I owe quite a bit to my friend, Jonathon Davis (Trek Store rider). It seems that whenever I'm in a pinch, running late for a race, forgetting things at race venues, in need of a cross-country bike transport, or just moral support, Jon's there. This was the case this last weekend for the Laramie Enduro. With work breathing down my neck until the late afternoon hours on Friday, I rolled into Laramie well past the 8PM number plate pick-up. The website said 'no packet pick-up after 8 or on race day.' Needless to day, I was stressed on my drive - so guess who I called...
Sending me the numbers of the race directors, Jon bailed me out. With that out of the way and some calming phone conversations, I was able to go to bed, stress free.
Cut to: 4:30AM Saturday morning...
The Laramie Enduro is one of those races that has it all; singletrack, steep and punchy climbs, long climbs, double-track roads, technical sections, and most of all - one hell-of-a 2nd half to make sure you earn that finishing time.
The other thing the Enduro has plenty of is competition. After taking a quick gander around at the start to see who was about to put the hammer down, I realized that trying to reach the podium was in itself going to be a huge task - like it always is! As the race started to unfold, the elevated pace coupled with some mechanicals for the unlucky ones, whittled our group down to 4. Colby Pearce, Barkley Robinson, Jay Henry, and myself were working together before another split put Colby and I out front. I know from experience that Jay can never be counted out. Both Colby and I knew it was a matter of time before he would come steamrolling back - and sure enough - here came Jay!
As we were approaching the last climbs of the day, Jay and I found ourselves alone out front. There were a few moments where Jay lifted the pace and I ALMOST cracked, but I held it together knowing that I needed to keep contact before the last mountain. Proving he's one of the classiest guys in the pro field, Jay offered me a bottle from his own support which allowed me to keep rolling through the aid station before the final, grueling climb. I remember chatting with him on the dirt road leading up to the base of the climb, both admitting that the last thing we wanted was to reach this climb with someone next to you. The reason is that we were racing hard for 4 hours already - and who wants to try and attack at hour four in a mtb race?!
As we started the climb, I told myself (I'm keeping it censored here) that I needed to turn myself inside out, pain is temporary, and my legs don't have the right to yell at me just yet. As the tunnel vision worsened and the lactic acid filled every part of my body, I realized I had a little gap on Jay. For those of you who know Jay, you know that it takes a near miracle for that to happen!
I was able to hold him off by a slim 30 seconds at the finish. It took the best day I could imagine on a bike to pull this off against the likes of the talent who lined up. Jay pushed me to the max and that netted a finishing time under the previous course record for both of us.
For those who like a little more analytical info, the key to success for me is eating and staying hydrated. This is true for everyone, of course, but if I'm even a little off - I'm done, cooked, and blown apart. I chose to eat the Pink Lemonade Stinger chews the whole race because they went down easy, tasted good, and provided enough calories - in addition to some calories in the bottle. Boy does it feel good to have nailed the nutrition...
Again, huge thanks to Jon, Jay, Curt W, Honey Stinger, Trek, Bontrager and the classy group of gals and guys that make up the mountain bike community.
