First of all here is the Garmin link to the course and my data. If you have never ridden the Basin, I highly recommend it!
A couple of weeks ago Holly and I did the ULCER on a tandem. It was a complete blast for both of us. The next day I get a call from my sister in law (who basically lives at Snowbasin) saying that there is a mtn bike race at Snowbasin and they will be giving away a tandem bike. I have been trying to hit the mid week races up there all year, but for some reason Wednesday nights have been crazy.
At the time 50K didn’t seem like that big of a deal, since I would be doing 100 miles in Leadville the week prior. This was the little detail I forgot to consider. Following Leadville my legs were jello. In fact it was so bad that on Thursday Rick and Tony put 10+ minutes into me going up Clarks. I was expecting to get killed!
It was awesome just being at Snowbasin. As a former resident of Mountain Green, I had a huge cheering section of family, friends, and old neighbors. I was right at home. The race started and the singletrack forced everyone into a train-like line. I knew I was screwed when a guy in a Sesame Street jersey (Cookie Monster and Elmo) was at the head of the train. The trail was so narrow there would be no passing. It was like this for the first hour of the race. Eventually things broke up and I could start riding my race. When I finally settled into a rhythm I felt great. The single speed was flying up and downhill. The only drawbacks were when I got stung by a hornet, and then crashed a few minutes later losing both waterbottles. I noticed that both bottles ended up 20 yards downhill and retrieving them would have cost me minutes. I had to gamble and stop at the next aid station to bum a half used water bottle so I could finish the race. Towards the end of the race I felt like the teardrops were going to cramp up while standing, but as long as i was seated everything was good. Sucks that I lost my 2 bottles of Carborocket. That stuff has never failed me!!!
The course was easily the best I have ridden. It had great singletrack, some technical areas, buff downhill, blind turns, whoop de doos, challenging climbs and everything else you can imagine. It was extremely well run and I can’t believe this was its first year. Next year they are going to expand it to a 100K as well as a 50K. I already have it on my schedule.
At the end of the day I looked at the results and it showed 4th OVERALL, and the fastest single speed by 16 minutes. 4th overall are you kidding me? 16 minutes are you kidding me? Eventually 2 mystery men (who were confirmed not starting with us) ended up pushing Grizzly Adam and I back 2 slots in the overall. Speaking of Adam, the dude rode strong all day. I don’t know how he did it in the heat with that beard. He should do well in the Park City Point to Point.
Here are a few pics from my new favorite event
Oh the pain
The dusty train
The starting climb
The finish line
The Podium
The Lunchbox raced his first mtn bike race today!!!
The shirt says it all
