Plattekill(ed) me

This weekend was stop #2 for the NYSERS 6 hour series at Plattekill Mt.. While Platty is traditionally a downhill mecca, they have a great capability to put on a few xc races per season.

The 6 hour course would be a true return to the roots of Plattekill racing. No more taking the easy way out and riding the lift up to do the loop. This time we'd be riding the 1300' ft plus of climbing all the way up, but that also meant coming back down.

Temps were unusually high for early June (mid 90's, heavy sun and high humidity) as it was throughout most of the US this weekend. That meant hydration and staying cool would be the key to the race. It would indeed be tough to do both as the opening climb was a mile in length with hardly any shade, only to tuck you into another .5 mile of singletrack climbing.

My race started off great, the run was a little weird as it was only about 100 ft to get the bike. I didn't jump hard right away as we had a long climb and I slowly paced myself to the front of the group. I was chasing down a singlespeeder and caught him about 1/3rd of the way up the climb. I chugged on feeling great and into the singletrack where I had a few minutes lead. Once into the rocky and technical singletrack, the Superfly matched with the Bonty Dry X's were rolling along awesomely.

In the singletrack I kept humming along and really pushed it out in the more open sections of the course to expand upon my lead.

The descent was super fast and super fun. Having been spending lots of time in Naples recently, means I've been doing alot of descending. As such my high speed descending skills are getting really strong. With the descent switching from dry loose rock to grassy and wet in a few sections, it was important to be on top of your game.

I rolled through the 1st lap still holding my lead and stopped in the pits for a cold bottle and also grabbed a "mini" disposable bottle to dump on my head and keep me cool on the climb. It worked and I flew up the climb and turned in another fast lap only about a minute or 2 slower. However the sub 50 minute laps and the heat and humidity were catching up. At the start of lap 3 I grabbed a fresh bottle and 2 more disposable waters. I ended up drinking both waters on the way up the climb and slamming the bottle at the top of the course. I was feeling great and my lead was still holding on strong. I even managed to pass a group of downhillers on the main descent (the course used the beginner DH course, and the mt. was open in other areas, but a few poached the trail). I think my speed in the lycra and on hardtail suprised them a little bit as they were in full gear.

By the time I started my 4th lap, I had to grab 2 bottles of drink, plus 2 disposable bottles of water. The heat and baking in the sun were really adding up. My lead was holding steady and according to the checkpoints at the top, may have even been getting bigger. Slamming down the final descent, I tore a hole in the rear. I tried to shake it out and let the sealant do the work. It started to hold so I threw a co2 in and that ended up blowing the sealant out. It managed to catch again and I thought I would be ok, started riding and tire went flat again. I added another c02 thinking I could get it to hold as I was only about .5 mile from the bottom where I had spare wheels. I put the 2nd co2 in and managed to get just a short bit farther on the course and was forced to pull out the tube and start hand-pumping. Up until this point I was still holding my lead (~10 minutes), but as I was pumping the tire, which seemed like it took all of eternity to just get a little air in there, I got passed by a few riders.

With frustration, I remounted and was trying to regain my top spot. I managed to climb about 3/4 the way up the mt. and just wasn't shaking the heat. I actually started to get a chill. With the stopping to fix the flat and jumping up the climb I forgot to drink. With that I decided that I was happy with my fitness and what I had accomplished and decided to pull the plug and head home.

I did have good reason to get home, my sister was having her going away party as she leaves for New York City this weekend. I'm not disappointed that I dnf'd. It happens, it's part of racing. For sure I was a little bummed when I first dropped out, but looking back I had a good race and you can't make a big fuss over things you can't control.

My form is really coming along and temps should settle a little bit this weekend. I'm super-excited to be racing the Hardcore 24 Solo this weekend coming up. Home course, baby!