1speed
Incredibly profound yet fantastically flawed
The Leesburg Bakers Dozen is one of my favorite races. I've lined up for it each of the past five years. I almost missed out this year because I was sick the weekend it was originally scheduled (April 7 - they had to postpone until the 21st because of a predicted 5" of snow.) In fact, I only started riding again after a few weeks off last Saturday. But ultimately, I was able to make the drive down on Friday with a very promising weather report for race day (a nice change from last year's nightmare of rain and mud.)
I didn't have much of an expectation for this year (especially after last week's kind of disastrous 60 mile ride in the heat on Saturday.) But I was still psyched to get out and race for a full day in some really nice weather. The weather ultimately was as promised and even better - sunny all day, temps in the sixties and almost no wind. The course itself was in epic shape. Overall, it was probably the best conditions I've ever experienced there in six years of racing.
I pre-rode on Friday and knew the course was going to be fast and fun. Every year, they flip the direction and this year that meant a counterclockwise trip around the farm. Personally, I prefer this direction because it feels like the flow is just a little better in the middle of the course (although the dreaded rooty tree alcove at the halfway point on the lap is much tougher in this direction as we climb up through the roots instead of dropping down through them.)
After my pre-ride I still wasn't sure how it would go Saturday - my legs and lungs felt okay, but not great, and I had a bit of a twinge in my lower back (something I hadn't worried about in a year) but I was okay with that. Once again, I was just happy to be in good weather on a great course.
So Saturday morning arrives and I get to the venue around 7:45 for the 9 am start. I set up my "pit area" ...
I love my "ghetto pit". Every time I do a race like this, my pit is really just a cooler full of bottles and maybe a tool kit. I don't have any chairs, no luxuries and certainly no tent. That's by design, too. I mean, I am there to race. The last thing I want is to have someplace that I would want to stop for. All I want is to put a foot down, grab a bottle, and go again. My minimalist pit looks pathetic next to most others you'll see at LBD, but I love it. I spend maybe 20 seconds per lap at my pit, and that's the whole point.
At 9 am, we were off. I lined up at the front and got pulled into the turbo charge off the front and was quickly in the red for the start of the prologue. That was okay, but I knew I'd have to slow down pretty early. This year, the prologue was longer than it usually is - about 4 miles - and we covered that section in about 17 minutes. It was a brutal pace and I decided that most of the guys I was riding with were on teams and it was stupid to try to stay with them as a solo racer. I backed it off after the first hour and settled into my own pace, already about 13 miles into the day.
On the second lap, I had a nasty crash on the big rock drop in the first single track section ...
I just overcooked a bad line and hit the drop at too sharp an angle. I went over the bars and the hit the ground hard. I was okay, but unfortunately my Garmin mount couldn't say the same. I didn't realize it broke off, and continued on. But I was lucky - when I came back around, the Garmin was right there where it fell, still running and fine. I put it in my pocket and rode the rest of the day that way.
It takes a hard hit to break one of these. I hit the ground pretty hard!
Overall, I was feeling okay - my lungs and legs were surprisingly good, But after the crash, though, my back started acting up and that became the story of my day from then on. It got so bad after a while, I really started to wonder if I should keep going. I was moving alright, but in a lot of pain. I started popping "vitamin I" just to put up with it. I was taking one ibuprofen every three hours just to cope. Finally, I decided I would shoot for just 100 miles and then stop.
As luck would have it, a buddy of mine was in Leesburg for a brewery can release and he stopped but he race to check it out. He's hear die talk about racing for years but never saw one in person and wanted to see what it was all about. He actually thought it was really cool, which was great. hen I swung by my pit right after he arrived late in the afternoon, I asked him to find out from the scoring tent where I was and let me know the next lap around. I said if I was anywhere below third, I was going to hang it up. I said this because I was sure I was no better than fifth and I was really in a lot of pain and wanted to stop. When I came back around, he was walking back from a different section of the park and when I called out to him, he just said, "Ummm ... you're in first." My genuine reaction was "What?!?!?!" and then "Oh shit ..." I knew then that I was going to have to keep moving. He did give me some extra info that made me feel a little better - I was in first by over a lap. So I didn't necessarily have to push too hard to keep it up, I just had to keep moving.
I think it's an fascinating element of the human psyche that the moment you add a goal to something difficult, things change. After i found out I was in first, I swear my back seemed to ease up a bit and I felt slowly better and better. By the time nightfall hit, I was cruising. I wasn't feeling great, but I was doing a lot bette than I had been. And from there I kept my pace steady and knew that if I could finish off 17 laps (including the prologue), I'd get the win. And that's exactly what I did. I finished my 17th lap with 20 minutes left and knew that the guy behind me was still more than a lap behind, so there was no need to go back out. I finished up and during my cleanup, I realized my biddy had left me a six pack form the brewery he'd stopped at earlier. It was like finding gold! I got cleaned up, grabbed a beer, and went looking for food until they would do awards.
I wandered over to Larry Etgen's tent and hung out there. I have to say that Larry inadvertently play a HUGE roll in my day. Larry was racing duo and it worked out that I was going about the same pace as his team right in the middle of the day. I rode two or three laps with Larry for at least part of them and it was great to have someone to chat with and pace off. It took my mind off my back and Larry is a really great rider, so I just traded positions with him in different areas and felt like I was really lucky to find someone to roll with for a while. Ultimately, I did need to sit down on one lap for a few minutes to stretch my back out, and Larry rolled on by during that time. I never caught up to him again after that, but I really appreciate sharing the ride for a while.
Ultimately, I was happy to get the win - I've now won this race twice and that's a pretty cool feeling. It was a perfect day as far as weather and trail-conditions are concerned, and despite my back issues, I really had a blast. It kind of feels like the season has FINALLY kicked off after my single least favorite winter of all time!
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