The Tent Event

Please read Moby's earlier post. It is very important and exciting.

MTB United attended the Rapture In Misery and the Cyclewerx Crankfest this weekend. I've got no pics from Crankfest, and only preperation photos from Rapture. So, here they are.


The camp/pit area. Notice the new addition to the MTB United arsenal of gear. Should work out well for the Burnin'.






Matt and Zach gearing up for the race.


Casey Ryback's newly goldified whip.


Left Wentzville at 6AM Sat. morning for the noon start at Landahl to try my hand at my first 12 hour solo race. Arrived around 9AM and set up the camp/pit right next to the Team Seagal boys who had so kindly held a spot.

Spent some time getting water bottles filled, bikes tuned, gear laid out, etc. I had a mantra: Relax, flow, stay off the brakes. I knew it would be tough to lay off on the first few laps and to conserve energy so I tried to remind myself repeatedly.

Course was a bit over 10 miles so each lap should be in the 1 hour ballpark. It was a great loop with a couple small climbs, lots of rocks and roots, and some rippin fun curvy buff singletrack.

Race meeting, drop off the bike, last minute johnny visit, line up. Another lemans style start and we were in the woods. After just a few passes I found my niche and rode my relaxed pace. Heart rate stayed around 150-155 the entire lap. Right where I wanted to be, if not a bit high. Rode half of that lap with Zach, just like it was a few months ago at the last race I did at Landahl. I enjoy riding with him, it seems we're on a very similar level. Came to the pit after one lap and made sure he was off and out of sight before I took off. He was racing the 6 hour solo (took third overall, Bad Ass) and I knew he would be turning up the heat, and I needed to "Relax, flow, stay off the brakes".

The lap specifics are pretty much a blur but I'll share some randon thoughts and happenings. I tried to just zone out and keep pedaling. The result was a wandering mind. My thoughts ranged from deep to mindless, from excited/happy to ouch/no more. I can't recall any of the specifics really except the inability to get one song out of my head. I don't know why but "Good Ship, Lollipop" played over and over in my head for the majority of a lap. It wasn't really that bad as it was repeated and rythmic like a motor or something and kept me zoned out and flowing. I rode most of one lap with Brad (Lt. Col. Austin Travis) of Team Seagal. That guy is fast. He came up behind me a bit in to my fifth? lap and gave me a great boost to finish that one up. Super nice guy, every time I meet another Seagal guy, I'm impressed with how nice they are. Out for another lap.

All racers leaving after 6:45PM were required to do so with a light. I came in after my sixth lap and took a rest. Stretch, eat, drink. Get my light mounted and ready. I plugged the battery in to the light. It lit for a second and then went out. It always does this to verify that everything is in working order, but it seemed a bit quick for some reason. I hit the button to turn it on. Dark. Nothing. The LED power meter read full juice, but no light. I tried again, same thing. I tried my stock battery. Same thing. Full power, no light. I assume the bulb burned out. It was 9 years old after all. Lesson: Bring a spare bulb. (I've ordered a replacement already , but as I just typed that I realized that of course I should've ordered two. Though, I don't know a loose bulb will survive 9 years in my possession.) So my bulb, or the inner workings of the light head, is/are fried. Cuss a couple times, ask around. No luck. The Seagal guys start trying to put something together and said go back out and we'll see when you come back. So, I put the light on my helmet and went out for another lap. The sun was gone by that time, but it was still light out. I knew it would get pretty dark in the woods during that lap. It did, but my eyes adjusted fairly well. Just had to take my time. Finished up my seventh lap and revisited the light issue with the Seagal guys as well as the race promoters. I could use Greg's light in a couple hours after he was done with it. Thank you so much for the offer Greg. (Greg/ Gino Fellino, another super nice Seagal gentleman) I thought about it, but due to fatigue, concern for caring for his light, and the fact that if I sat around for a couple hours I seriously doubt I'd get back up, I decided to call it quits. Went up to the scorer's table and checked in for my last lap and pull the plug. I looked at the laps for my age group and I think I was in third, though you can't tell by the last lap time as I checked in after jerking around for 20 minutes or so.

So I was a bit bummed as I was pretty excited to ride a few night laps. I think I could've pulled off another three without the light mishap. I'm not exactly sure what time I pulled the plug, but I think around 8:30PM. That's all very easy to say two days later behind a computer, crunching numbers, recovered from the effort. I was just about to start hitting the caffeine which would've hopefully provided a great boost to push me through those last hours. Oh well, maybe next time.

Sat down and had a beer, a PB and J, about 10 fun size Twix, some water, and some pretzels. Lasted about 30 minutes before I crawled in my tent and went to sleep. So much for staying up for the party.

Next morning I hit McD's on the way home and had a large OJ, Sausage McSkillet Burrito, Sausage Burrito, 2 Hash Browns, Sausage Egg McMuffin, and 2 Cherry Pies.

Congratulations to Keeven and Zach, 1st and 3rd overall respectively in the 6 hour solo class.


Also see these writeups and pics:

Team Seagal

Heartland Pics


Nico and Doctor



Gino



Mason



Dwayne



Zach



Lt. Col.



Zach



Chris



Keeven



Casey



Keeven



Doctor



Mason



6 Hour Solo Overall



12 Hour Solo 20-29



12 Hour Solo Overall



12 Hour Duo Overall (Gino and Lt. Col.)



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