Greenbrier Challenge Mountain Bike Race

I woke up Sunday morning with a high degree of uncertainty about the Greenbrier Race. The days leading up to the race were hectic, but with or without a bike I was in Maryland. I was nervous and excited. It would be my first race in the Phoenix Multisport jersey. I haven't posted much about Phoenix Multisport, but it is a great thing to be apart of and I am super grateful to be able ride for them. You can read more about Phoenix Multisport by clicking Here.

Saturday, Doug and I spent 9 hours trapped on an airplane, 6 at the gate while it was being fixed and 3 in the air. We arrived in Maryland at 9pm. My bike was stuck in Cleveland and a bike I tried to buy didn't work out either. Lee offered to lend me his bike, but he hadn't ridden it in months and wasn't sure if it was in racing condition. Our start time was 11:30am, we planned on getting there at 9:00am. That would give me 2.5 hours to register, get Lee's bike sorted, pre-ride the race course, meet up with the family and friends I had invited, and make my start line up at 11:15am.

We rolled into the parking lot at about 9:30am, Chris showed up about the same time with Lee's bike. It was great to see Chris, when he pulled a tiny child's bike out of the back of his truck I laughed but was on to his prank. Lee's bike was a Cannondale hard tail with hydraulic disc brakes, tubeless tires, and a solid drivetrain. My first order of business was to head down to The Bike Lane tent (a local shop) to see if they could give Lee's bike some love. If so it would be a good bike to race on. On the way down I took an inventory of what needed work: a rusty chain, sticky rear shifting, bent brake lever, broken fork lockout, and some seized bolts. Adam, the manager of bike lane put in on the stand, took one look and shook his head. There was no way he'd have time to get it sorted before the race, but he had an alternative.

I was super grateful to Lee and Chris for going out of their way to lend and deliver me a bike on such short notice. I looked forward to the future conversations about the time I called Lee in the middle of the night and then won a race on his bike, but Adam offered me an alternative I couldn't refuse. A Trek Top Fuel 69er demo. The 69er was designed by Travis Brown, it has a 26" wheel in the back and a 29" wheel in the front, supposedly combining the agility of a 26" wheeled bike with the rollover and traction of a 29er bike. Adam got me set up on the 69er just in time for Doug and I to pre-ride the course.

The Trek Top Fuel 69er

Doug and I set out on the course about an hour before our start time. The course was typical Maryland riding loaded with rocks, logs and mud. It was perfectly suited to my assets of power and tech skills. The start was a grassy stretch followed by a short climb and a technical section filled with "shark fin" rocks jutting out from the mud. This lead to a long, steep muddy climb called Heartbreak Hill. Then the course followed a ridge line for about a mile into a super technical descent. The same line of storms that had caused my bike to be diverted to Cleveland hit Maryland the night before. Inches of rain had dumped on the course making the descent more like like riding down a rocky creek than a trail. At the bottom, the course finished along a lake which had flooded its banks onto the trail in a couple places. I hadn't ridden in mud like that in years, it was going to be an interesting race.

Flooded Trail

All the family and friends who came out were waiting when we got back. I caught up with everyone for a bit and then it was time to line up. On the way I made a minor adjustment to my seat height which would come back to haunt me later. I started before Doug because we were in different age groups. I choose the inside slot right at the front. My competition looked diverse, from strong riders to weekend warriors. My initial thought was " I'm coming from the fitness Mecca of Boulder, these guys have got nothing on me." This may have been true, but I didn't want to be humiliated by overconfidence so I just tried to focus on riding my own race. We got a quick brief by the race director and before I knew it we were down to thirty seconds.

There was no count down, the timing official just said "Go!" I missed clipping into my pedal on my first attempt, not a good way to start a race. I got it on the second attempt and exploded off the line. It surprised me how much power I had in my legs. By the time we hit the gravel double track at the base if the initial climb I was in first place by a half dozen bike-lengths. At the top of the first climb was so far ahead I couldn't see anyone behind me. I knew I couldn't keep it up, but I wanted to put as much distance as possible between myself and the pack. As I progressed up the climb the bike felt less and less right. It was a sinking feeling, like my tire was going flat or my rear shock was leaking. Indeed, I was sinking, it was my seat post. I looked down to see that my seat post clamp had popped up off the frame. There was nothing holding tension on the seat post to keep it in place.

Alex's Break Away

Doug in the Lead

With every sinking pedal stroke I felt my race aspirations melting away. I screamed "Nooooo!!!!" to the puzzlement of a couple spectators, but there was nothing I could do. It had sank too low for me to produce any power sitting down. Worse yet, my multi tool was in my bike box which was stuck in Cleveland. I pedaled standing up for about half a mile until I encountered another racer walking his bike. He was out due to a broken chain, but luckily he had a multi tool. It took me about 2 minutes to get the seat clamp back on, seat height adjusted and tightened. In that time my entire age group passed me. I went from 1st place to last place, ARGH!

Suffering to Re-Gain Position

I was determined not to let this cost me the race. I spent the rest of the first lap anaerobically regaining ground. The technical "shark fin" section was a blessing in disguise. The jagged rocks had created a log jam of carnage. As I approached I could see people crashing, being ejected from their bikes or just dismounting and running. After pre-riding, I anticipated this which was one of my motives for trying to get out in front off the start. I used a strategy which worked in The 24 Hours of Moab last year and picked lines over the rockiest sections of trail which most people were avoiding. It worked and by the end of the section I was through most of the pack.

More Suffering

I had been riding at 100% effort since the beginning of the race began to fear I might "crack" on the muddy climb up heartbreak hill. I tried to channel all of my pre-race frustrations into my legs and lungs. The bike being stuck in Cleveland, the flight delay on Saturday and my seat post were all fuel to ride faster. The muddy slog up heartbreak hill was hell, but the dense sea level air allowed me to suffer at a level that I can rarely reach. It was most noticeable in my recovery time which was almost nothing, it was amazing. I was able to level my heart rate off at threshold almost immediately after being completely anaerobic. After the climb I hammered the wet rocky descent and the muddy river flowing down it. I couldn't see clearly enough to pick a line in the flying mud so I just pointed the front wheel down the hill and held on for the ride. The 29er wheel happily rolled over stuff that would have sent me flying on a 26" wheeled bike.

And More Suffering

At the end of the first lap I made a B-line across the finish line straight to the tech zone in search of a tool to fine tune my seat height. It was about 1" too low from when I fixed it the first time. This cost me another minute, but it was a necessary adjustment to be in proper climbing position for the last two laps. The last two laps went about like the first sans my seat post drama, just pure suffering. I continued to be surprised at how much more I could suffer and how quickly I could recover in the sea level air. It was like free energy. Everyone was covered in mud making it impossible to tell who was in my class. My strategy for the rest of the short race was to keep the pressure on and not get passed by any one. It worked, the only time I got passed was by a guy on the last lap climb up Heartbreak Hill. After he passed, I hung on his wheel and let him pace me up the climb. It worked, at the top he cracked and I regained my position. By the last descent of the race my sun glasses were so muddy I was riding blind. I threw my glasses to Chad who was at the base of the descent taking pictures as I rode by.

Surfing the Lake

Last Bump before the Finish

I passed two women riders on my way to the finish, but crossed it alone. It was great to be greeted by family and friends, although my post race hack got in the way of conversation and caused a little concern. I had no idea how I did, I could have finished in first place or last place. Everyone was covered in mud making it impossible to recognize the people who were next to me on the start line. Doug finished shortly after me covered in Mud as well. While I was rinsing off in the lake Anna said I finished 3rd out of 22! I finished the 15 mile course in 1:38:08, 1:45 behind the leader. My seat post issue cost me 3 minutes, but is also forced me to ride harder so I'm not sure how much it hurt me from getting first. I was elated at working my way back from so far behind and representing Phoenix Mulitsport well.

Alex After the Race

Doug After the Race

On the Podium

You would think by this lengthy post I had just competed in a UCI World Cup race instead of a 15 mile NORBA race, but other than the 24 Hours of Moab this was my first real attempt at a race since my injury in 2005. Speaking of which, my knee is sore but not as bad as I thought. It was great to see everyone who came out and to have their support. Thanks to Jo for supporting and putting up with me being gone, Doug for motivating me to do the race, Lee for lending me a bike, Chris for delivering it and taking pics, Adam and The Bike Lane for lending me a bike, Marshal for taking Pics, Mom, Andrew, Anna, John, Becky, Mike, and Chad and his kids for coming out to support me.