Gravel Bike Build - Part 3

Return to Part 1

I was lucky enough that the Frame and Fork I bought came with plenty of exposed fork tube.   It looks like it hasn’t been cut at all.  Roadies and some XC racers like to cut these tubes short to slam the bar as low as they can get it to be more aero and save some weight.  I have a different goal for this bike - it is going to be my gravel endurance / adventure bike, so I will make some tradeoffs for all-day comfort.   This means I will use every mm of the exposed fork tube to keep my bars up at least to the saddle height.

I had checked the fork tube diameter before I bought the frame, it was 1.250 inch.  I didn’t want to mess around with any of the old 1 inch or threaded headset ‘standards’.

For Part 3 of the build the first thing I did was measure the exposed fork column to be 2.5 inches long, this meant I needed an additional 10mm spacer to put below the stem (the frame already came with three 5mm spacers).

Once I got the right spacers and stem, I was ready to assemble.  There was already a good Campy headset installed, so I just cleaned it up and re-greased with the tube of Pedro’s Synthetic grease that I like.

 

And then I slipped the pre-measured spacers over the fork tube.  Don’t make fun of the weight-weenie carbon fiber – they were on sale for less than the aluminum spacers when I found them.

 

I put the stem on after cleaning the bearing grease off of the fork tube.  The stem and fork mating surfaces have to clamp up tight, so it wouldn’t be good to leave lubricant in there.

The space on top of the stem came out perfect with a 3mm (1/8 inch gap).  My earlier measuring paid off.  This gap is important to set the headset bearing pre-load.  The stem I am using is an Easton EA90.  It has a 4 bolt bar clamp and is one of the lightest and strongest you can get.  I always use 4 bolt stems.  Just seems to me that spreading the clamping force out over a wider clamp with twice as many bolts is much stronger and less likely to break than a 2 bolt.  Oh - There is an AWESOME clearance deal (70% off) going on now here.  $29 for a $100 stem!  I wanted one with a decent amount of rise for comfort.  So I got a 10 degree rise and 110mm length.  I don’t think it’s too long, but the only way to find out, is to ride it.  You can get twitchy steering with a stem that’s too short, so hopefully this one is a good compromise.

So tightening the top cap sets the headset bearing preload.  You gotta get this right.  I don’t know if there is some specific torque to shoot for, but the way I do it is:  Line up the stem straight over where the front wheel will go.  Start tightening down on the top hex bolt, bump it a few times as it sucks any gaps out between the bearings and races.  Keep tightening until you get to a point where there is no free-play.  This is all by feel, so do it more than once, bump it all around and wiggle the stem and fork again, tighten the top bolt again.  You have to go slow and sneak up on this.  Once you get to where there is no play, you are done.  Don’t continue tightening or you’ll load the bearings with excess friction and the steering will be too tight.

Always use a torque wrench, most parts have recommended torque values printed right on them.

Torque the two stem binder hex bolts.  These are 45 in lbs.  Up next .......... drop bars!

 Part 2                                                                                                               Part 4

Gravel Bike Build - Part 2

Or go back to Gravel Bike Build - Part 1     

So many of the decisions to make on the bike are dependant on each other.  For instance, the 1x10 drivetrain that I want.  I have a SRAM 10 speed chain that I won at the ICC 12hr earlier this yeah.  Chains ain't cheap, so I'd like to use this free one.  I also already have a Truvativ Elita 2x10 crankset with 39-53 chainrings that was a take-off from an old Giant road bike.  And I still have the SRAM bottom bracket from the old Giant.  It may not be a good call re-using a bearing set, but I'm going to go with it for now and call it my proof-of-concept phase.  This whole 1x10 idea may blow up in my face.  I haven't found anyone that made it work with this same frame.  Plus if it makes problems later it's not a big deal to change.

I want to go with the single front chain ring for simplicity.  Fewer parts to break and wear, less maintenance, and fewer things to think about when riding.  Also will benefit from a slight weight reduction from the 'missing' parts - chainring, cables, derailer, shifter.  That sounds a lot like a singlespeed rider talking, but I'm not a strong enough rider for that yet.  So I'll be putting a 11-34 mtn bike cassette in the rear for a good spread of shifting options.

The first part going on the bike is the bottom bracket.  You should measure this yourself before buying parts, but a good source to check the size is Bikepedia.  Here's the link to my frame.

This frame has a 68mm width and English threads. English threads are 1.37 inch dia x 24 tpi (threads per inch).

Bikepedia says this frame originally came with an integrated ISIS style bottom bracket, but I'm going to updated it with an external bearing set.  The new style external bearing sets have great seals and are easy to replace.  With the dirt and gravel dust I expect this bike to see, good seals are a must.  I am using a SRAM GXP.

If you want a single place to geek out on the bewildering assortment of bottom brackets available and some of the pluses and minuses of all the different types, here is a good link.  Like anything else cycling-related you can spend crazy money here on carbon fiber shells and ceramic bearing.

One new thing I learned is that SRAM BB's and Shimano BB's are not interchangeable.  Shimano BB's and cranksets have the same spindle diameter for both drive and non-drive side bearings.  SRAM uses a larger diameter drive side bearing.  You have to use SRAM BB's with SRAM/Truvativ cranksets.

Now that I have the right BB, it was time to install it:

Put a small dab of grease on the threads (don't blow this off - you may never get it out again when it needs replacing):

To install the BB you will need a specific tool.  The only one to get is the socket type.  You have to torque bottom brackets - the handheld wrench type tool will not let you get a proper torque measurement.  And for God's sake don't try this with pliers or a pipe wrench.  The grooves in the BB are soft aluminum and will shred without the right tool.  Here is the one I use: Park Tool.

This BB gets torqued 25-30 ft lbs, it is printed right on the cup so you can't make a mistake.  Don't cheat on this and take your best guess.  The BB threads are steel, the frame is aluminum.  You can over-torque and ruin the frame threads, or under-torque and listen to a creaky noisy BB with every pedal stroke.  I have the 'click-type' wrench for ft lb ranges. So set up the torque wrench to 28 ft lbs and go:

Repeat for the drive-side.  Watch out for the drive-side though, it has left hand threads so you will be threading and torquing in the opposite direction. (the old lefty-loosey, righty-tighty don't work here)

And that's it.  The BB is installed and ready to go.

Now I gotta wait for the UPS guy to bring more toys for Part 3.

Gravel Bike Build - Part 1                                                  Gravel Bike Build  - Part 3

Gravel Bike Build - Part 1

            - There are several good gravel road races coming up that I want to be at.
            - And there are so many gravel road options for riding just north of my house.
            - And the KATY and Hamburg trails are pretty close too.
            - And nobody can have just two bikes.

This is all the justification required to want a Gravel / Adventure bike.  I decided that I wasn't going to buy any more new bikes a couple of years ago.  They are way too much fun to build.  I built a Specialized Roubaix for the road, and Jacob's Niner MTB.  They both came out perfect.  I started trolling craigs list, bike forums, and Ebay a few weeks ago watching for the deal that I knew would come.  I was going to be flexible for either a rigid 29er or a CX frame as long as I could get the right size and a good deal, but it would have to be disc brake compatible.  I didn't want to mess with caliper brakes or V brakes.
So last week I finally found one and scored a great deal on Ebay.  It is a Made in USA 2003 Cannondale R1000 Cyclocross frame.

Specs:
56cm CAAD7 6061 T6 aluminum with disc brake tabs
Wide aluminum fork with disc brake tabs
68 mm English bottom bracket
1 1/8 inch headset  (frame came with a Campy Record headset)
27.2mm seatpost
130mm front axle spacing
135mm rear axle spacing

The frame has a scrape on the drive side chain stay where some previous chain suck dug in.  Not deep, not structural, and will never be a problem.  I think this bit of damage may have scared a lot of the other bidders away.  Their loss, my gain!

My plans for this bike are:
1x10 drivetrain using the best parts I can scrounge.
Road shifters
Drop bars
Comfy saddle
Clipless pedals
700c wheels with discs
Biggest Schwalbe tires I can squeeze into the frame rails


And here are the brake mounts on the fork and frame:

Now that I've got it clamped up in my work stand I can start building.  C

Gravel Bike Build - Part 2

Leadville Heavy Half

We decided to take a family vacation to Colorado this year.   We found a great out-of-the-way cabin to rent in Placer Valley.   It was just south of the Continental Divide and Hoosier Pass between Breckenridge and Alma.  The valley’s 10000ft altitude would be a great break from the Midwest heat wave (valley temps were 38 low – 73 high).  We planned to do it all.  Mtn bike, trail run, hike, Jeep trails, trout fishing, horseback riding, white water rafting, eating, exploring, sampling local beers, gold panning, and climbing as many 14ers as we could get in.

"Of all the paths you take in life, Make sure a few of them are dirt" - unknown author - sign found on the foothills of Windy Ridge jeep trail.

Somewhere during the vacation planning stages I ran across a flyer for a trail race in Leadville, CO.  Leadville is the home of several famous races, and the Leadville 100 may be the most famous (infamous?) mtn bike race of them all.  So, on a whim, I registered for the Leadville Heavy Half, a 15.5 mile race up Mosquito Pass. 

 

So after some VERY cool vacation adventures which could make up several blog posts on their own, race day finally came.  With a less busy week or better planning I would not have climbed the 14148 ft Mount Democrat the day before a race, but this was the way it worked out.  I’d be racing on tired legs.

http://www.14ers.com/routemain.php?route=demo1&peak=Mt.+Democrat

Start time was 9am and we left the Placer Valley cabin about 6:30 making sure there was enough time to drive around to Leadville. No direct driving through the mountains, we had to go way North through Frisco to get there. Driving into Leadville you see its mining heritage all around you.

 There is a great story about how the town suffered a devastating economic collapse when the mines closed down.  One of the miners, Ken Chlouber, saved the town by coming up with the Leadville race series and putting the town squarely on the map of every endurance racer.  Link to the GREAT Leadville story:

Dr. Bob Woodward wasn't drunk. "You cannot let people run a hundred miles at this altitude," he railed. "You're going to kill them."
"Good!" Ken shot back. "At least that'll make us famous."

http://www.5280.com/magazine/2005/06/colorados-most-amazing-and-punishing-and-magical-race

Check-in went fast which was a good thing cause I was dying to get to a porta-potty.  After that I made my way to the start line while Lori and the boys parked the Adventure Jeep.   The start line was on pavement in the center of town.  There was a festival atmosphere with lots of bystanders and racers making last minute gear adjustments and bathroom breaks. 

I started second guessing my long sleeve Icebreaker shirt but it was too late to do anything about it now.  So I took a few minutes to look around at the other racers.  A few runners stood out in the crowd:  A barefoot guy was giving advice to other runners about how to begin barefoot running.  A military guy in camo fatigues, combat boots, and a giant rucksack stood near the back, lots of runners with trekking poles, and loads of runners with small hydration packs.

The start was cool.  A guy walked out in front of the start/finish line with a shotgun, aimed up, and fire.  The race was on. 

From the VERY first step we were going up-hill.  Every race has its rabbits that shoot out at the start, but this one had the biggest percentage of careful starters I’ve ever seen.  Most of the group went out on a slow jog, with a large group of walkers tailing behind.  I took this as a sign that this was going to be a very difficult run.  Using the more experienced people around me as a guide, I promptly decided to stick with a slow jog the rest of the way out of town.  I was racing in LEADVILLE !  YES!

Five days earlier when we first arrived at the vacation cabin I carried the first duffel bag from the Adventure Jeep.  The short set of stairs into our cabin almost defeated me and I was gasping by the top of them.  That put some fear into me about this race, altitude was worse than I remembered from the 2009 Colorado Relay. 

Luckily during the rest of the week I got in several runs and rides that proved I was becoming more acclimated by the day.  It appeared that as long as I stayed in my ‘easy’ zone, I could still run and even manage some climbs.  I convinced myself that the race time didn’t matter, it was a vacation race, just for fun.

The paved run through town quickly turned to gravel (still climbing) and went past a couple of abandoned mines.  Rusty sheet metal roofs, dried ancient looking timbers, and trees growing among the empty buildings.  The group of runners was thinning out as everyone found their paces.  I took some walk breaks on the long gravel climb, and talked to a fellow racer who had done this race before.  His advice was to take advantage of the shade wherever you could because “This sun will cook the skin off of you”.  Great!  I didn’t even bring sunscreen.   I took his advice and tried to get in as much shade from the trees as I could.  The day was warming up quickly.

The road narrowed as we made it to the first aid station.  I grabbed a small handful of salty pretzels and a cup of Gatorade.

We got a reprieve from climbing between the first and second aid station.  The trail leveled out and made a shallow descent into a valley.   I started running again over this section, but could only manage a slow jog.  The altitude, previous climb, and (now) much warmer temps were taking their toll.  I could hear the second aid station before I could see it.  Everyone in Leadville must have showed up.  Bells ringing, people yelling, lots of signs and spectators on both sides of the trail.  I grabbed another cup of Gatorade and a gel pack.  It was Espresso Gu.  That sounded terrible but I needed something.  I squeezed it down without tasting it, thank God.

I jogged out of the aid station and turned onto the Mosquito Pass trail.  I passed two runners squatting in a creek dunking hats and bandanas in the cold water.  It looked like a pretty good idea, but I wasn’t that hot yet.  About 100 yards later I was wishing I had done it.

Mosquito Pass is the highest open mountain pass in the United States.  The top is 13,185 feet above sea level. This is higher than many of the mountain peaks in Colorado and only 815 feet away from being on par with some of the 14,000 foot peaks that people climb within the state.  I never saw a Mosquito during the race, so I googled to find out how the pass got its name:

There once was a town partway up the pass called Mosquito. It was named in a strange way. It seems the miners could not decide on a name so they closed the ledger and went home to think about it. When they next met, the secretary opened the ledger and found a smashed mosquito in the blank spot they had left for the town’s name. They all agreed they should call the town Mosquito.

The trail immediately got rockier and steeper, I had to start taking walk breaks again.  By the time I got above tree-line, I was done running altogether.

The good part is all the other  racers were also walking now.  A rare runner would come by,  and I would try to say ‘nice job’ or ‘looking good’.  But mostly I was walking and gasping.  Runners were also coming back down the pass at this time.  The course was an out-n-back so it was expected.  I did my best (and succeeded, I think) in getting out of the way and yielding the best line through the rocky trail for the fast guys coming down.  They were there to win or PR.  I was just there for vacation fun.  The last couple of switchbacks were squarely in the Death March zone.  Just keep going, don’t stop, almost there, you’ve been tougher places before….lots of internal dialogue.

I was so relieved when the last switchback turned into the top of the pass.  I had planned a quick turn around, but it stretched into a couple of minutes as I peed off the top of the world, re-filled my water bottle, ate a fig newton and handful of salty pretzals and a final cup of Gatorade.  The view was AMAZING!   I took a long look around to make sure I could remember how majestic this was before heading back down.

There was this tombstone on top and also this crazy stagecoach sign:

Before I got down through the first set of switchbacks I saw the barefoot guy working his way up through the rocks.  I could tell by the way he was moving that he was footsore, but still getting it done.  I also saw the guy in military gear with the giant rucksack.  He passed me coming down, moving so fast I can’t fathom how he didn’t break a leg or roll an ankle in those big loose rocks.

I stayed in a slow and careful jog.  I picked careful lines through the rocks and other runners still coming up the whole way back to that crowded aid station.  The crown was still there cheering like mad.  I ate another Gu pack and cup of Gatorade.  I was dreading the earlier downhill between the aid stations that would now be an uphill.  I ran up to it, then broke, and walked the entire thing.  Luckily this was about where the trees started again , so I was able to pick out some bits of shade to run in.  I could feel sunburn starting on my neck and face. (A day later I also discovered my lips were also burned bad enough to get blisters on them.)

After the final aid station it was downhill all the way to the finish.  I started running and told myself I wasn’t going to walk again until after the finish.  There were only two runners near me now, and it looked like they had made the same decision.  So we ran.

The gravel turned to pavement and before long I was looking down the long street into the center of town.  A little boy in a front yard called out, ”Almost there!”

I ran hard with everything I had.  No particular reason why.  I knew my time was terrible, but you just can’t finish a race with anything left.  I was so tired by then it probably looked like an agonizing shuffle to onlookers.  I could hear the announcer call out the name and city of the girl in front of me, and it was only a few seconds later I heard: “Chuck Vohsen, from O’Fallon, MO!” 

The finish was cool. They pulled a ribbon across the finish line for everyone to run through, then a volunteer hung medal around my neck, while another volunteer untangled the timing chip from my shoelaces.

I was soaking up the post-race atmosphere when I heard the announcer saying something about free beer.  I asked around and found the free beer tent.   Each racer got two, so I picked out two I’ve never tried before.   A 'Dales Pale Ale' and an 'Old Chubb'.  Haha, gotta love the name, and it’s 8% ALC.  Both are brewed in CO.

I found the girl with the sign I had seen on the way up and HAD to get a picture with her:

What a great day.  Now I want to do more of the Leadville Race Series. 

http://www.leadvilleraceseries.com/page/show/309878-home

Side note:  After I returned home and got around to checking the race results,  I found something interesting.  I raced with Ken Chlouber!  None other than the inventor of the Leadville race series, and savior of the town.  Ken is 73 yrs old and still knocking out tough trail races.  Awesome!

Cool Ken C. Quotes:

"You're better than you think you are and you can do more than you think you can!"

"We'll tell you when to start and we'll tell you when to stop. In between, don't think, just keep running."

“Make friends with pain, and you will never be alone.” 

Random Photos I like from the Race:

****Photo Credits: Lori Vohsen and Zazoosh**** 

Indian Camp Creek MTB Race

So what if its 95 degrees and it hasn’t rained in so long that there is 4 inches of dust on the ground, how would you spend your day?  Let’s see, you could stay in the house and watch TV, hang out in an air conditioned movie theater, go to a nice cool mall, or even spend it in a restaurant eating pasta and drinking wine, but is that what you really want to do on a hot summer day. 

Well, if you are me or Chuck, you would want to spend the day with a few of your closest friends, even if they smell like a rotting dead animal, rub chamois cream on their private areas right in front of you, have no problem stopping in the middle of a conversation to blow a snot rocket, don’t think twice about sticking their dirt covered hand in your chip bag, sit their stinking body in your chair, or even beg for a bite of your sandwich. You know where I’m going with this, don’t you, yes Chuck and I spent our Saturday racing mountain bikes at one of the most awesome venues in the Missouri/Illinois area, Indian Camp Creek. What’s more fun than 12 hours on a mountain bike when its 95 degrees and the ground had turned to dust. I know… right… nothing.

 

So that is just what we did, we spent the day as a 2 person co-ed team racing around an 8 mile loop of single track trails at Indian Camp Creek. I’m not sure on the number of riders, but I bet there were well over a hundred, and that included our friends SuperKate, Daryl, Judy and JP, they all hung out with us at our base camp. There were tons of other friends there also, too many to list, but it was a really fantastic group. I have to say, mountain bikers and adventure races are some of the friendliest and most encouraging people I have ever met. It doesn’t matter if they are faster or slower than you, when they see you on the course they always give you encouragement to keep going and they make every event fun. Let me give you an example, one of the riders, stopped during the race to help someone change a tire, then got back on his bike and finished the race for the win. Now, I’m not putting down road bikers, but I will tell you, this would never happen in a road bike race.  You know how in Sunday school they always taught you, that to have more you have to give more. Is this an example of what we were taught, he stops and helps someone and he wins the race, maybe he was just super fast and a nice guy or maybe… I’m just saying.

If you’re not familiar with this race format here’s how it works, Chuck and I ride for 12 hours, covering an 8 mile loop of single track, trading off each lap.  Chuck took the first lap so he had to ride and extra mile or so at the start. 

We both estimated how long it would take us to ride a lap based on our previous training rides at ICC.  Chuck thought he would be in the low 50’s and I thought I would be closer to an hour. Well I guess Ironman training is getting us in better condition than we thought because we both rode all our laps faster than estimated. Chuck’s averaged 50 minutes, I averaged 52 minutes. Although, I was happy that my lap times were fairly close to Chuck’s I was unhappy that Chuck was getting a couple extra minutes rest more than I was. I know you are thinking, 2 minutes big deal, but in my mind I thought that the 2 minutes would give me the strength to blast out of transition rather than chug off like a steam engine. In reality it would not have made a difference, when you’re hot and tired your mind can make you believe just about anything though. 

As I got ready for my first lap, I grabbed my Trek Superfly, only to find out that something was wrong, the back wheel was locked up.  I ran the bike over to the mechanics tent, but it wasn’t a quick fix. Chuck was going to arrive for the hand off any minute and I wasn’t on a bike.  Lucky for me I had brought two bikes, it’s a long story why I had two bikes, but it's just a good thing I did.  I quickly grabbed my Trek Top Fuel and rode over to transition, as I was standing there, I realized my number was still on my Superfly, so I ran back to the mechanics tent and got the number. Just as I was tying the number on my Top Fuel, Chuck rolls in.

So Chuck finished the first lap and I took off, since the 12, 6, and 3 hour races all started together the trails were pretty congested for the first 3 hours of the race, then by the 6^th hour the trails got pretty quiet since the 12 hour racers were pretty spread out. My first lap, I was riding with a bit of caution not knowing the route or what was in store for me.  I still finished the lap in 53 minutes, but I got passed by 8 guys. 

I like to think it was because they were 3 hour racers and could expend more energy because they were riding fewer miles than we were.  Really they were just faster than me.  The good thing was they all gave me time and space to move over before they sped around me. 

Chuck went out for his next lap and while he was gone I used the time to wash the dirt off my legs and my face, clean the mud off my water bottle, refill it, and eat something, oh and I made sure to take some enduralytes, I think the enduralytes kept me going all day without any leg cramps. I would also pull off my wet and slimy bike jersey and put on a dry t-shirt after each lap.  I know most people think, “what a waste of time”, but I felt so much better in a dry shirt and by the time I put the jersey back on for the next lap, it was dry.  I really hate sitting around with a wet shirt clinging to me.  I work hard enough to keep my fat rolls out of sight from others, I don’t need a wet shirt showing them off for everyone to see.  

I went over to the mechanics tent to check on my Superfly, he had fixed it, but he had to drain some brake fluid and move the pads, I have no idea how the pads seized up, I mean, I was riding it around before the race started and had no problems.  At least it was fixed.  I have to say thanks to the bike mechanic, I don’t know his name, but I’m grateful.

I think it is much more fun being on a team, because when you are on an off lap, you get to cheer all your friends on as they come around, and chat with them about the course and how they are feeling when they stop for water. I was there to cheer Daryl on during the 6 hour race and Kate all day long since she was riding 12 hour solo.  I even had a chance to talk to Judy and John after they finished the 3 hour race.  

As I was standing waiting for Chuck to finish the lap, Wendy Davis walked up, I asked if she was racing and she said no and patted me on the head saying “you aren’t either unless you get a helmet on”, haha. I was just standing there thinking wow, it feels cooler than earlier, well sure it did, I didn’t have that hot helmet on.  I quickly ran and got my helmet thinking what a dork, I’m glad she caught me before anyone else did. Thanks Wendy! I went out for my second lap, this time I was riding my Superfly, and really enjoying it, keeping the pace up and just having a great time. The first 4 miles of the course are smoking fast, between miles 4 and 6, there is a lot of uphill, not horrible uphills, but enough to make you work just a little harder. As the day went on those uphills seemed to grow longer and steeper though.  I would fly through the first 4 miles, then really work the next two and cruise the last two miles. That was my strategy for the day and it seemed to work well.  So I finished my second lap two minutes faster than my first.  I love my Superfly and it just rolls though everything, but I have to work harder to push it up the hills, so I decided since I would be getting slower from fatigue as the laps progressed, I would ride my Top Fuel for the rest of the day.  I don’t know if that was the right decision or not, but I was still a little worried about the brake problem popping up again, so the Top Fuel it was. And it kept Chuck confused, with me changing bikes and that’s always a plus for me. 

Daryl finished sometime just before six hours and hung out for a while and then headed home, John and Judy headed home too, so our base camp got a little quieter as the day went on. 

The 12 hour race was still in progress, lap 3, then lap 4 then lap 5, then lap 6. Now we originally said we wanted to finish 12 laps total, but after I finished lap 6, we still had plenty of time, so Chuck headed out for lap 7. While he was out we got the news that if he came in after the 11 hour mark, I did not have to go out again, but if he finished before the 11 hour mark, it was mandatory I go out. Lori, Chuck’s wife looked at the standings and it wouldn’t matter if I went again or not, we had 3^rd place tied up and would not be able to make second and the 4^th place team would not be able to catch us. Although I hate it when Chuck does more than I do, I was pretty sure I didn’t want to do another lap.

Now with this rule cropping up, Lori and I should have thought about stopping Kate before the finish line, but it didn’t pop into our heads until we saw her come around the corner, and then it was too late, she came through the finish line in just under the 11 hour mark and was told that she would have to go out for another lap.  She really didn’t want to go, but they said if she did she had 2^nd place tied up because the second place girl stopped riding already, and even though she had more laps she was considered DNF because she stopped before the 11 hour mark. 

Kate was all banged up from an earlier crash and she was tired, hot and covered in dirt, but she went out again. 

Chuck came in at around 11 hours and 15 minutes, so instead of me going back out, we got on our bikes and took the road around then hopped on the trail in the opposite direction and rode it until we found Kate.  We noticed that she was all dirty, I mean dirtier then when she left and her elbow was giant and ugly, she had crashed in the dark.  We rode with her until she hit the big hill, then left her to finish and took the road back to wait for her at the finish line. 

The results were posted, when we arrived at the finish line and we wondered how they could be posted since Kate had not finished.  We noticed that she was 3^rd, so we questioned the official. There were conflicting rules being voiced between the race director and race official and once it was cleared up, we found out that Kate did not have to go back out and there was no way even if she did do a last lap that she would move into second place.  Chuck, Lori and I felt so bad for her, at that point there wasn’t much we could do.  The race director went to look for her in his car and hoped to catch her at one of the road crossings to bring her in. Another rider, Karen, volunteered to ride the course backwards to find her and ride her in, but it was too late on both accounts she was already on the last section and showed up at the finish 10 minutes later.  She was tired and upset and on the verge of tears, but Super Kate is a tough girl and she held on through the weariness and frustration.  The race director was very apologetic and he did all he could to make it right, she came away with a cool 3^rd place trophy and some really great schwag.  I think all is good and I bet if you asked her now, she is happy she stuck it out for that last lap, because she always pushes herself to take that last leap of faith and do what she didn’t think she could do. This is the short story on the Super Kate debacle, but you will have to read her blog to get all the details  

As for Chuck and I, it was a 3^rd place finish, and even better, we both rode faster times on all our laps than we thought we could do. Chuck and I had a great time and so much fun, I know we will do this race again.

 

The Cyclery Race Team (aka: ROCK Racing) had a good day, and not just me and Chuck, some of our other teammates too, Daryl, Andy and Ross. Ross placed in the 12 hour race, but now I don’t remember what category it was in, I think he got 1^st. Congrats to all!

As for Lori, well she is AWESOME! Not only did she spend her entire day with us crewing and taking photos, but while we were out riding with Kate, she broke down camp and loaded all our gear in the adventure jeep and the adventure van.  It would be hard to find a support crew better than her and we owe her big time!  Yes Chuck… I know she’s your wife, but you owe her too. 

Thanks to the Race Director, Volunteers, GORC and St Charles County Parks for putting on such a great event.