On August 12, I participated in the
2006 Texas Chainring Massacre at
Rocky Hill Ranch in Smithville, TX. This event was a 6-hour mountain bike race around a 9-mile loop in the Lost Pines area just south of Austin, TX.
So, on Thursday, August 10, after work, I packed up my gear, including my new lighting system which I'd never used before (which arrived the day prior) and my Specialized Epic with two flat tires (recurring theme here) and headed to my hometown. During my 3-hour'ish drive, I pondered the following risks...
- I hadn't gone mountain biking on trails in over a year
- This was my first endurance race and my second mountain bike race
- This was my first time riding at Rocky Hill Ranch
- The race wouldn't started until 5 pm, which made the temperature at the start about 100 degrees
- The race wouldn't officially end until 11 pm, which meant it would be the first time I would ride at night
A number of people have asked the following question: What prompted you to enter this race? My responses...
- Cool t-shirt design
- I've always wanted to ride Rocky Hill Ranch and if I didn't make it happen, it wouldn't
- Why not?
I arrived at the race location around 3:30 pm in the blazing heat. After checking in and purchasing a 1-day NORBA race license, I retired back to my car, set up my bike stand and chair, filled my CamelBak, changed into my sexy (yeah, right) race attire, ate, and chilled to some tunes on my nano.
The race started promptly at 5 pm with a LeMans start. What is that? Well, that's what I thought. Basically, when the gun went off at 5 pm, we had to run about 1/8 mile to get to our bikes. This being a 6-hour race, the purpose is to ride as many laps as you can for 6 hours. The race was scheduled to be run from 5 - 11 pm. As long as you started your last lap by 10:59:59 pm you could finish after 11 pm.
The race started incredibly hot. Hitting the first two climbs, my heart rate hit 182. In the first mile, I felt like puking twice. In the first 1 1/2 miles, I dismounted for hike-a-bike about four times. The trail conditions were dry, loose, and sandy. The trail was not too technical and had lots of relatively smooth piney sections where I could try and recover. Fortunately my downhilling wasn't too rusty and I was able to relax, feather the brakes, and hang on for dear life. I started my third lap after 8 pm with my lighting system on. Night riding was totally different...FYI. Depth perception was gone, I could not tell whether or not the trail was hard or soft, and I was forced to look ahead at various distances depending on speed. Exhilarating and scary at the same time. Luckily, having done two laps in the daylight, by this time, I was familiar with the course. I completed my third and final lap at 10:28:20 pm. I pulled in lap times (including rest/food/hydration breaks) of 1:26:21, 1:48:10, and 2:13:49. By contrast the fastest lap time was 0:39:46 (team men) and the top solo men's finisher pulled 6 laps at 10:59:59. I finished 26 out of 32 people in the solo men's division which means...I didn't finish last this time!!!
Despite the fact that in the middle of the second and after the last lap I managed to text message a few people and tell them how hellish the ride was, I had a great time. As soon as I completed lap 3, I told the finishing table I was DONE. From there I headed straight to the beer tap to have some Remember Alamo Golden Ale, aka
Real Ale Fireman's #4 Blonde Ale. "God that's good. It's so good! Once it hits your lips, it's so good." After downing a few and relaxing, I changed, loaded up, and headed back to my folks house around midnight.
On the way back, I was text messaging a friend of mine who wanted to go out dancing, but I was just too beat. Something about racing for 5 1/2 hours made me tired. Not to mention I consumed approximately 188 ounces of fluids during the race without peeing once.
Anyway, I had a fantastic time and expect to be back to Smithville, TX for the 3rd annual...
