Race season for me has begun.
This edition takes me back to the Dirty 30 in Saranac, MI. My first time racing here was 2012, check the recap by clicking here.
Day started off like normal. I was packed up and ready the night before. Always best to try to be prepared. I was up and heading North by 7am. The drive up was uneventful. I got to Saranac just before 8am and swung into the church to park. I rolled down to registration where the line was very short. I asked if I could change my category because I missed that there was a "clyde" option during signup. The dude told me that when Raymond got back he could help me (more on this later). I opted to just head back to the car and figured I would try later.
With a 10am start I had some time to just relax. I just kind of hung out and watched the parking lot fill up. Eventually it was time to get ready. I geared up and headed out for a warmup. I felt like I was dressed right, because temps were still in the 30's. I was comfortable, without having too many layers and being overdressed. It was funny as I rolled into the intersection by Dollar General....riders and cars everywhere. It has a very 'zwift' feel to it with the riders just blending in together and passing each other. Real life is much better.
I took this video of the swollen river. Hopefully the clarity is there. With the rain storm last week all of the rivers were very high. This one was extremely high.
I headed over to the start area and realized I was on the wrong side. Looped around and headed into the chute. It was hard to hear the announcer because the speakers were facing away towards the parking log. Thankfully I was in the start chute on time and ready to get going. In the pic below you can see the partly cloudy skies with a bit of a breeze. Great day for a race.
They fired the start...extinguisher (I guess...it was a steam or water signal of some sort) and it was time to go. Knowing I had 50 miles ahead of me, I didn't want to start fast.....like I ever do anyway. ha! The first section out of town is paved and has just a touch of elevation. Right away the lead pack was leaving me, as expected. We made the first turn towards a school and eventually the pavement gave way to dirt....and another hill. Gone. Lead pack was gone. I was less than 2 miles in and was basically riding alone. Just a few stragglers here and there stretching out ahead of me. There were a few behind me as well, but I was just there to finish.
The biggest thing here was the potholes. The roads surely were in rough shape from the sheer amount of rain in the previous week. Riding in a group could have been dangerous, because riding alone was sketchy enough for me. I was just chugging away when I heard a bigger group coming. I knew it was the 30 miles gaining. I heard a "keep up the work Seany" as Munson ripped past in front of the group. They passed me like I was sitting still, but I swear I was moving. lol.
Miles 10-20 were uneventful. Around the 18 mile mark the courses split and I was even more alone than before. Alone with my thoughts I started to calculate when I would be turning back towards town. They had 12 to go, so that gives me another 20 miles...so in 10 miles I will turn back to Saranac and when I reach the connection I should have 12ish miles to go. All good, just keep chugging.
Somewhere in the low 20's I saw another rider ahead of me. I heard 2 guys behind me chatting and they went ripping past a second later. I realized I had passed them earlier when one had a flat. Didn't take long before they were gone too. Seeing I was gaining on the rider in front of me gave me some hope. I kept my speed best I could and around mile 25 I finally reeled her in. Told her good job and I just kept chugging along.
This was the moment I realized that I forgot my food bars in the car. NOT GOOD. I was halfway into my race and realized I didn't have any energy with me. No aid stations that I was aware of....this was going to be a long afternoon. Thankfully I did have a Stinger waffle with me, or this story would have ended tragically.
The road out here turned to a super hard packed white gravel. Still some potholes, but way less than the others. This was where I had to use some nerve. 44ish miles in....there was a massive descent. I touched the brakes....worrying about potholes...but then let off and just decided to gamble. At the bottom of the hill I hit 43.5 mph! Simply hauling. I don't know if I have ever hit that speed on a bike before, let alone on pothole riddled gravel. Sketchy. But I survived and it was a blast!
Happy feeling gone. At mile 46 I made a right hand turn onto Ivan. This 3/4 mile segment has 200 feet of climbing. At this point my legs were already torched and I was starting to run out of gas. No shame, I walked a big portion of this section. No choice. I am still not a climber and this was my longest ride of the year. Also, if you remember, I didn't have any caloric input other than a waffle. So dumb. lol. I made it to the top and the volunteers the top gave me words of encouragement. Thanks for that, it was appreciated!
The next few miles were kind of a blur. Before I knew it I was making the last right hand turn towards the finish line. There was a guy on a unicycle that I destroyed the last 100 yards. (small victories). lol. Was cool that he rode and finished, I am unsure of his distance. What a cool thing do accomplish.
I finished. Out of gas and out of energy. I was happy with my finish for a few reasons. First, I finished. Secondly, I was actually faster than I figured I would be. Not as fast as 2021, but a lot has happened since then. I will take the solid finish and build on it next weekend at Barry Roubaix.
The kicker....remember that I was going to change classes to the 'Clyde' category? Well guess what....I would have been on the podium in 3rd place if I was able to change. My own fault, and an opportunity missed to make some Sean history. Lesson learned. When I went back to change categories the line was a few hundred people deep. I would have missed my start if I tried to change. So kind of bittersweet. I wasn't last.....but I didn't get rewarded for my efforts. :(
Barry Roubaix is next...and I will do a blog on that soon. 62 miles with 2x the climbing should be interesting. See you guys there!
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