Frank and I ate breakfast and downed coffee as we looked out the
window at pouring rain about 5:30am on race day. I sure was glad to be in a
hotel and not camping.
There was an impressive display of innovation as Frank birthed
himself through the bottom of a trash bag that would serve as his rain vest
under his jersey. I noticed his keen use of the drawstrings as a waist belt for
the improvised rain vest.
The rain poured steadily as we loaded the bikes up and seemed to
wash away any hope that the day would be better than forecasted.
We got geared up and ready to roll with all the other racers that
decided to toe the line despite the grim conditions. Sure, it was 50 and light
rain, but up on those mountain gravel roads, the temps would be closer to 40
with rain and wind chill. We checked our preparaions twice. Rain vest, extra
gloves, shoe covers (essential), bottles, food to last till aid 1 or 2, ….etc.
A quick warm up through the parking lot and I saw a few of the
faces I usually see. I said hey to Kevin Carter and then ran into Garth
Prosser. I did not see the other 10 to 15 folks I usually see. Lots of folks
not here, or lost to me in the pre-race buzz.
Soon we were off to a surprisingly civil start. It was about to
become a long 10 hour plus race in on/off rain. I stayed close to the front of
the group that split off from the pro peleton up the 1st major road
climb. We entered the single track and kept a good pace through the rain soaked
trails.
Frank had taken off with the main group and I chased with the
second group. I managed to catch Frank in the last few sections of the single
track in the beginning of the race and we rode together on for a while. It’s always
nice to be rolling through a hundred with a team mate.
From there on we assaulted a seemingly unending series of gravel
climbs that took us to the lollipop section of the out and back course. The mountain
scenery was quite nice at elevation. Many great views of the north Georgia mountains
painted in green mixed with neon green highlights from new spring leaves
nestled in cotton balls of fog and cloud.
Frank was out ahead of me as I plunged into this section that I
dubbed “green hell” last year. Nothing like dropping thousands of feet to ride
a trail so muddy my glasses became useless, only to have to claw my way back up
in one hellacious climb. And so it was done.
Re-tracing the extensive fire road back towards the finish gave me
ample time to reflect on how cold it was up on a mountain in the cold rain. It
had been a little while since I could feel my thumbs. Soon, a long double track
descent yielded to a trail that was extremely muddy, like a river of peanut butter
and poo. Joy… Very exhausting to ride through. Luckily a deep stream crossing at the end
washed my wheels and drivetrain clean. That was great!
I downed cliff shots like jello shooters at the next aid and started
the return trip. Soon I was glad to be riding mostly down back towards the
finish. The only drawback was the cold draining my body heat. Then I got some
pretty bad cramps in my belly… slowed me down a bit as I rolled the final
sections of gravel.
I was completely spent when I reached the last six miles of water
logged single track and nursed it home for a time of 10:54 ( about 43 mins
slower than last year). The pro’s finished in 8:00 hours (~60 mins slower than
last year).
I was glad to have finished a tough race in tough conditions, and
also glad it was not raining worse than it had. Wow, what a tough way to kick
off my 2013 NUE season.
