I had sent my bike down via FedEx Ground and put it together the day before the race. We left Phoenix in brutally hot conditions and the good news was that we would be gaining a fair amount of elevation to get into the mountains and more importantly, cooler temps! Pinetop sits at around 7,000 ft so the temps were really pleasant once we got there.
We had a great crew who planned to ride. We were fortunate enough to lock down a cabin about a 1/2 mile from the race start/stop. This was super convenient as we could just roll up to the start without having to worry about driving, parking, loading, unloading, etc.
The obligatory race check-in was uneventful other than trying to figure out what the real elevation gain was going to be for the 50. I had absolutely no idea if I was geared appropriately for the race so all I could do was suck it up at this point. After picking up our packets, we had a beer and tried to learn whatever we could about what was in store the next day.
The race graphs were saying there was only 2,600 ft of climbing and for some reason I was not buying into this...50 miles is a long way to only gain that amount of climbing. I just wanted to make sure they had not erred on the side of a major mis-calculation to the upside of that elevation gain. Unfortunately answers remained elusive so it was time to put on the big boy pants and come to terms with the 32x17 ratio I had been riding for the last month.
I had no idea what to expect of the race. My race prep was minimal as we have been in cyclocross mode for the last month and it had been a long while since my last long ride. This was going to be interesting...and at elevation no less.
We headed over to some friends for a great dinner to carbo load and prep for the next day. I had to be up at around 6 so I could get my stuff together for the 7 a.m. start. It was difficult to figure out how to layer up for the day...the start was going to be cold (in the mid 40's) and it would then warm up, but just how much would it warm up??
Soon enough, the clothing logistics were under control and I was coasting down the hill to the start. We all shivered at the race start until the start. The start was pretty fast as it was either flat or slightly downhill on a road for a while. As usual, I got passed up by the geared crew and I tried settling into a comfortable, but brisk pace. Disaster was averted a few times as people were getting squirrely when they passed me and then darted right in front of me to lay on the brakes...not sure why people do that? It is a road with multiple lines...why they choose to try to pass right before an 'obstacle' where they then slam they brakes on, is beyond me...bear in mind these 'obstacles' were little puddles of water...or a drainage, etc...
We hit single track pretty quickly and it was time to settle into the pace of the conga line. People were still a little anxious and you could feel the conga line was a little nervous as people tried to sort out position.
The trail slowly worked its way uphill and things seemed to somewhat sort themselves out after about 45 minutes. Soon enough, we were into the alpine where some of the shaded spots still had frost on them. The terrain was awesome and the trail just as good.
At about mile 24, a bunch of us missed a turn...there was a hard right turn at a junction that was really easy to miss. The obvious line was to go straight and the 1 (yes, ONE) flag was behind a tree what could not be seen very easily. Suffice it to say, I rode until I saw a bunch of folks coming back...all saying, turn around, we are going the wrong way. We re-traced our steps and found the trail we were supposed to be on. I added on a couple of extra miles but the biggest pain was that we were now bunched back up again! It was a bit of a cluster again and people were getting their freak on a little as they felt like they wanted to try to pass a bunch of people to regain 'their spot'.
Eventually, things returned to some semblance of normalcy as the field got spread out again. I blew by the first couple of aid stations but opted to stop at the 3rd one to re-fill my water bottles. I had been battling cramps since about mile 15 and tried ignoring them thinking they might go away. At about mile 30, I relented and swallowed a handful of electrolytes but all it did was keep the cramps from getting worse. I backed off the pace for a little bit and tried to let the race come back to me before I completely seized up. Coming out of that aid station, the course got mean!
Four miles after that aid station, we hit 'the wall'. It consisted of an incredibly steep section where everyone was grunting and groaning their way up a steep trail as they took their bike on a stroll through the woods! We all just snail paced our way up the trail until it finally relented and I was able to ride again. Everyone was happy to get back on their bikes but the hike a bike always seems to zap it out of me. At this point, I knew the climbing was behind us so it was just keeping it together enough to finish up.
Soon enough, we linked back into trail that was being shared by the other race distances and things got busier again. You had to stay aggressive to pass people but for the most part, people were great in letting you by if you said something.
The last few miles seemed to drag on forever but somehow that seems to always be the case regardless of what race you are doing and what length it is. The last few miles were a little bumpy and it was good to hit the road but unfortunately that meant the geared guys were able to reel me in! That is just how the cookie crumbles in single speed land...
Overall, I thought it was a great event on some incredible trail. One of the things I enjoyed about the race was how much of it was on trail. There was little dirt road so it felt like you had to be mentally engaged or else there were consequences to zoning out.
Post race, we all hung out and drank free beer provided by Sierra Nevada. Somehow I even managed to place 5th in the SS category so I got a little trophy for my efforts and suffering for a little over 5 hours.
We celebrated our collective finishes with some great Mexican food and a hearty margarita followed up with more beers...
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