Smithy1 > Smithy1's Blog Posts > Vegas to Reno - race day (part 4)

August 28, 2008 01:56

Just after I am passed by the first trophy truck I notice a bike sitting on its side stand on the side of the trail. I slow down, almost stop, look around and do not see a rider. No one around. A bit odd but I continue up the mountain pass continually looking over my shoulder to make sure another truck does not sneak up behind me! This road is really nice. Jeep trail width with lots of tight turns. Although we are ascending the mountain the trail has more of a rolling hill feel to it. By now I have caught up to another bike but notice the distinct massive dust cloud ascending the pass behind us. I cautiously ride the trail for a few more switchbacks before I feel the need to get off the trail. This time it is a buggy, I think it was McMillin. After he passes we are back on the trail. A quad has joined our little convoy although I don’t remember if he caught up to us or we caught him. The three of us reach the summit only to be run down by another truck. This time it was Rick Johnson. We all scramble off the trail as the truck roars by.

Eventually the quad pulls out ahead of us and disappears, leaving the other bike and myself to fight of the evil alone. Somehow it seems comforting to ride with other competitors facing the same fear as me. I would guess that 5 or 6 trucks/buggies passed me on this mountain pass but this section of the course was the absolute best part of the whole day. The sun was taking a lower aim at the desert floor resulting in much cooler temperatures, the scenery was amazing, and I even think he trucks/buggies added that extra bit of spice to make this the best part of the entire experience!

I descend the final section of this mountain pass and can see the pit #7 laid out on the valley floor. I give my crew a thumbs up as I pass by them. No real need to stop. I am feeling great and having the time of my life! From pit #7 to #8 was a lot of deep rutted out silt beds. Real tough riding. I see several bikes that have broken down along the course. I even came across 3 of the trucks/buggies at various spots that are also broken down. I smile inside my helmet as I pass each truck/buggie! Finally I approach the endless silt bed that leads to pit #8. It seems to take forever but I arrive. By making it to this pit means that I only have another 150 miles to go. This sounds like a lot but in the grand scheme of things I am a hell of a lot closer to the finish than I am to the start.

This starts as a fairly normal pit: fuel, Gatorade, banana/apple, powerbar, etc. Loren works quickly to swap in a fresh air filter. I lean on the tailgate of the truck and notice that one of the coolant hoses on the bike is collapsed! Shit, this is all I need. It does not take us long to find that the return line from the overflow tank is clogged. We remove the tank and bum a drill from our “neighbors” to open it up.

This process does not take too long. About the time I get the tank back on our “neighbor’s” race vehicle shows up and parks in front of our tent.

This really feels like racing now! Physically I feel great and am anxious to tackle the rest of the course. We make the decision to NOT put on the HID lights until I meet my crew at pit #10. The bike is back together and I speed across the valley floor towards the next mountain pass. As the trail starts up the pass it becomes hard pack with quite a few large rocks scattered about. A few miles up this trail and nearing the actual mountain pass I hit a sharp edged rock pretty hard and the bike immediately takes it’s own route off the left of the trail. Damn! I have a flat front tire. I preparation for this race I put on the strongest rims I could find matched up with the toughest desert racing tire and a super heavy-duty tube. This combination lasted for a very tough 300 miles. I decide that at this point it would be quicker if I just return to the pits. I get out my cell phone to call Loren and tell him the news. They have already headed towards the next pit but will return to meet me at pit #8. I cross the valley floor to the pit avoiding the actual race course. The tire change goes pretty well as I swap in the used standard heavy-duty tube that was in the bed of the truck.

While I change the tube, Loren mounts the HID lights. He realizes that we have wasted too much time at this pit and twilight is quickly approaching. Tire mounted and a helpful truck support crew pumps up the tire with an air compressor. Wheel back on the bike and I once again head across the valley towards the next mountain range. This time I make it pretty far up the mountain pass, well out of sight of the pits. The course is narrow and winding. I must be 5 or 10 miles from pit #8 at this point.

Damn it! I hit another sharp edge rock and the front tube blows out. I ride up the trail a bit until I find a safe place to pull over. First thing I do is call Jen and give her the bad news. I am getting a bit frustrated by this point and don’t sound to good on the phone. I am way too deep into this range to return to the pits. I must swap out the tube on my own with the minimal tools that I have with me. I lay the bike on its side and remove the wheel. Stashed under the seat is another spare front tube. I pull this tube out and notice that it had been rubbing on the underside of the seat. There is a pretty evident wear mark on it and I am skeptical that it will hold air. Swapping the tube goes a lot easier than I expected. As I get the tire about half full of air I can hear it leaking. Yes, my third and last front tube is not going to hold air. Ever watch a little kid when his prized balloon looses air. Major disappointment. I know that this is the end of my day. I call Jen and tell her the news in an extremely disappointed tone. She insists that they will find me a tube from another team. The sun is setting and it will take me at least an hour+ to return to the pit AFTER I get the wheel back on.

I sit down on in the sand, alone in this canyon. Just me and the bike. I stare into the beautiful sunset and reflect on my day. As I lay there I come to the realization that I had a really good day! I just competed in my first desert race! Life is good! God bless America! I call Jen in a much more upbeat tone and thank her and Loren for helping me achieve this crazy dream!

Now for the hard part. I must ride nearly 10 miles back to pit #8 without using the race course. The ironic part is once I am 2/3 of the way back I am able to pick up the tire marks from my similar trip down this valley 2 hours earlier! When I get to the pit #8 for the third time my loving crew is waiting for me.

I clean up a bit, load the truck and the 3 of us drive to the finish line to watch a few competitors cross under the finish banner. It is hear that I talk to a few other riders and find out that nobody uses tubes. I ask one guy “Do you mean that I am the only idiot running tubes?” He replies a very quick “Yes”. Come to find out the norm is to use mouse, tire balls or have a shop inject foam into your tubes. Lessons learned for next time…

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