Race #4 of the Michigan Endurance Cup Series

As luck would have it, I ended up in Michigan to visit my wife’s family from 27JUL to 09AUG this year. This is a trip we do every year, where we spend the first week in Sterling Heights (not too far outside of Detroit) and then the second week up north in Rapid City (just outside of Traverse City). It’s a time where we can kick back and relax a bit, catch up on family and enjoy the pleasures of summer. Since we drive out each year, I’ve been able to bring my bike to do some recovery rides to get ready for the impending mountain bike races stacked up in AUG and SEP.

This year would be a little different. Breaking the tradition of relaxed recovery rides, I opted to compete in a 12-hour mountain bike race. I found out about the race, oddly enough, from my Mother-in-law. She sent me an e-mail indicating that there was going to be a race not too far from their house in Sterling Heights.

Always up for a challenge, I decided that this year I was going to bring my road bike for some good recovery rides while we were up north, but I was also going to bring my mountain bike to race in Detroit (Ok, technically it wasn’t in Detroit, about 15 miles away, just kind of funny to say mountain biking in Detroit).

Because packing to go on a 2 week vacation can be a challenge all in itself, (a task my wife takes on about 99.8 % of the work) I decided that I wasn’t going to put too much energy in getting the bikes ready. In fact, I didn’t even touch the bikes prior to leaving, just put them on the rack on then we headed out.

I did think for a few moments that I should probably change my tires on the mountain bike, they were my big mud tires after all, but I decided to just keep them on to keep the miles off my racing tires. The reasoning was that this race was just going to be a training race only, and that I didn’t want to go too deep so close to the Hampshire 100k and the Shenandoah 100. It takes quite a bit of time for my body to recover from a really long ride, and this was going to be the longest I’ve ever been in the saddle.

So my intention for the race was to simply prepare myself for the Shenandoah 100 by experimenting with fueling and stopping at rest stations, and simply getting a lot of miles on the mountain bike. Hydration for me is always an issue, and I need to be very careful in what I do because if I don’t do it right, the consequences are mostly often in the form of hitting that huge wall of pain. This happened to me a couple years ago at the Bradbury Mountain Enduro Race – the last couple of miles were the worst I ever felt on a bike, and it took close to 2 weeks to recover from that. So for this race, it was going to be how best to stay hydrated and then work in some other foods to see how I would do. The race itself was just an opportunity to commit to such a long ride, something I would find impossible to do, especially in Michigan away from home, if it was just up to me to go out alone and ride. My goal was to finish the race and try to get in 120 miles on the bike.

Ok, now to the actual race report. Check-in starts at 0700, race meeting at 0730 and start time was at 0800. I get to the race right around 0700, maybe a tad bit later. I grab my stuff and set it up near the start/finish line. There were a bunch of teams there that had set up tents and had chairs and coolers, and I was kicking myself for not bringing at least a chair. But as luck would have it, soon after I put my stuff down Team Sandbag Bicycle Racing showed up looking to set up their tent. They offered a spot under their tent if I would agree to share my stake of land. So up went the tent and I was instantly set up with a nice spot in the shade. They seemed like a real nice group going out there and racing their bikes, playing a bit on words with their team name (http://www.teamsandbag.com). I was thankful they offered up a spot and it proved to be very useful throughout the race, providing a great spot to keep my stuff safe and out of the sun.

The teams categories were the first to go off, followed by the Solo riders. There was an option for a 6-hour race, a temptation that I had to fight to resist, and they went off at the same time as the 12-hour race. The laps were reported to be right around 10 miles, with a combination of double track and single track.

The course turned out to be real fast and not particularly technically challenging – something I was kind of expecting. There were a couple short hills, but most of the riding was quick up and down, almost groomed trails. There was hardly a root to be found, and there was only one artificial rock garden that did little to slow you down. There was never a place that required a lot of concentration nor did you ever have to unclip for any reason other then to stop at the pit.

That being said, the singletrack flowed very well, with lots of twist and turns that felt more like a BMX course then it did a traditional east coast mountain bike course (the only kind of mountain bike racing I’ve done). When you hit the double track (more like a jeep trail) it was mostly flat with a bit of a breeze to contend to. It was the driest race I have ever done, and was cursing at the mud tires stuck to my rims. As dry as the course was, I still managed to get just as dirty from the dust and sweat as any of the worst races around here.

The first lap was very fast for me – less then 45 minutes to complete lap one. There was no way I was going to be able to maintain that kind of pace, but visions of 140 miles started to dance in my head. You had to start your last lap prior to the 12 hour mark, so your last lap could start as last as 11:59 into the race. So after the first lap, I slowed it down a bit, pulling a 48 minute lap. My goal at this time was to keep my lap riding time below 1 hour, knowing that there were going to be a few laps over an hour because of stopped time, but I didn’t want my ride time to be less then an hour.

At lap three, I picked up my CamelBak that was filled up and loaded with everything I would need to a 100 mile race. My intention was to wear this for at least 4 hours, and then drop it off and go to just using bottles. This was my first stop, and it only took about a minute to pick up and get going again. I was feeling pretty good, and my head was clear. I still had visions of 140 miles, but I was focused on completing 120 miles as my main objective.

I settle into about a 52 minute ride-time lap routine, trying to minimize the amount of time stopped in the pit. At lap four, I decided that I shouldn’t fight to get 140 miles in, and that 120 miles would be just about perfect for a training day race.

Going into lap five, I start slipping a bit mentally. The course wasn’t very technically challenging, but staying focused for the full 12 hours was going to be much harder then I originally anticipated. I started to think about that 6-hour race, and that maybe that’s all I really should be doing. After all, I am on vacation, and I do have a couple really big races coming up. Not only that, but I started to think about all the time I was missing with my family, and all of a sudden my urge to race for 12 hours was weakening.

So lap six comes up, and about half way through, I run into another 12-hour racer. He was off his bike and walking. I stopped to see if he needed any help, and he indicated that he had a flat with no tube or way to inflate it. I offered my saddle bag in support, with everything he would need to change out his tire. He thanked my and I was off again. Not long after that, I realized that now I was going to have to wear the CamelBak for the remainder of the race – something I wasn’t very excited about doing. As I finished the sixth lap and going into the seventh, I really started considering asking if I could just do the 6-hour race. I just couldn’t imagine doing this same course for another six hours.

So my chance to finish at six hours came and went, and I went on – very reluctantly. I finish my seventh lap and started going into the eighth lap when I saw my wife! Wow, that was a surprise. Then I saw the kids cheering! That certainly boosted my moral a ton. I stopped and chatted with the family for a few minutes, they gave me some words of encouragement, and then I was back on the bike. From that point, things turned around for me. I remembered why I was there in the first place – to train for the other races. So I started experimenting with food and fluids. Came back after that lap and the family was still there – sweet! Chatted for a few more minutes (this was a training race, after all) and then was back riding again. The laps seemed to come easier now, not necessarily faster, just easier. My body was still feeling pretty good and now I was back on track for finishing this thing. My mind was back into the goal of 120 miles, and the end was in sight.

With 11 laps under my belt, I stopped for my last big pit stop. Time for one last fueling, filled up the bottles and did a quick stretch. My plan was to go ultra easy on lap 12 and then hit it as hard as I could for lap 13. Based on my time, I should have plenty of time to get to lap 13, so I really took my time at this rest stop. The last thing I wanted to do is crap up with just two laps to go.

So off I go again, nice and easy. I maintained that pace for the entire lap. I come up to the start/finish and they waved me down. Race over. What? It’s only 11:20 into the race; I still have time to do one more lap! They said that they were stopping an hour early because of potential weather that may be coming. At first I was a bit disappointed, but that quickly faded and I was a bit relieved that I didn’t have to do another lap. As it turned out, it was probably really good that they called it early because it forced a nice cool-down lap for me while I was fully loaded, something I would not have done given the option to after the race was over.

So 120 miles later (11 hours and 17 minutes) I was done. Perhaps the hardest race mentally I have ever done, but the body responded surprisingly well. I ended up taking 3rd place in my category, so I was pretty excited about that. More importantly, I have a lot of confidence going into the Hampshire 100k and Shenandoah 100.

Spike