The start was cold and dark, about 45 degrees. We ran to our bikes and then out onto the course. I started for our team, named "Hole in One" and managed to be one the top 10 into the singletrack. There were 170 or so teams. I followed another rider who had a light through the first little canyon and then rode blindly for a couple minutes until we were in a more open area. The twilight was giving just enough on the high ground to see and it got brighter every minute.
I was totally time trialing, mildly concerned about using too much to soon, and zoomed onto the pavement and through the underpass/transition zone in 1st place, laying down what would be the fastest lap of the race, averaging 16 mph on that lap! One more time around and it was L.A.'s turn a couple out.
Earlier that day we awoke to her front tire completely flat. Actually spent quite a bit of time jerking with it and knew it might be an issue during the race. Both our bikes were well worn and we knew mechanicals were a strong possibility. So of course she had a flat on the first lap, and of course it was not easy to fix as the tubless valve had been completely jacked in the rim.
L.A found her mojo on the following lap, putting down her fastest lap of the day. We were behind at this point but slowly crawled back into 1st about mid day. Between laps I was using zip ties to hold both my shoes and my derailer together. But we remained mechanical free and took the win with 22 laps! Rules stated that each teamate had to do a relatively equal number of laps so Lee-Ann finished up the race for us in the dark, putting down yet another of her consistently fast laps.
Barn Burner was a blast! This was a relay race that took place near Flagstaff, above 7000 feet elevation, on a 20+ mile rough dirt road loop. It was the first race that I teamed up with my girl L.A. and what a team we turned out to be!
The start was CROWDED! People were pushing and shoving as we were herded down a long corridor of race tape to where our bikes were parked. Hundreds of us were off and racing and it took several minutes to reach the dirt road where I could finally begin some passing. I teamed up with several other fast racers and we made time sharing the lead and our slipstreams. Coming into the barn where we had to dismount I found my teammate, Lee-Ann saddled up and ready for her hand off. I handed the baton and she was off! We were in great shape going into our second of 4 laps. I had come in among the top 10 on the first lap and LA had a killer lap time on the second.
Eventually I was able to get warm, then the sun showed itself just as our good friend Stephanie came in. LA and I enjoyed our free beer, the great company, and some time with our dogs in the mountains as we waited and waited for the awards.
Turns out we earned a couple of real cowboy belt buckles for finishing in under 9 hours. Great times were had as we mingled with the other racers of Arizona.
Next on the list of Ohio races was Vulture's Knob Double Down Enduro. This was a double distance cross country race on a rather technical course. Vulture's Knob is the site of my very first mountain bike race, as well as Lee-Ann's first. Also one of our favorite courses. A technical mix of speed, climbing, and some crazy bridges...The Knob is forever evolving. It's truly an xc playground. I love V-Knob, I love long races, and I love the heat. This day I got to mix all three into a cocktail of fun and pain! Temps were again near 90 with high humidity. My girl LA was the only female brave enough to enter the expert class, everyone else sandbagged to avoid death by heat exhaustion. Lining up at the start I was excited to race my old rivals and my favorite racecourse of all time. Finally after some jibber jabbering by the race officials we were off and racing. I got a great start out front and promptly dropped my chain entangling it in the crankset. I dismounted and repaired, all the while being passed by wave after wave of slower racers. I lost valuable time as I waited to pass in the tight singletrack. Not panicking yet though, this was a double distance race and I had the better part of 3 hours to make up my time. Also coming off of the Arizona Mountain bike series I had plenty of fitness and heat tolerance to spare....so I bowed my head to the gods of speed and went to work. I was focused and riding well, however could not help but think of how a little preparation would have had me at the front of the pack already. Old lesson learned over again. About half-way into the race I started to get some time gaps yelled to me, I was in 2nd place only about 3 minutes behind 1st. "Wow" I thought, "a lot of racers must have dropped out" as I did'nt recall passing too many. Now was my chance, but the gap was growing and no matter what I tried I was unable to close in on first. I ended up finishing second just a few minutes out of first after nearly 50 miles of racing. The winner was not even able to make it to the podium as he was suffering from severe dehydration and /or heat exhaustion. Later looking at my lap times they were pretty equal to the winner with the exception of my mechanical lap. This could have been a really great competition! Oh well, I will fight another day. 
Lee-Ann showed off her solid base fitness by finishing strong in the heat. Taking her loyal dog, Pueblo along on her final 8 mile lap. After the race we got to hang out with some really great, long time friends, the dj began spinning some beats, the laser's blasted and the kegs flowed. I was reminded of all the reasons I grew to love racing bicycles. The friendship, nature, fresh air, endorphins....the list just goes on and on. Before we blew out of town I got schooled in the art of road crits, visited with the famdamily, went to Tennessee just to visit Burrito Meal, and had all different kinds of fun! Next up is Barn Burner....man I have some catching up to do!!!
Ok so first off I have no photos from this race....so here are a few from a really fun group ride I did in Pittsburgh with some new and old friends...at least you have something to look at!
