After skipping it last year due to racing too much, I finally got my cowbell fix on the singlespeed this past weekend. In the past, the race has been held at the US whitewater center, but for whatever reason this year’s race was held at Fisher Farms in Davidson, NC. The course only had 4 miles of singletrack, but included 3 miles of grass/field sections to increase the mileage. The singletrack was mostly tight, twisty and rooty, with quite a few techie sections of skinnies, rock gardens, bridges, log piles and the like. Overall, it was super flat, with only one short steep climb and 2 or 3 longer uphills. On a side note, this race is the only one in the southeast that has a “King of the Mountains” competition on the first lap. I just find it funny that one of the flattest courses I’ve raced on in years crowns a king of the rollers.

Bling Bling… Also, something about this picture reminds me why I’ll never be a good roadie.

The race was kind of tight at the start, as it was a mass start on the bikes with a downhill gravel road. It didn’t exactly break things up. I had gotten a good spot near the front so traffic wasn’t bad.  As I didn’t preride the course, the gear choice decision of 32×18 was running through my head for most of the first lap, but it turned out to be pretty close. My legs felt better than they have in the past weeks, but they still didn’t have the top end snap in them. Surprisingly, the heat wasn’t bad at all, with highs in the mid 80s or so. It even rained for a few minutes… although it was weird as the sun was still fully out as it rained.

The race itself was pretty uneventful. Just the usual ride in circles, drink some infinit, and stop when people wave their arms at you at the end and tell you you’re done. I was in 4th for the first 5 or 6 laps, then started gaining places as the heat and pacing of the people ahead caused them to drop out, and I moved up into second.  That was really the only shakeup in the placings for me, as I never really saw the soulcraft guy from california that won. Damn flatlanders. I needed another 500 ft or so of climbing per lap to have a chance. The 32×18 ended up being perfect, as I was never in danger of having to walk any climbs and wasn’t too spun out on the rest of the course. Running the 20 would have definitely been a mistake. The roots and rocks made for a bumpy ride, but the big wheels rolled over everything with ease. I was moving well on the few climbs, but didn’t seem to have the power to make up any time on the rest of the course.  With lightning and thunderstorms approaching, the race was ended half an hour early. I couldn’t complain as I was locked into second and actually got to pack my stuff up in the daylight.  That’s definitely a rare moment on the 12 hour scene.

Moments after this shot was taken, I flexed my guns too and put him to shame but the camera missed it.

So overall, not a bad day on the bike to put down 112 miles in 10.5 hours and win not only money, but beer as well (and of course a cowbell also)… It’s like they knew I was just going to spend the money on beer anyways. Mmm… Terrapin…  The geared guys were super fast on the day, and Josh Tostado took the win with Nat Ross and Chris Janiszewski rounding it out. Nat rocked the Hi-Fi all day, which I’m sure made the roots feel like nothing.

Onwards to a month of training only before heading up to Wisconsin for the throwdown at 24 hour nationals in Wausau…  Should be good times.

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