5.20.06
8am
Wake up and grab breakfast at the local IHOP. Before leaving the hotel, I make sure to slam the door extra hard for an early morning wake up call for our hotel neighbors. Apparently, screaming out the door to each other and slamming the hotel room door randomly over the course of a half hour period is appropriate behavior at midnight.
9am
Arrive back at hotel. Pit crew packs up and heads over to the venue. Fearing the heat, I decide to stay out of it as long as I can as to not dehydrate.
11am
Arrive at the venue and sign in. 2 other men have signed up for the race, bringing the total up to 7.
12am
Race starts. The run is long enough to stretch things out. Heather Mosley actually finishes the run in front of me, but by the time we get into the woods, I am leading the pack which is stretched out single file behind me.
12:42am
The heat is blazing, and so is the speed as we click off the first lap. I am in hot pursuit of a rider #20 who is 1 minute ahead of me. Not knowing who he is, I try to chase him down. (Incidentally, his 42 minute and my 43 minute laps are the fastest laps of the day).
1pm
I have caught #20 on the second loop of the second lap on the very first climb. The climb is rough over a huge rocky mountainside and the heat is radiating off it, making it seem hotter then it actually is.
#20 is having a difficult time – he is riding a hard tail and I quickly drop him, keeping the same fast pace we have been setting.
1:26pm (approximate)
I just ticked off our second lap. The temperature is rising. I later find out that it hit an approximate high of 94 degrees.
3pm
#20 has now dropped back due to some issues with a loose cleat and Eddie O is roughly 2 minutes down on me. I can see him in some sections. (Also note, apparently Eddie had a flat on the very first lap or else he would have more then likely been right with me for the opening laps).
6pm
Finally, the temperature is getting cooler. I pick up the pace, and slowly my lead grows.
Midnight
Towards the end of one of my night laps with about a mile to go on the lap, I catch Eddie and we ride together for awhile. This is actually the first extended conversation with him I have ever had. We talk briefly about the Wobblenaught fit system.
We would ride in together to the lap tent, I refuel quickly and head out.
3am
Temperatures have cooled due to the night so I pick up the pace, and tick off three 50 minute’ish laps in a row. I was sometimes riding faster laps during the night then I was during the day.
5am’ish
I have now lapped the entire field at least twice by this time. I stop for my last battery exchange and some tastey Campbell’s chicken soup.
9am
I ride in for what I am thinking is my next to last lap, but it ends up being my last. Eddie is waiting for me in the pits, now making me 3 laps up on him. Third place is three laps down on Eddie. All we have to do is ride one more lap as the word from the third place rider is that he is content with his placing.
We ride together for the last lap, logging about a one hour lap. We talked a lot about the race season, the Conyers course in general, the ultra series, Wobblenaught, etc.
We both log out at the end of the lap which was around 10AM – we are done for the day.
Interesting point of the day – I was actually leading the race OVERALL (for both teams and solo’s) until about 8AM Sunday morning, and would of finished 2nd OVERALL for the race had I logged two more one hour laps.
Thanks
For all my sponsors (Asylum Cycles, Speedgoat.com, Schwalbe Tires, Hammer Gel, Tifosi Optics, Light & Motion, Wobblenaught, Crank Brothers), my pit crew (Dan the Man, Ernesto Sr, and Drew), and for all those fans who gave a shout out at the race.
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