While I figured this event would be a stretch....I don't think I was prepared for the outcome. Here is how the weekend went....
I will start with Thursday evening. I didn't get to bed until after midnight due to a family issue. All is ok now, but when duty calls...you gotta answer. So Friday I was already tired. I left work early and got home to load up the rest of the gear. We headed out of Allegan around 4pm. With an ETA of 7ish for Grayling. That number changed dramatically due to accidents in GR and the shockingly perverse amount of traffic on US-131. It was basically wall to wall traffic from Grand Rapids all the way to Cadillac where we finally made the turn onto 55. Relatively unscathed we arrived in Grayling and started setting up around 8:30. I was worn out....and ready for bed. We were going to have a fire but we were forgotten about and the wood wasn't delivered until 11:30. No worries, as I was in bed. However, I don't think I was asleep before 1am because the campground was pretty rowdy. Not wanting to be a complete douche....I dealt with it....and my own expense and ended up not getting much sleep Friday night either.
Saturday morning came and I was simply dragging ass. I pondered not even going sometime during the night. Then again this morning. Then on the way to Hanson Hills. Then again....and again....until that feeling faded and I was warming up. Then it was time to line up and we all crowded around the big bicycle at the entrance. Brent gave his last announcements and one of them would come back to haunt me. But more on that later...time to start.
It was about a 2 mile road rollout. It was stated to be a "controlled" start, however it was about half a mile before I was riding alone. The leadout was well over 20mph. Perhaps normal for a 50 mile mtb race, but way over a pace for me....even on pavement. Eventually a guy rolled up with me and we chatted around the rollout and back toward Hanson Hills. Then we dove into the back side of the property and started rolling across the grass behind the lodge. At this point, my power was already lacking.
We started down the 2 tracks and eventually into the singletrack. Mark looked over his shoulder and wished me luck before disappearing around a corner. A few other people caught me but I was pretty much riding alone. I plodded along at my pace. I eventually reached a hill where I couldn't power up it and got off to walk. A 10 year old kid powered past me and went out of sight with his dad on his wheel. Alone again, I just simply rode what I could. My pace was slow. Zero power and quickly losing interest I found myself starting to ponder other events.
I was moving slow and decided I needed a drink....then while putting the bottle back lost a bit of concentration and drifted left. The bar smacked a tree...followed closely by my left forearm. Sure, beat a guy when he is already down. LOL. At this point....I was like..."well....this is gonna be a long day". I was finding sparks of life every now and then, but I was still losing time every mile. The woods gave way to some clearings on the military property and some huge log piles. Add in some incredibly deep ruts and I didn't really know what to think. My brain was all over the place. Like...this is cool....those assholes kept me up....look at those logs......I am freaking tired and still have a long way to go....the Lorax is gonna pop out at any time......you know....stuff like that.
Then I rolled into the aid station. I was struggling, but kept going. I caught that little 10 year old punk there. He was kicking back a coke. About a mile later he blew past me again. lol. Strong dude for sure. Awesome to see him out there with his dad chasing him. Having only ridden Hanson Hills once I didn't really have a feel for where I was. I did ponder stopping and making a straight line back to the parking lot. lol. Again, I was struggling. I pushed on. And started to recognize a few things. Then eventually I realized I was on the last long climb of the lap. This is a long brutal climb. I walked. No way.
Before that climb I did get lapped. Mile 20 was the first culprit. Dude finished 50 miles faster than I did 25. LOL. I am not a climber, but this race was hard for a number of reasons. Mainly the lack of sleep.
I finally crested the last hill and bombed down into the field behind the lodge. And then passed the lodge....ugh. Can't I just be done. nope. One more nasty loop around the grass before diving back in behind the lodge and seeing the finish/lap line. I crossed the line in 3 hours and 28 minutes. One of the last announcements that was made that the cutoff would be 1 pm. That means....I missed the cutoff by nearly 30 minutes. Saving me from another 3 or 4 hours of torture.
Overall it was pretty eye opening. I knew Hanson was hilly, and my biggest flaw is that I am a heavy rider. 100 percent my own doing. Yes, I am a lot stronger and have plenty of endurance.....but when the terrain tilts uphill.....I struggle. I know this weakness....and I need to fix it. But....it is what it is right now.
So I missed the cutoff and headed back to the campground. I did muster a 17 mile ride on Sunday with SJ so that was good. But I am very grateful I removed my name from the LJ100 wait list....as I would now be IN and I am just not in a place to try that event again. But, that doesn't mean things are over yet. Dirty Donut is this Sunday and Cow Pie classic is the following Saturday. Meaning only a few more weekends until Coast 2 Coast. I am still not 100% I am going to attempt it, but at this point.....why not. Everything is booked and final plans are coming into place.
See you all soon. Keep on pedaling.
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