death march

reach the beach was today, and it was a great day for the race - cloudy, moderate temperatures, and light winds. not sure, but around 60 people signed up for the 90 km gravel, sand, soil and bog (more about that later) ride from tyndall to grand beach.

the race started with the usual suspects at the front; paddy, tom, dave, and a slew of others at the front. about 15 or so riders were up front, taking turns pulling at the lead and setting a good pace. the 38X16 gearing (69 gear inches) let me stick with the boys and i settled into the speedy, but steady pace set by the group. after 15+ minutes of gravel it was a left turn on to the sand and the race was on. the sand in this ride is much like the pyrenees in the tour de france, if you can keep a clean line and plow your way through the soft stuff you can put some distance between you and the riders who are not so clean. on this day the 29 inch wheels gave me an edge and i found myself staying with some of the lead riders. after we were spit out of the sand and tall grass trails of the first third of the race i found myself with dave dorning and dylan harris, a hot young rider from olympia. we quickly formed a pack and each took turns pulling in the front until we reeled in don scissons. the four of us began the hunt for the next rider which was paddy who was in the lead. this group lasted until the next sand section where we lost dylan off of the back. okay, it was at about this time that i began to think, 'what the hell am i doing so far up at the front ?' but the legs felt good and i continued to hang on as long as i could. eventually i felt my self fading and soon dropped off the back and dave and don continued their pursuit of paddy. now i found myself in no-man's land, riding by myself. even though i faded from don and dave's pace, i was still turning it over pretty good and continued on a pretty decent clip. about 4/5's of the way through the race lindsey caught me and and slowly pulled away (that man can flat out ride). by this time we hit some of the more challenging parts of the trail which consisted of water and mud - i mean really deep water (at one point i saw dave d, who i caught up to again because he was having problems with cramps, try and wade through one section, step into a hole and was waist deep in water). it was also at this time that i began to think to myself, 'i sure hope that lindsey doesn't put his shoulder out again.' what do you think i found when i rounded the bend? dave was helping lindsey, who was holding his arm and dislocated shoulder, walk out of the bog. i jumped in the bog to retrieve dave's bike, and we helped lindsey make it back to the road. at this point dave and i agreed that it was not necessary for both of us to get lindsey to help, so dave said he would take him and that i should continue on with race (thanks dave). i turned back and made my to the bog. this was a most foul and evil thing: water that was waist deep, with 4 inches of dirt, leaves, and other bio matter floating on top, and soft silty sand/mud underneath - we had to cross through 200 feet of this stuff. while i was up to my thigh and waist of this stuff i rolled my bike across the top of it - it was like the quick sand you see in all of the old movies. after this was cleared it was off to the finish line, but not before you had to do one more 3km lap on the grand beach race course. this was most depressing because you rolled right by the finish line before you started this last lap - so close yet so far.

when all was said and done i had a 4th place finish (one more rider passed us as dave and i were helping lindsey out of the bog). i give myself a 5th place though, as dave was good enough to help lindsey with his shoulder and was going to make it in well before me - as would have lindsey but for his bum shoulder. i feel very lucky to have finished so well - having the good fortune to have one of those days where you have really good legs on the day of a race. sweet.