The excitement factor went up a notch when Austin received heavy rainfall and flooding less than a week out from the race. It became a bit of a scramble wondering if the race was still a go and whether I should do any tire changes due to the conditions. The race course was about 1 hour from Austin so it was hard to know what the conditions would be like. I played it safe and changed out my front tire from a Specialized Fast Trak Control to a Ground Control. Thanks to Barry for setting me up. Kham at Bow Cycle helped me pack up my bike and I was off to Texas hoping for the best. The race was a go rain or shine!
I arrived in Austin to sunny skies and warm temperatures so that was a good sign. We all headed out to Rocky Hill Ranch (RHR) Friday afternoon to check out the course. I was surprised how dry it was considering all the rain over the last week. The original course had to be re-routed due to wet conditions but was still pretty good. There was some mud and puddles but nothing like some of the conditions I have seen in Canada.
Race day came and we loaded up our bikes and gear and headed out. The weather looked good and I was feeling ready to go! When we arrived at RHR finished setting up our pit area and getting things sorted. Thad the "pit master" was getting everything dialled. I knew we would be in good hands with his help along with Antonio and Sarah.
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| Loading things up. |
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| Dave, Shaun & I. Nice moustaches! |
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| The pits |
We headed to the start line to stash our bikes and get ready for the Le Mans start. The next thing I knew people starting running. I guess it was on! I didn't even hear the gun go off. After the short run I grabbed my bike from Thad and his daughter and headed off. I got into a fairly good position before the single track so things were moving at a pretty good pace. Back to the pits and grabbed another bottle of Infinit from Sarah who was doing the hand ups. I wanted to keep rolling and get some faster laps in before it was time to mount lights. I was setting a fairly steady pace and feeling good.
My first stop was to mount lights and put a few layers on. I only mounted the Exposure Diablo on my helmet and grabbed some knee and arm warmers. The pit crew cleaned my drive train and lubed my chain. The sand and mud was starting to pile up but the Fate was still riding great! Headed back out for another lap. Shortly into the lap Shaun caught up to me. He said I had a fairly good lead at that point and it was all about riding smart from here on out. That was a great lap as the sun was setting, the sky looked amazing. Back to the pits to mount the Six Pack light on my handlebars and add some more layers and shoe covers, which were key to keep the feet dryer with all the puddles.
Things were not feeling too bad into the night. It was cooling off but I was smart with my layers as did not want to get cold. Into the early morning hours my back really started to get sore and stiff. I tried to ride out of the saddle a little more to dull the pain. When I came into the timing tent around 4:00am I asked how much of a lead I had to see if I could stop and stretch my back. At that point I was told I had a 4 lap lead. So I figured I was good to stop for awhile and stretch with the hope my back would improve. That seemed to help for the next lap but the one after that my back was really sore again. So I stopped one more time to stretch and take a layer off. I knew the sun would be coming up soon so I just had to keep pushing on.
The caffeine was starting to kick in and I was feeling pretty good again and my lap times were getting faster. To play it safe I switched out my lights for the final lap of darkness. About half way into it the sun started to come up which is an awesome feeling knowing the end is near. The lights came off the bike for the next lap and so did the layers. Feeling really good again for the last 2 laps. Another stop to peel the layers off for my last lap. I had plenty of time for another one with a noon cut off.
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| Final Lap! |
It was a great last lap. I ran into Sean and Brian who were both lighting it up! It was awesome to see them riding so strong at this point in the race. When I rolled into the timing tent they asked if I was going out again. There was still time but it would be tight and really there was no point. So I finished with 17 laps and the win for Solo Women!
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Dave & I post race.
Packing up the pits |
Everyone did amazing with Dave taking 3rd for Solo Open Men and Johnny 2nd. Sean won for Single Speed, Brian 2nd Solo Sport and Laura 3rd for Solo Women.
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| Podium with race event organizers Kathy & Scott |
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| Laura & I |
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The boys on the podium
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The rest of my time in Austin was spent having a lot of laughs and enjoying some good food and beverages with some amazing people.
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Johnny & I
The gang at Ruby's |
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| Antonio enjoying some well deserved Texas BBQ |
This was my second year racing RHR and both times have been a good experience. The event is well organized and the people are very friendly. The event itself is one thing but the people you surround yourself with is another. I could not have done it without the pit crew support and Coach Shaun. The cheering, hand ups, and bike maintenance were top notch! Thank you Sarah, Antonio & Thad. Racing Solo is truly a combined effort. Also, thank you to Johnny & Laura for the accommodations and great times! It was an amazing end to the season.
