Crosstown Cycling: Chainbuster’s 6hr Endurance Race Single Speed

May 5, 2012

Winder, GA- Fort Yargo State Park

So about a week ago John Newsom and I were debating on whether or not to go down and race the AMBS race in Mobile this weekend. I have been aching to get back into MTB racing since I have been focusing so much on the road this year and this weekend was looking pretty good in the schedule, with my next road race not until May 19^th weekend. John was wanting to get a good weekend in with a lot of miles and was thinking about doing the Chief Ladiga Trail so we ended up finding the Chainbuster’s 6hr Race going on in Winder, GA at Fort Yargo State Park and doing that.

This was going to be John’s first endurance race and my first one since last fall so we were both a little on edge before the race not knowing what to expect. The turnout was awesome and even though we showed up 2.5hr early, still had a hard time finding a parking spot and had to squeeze our pit in between several bigger tents under a tree but it all worked out. Our pit setup was just basically some bottles, a toolbox, our food, an ice chest, and a couple chairs all lying on the ground. Mike Soto came along to help out with everything and was great during every stop, getting us everything fast and doing exactly what we asked every lap.

Race Summary:

The race started off with a parade lap, as all the Chainbuster’s races do, and with a field of I would guess 200 riders. I saw there were over 400 registered but with most doing 2 man teams, 200 something at the start is probably a good estimate. John and I started out well and being we were racing single speed, found ourselves mid way back of the field by the time we got to where we actually went into the woods due to the long 2 mile road parade lead out.

The first lap was slow and I found myself running several of the climbs due to pile ups from the field but soon John and I broke free after passing 50-60 riders over the first lap and made it thought safely. I kept telling John you are not going to win an endurance race in the first lap but you sure the hell can lose one if you don’t pay attention and that the goal was to get through it safely. I could tell it was hard for him to go so slow, being he races so fast usually, but it paid off as we had no chance to pre-ride the course and allowed time for us to settle into the race and learn the trail.

The first lap I skipped my pit and just pedaled through as I had still over ½ a bottle of water left and plenty of food still on me. The second lap came fast and we were making up spaces fast as many of the other riders were starting to slow down now that we were over an hour into the race. My pre-race goal was to get 5 laps in at 55 miles on the day but mid way through the second lap, John started asking if I thought he could get 6, or maybe 7 laps in. I just smiled and said get through the first 3 hours, then start thinking about attacking. Almost at the end of the second lap I dropped my chain on a smooth section about 4 miles from my pit, I told John to keep going and I would catch back up. Luckily I was able to just spin my chain back on without taking my wheel off and within a minute was back on the trail. I continued on and started trying to pull John back.

Finally by the end of the 3^rd lap I was back in sight of John and eventually joined back on with him. At this point we were about 30 miles into the race and I was feeling good even though I had hit it hard the last hour to catch back on. By the time I reached John he was sitting in first and I was in second, but we still had 3 hours left to go. We rode the rest of the 3rd lap together and most of the 4th lap then with about 2 hours left in the race, I told John if he wanted to still get a 7^th lap in he had to go now, we were turning about 55 minute laps and at this point but he needed two 45 minute laps to finish under 6 hours so he attacked. Both of us also were under the impression there was still one single speeder in front of us so at the time it wasn’t a bad idea for him to go.

I rode the last lap and half by myself and that’s when I began lapping a lot of riders, even other single speeders to my amazement, and even though they said they were a lap down, I didn’t trust anyone and would still attack until I didn’t see them behind me anyone.

Overall I ended up in 2^nd with 6 laps at 66 miles in 5hr and 27 minutes and some change. I was happy on the day with my result and glad that John was able to finish strong and grab 1^st in his first 6hr race. Results can be found here.

Course:

The course was at Fort Yargo State Park in Winder, GA and was an 11 mile loop with lap times in the mid 50’s for most people. Here is a link to my Strava with elevation and gps data.

Nutrition:

My ride nutrition for the race was fairly simple. I used Gu brand single shots with caffeine, taking one about every 45 mins. For solid food I had several bananas, some Power Bars with protein, and some of John’s Rice Krispy treats. For drinks I consumed water for the first 3 hours, then later I began drinking diluted Powerade, some whey protein mixed with Gatorade Zero, some Hammer Perpeteum, and a couple sips of Coke in the pit on laps 4 and 5. But for the most part I raced on water as I don’t like a lot of sugary drinks when I ride normally.

Bike Setup:

As usual I raced on my Bianchi WUSS with 32x16 gearing at 52 gear inches. The elevation for this course was around 1100 ft/ lap but none of the climbs were too steep nor were they very long so I was able to mash this gear without any problems. Next time I will probably go with a 32x17 just to get a little higher cadence and save my back and knees a little more. I ran my Schwalbe Racing Ralph 2.25’s front and rear with about 25psi in each with stan’s sealant.

Race Photos: Photos courtesy of Mike Soto