2016 Lutsen 99er

The forecast on Tuesday called for a chance of rain the Saturday of the race.  I told myself things will likely change by Saturday.  There were a few dips in the chance of rain, but on the morning of the race, the chances were good for rain by 10:00 AM. 

The race started at 7:30 on dry roads.  I was hopeful we could escape the rain.  The soil in northern Minnesota is sandy and drains well.  However, there are always large puddles, even in “dry” years.

I was concerned I was not in top shape because my important large effort two Saturdays before the race was shortened by rain.  Without significant testing there is no way to know for sure, so in the last week I was trying to tell myself to ride my race and not worry about my fitness.

The race starts with a neutral descent of about 5 minutes, turns onto a flat road (highway 61) for 5 minutes, then turns back north and climbs for 20 minutes.  I held myself back a bit on the climb so I would not burn too much energy in the first 30 minutes of the race.  In the three prior years I have finished the race in just under 7 hours and was holding to the same goal this year.

I was able to ride at a reasonable pace on the initial climb.  The rest of course to the first aid station contains several miles of rough doubletrack.  I made it to the first aid station a couple minutes behind my goal pace.  I was not where I wanted to be time wise, but I was holding a reasonable pace and was telling myself I was better off to conserve early so I had energy towards the end.  There had been some thunder prior to arriving at the first aid station, but no rain.

Near the start on dry roads.

 

The first aid station marks the beginning of a 17.8 mile figure eight in the course, which is ridden twice.  The figure eight contains approximately 7 miles of rough mowed trail and 10 miles of gravel road.  I meet Jenni (my superb crew) who is stationed just as the rough mowed trail ends.  In the rough mowed trail someone passed me and said my name.  I was not sure who it was, but I suspected it was Steve Cannon.  I stopped to grab a new bottle and something to eat.  It was sprinkling lightly, which was of no concern, I was actually happy to have a bit of moisture to settle the dust.

After I left Jenni, the rain picked up significantly.  There was lightning striking the trees all around me.  It started raining so hard I was actually getting cleaner.  On the first couple miles of gravel road after I left Jenni I was unable to hold onto the back of a draft line.  I remembered from years past, there was a large descent with a turn at the bottom.  As I was descending I noticed I was catching the group I was unable to hang onto earlier.  I glanced to the right and saw a racer standing up in the ditch.  Apparently he was caught off-guard by the descent with a corner at the bottom.  I was able to rejoin the group and work with them all the way back to the first aid station.

By the time I reached the rough doubletrack the rain had slowed.  The double track was still rough, and now greasy and soft.  Not long after hitting the rough doubletrack Steve Cannon passed me again.  I was able to hold onto his wheel and he was a good pacer, plus it helped to see his line through the rough rocks.  Between breaths we were chatting which helped pass the miles.  We commented how we were working harder to go slower.  I stopped to load up on supplies when I met Jenni, to head out for the remaining 37 miles of the race.  I said good-by to Steve as he rode on.

Within a mile after passing the 3^rd aid station I spotted Steve up the road.  I caught him and we rode together without saying much to each other.  Steve and I slowly began to get further and further apart.  He was riding stronger, and / or I was fading.  I had to stop for a “nature break” and Steve was able to keep going.  Within approximately 7 miles after the 3^rd aid station I noticed the roads were getting dryer. 

By the 4^th aid station the roads were dry and dusty again.  I was hanging onto the back of a strong group and working hard to stay with them.  The miles consisted of mostly gravel roads with a few miles of doubletrack.  At one point we were descending at close to 20 mph on a good doubletrack, or maybe it was a sketchy gravel road, I heard the vibration of disk brakes a couple times.  Next I observed a rider pull off to the left and do a somersault in the ditch.  He popped up, so I knew he was OK.  I never learned the cause of this issue.

I left the last aid station all alone.  At this point in the race I like to ride with a group to help pace me to the finish.  After several hours it is very easy to lose focus and find yourself pedaling easy as if on a joy-ride.  I was able to catch a couple people, but was also passed by a couple.  I was not riding very strongly, but I was not creeping along either.  I was pushing myself hard as we entered the singletrack which makes up the last few miles of the course.  There is no need to save anything at this point.  The course descends a small hill, crosses a bridge and goes up a short hill with a boardwalk.  As I was working to get myself lined up for the small uphill I realized there was a cyclist stopped about 1/3 of the way up.  I was able to fly past on the left without incident.

Passing the stopped rider near the start of the singletrack.

I saw another racer (possibly in one of the shorter races) in front of me crash in the tight singletrack.  I continued pushing as hard as my tired legs would go.  In the back of my mind I knew there was a long and steep climb to the finish, but I was trying not to hold back too much.  I completed the short descent to the river, rode along the river, and then started up the finishing climb.  I was able to pass a couple racers who were completely out of gas.  There are so many emotions at this point in the race; spectators cheering loudly, you know you are nearly finished and your legs are screaming in pain.

At the finish with my legs screaming in pain.

I finished in 7:20, several minutes slower than my goal.  I was disappointed, but as I have had time to think about my race and preparation, I now know why I was slower.  The items impacting my race were: I was getting a chest cold, the thunderstorm made the roads and trail softer and I was forced to shorten an important long training ride two weeks prior to the race.  Unfortunately, I will never know the level of impact each of the above items had on my time.  I had very little control over these items, so I just need to move on with the rest of my season.