Still focusing on endurance events, 8hr, 24hr and 100mi.

12/18 – CCCX SuperD #2 – Beg35+ – 5th/6 5:34
2/25 – CCCX XC #2 Ft. Ord
3/10 – CCCX XC #3 Ft. Ord
3/24 – SF Spring Classic 100mi #1
3/18 – Big Sandy Race (?) [C]
4/7 – CCCX XC #5 – Toro Park
4/15 – Napa Valley Dirt Classic [C]
4/20 – Sea Otter Classic [B]
4/21 – SF Spring Classic 100mi #2
5/5 – Boggs VII – Solo 8hr [A]
5/27 – CCCX XC – Ft- Ord
6/2 – SoNoMas [C]
6/9 – The Hammerstein 8 & 24hr MTB – Laguna Seca [B]
6/16 – Lake Tahoe 4&8hr Mountain Bike [C]
6/23 – CCCX XC – Toro Park
7/1 – Cascade Cream Puff 100 [A] – Registered
7/7 – CCCX XC – Ft.Ord
7/14 – Tahoe Sierra 100 [B]
8/4 – Coolest 24h – Royal Gorge [A]
8/18 – Annadel Race XC [B]

My first 24hr solo.

Lesson #1: takes a ton of planning to go and do a 24hr solo race. Training alone is not going to do it; of course you need to be able to pedal for that long,  but I think nutrition, hydration and bike fit have much more to do with it.

Anyway drove up to Boggs on Friday afternoon, getting there right before dark, right on time to steal a plate of pasta at Impy’s (yum, best restaurant in the camp) and then pitch the tent by my buddies, racing 24-4 men with the team “Nocturnal Emissions”….

At around 8PM it was obvious that it was going to be a hot race the next day, since temperature was still in the high 70s

Next day woke up early and started prepping all the food I would need for the race: I had no dedicated support crew, so I had to make sure everything was ready. Got some pasta, miso soup, bunch of cheese sandwiches and PBJ, plus fruit and a variety of caffeinated drinks. Race started at 11AM, so in no time I was goofing around on my bike and ready to go.

The plan was to start real slow and keep it that way for the first 6-8 hours, after that no real plan, just survive as long as I could. Being the first 24hr I had no idea how I would react after the first 8 hours.

I geared the 29er bike really low with a 32×21 to make sure to stick with my plan and also to be able to keep going when really tired.

Gearing turned out to be perfect for me and the course also was very single speed friendly. There were basically 3 steeper sections, one on fireroad 600, the second on Bear Bones trail and the 3rd one on Highpoint trail, but all pretty short.

From the very beginning it was clear that heat was going to be a big issue: pedaling was really hard and HR would go much higher than I wanted to on most climbs, so I had to back off even further, my main concern being cramps. I hadn’t planned any stop for the first 3 laps and during the 3rd lap, less than 3 hours into the race I started contemplating the idea to quit the race: I was bringing two bottles per lap and was out of water before the end of each lap: that’s how bad it was.  Started popping endurolites at 2-4 per lap but still started cramping during lap 4.

Lap 5 and 6 felt a little bit better as temperature slowly started to drop and some cooler breeze helped me breathing better. I finished 6th lap by 6:57, together with some 8hr race stragglers. Started asking myself if racing 8hr solo wouldn’t be just enough…

One third into the race I decided to tale a longer break, around 30min. Got a shower, cleaned up, ate some pasta (yum!) and fruit and then started setting up lights for the night hours.

I was out for the sunset lap, everything felt much better and I found my legs so that I could pedal several sections that I was previously walking. By the time I got at the top of Boggs peak it was dark: as I started riding down Gail trail and turned on the lights I had a huge grin on my face and I couldn’t wipe it off. During the night I took laps two at the time. My riding time was close to 1:15 so the lights would last easily two laps and at that point I was feeling pretty good.

Got lapped by the winner of women Pro category in the middle of the night: She passed me at least 3 times during the race and always had something funny or encouraging to say. We chatted shortly about clicking noises in the cranks  and then at 7AM she yelled at me as I was walking up the steep section of fireroad 600, to get back on the saddle and pedal.

The morning hours were the more difficult and even when sun started to come up I started to be pretty worried about crashing, as my riding got sloppier.
By 10am I decided to stop as I was firmly in 3rd place for the race.
This was an awesome experience and left me with a great sense of accomplishment, with 112mi completed in about 21hr.

Boggs is probably one of the best course for endurance racing and If I close my eyes I see singletrack: awesome!

Summary
Distance: 110.75 mi
Time: 20:50:33
Moving Time: 15:59:33
Avg Speed: 5.7 mph
Elevation Gain: 14,896 ft
Results are here.

4 Laps @ 1.52’19”

7th out of 9

This was my 4th singlespeed race and probably the best one so far, even if the result doesn’t show.

Driving down to Monterey it was overcast and windy, with temps in the low 50s. After chatting with Wade and Seth, we went off for a warm up lap. Counterclockwise loop, about 5.5mi with over 600ft elevation per lap. There are basically 4 steep climbs in this part of Ft. Ord and they were all in the course.

Had some major changes in the bike the day before, replaced BB and crank, new brakes and went down one tooth in the cog, for a 34×20. Was a little bit worried about having to walk some of the steeper sections.

For some reasons we started with the fast group of Sport 19-35 and Clydes. I think Rob was trying to create some Daytona moment at the start. We did a quarter lap, then went thru the start. The group started real fast as always. I quickly settled into my pace and held a 5th place spot. In the first lap I got stuck behind a slower rider in a steeper section, hesitated to pass got off the pedals, so I got passed by 4 SS riders while running up the hill.

Nothing to report in the following 2 laps other than I reeled in two of the 4 riders, but could not catch the other two which I had in sight for a short while during the 3rd lap. Finished 7th, within 2 mins of 5th and 3 mins from 4th.

Even so this was the CCCX race with most elevation this year and where I had my highest avg speed, so I’m pretty happy with it. The 34×20 felt right and gave me some more speed on the flats and DH sections.

The almost 2 hours riding time went real fast, another indication that I was having fun.

8hr solo Master Men +40

13 out of 19 in 6 laps @ 7:39

I was watching pics of last year’s race, I was wearing short sleeve jersey and shorts: very different story.

Temps below freezing most of the time, the start was a cold one: most of the course was in ok shape except for a few really muddy sections.

Lap 1-3: I missed the gunshot at the start: my cassette decided for complete freedom (freewheling in both directions), so had to quickly swap rear wheel, going from the trusty mud tire to a sketchy almost bald LK Fastrack, basically a slick tire: that’s ok, just had to re-learn to ride my bike. Off I go, probably 5 mins after the crowd, go full steam and pass about 100 riders on the long fireroad start. My face is numb, can’t feel my lips, toes or fingers: and that’s the first lap. Big dent on morale. I decide to keep going and don’t stop for the first 3 laps. Keep reminding myself that everybody else is feeling exactly the same.

Some sections are really sketchy and look like they will be getting worse over the course of the day. Something’s wrong with my right shoe. The retention of the buckle got ripped off, probably in a contact with the chainring in one of the semi crashes. Shoe is lose and the bucke is interfering with the crank: great!

At the first stop after 3 laps the drivetrain is all mucked, spend about 10 minutes to clean it up, total stop time about 15min. Swap my right shoe for the spare one (always bring spare shoes and helmet).

Lap 4: My hands are really cold, I can’t feel the brake levers and I have a couple of close calls, start thinking of how long will it take me to crash real good. Did I mention it’s really cold? The long stop didn’t help, vison narrows and blurs. I gulp down 2 hammer gel with caffeine shots: that takes me back from the dead. Second half of the 4th lap feels better, feel my hands again, but deraillers start acting up and then I’m stuck in the granny ring. Finish 4th lap in good company with Kris who wonders how did I pick my rear tire. Pit stop, clean up deraillers, more Starbux solo shot and food. Get back out for lap 5.

Lap 5 is bad. Don’t feel the cold anymore, that’s usually a bad sign. Rear brake pads are gone, deraillers don’t work anymore, stuck in granny ring and rear gear skipping, and then right pedal latches and I can’t unclip: go down hard in a muddy section. Pedal clip is locked: have to pedal unclipped. I keep hearing comments about my rear tire: “talk about tire choice…” is one of the best. The HR monitor stops working: may not sound like a big deal, but I rely a lot on HR to push harder or not, especially in long races.

Finish the miserable lap and I’m determined to put in one more. It’s around 2PM: either work on the geared bike for maybe 20mins to make it work or hop on the SingleSpeed. I go for pain. (always)

Lap 6: I have an easy 32×22 on the 29′, so it’s just a matter of pacing the climbs. Much better traction on these tires, the bike feels on rails in comparison. Halfway thru the lap one of the saddle rails fails. No saddle. I don’t miss it much on the SS, since I’m standing most of the time, but damn!

I put in a decent 1:14 lap in but I’m done. There would be probably time for another lap, but I just don’t have it in me. I’m happy it’s over and I want beer.

Broken cassette, wrong rear tire, broken shoe, locked pedal, HR monitor dead, rear brake pads and broken saddle: 6 laps in 7:39 with 6:55 moving time. I think I did ok.

Believe it or not that was fun: don’t ever give up. My butt is sore and my toes are still not right. Hopefully I learned something.

Many thanks to Carmen and Jeff for the delicious food (mmm brownies…) and Team Wrong Way for the fun and company. Looking forward to next year.

From Bertoni Eyewear web site:

This line has Photochromic anti-fog lenses which change colour intensity automatically depending on the UV light, guaranteeing an excellent visual performance. The photochromic lenses protect the eyes when out in the sun or in any weather condition. Plus the lenses are treated with a special resin which removes the condensation which forms on the surface of the lens when passing from hot to cold. The lens can change colour in only 8 seconds when passing from light to dark, and 35 seconds when passing from dark back to its light colour. The frame of this line is in nylon so they will never change shape and are highly resistant to impacts.

I’ve been looking for a while for the ideal glasses for dusty conditions and even been tempted to go the MX mask, but unless I’m wearing a full face helmet that seems a little bit excessive.

The Bertoni F120A are technical sport glasses with windstop and photochromic antifog lenses. They feature a strap rather than sidearms and soft padding around the frame seals your eyes from wind and dust. Small air vents still allow a certain amount of air circulation inside the glasses avoiding condensing on the lenses.

Lenses material is polycarbonate, pretty light and resistant. These lenses have photochromic characteristics, meaning they will change their transmission rate (i.e. darkness) with the amount of light. Out of the box and away from the sun, lenses look just clear. Once exposed to direct light they quickly change color.

According to the manufacturer the response time is about 8sec going from clear to dark and 35secs going from dark to clear. In the shade the lenses are completely clear, allowing a good view even at night. In the sunlight the color becomes pretty dark, showing an impressive range.

Lenses have also been treated with antifog process. This is pretty important for any kind of sport glasses, but much more for this kind of enclosed model.

RIDING IMPRESSIONS

Summer is a great time for riding as there are many more daylight hours and weather is great, but very often trails get dusty. Not a big deal when riding alone, but becomes a problem in groups or worse during races.

These glasses are not significantly heavier than regular sunglasses, but offer a much higher level of protection from the elements, such wind and dust.

The strap is easily adjusted, fairly soft and once worn under the helmet straps is unnoticeable. It keeps the glasses in place without much pressure.

The padding is made in soft spongy material and provides a good contact with the rider’s face. It does absorb moisture and sweat while riding.

Since I’m not a fast climber my glasses always fog while climbing. It is not the case with the F120A. After about 1 hour of riding some condensing was present on the inside of the lenses when stopped – not fogging, but moisture. That promptly disappeared as soon as I started moving again.

The photochromic feature also seems to work pretty well. You actually don’t notice you are wearing glassses: In the shady areas they are clear and become dark pretty quickly in the sunny sections.

Overall comfort is good and after 3 hours ride you don’t notice you are wearing goggles. The only drawback I could find is that in order to remove the glasses you have to open the helmet buckle and in some cases the helmet. This may not be so practical especially when wearing full face helmet. But in those cases a full MX mask may be best suited.

CONCLUSIONS

According to the manufacturer this is the only light mask available on the market with photocromic lenses.  I find this product a good compromise between light technical sunglasses and an MX mask. The Bertoni F120A comes with care instructions and a soft bag that can be used to clean the lenses: retail price is $75.

http://www.bertonieyewearusa.com