides with friends.
For nutrition, I found that the Hammer Gels worked better for me than the Power Gel, as the Power Gel was a little too thick. However, the deal I scored from Lee's Cyclery on Power Gel the day before the race made it OK (2 for $1 announced on Facebook). I started the day with Gatorade in my second bottle and it was fine. I then used Heed for part of the race and ended with Gatorade again. No problems. The bagels and bananas worked well, too.
Would I do it again? Yeah, I plan to be ready when the registration opens next spring. Since this race sold out in 9 days last summer, I want to be ready.
Mike Weber
www.facebook.com/sgltrak
www.twitter.com/sgltrak
www.m-weber.com
In talking to Matt, and one other friend, Andrew, who had both participated last year, I began to feel a bit more at ease. Matt encouraged me to try to start near the front to avoid an early bottle neck area. Andrew encouraged me to ride a less aggressive tire at a higher pressure, not to wear a hydration pack, and to spend little time at the aid stations.
The day before the race, we drove part of the course, giving a good idea of what to expect for the first 20 miles. A delicious Calzone for dinner in downtown Laramie at the Grand Avenue Bistro was followed by a 5 1/2 hour rainstorm the night before the race, making packing for morning a little more difficult. We even discussed whether or not to start if it was still raining in the morning.
The main preparation on the day before consisted of drinking lots and lots of water and getting the under the seat tool bag ready. I had gone through the bike earlier in the week and was confident in the condition and performance of my MOOTS YBB SL, despite it's 12 years of age.
Based on the reviews I had read of this course, I rode my Moots YBB SL soft tail, as opposed to my full suspension bike. The lack of significant technical riding allowed me to run Continental Explorers with about 50% tread wear both front and rear, and run them just over 40psi. The vintage Scott AT-2 LFx handlebars were very comfortable for the nearly 7 hour duration because of the multiple hand positions provided by their built-in bar ends. I used a Jandd Mini Mountain Wedge under the seat pack to carry 2 tubes, and patch kit, multi-tool, chain repair links, zip ties, etc. On my bike, I ran 2 bottle cages with 30 ounce bottles, one each of water and Gatorade. This left my jersey pockets free for nutrition. I was able to ride without a pack, giving me freedom of movement and keeping me cool. The ride quality was much improved over early spring riding, since swapping my old Manitou Skareb fork for my FOX RL100 fork. Much less flex.
The 4:30 wake up call came and we loaded the car and headed to the free breakfast, which the Quality Inn had started a half hour earlier than their normal 5:30am, due to the race. Raisin Bran, yogurt, waffles, bananas, bagels and juice were to be my fuel to start. On the way out, I grabbed another banana and slapped some peanut butter and jelly on a bagel to put into my jersey pocket for later.
At the start line, we found a near record low temperature of 39 degrees, and clear skies. Despite the chilly, shaded start area, I began the race in only a short sleeve jersey and shorts, so I would not have to sorry about removing a jacket or knee warmers later. Matt and I edged our way up to the back of the Open/Pro and SS class to insure a good start position for our second wave start 5 minutes after the fast riders.
The flat start turned quickly uphill on a wide dirt road, but narrowed to single track in less than a mile. Therefore, the object was to get to the singletrack before the the crowd, in order to avoid delays caused by the bottleneck. I let the faster riders go ahead of me and settled into a nice pace, hitting the singletrack without delay. In the singletrack, the wet tree roots kept my attention, but having ridden some of these trails before, I was comfortable enough to be able to make up several places. After the singletrack section, much of the next 20 miles was forest service access road, and was big-ring fast. Some wind made working together in a pace line necessary.
I was feeling good and decided to pass the first aid station. So far I was thinking this is easy, averaging 13.6 mph thus far. Back into the singletrack section, we kept a pretty good pace, but there was little room for passing leading to the second aid station. The trails up to this point were still familiar, so went by quickly. The second aid station brough a stop just long enough to fill both bottles, one with water, and one with Heed, and grab a couple of bagel halves. The volunteers were cheerful and friendly here, and at all the aid stations.
Entering unfamiliar territory, I was still having fun. The scenery and weather were great, and I was really enjoying myself. There were some sloppy stream crossings and some fast riding to keep us entertained. I tried to eat and drink as much as I could on the fire road sections, to keep me going. Still feeling good, I passed aid station #3 and made for number 4. Along with a couple of other riders, we missed a turn on a long climb, but were stopped and pointed in the correct direction by a father and son combo that were pleasure riding and watching the race. Thankfully they caught us very soon after the missed turn, and we lost very little time. A thigh deep water crossing in this section was quite refreshing.
By aid station #4, I was beginning to tire, so took about 5 minutes and got off the bike, snacked, and filled my Gatorade bottle. The next section would end up being the biggest challenge, with more single track, climbing and technical riding thant the rest of the race. Because of having to concentrate on controlling the bike, I found I was not eating and hydrating enough, leading to a bit of fatigue. My average speed dropped significantly between aid station 4 and 5. By aid station 5, however, I knew the end was near. At mile 63, one encounters Headquarters Hill, a reasonably technical, lengthy climb, that is not too bad when you are fresh. With this many miles under your belt, however, it is a bit of a attitude adjustment. After a short break, I climbed the beast, sometime on, and sometimes off the bike. At least I was on the bike when I encountered the race photographer!
The last few miles went by fairly quickly. Because of the number of rocks and the technical nature of the end of the race, I was riding a bit conservatively to avoid a pinch flat. I was in no mood for a repair at this late stage of the game. I was able to finish reasonably strong.
My total time on course was 6:51:30, which was good enough for 33rd overall in the Sport Class (230 racers), and 19th in the 40-49 year old sprot class (out of 100 racers). For my first endurance race, I was pleased with the results. Preparation and planning seemed to make a difference, along with lots of regular riding. I didn't necessarily train, but just took more rides with friends.
For nutrition, I found that the Hammer Gels worked better for me than the Power Gel, as the Power Gel was a little too thick. However, the deal I scored from Lee's Cyclery on Power Gel the day before the race made it OK (2 for $1 announced on Facebook). I started the day with Gatorade in my second bottle and it was fine. I then used Heed for part of the race and ended with Gatorade again. No problems. The bagels and bananas worked well, too.
Would I do it again? Yeah, I plan to be ready when the registration opens next spring. Since this race sold out in 9 days last summer, I want to be ready.
Mike Weber
www.facebook.com/sgltrak
www.twitter.com/sgltrak
www.m-weber.com
posted by sgltrak | 10:16 AM
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