Last Saturday was the Tree Shaker 4 and 8 hour race. Me and Seabiscut were ready as we could ever be. Usually this race happens in the fall for 6 or 12 hours, but when it was moved up to the summer, the time was shortened to accomidate for the heat, and it was needed. 90 plus degrees by 9 am, it was going to be a hot race.
I woke up early to meet my teammate Kyle and Steve of South Main Cycles, we decided to all pit together as we didn't have any support from our significant others. They were rocking out the 4 hour single speed class while I decided to do the 8 hour solo class. Before the race the pit area was a pretty chill place, everyone hanging out, swapping stories, getting food and water bottles ready, trying on bikini's....Yeah the MaddSS looks about a solid "B" cup.
The start time was coming near and Neil went through the pre-race annoncements, love your neighbor type stuff, thank all the sponsers (always thank them for their support) and no sticking stuff in other peoples wheels, no matter how much you want to. All the racers went down to the bottom of the hill for a all inclusive start. I lined up somewhere near the back as I knew I had a long day ahead of me, espcially with the heat.
Neal said "go" and the field was off, I held my spot for most the climb up the hill but made a pass every now and again as we roared through the start/finish line. Having only raced part of the course one time I didn't know exactly where the passing areas of the course were and I found a wheel and held on. Luckily i picked the right wheel and ended up making a few cruial passes on some flat and downhill wide open sections. After about 15 minutes of riding there was no one behind me, looked like I got ahead of the person who got off to a fast start but was struggling on the hills.
The first lap was uneventfull as I just pedaled a slow and steady pace, kept up with the people in front of me and pulled into the pit area in about 56 minutes. A respectable time considering all of the traffic on the course. I didn't bother taking any food or water as it was still almost cool by summer standards and I still had one bottle of fluid left.
Lap two I kept the pace fairly high for me, made a few passes, got passed by a few more and just enjoyed the trail. I think second lap was somewhere around 52 minutes.
Lap 3 took a few minutes in the pit area, grabbed some food, some drink, and had Daniel fix my grips as they were slipping due to the humidity. A little bit of lock tite on them and problem solved. Lap 3 ended and I completed lap for with no major problems and no incidents.
By the time I finished lap 4 the 4 hour race was wrapping up, I came in just short of 4 hours. I took a few minutes, ate a sandwhich, banana, had something to drink and sat around for about 15 minutes just watching the other races come by and finish or get food and head out to do another lap if they were doing the 8 hour race.
I saddled up the bike again, grabbed a new pair of gloves (highly recommended for long races) and went out. By the time I got about about 55 minutes later Kyle told me him and Steve took 1st and 2nd in the solo single speed 4 hour race. Since Steve had to go back to work real quick and run his bike shop it was just Kyle there enjoying a beer.
I sat around with him a while talking and we realized we were hungry. We ate some great barbeque from Lolas Southern cafe (highly recommend if your ever downtown for food) and I grabbed a beer from Old Mecklenburg Brewery. I sat around for probably around 30 to 40 minutes just hanging out talking, eating, drinking beer and watching everyone else suffer.
We finished our meal and Kyle had to head out. I congraguated him on his win and took off for my final lap. I felt darn good after having a BBQ sandwhich and a nice microbrew in my stomach. The trail was quiet and calm and empty. I was just riding along and towards the end of the trail I saw a doe with a young fawn. The trail split between the two of them as I neared and both of them took off. The fawn ran as it though I was chasing it and then when it knew it couldnt get away it stopped and "hid" in the brush. Those are the kind of momments that make all of the suffering worth while, watching nature and being a part of it. I waved goodbye to the doe and let her know that I wasn't going to hurt her baby and finished up my lap.
I did have time to go and do another lap but found out when I looked at the standings that it really wouldn't do anything besides increase my possibility of cramping up, plus I had a cookout and pool to go to. I did as best as I could and ended up 12 out of 13 place. It sounds slow, but in reality this is a lot more than most people could do, the Charlotte area is full of fast mountain bikers who train a lot more than I do. On the other side, I am pretty sure I could beat all of them in flippy cup or beer pong. I just race for the enjoyment, the competition, and the beer at the end.
I want to do this event again, like all of Neil's races, it was well run, well marked course, plenty of food and more importantly plenty of good people, this will definitely be added to my yearly rotation for races.
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