Thunderdown in the Underdown

Saturday I drove up to Underdown hoping to hit my goal of 4 laps in 6 hours. The organizers posted an elevation map of one lap and it was 13 miles with 2,000ish feet of climbing. I thought if I could average 9 miles an hour I would have time to stop and refuel every lap and still get 4 laps. It was a lofty goal, but a goal non the less.

The goal of 4 laps was shot out the window at the pre-race meeting when we were told that laps were actually 13-14 miles long. I would have been pushing it at 13 miles so a 14 mile lap met a 3 lap race. I, however, stuck to my plan and went out slow, thinking if I felt good I woul try to place well in lap 3.

Maciej was going to ride with me from the start, but he was geared and I was on a single speed, so during the roll out he took off while I was passed by most of the group going into the single track. The first mile was a little frustrating because the course was so hilly and the folks in front of me were having a hard time clearing some of the punchy rises. I ended up walking 3-4 times. Once I got clear though, I settled into my pace. Not going too hard and just getting up the long climbs, not trying to crush anything. I stopped at the aid station and loaded up on water every lap and stopped at the start/finish to reload.

My second lap was uneventful until I caught Maciej at the aid station. He wasn't feeling too well, the heat and the rough terrain were getting to him. We road together for a while. He said I was in first place, which I didn't understand since there were a couple of guys I hadn't seen yet. Turns out they accidentally cut the course (which they made up by doing the skipped section twice their third lap). After a mile or two Maciej peeled off my wheel and I was on my own again.

I took Maciej at his word, after all he would know if he was in first or not from the start, so I went into my third lap thinking I should just keep it together and ride within my comfort zone. One thing you have to understand is that this course was rough and constantly up and down, for the first 2 laps I was standing 90% of the time. By lap 3, I just couldn't stand as much any more and I stood maybe 80% of the lap. Therefore I slowed down a bit. I caught 2 people in the last 14 miles of the race, so I was by myself a long time, which also slowed me down. Until the last 20 minutes of the race, when I my co2 started to clang around funny in my seat bag and I got paranoid that someone was catching me. I hit it hard and finished pretty strong.

The laps ended up being closer to 14.5 miles, there was no way I was getting 4 done! I won the 6 hour solo with 3 laps in 5:21:02.This means I stopped and refueled for almost 20 minutes because my ride time was 5:02. That worked well with such a difficult course. I don't see the same thing working next Saturday at Stumpfarm.

Also, I have to give congratulations to Scott Marx who won the WI Single Speed Championship with a rigid fork! Ouch!