I think it’s safe to say that the Shenandoah Mountain 100 is the most eagerly awaited MTB race in the Mid-Atlantic. It caps off most riders’ seasons and marks the unofficial end of summer. It rolls on some of the best trails around and the support and organization from SMT and the volunteers is matched by no other NUE event that I’ve done.
At 5am I heard the traditional wakeup gong sounding around the field and I rolled out of bed. And by rolled out of bed, I mean that I stood up from where I was sleeping. I slept on the ground in the field...I don’t require many amenities. At least I didn’t have to ride to the race in the dark like I did 2 weeks ago at Fool’s Gold. Anyhow, I ate my breakfast of champions (granola, banana and a pop tart) and dropped off my drop bags. I snuck a third bag in there but it ended up getting lost. Probably had something to do with my third-grader quality handwriting on the front.
Naturally, I nearly miss the start (again) because of poor planning and excessive lines at the crapper. Once underway though I made some moves to where I wanted to be once the pace started to lift, and I could tell by the company I was keeping that I was in with the top 50 or so. Up the first climb I was around Dylan Johnson and a few other fast guys. I’ve only ever done this race previously on a singlespeed and have never been near the front, so I was pleasantly surprised at the pace and lack of walkers in the first singletrack. Up one of the steeper pitches Dylan had to jump off and I went around. I wouldn’t seem him again for the rest of the day. We’re quickly onto the loose rocky descent on the other side and this is where my strength is. I love going downhill fast. Once out onto the fireroad past aid 1 I catch Gerry Pflug and Matt Ferrari spinning away on their singlespeeds. That’s the first time I’ve ever passed Gerry. Cool.
Shortly after a big group of 20 or so forms with some sub-to-low 8 hour riders. The pace is pretty high but my heart rate and legs feel good so I go with it. There’s a bit of a dash into the singletrack climb and Pat Miller and Ian Spivak spin away. I figure they’re both gone for good. Close to the top Gerry comes by cranking away, but once the trail points down he lets me get by. Towards the bottom I catch another slow moving train but I stayed put since I knew we were almost at the end of the trail. No point in making any sketchy moves this early on. There’s plenty of time left for that.
We get to aid 2 in no time. I don’t have drop bags here so I ditched my empty bottles and just grabbed fresh bottles from the volunteers. Our group rolls on to the Hankey Mountain climb which is the second longest of the day. I get into a good rhythm and I can see Pat Miller in the distance so I know I wasn’t going as slow as I usually do uphill. At the very top though I’m alone and start to rail the Dowell’s Draft descent. I got to ride this earlier in the year at SDS and it was sweet, but SMT really cleans it up for the 100. I catch a 29er Crew teammate that lets me by quickly, then shortly after I catch Ian who is followed by someone else. I sit on for a minute but this descent is sooo sweet I need to get around. Ian lets us get by and I cruise on down into aid 3. I roll out with Pat Miller again and we trade pulls up 250 for a while until Ian and Lee Hauber bridge back up to us. We all rotate very well and make short work of the road section.
Ian and Lee get away on the climb up towards Braleys and I sit on Pat’s wheel. I figure if I can hang on till the top I should be fine. Pat gets a stick caught in his derailleur and I get by, but luckily it’s not a big deal and he’s riding again shortly. We finally get to the top and are pointed downhill. This is definitely my favorite descent of the day. Beautiful flowing lines with just enough techy stuff to keep you honest. I catch Lee and 5 seconds after I pass him I crash off the side of the trail. I jumped back on as Pat catches up to me but I pulled away again quickly. I catch and pass Lee again but manage to stay upright this time. I get to aid 4 and Joe P was waiting with my bag. I swap bottles and am out in record time. I catch Jeff Dickey on the way out of aid 4 and we trade pulls for a few miles. This dude is super super strong and kills it in 1/2/3 road races and Elite MASS races. I start to wonder why I’m trading pulls with such a strong rider and eventually accept that all of my training has paid off. A few minutes later Jeff says he’s starting to feel bad and drops off. Shit. I don’t want to ride this section solo. I maintain my high zone 2 pace though because really there’s no choice. I figured the Pat Miller train would eventually catch me, but what’s the point in waiting around.
I glanced back after awhile and can see Pat, Lee and Jeff closing the gap but it seems like forever till they swallow me up. We all cruise along together then make the worst right hand turn in the race up the Death Climb. Lee and Jeff make some moves but we’re all still together. Eventually Lee pulls away never to be seen again. Pat drops off after awhile and it’s just me and Jeff. Jeff clearly isn’t feeling so hot and he thinks the aid station is after every turn we get to. Sorry dude, we’re not there yet. Eventually he drops back and Pat Miller comes roaring by and I accelerate to keep his wheel. I would looove to beat him today so I might as well try to stick his wheel. We both roll into and out of aid 5 and cruise together till the top of Little Bald where I start to fall off. In the distance though I can hear him yell that he’s at the descent and that lifted my motivation pretty quick.
I dive into the descent and catch Pat and he lets me by. It’s clear that I’m riding out of control and taking tons of risks, so it was probably a wise move on his part. I managed to keep it together and not flat my racer-boy tires which is a miracle. I also catch local fast guy Ryan Fawley but he pulls away on some of the speed scrubbers and I never see him again. Towards the bottom on the side of the trail is a rider with some first aid workers. This guy is staring into space and has blood all over his face. After that reality check I chill out and slow down for the rest of Little Bald. Finally I get to aid 6 and just ride through. I have enough fluids left to last me the hour or so the last section will take. At the bottom of our second pass up Hankey Pat rolls by and I have nothing left to give. I party pace up Hankey, luckily getting passed by only one other rider and roll into the finish in 8:16 for 23rd Open and 25th overall out of ~600 starters, 3 minutes behind Pat.
The only time I felt really bad were the rollers leading into Death March and the second time up Hankey. I can live with that. I bested my previous PR time by nearly 45 minutes. The race was such a great way to finish off my year of racing. I didn’t do much XC and focused mostly on endurance racing. I was worried after a pretty bad race at Cohutta, but things turned around and I consider my results this year to be a major success. I finally got into the sub-8 group at Wilderness which was probably my best race. I’m looking forward to next year but am glad to just ride for fun until then. Also, there was a rumor someone shit their chamois. I didn’t shit my chamois so I will also file that into the ‘success’ category.
http://app.strava.com/rides/1507443
http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/national-ultra-endurance-nue-series-shenandoah-mountain-100-ne/results
killer race!
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