bakers dozen

I did the Bakers Dozen, a 13 hour ATB race, this past Saturday, and competed in the solo singlespeed category. It was a big field with 26 riders. Just thought I'd share how my race went down, being my first solo endurance event of this type.

We started the day packed and ready to pull out at 5:40 am when Tracy discovered a flat tire on her car. That delayed us by about 20 minutes and we got going again pretty quickly.

We arrived on site around 7:15 and got unpacked and set up for our pit in solo row, which was right alongside the race course.

Preparations were smooth, I used approx. 5 tablespoons of A&D on each "cheek" of the chamois pad in my shorts, plus a healthy helping of assos cream and brave soldier ointment mixed and applied directly. It felt pretty ridiculous at first, but it proved to be the best choice, needing no touch up at all. Bottles were mixed for 3 laps ahead, and Tracy was my pit crew, handing up food and drink each lap.

I was on the left in about the third row at the 9am start, in the front of a pack of 200 or so racers. As we picked up speed down a gravel road, an embankment appeared out of nowhere and threw me nearly out of control, my front wheel stayed high left on the bank, my rear wheel slid down and to my right, sliding my bike diagonally and of course stopping me suddenly - I used ALL my skillz to keep that thing upright, I do believe most anyone else would have been pitched to the ground. In the thick of it all, a few guys plowed into me. I was a little dazed, but I got untangled and started pedaling back up the course, everything seemed ok. Within a few minutes however, I realized I had no back brake, and a close look showed a cut in the brake hose. Oh well, the course was negotiable at speed with no rear brake, so I continued.

I pinch flatted on laps 2 and 4, both just mistakes on my part. Didn't start with enough pressure and got squirrelly when I forgot I had no rear brake for a moment (happened 7 or 8 times through the day) The second one was because I had filled my tire with a 16 gram CO2 and forgot to top it off with the pump when I pitted. 

I had a few waves of nausea, and only occasionally felt like eating or drinking. Most of my intake was forced, I would chew on a fig newton for like, 5 minutes before finally washing it down with some drink. For that reason I stuck mainly to gels, mixed up between Gu's and hammer gel. A few clif bloks and powerbar gel chews. Fig newtons and bananas went down well, as did two pb&j halves, but I didn't have much luck with other food. Tried some chips, no good. Tried a small rice&blackbean wrap, no good. Didn't even ask for 2/3 of the menu we brought to the race.

The cramping was the worst part, it happened on average once per lap, some laps I got through with none, some laps it happened 2 or 3 times. If I pushed it too hard up a climb, or if I took a jarring bump while at full exertion, the quad and hamstring would lock up at the same time, and it would cripple me for a few minutes. I'd have to get off the bike and force my leg to bend to pull the muscle out of spasm, then rub it and stretch for a minute, then I could continue again pretty much without further trouble, till the next time. I was careful to keep up on enduralytes, and also careful to drain a full bottle per lap, plus drink a bunch in between each lap. It was worst during the hottest time of the day, from noon till 3pm or so, then as it got cooler I got going faster and faster again. 

I haven't seen lap times yet, but I think my first 4 were around 40-45 minutes each, and I believe my last 5 were also in the 45 minute range. I think I did 17 total. I started the first 5 laps hardly stopping at the pit, but after that I was careful to take 3-5 minutes and sit down and stretch the legs while I drank something. Those short little rests seemed to help a lot. I think my longest pit stop was 8 or 9 minutes. 

All in all I wouldn't change much. I was happy with my pace once I figured out where I could hold it for a long time, and I am real pleased and a little surprised at my result. 

The after-soreness is pretty rough. The inside heads of my quads are very tender, as are both hamstrings. Those large muscles were the worst ones with cramping, and feel so tight and sore that walking is painful, stairs are almost out of the question. Lower back was alright through the whole race, but is pretty bad today (monday) I have been taking ibuprofen to lessen the aches. My butt is surprisingly OK, pretty much no chafing and not too sore at all. I wore some hot new Sugoi shorts and you better believe I am getting some more.

The course was rolling, with no significant climbs or downhills longer then 15 seconds. It flowed pretty well, so there were sections where you could recover a bit. I didn't get bored at all like I had worried about. It wasn't "technical" per se, but there were enough obstacles and challenges to keep you on your toes and engaged the whole time. Passing opportunities were everywhere, and people were super good about letting me pass, and those who came up on me were very good about asking to pass when they wanted....everyone was great on the course.

Equipment wise, I have only one thing to say - Bontrager Revolt SS tire. They don't make it anymore, but they damn well should. Those tires were AWESOME all day long. They rolled super fast and hooked up great in corners, and believe me, I was testing their limits. I couldn't have been happier about a tire choice. 

I guess that's all the main stuff. I believe results are supposed to get posted here  http://www.tri-performance.com/raceresult.php?&cp=1 

I finished in 3rd place, behind two guys who are teammates for RAAM (race across america) and who are gunning to break the record this year at that race. 

Thanks Gripped Racing for the support, (and the meal for lap 14, which I grabbed after rolling form my own pit without food), Thanks to Race Pace bicycles for letting me off work again on a saturday, thanks to my wife for the awesome pit help.

Catch you later,

poz