Ugh...the Shenandoah Mountain 100
It was a great weekend for the SM100 Mountain Bike race just outside of Harrisburg, VA. The race began at 6am and I was ready to go. I felt confident that my strict training regime of riding multiple loops on my local trails with approx. 100 feet of elevation gain to get in 30-40 miles at a time had prepared me for what lay ahead (oh, and plenty of pasta, pizza and beer, this has to be how the pros do it). Boy was I wrong!
The ride started out great. The first climb wasn’t too bad, just felt like I needed to get warmed up. The second climb felt a little better. These climbs were on fire road, so plenty of space to spread out and pass folks. Then the first single track portion began. Being towards the back of the starting grid meant traffic at the single track trail head…lots of traffic. Essentially it was stop get off and walk as that is what everyone in front of us was doing. This was a bummer as this section of trail looked very cool. It was D.C. worthy stop and go for the next few miles before the herd began to thin out. Roll on!
The first "real" aid station came at around 36 miles. I felt great, grabbed some food and water and back on the bike. Mile 50 came before I knew it. I was starting to feel some pain at this point. Cramps began to creep in, so I kept downing the water and popped a few sport legs to see if I could get things straightened out. I fought cramps over the next 10 miles or so. Slowly they began to work themselves out. But now I began fighting fatigue. The next few aid stations were a bit of a blur. I remember them, but don’t really remember eating or taking on too much water....mistake (imagine that), but overall, I still felt confident I could complete this beast of a ride.
Between the second to last aid station, I met up with the only other single speeder left out there (Steve Bourque). We decided to team up and pull each other to the end. I’m really glad we did as he kept me motivated to keep mashing along. After a killer descent to the last aid station, I was feeling recharged and ready to knock this thing out. Since Steve was on a full rigid ride, I made it to the checkpoint a few minutes ahead. Once he rolled in, fueled up and got the lights working, we were on our way to the finish.
The last miles to the finish were the worst. We were so close but so far away and the climbing just wouldn’t let up. Needless to say there was plenty of walking involved as my legs were toast and just couldn’t push the pedals for more than a few revolutions at a time. So we just settled in and B.S.’d our way to the end. "The end you say", Yes, I did make it to the end, albeit a dismal 15 hours later, finishing pretty much last in the Single Speed Category. But hey, I did finish it!!
I was so out of it at the end, I didn’t even thank my newly made friend Steve for the help pulling me along to the finish (if any of you know Steve, let me know so I can touch base with him). The SM100 is by far the hardest physical challenge I have ever taken on. After the race, I swore off such craziness saying “never again, that was just stupid”. But now, a few weeks later, I find myself strategizing for next year. What’s wrong with me?
Post Script,
The other members of Team Flying Dog put in a great showing, looking strong until unfortunate events took them out of the race. First being team captain, Herb, who arrived at an un-stocked aid station towards the end with no food or water for him. Being that he had a few more miles to go, he had to pull out. No gas…no go. Second being Jay who ran into a similar situation at the last aid station. Mad props to both for sticking it out as long as they possibly could. Maybe next year right? Wait…there I go again……
