After pre-riding the beginning of the Ouachita Challenge on Saturday, my main concern was to start conservatively enough not to blow sky high in the first few miles of the race. So, instead of spinning like a hamster on crack, I was content to let the typical gap form between the single speeds and geared guys, with the idea of cracking things up gradually once the road turned up.
Initially, things went well. I chatted a bit with
Josh P (who rode very well) then started working my way forward up, trying to stay controlled even when standing out of the saddle on the steeper sections of the initial climbs.
After bobbling when a limb hit me in the face and having to then push the bike to the top, I got my rhythm, tucked in with a couple of more singles and started weaving my way forward again.
On the fist slightly sustained downhill, the side of the trail was littered with guys already working to change flats when I found myself joining them. Suddenly there was that familiar sound of air and Stan's releasing from my rear tire.
For a moment, the Stan's caught and some guy said, "Hey, that sealed fast." Of course, then it started spraying again and I was off on the side of the trail working toward a diagnosis. I'd managed to gash the center of my tire in a way that created three little triangular flaps of rubber that the Stan's could never seal together. I through a tube in, which simply pushed out of the tired and, after it lasted about thirty seconds, resigned myself to a seven mile race.
After walking out with a guy who was having the same experience himself and getting a ride back to the race start, I grabbed a map and went to find Corey at the second feed station.
The guys running the station were dressed for fun with Pedro, an ape, a banana and other costumes were worn with an eye on fun. They topped all of that though with the way they supported the riders. After the lead rider came through, Cameron cruised in minutes later and, while I went to somehow assist, the boys at the checkpoint had him covered and, though an Ergon rider came in after Cam and left before him, Cam seemed much more prepared when he left.
Rider's came though at a regular tick and I was just talking about Corey to a guy in a marching band costume when here he came. Corey looked like he was just out for a ride, all smiles, fresh and ready to keep moving. I gave him the proverbial shove off and took off to find the next feed zone.
After reaffirming that the Prius isn't exactly an off-vehicle, I skipped to the final feed-zone and chatted with a local volunteer for a few hours while I waited for folks to come through. We were sitting at a point where riders rode off of gravel and up into the last section of single track. It was interesting to watch tired riders handle what would normally be an easy transition to clean. There was a lot of stopping and starting until the leaders of the 80 mile race rolled through.
The leader came through looking fresh and, while I expected riders to continue to come through, it was 20 minutes until another 80 mile rider came through. Cam shot through in 3rd, then I played a waiting game for
Corey. Unfortunately, he'd fallen back from seventh after a bad crash. He was followed closely by the
360 guys who were rocking and seemed to be having a great time.
From there it was back to the start line and prep for the ride home. Corey rode a great race. After he crossed the line, he revealed knees that were swollen to the point where it looked like his knee caps were three or four times there normal size. In fact, he spent most of the ride back with a bag of ice across both knees.
Though I'd personally like a mulligan, it was a solid trip and I had a good time watching Corey and the KC crew ride so well. Next time, I may just have to join them.
