12 Hours of Lodi Farm Race Report

Writing this makes me tired.

We went to Lodi Farm, outside Fredericksburg, VA, for the 12 Hour race. Started at midnight, so less sleep available than a 24-hour race. I was on a team with Zach and Don. They talked me into Expert class. Bastards. Where's the sandbagging in Expert class? I was out of my element!

The course was kinda like Marysville on steroids. 8.1 miles of twisty, loggy, rooty, roller-coastery, twisty, turny, where the hell am I singletrack with a couple (maybe) 100-yard stretchs of field thrown in. Rest? Recover? Speed? These things mean nothing to a Jedi Expert. Only steering, braking and accelerating . . . all the time. I didn't drink anything my first two laps. I was afraid to let go of the bars.

Zach was first up, followed by me, and then Don. Until we were 8 minutes back to the CityBikes team after the first rotation and Zach opted to pull a double lap that put us 3 minutes up. He put 11 minutes on them in two laps. Yes, Zach carried us. He was a monster. I followed the double lap and promptly gave up that 3 minute lead and put us back down by 1 minute. The race was back and forth like that the whole way. Everytime I started my lap, Zach would gift me with a 3 minute lead. Everytime I came off my lap, we would be 1 minute behind. I wanted to punch myself in the head. My fourth lap, I was working hard. Stoopid hard. It was deja vue. Third time in a row I knew how far back that other guy was. I was cranking for dear life to not see him behind me. And then my right hammy got locked in a vise. Oh, dear god. Stay on the bike. Keep pedaling. Hey, there goes my left quad. Then my right quad. Great, they're taking turns. Wait, something's relaxing . . . power up this hill . . . whee, there goes my left groin! Ever try to descend while hovering over your saddle and bunny hopping logs while both quads are in knots? I had to softpedal and wussy-spin through some stuff just to keep legs moving. The guy's right on my tail. Strafe a downhill to scream around a corner into another quick up. Can't stand. Gotta downshift. There he goes. Did I mention I wanted to punch myself in the head? Then tremors rippled up and down the outside of my left quad. After that it was, "Minimize it. Screw you, legs, screw you." Through the neverending flat twisties near the end of the course, where you can see the other guy everytime you turn, but you can't tell if they're 25 feet or a minute ahead of you. Bobbled on a turn and had to dab--bad news! Back on the pedal and keep spinning. Never get off the bike when you start cramping. It only invites more hell to dinner. Push as hard as I can through the rest of the course to finish my last lap, once again 1 minute behind. Don was up next and worked his tail off for his best lap time of the race. It was all down to Zach to try to catch the leader on the 14th and last lap of the race. It was Zach's 6th time out. Did I mention he carried us? He was a monster. We wouldn't be surprised if it was a sprint finish. We knew Zach could catch him. Even the other City Bikes guys expected Zach to catch their rider.

Waiting for end of the lap, we see the City Bikes guy cruise by the back of the transition tent before the final straightaway to the finish line...Where's Zach? This isn't good. City Bikes finishes, arms in the air, first place, we clap, we look for Zach. Nothing. Heck, the City Bikes guys were surprised, too. Even they expected Zach to catch their last guy. We keep waiting. No Zach. Definitely not good. Finally we see him weave past the backside of the tent. Not looking good. He comes down the straightaway and you know he's left everything out there somewhere on the trail. Pulls up to the table, I jog over to meet him and tell the people our team number. He slumps over his handlebars and doesn't move. Thrashed. More people gather. We get him some fluids, slowly try to work him away from the table to some shade, to something. More fluids. He finally perks up enough to weave back to the campsite and collapse into a chair. More fluids, electrolytes, time. We finally wander back over for awards. More chair slumpin' but then he chows down a BBQ sammich and baked beans. We get called up to the prize table. Look over the pickings . . . not much left . . . a bottle of Hammergel for me to give to Donna, Don picked out a bottle as well. Zach lingers the longest, finally picks up a ballcap....a black Monster Energy Drink ballcap with the green "M" on the front. Hey, that's fitting.

We ended up second in 3-man Expert. By mere minutes. Wow.

Donna and Jill Wiest raced Duo Woman open. They won. With 8 laps. Awesome!

And Jake Davidson rocked it Solo for the 12 hours, clocking 8 laps...awesome indeed.

Zach's Race Report is on his Blog.

Pics are from Rick Brown HERE.

Thanks for reading.