Monday, July 20, 2009

12 hours of 909

Laps/Time/Mins per lap
1/7:10am-7:55am/45min
2/8:50am/55min
3/9:47am/57min
4/10:45am/58min
5/11:40am/55min
6/12:44pm/59min
7/1:50pm/1:06min
8/3:02pm/1:12min
9/4:15pm/1:13min
10/5:31pm/1:16min
11/6:42pm/1:11min

The times shown are with breaks. The first 5 laps I didn't rest much but after that I was stopping after every lap to eat something. I was searching for the results and found that Heather Rizzi from Team GT blogged about the race and said that the laps were almost 9 miles long and 900 ft of climbing per lap. So if I went 11 laps then I did almost 99 miles and 9,900ft of climbing. That's a lot of 9's. Can I just call it 100 miles and 10,000ft of climbing? Thank you that's much better. I can't find the results yet but I think I did the most laps for solo and matched laps with some teams.

The top men soloists were on single speeds! I think single speed is the way to go for long events like this because as long as you don't pick a monster gear you save yourself throughout the race. Monte did a great job trying to reel in his team with killer lap times, but unfortunately his new found gears might have got the better of him and cut his race short. I'm sure racing every weekend since February and not resting much has a lot to do with it too. Get some rest Monte and you'll be killing it again soon. I think my 34x21 was just right for this longer race. If I come back for a short race I would use a 19 or 20.


The course was really amazing! There was only a few sections that were muddy despite the 2 inches of rain the night before. The worst of it came as a freshly bulldozed logging road that had most of the climbing for the race. The tires just got stuck and slopped mud over the brakes and gear(s). But once that was over you got to go through 40 feet of standing water that washed the mud from the tires and then my bike would feel lighter again. Then it was down hill swoopy awesomeness that was wicked fun! The rest of the lap was all like that with a few short climbs that were not too hard but towards the end of the race I was walking up.


I thought my back would kill me or my butt, but they didn't. My hands started to hurt a lot and get those blisters under the callus but then I switched to my old fox gloves that had some padding in them and they worked perfect. I wish they still made those. That WTB rocket v saddle worked really well. I kept the tire pressure around 23 and that helped too. I'm still not too happy with the lack of clearance the rear tire gets. Rocks were getting lodged between the tire and frame and grinding. Not cool. I also found out the next day that I broke a spoke on the rear wheel.




11 and a half hours of riding with mud




Thank you all for cheering for me and wishing me good luck. I had a lot of motivation thinking about you during the race.
Peace





6 comments:

  1. Great job! Love the leg shot.
    What did you eat?

    ReplyDelete
  2. I ate some gluten free biscuts with almond butter and honey every lap after #6, I think. I also had 2 bannanas and some bites of chicken. I also had a gt's kombucha, ginger berry, a sip here and there. I don't know if those were the best choices but I don't do gu. The biscuts have lots of calories which I figured I needed. I also had my homemade mix of molasses and lemon with a little bit of sea salt.
    I should have said all of that in the blog but it slipped my mind.
    Thanks CB2!

    ReplyDelete
  3. James impressive!!
    shoot me an e-mail I'm looking to do Great Glen 12 hour with a partner.
    If interested let me know, (I'll be using my carbon forks at least if not some suspension)
    monocog29er@yahoo.com
    E'

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wicked.
    Agreed - single speed (especially those big wheeled ones) are the way to go.
    Congrats!

    ReplyDelete
  5. That WTB rocket v saddle worked really well.
    ___________________
    Julie
    Get easy cash at your door step

    ReplyDelete
  6. James impressive!!
    Agreed - single speed are the way to go.
    Thanks for reporting...

    --
    Jhon
    Best Affordable Security Systems Suitable for Renters and Apartments, Business and RV

    ReplyDelete