There’s a few things to expect anytime I head down to Arkansas:
- Driving down I-44, it will rain. Not light rain either. Hail, wind gusts that push your car across the road, debris from trees flying across the road, all while in a construction zone or a twisty hilly portion of the interstate are the norm.
- It will rain the day before any race or riding.
- It will rain all the way up I-44 to St. Louis.
This weekend was the Syllamo 50 and a new Syllamo 125k (which was a NUE race). Last year I made it 40 miles. This year I made the full 50! This was a great accomplishment and I’m very proud of it. First, the good stuff: each checkpoint I felt so much better than last year. I made it about 40 miles before I hit a wall instead of about 30. Conditions were better and I rode a lot more the trail than last year. Subsequently, I pulled into CP 2 about an hour and 40 minutes ahead of the cut off. My transitions at each CP was still good. I only really stopped at CP 2 to fill up water and lube my chain. Next year I’ll probably wait to lube the chain till after crossing the creeks after CP 2.
There was a lot to learn out there, too. Firstly, when you preride the day before with your GPS make sure to turn it off so you can use it on race day. So I started the day with no clock whatsoever. I can deal with no mileage if I can know my race time. Secondly, my technical riding was not great. Through a few sections of the yellow and blue I was still getting off for rideable stuff or messing up lines. And I lost a lot of places trying to get back on the bike a few times. I rode most of orange and blue trails to CP 2 which was a boost. CP 2 to 3 was some good riding, but was also in a position where I could have left the group I was with and gotten a bit of ground on them.
The biggest lesson for the day was at CP 3 I was so excited I pretty much pulled in, ate 2 shot blocks and took off down the trail. By the middle of the loop I hit the wall, body was in shut down mode. Two guys who had reached the CP behind me passed while I was standing along the trail. Some of the Pro 125k riders passed me. It was a bit sad.
I was so intensely happy when I arrived at CP 3 for the final segment home. The volunteer told me the same ol’ “it’s all downhill from here” which isn’t true, but I knew vaguely what to expect. Then he mentioned “Hey, be careful as it’s easy to crash when you’re tired.” Not even 20 feet from CP 3 I crashed!
It looks like that MO represented well down there, picking up some age group podiums, PRs, and general destroying some people out there.