If you like to race your cyclocross bike on gravel roads,
then you should not sign up for the Patapsco 100.
But if you’re into railing what is undoubtedly some of the
flowiest singletrack on the east coast, you enjoy pushing yourself to the limit
of your physical ability (all day long), and you’re not afraid of endless
log-overs and some painfully steep and rocky hike-a-bikes, then this is the
race for you.
Dereck and I drove down to Maryland on Friday (yes, the
fourth of July was spent in a car – it’s the American thing to do). We decided to avoid the disaster that is I-95
and took the longer toll-free route through NY and PA, stopping at the
Lackawanna park area to get a short ride in (fun trails!! I love PA!).
While folks at home were trapped indoors all day or faced
with braving monsoon weather, we were gifted with good weather for most of our
trip.
We arrived in PA at the hotel recommended by AAA. As it turned out, that hotel hasn’t had many
updates since it was built sometime in the early 80s. In addition, it is a mecca for drug deals,
local prostitution, and what appears to be full-time residence for a few families. In other words, it is a shithole.
Somehow my non-smoking room reservation was reserved as
smoking; arriving late that night, we toughed it out until we could get a
better room the next day (a room that had seen some updates – like a microwave,
coffeemaker, and a comforter without cigarette burns in it).
I digress.
Saturday we made our way over to the Hub – Cantonville’s
kickass bike shop, where I checked in, picked up my race packet, and met some
really cool people, including Ray – read his story here.
Our next stop was Patapsco Valley State Park. We followed another rider to a parking lot
just up the road from some of the trails that made up the race course, and one
of the park rangers, leaving for the day, came over to offer us lots of useful
information. He even gave us a fantastic
dinner recommendation – Great Sage in Ellicott, MD – a vegan restaurant with
one hell of a selection. As it turned
out, he raced the Patapsco 33 mile option on Sunday.
Saturday turned out to be a really nice and mostly relaxing
day (as compared to last year when I arrived to my hotel at about 11pm the
night before the race after delivering mail in the morning). I made up my drop
bags and prepped my race fuel before crawling into a bed that did not smell
like a dirty ashtray.
Race day got off to a good start at 4am with some coffee,
microwavable oatmeal, fresh berries, and nuts; we were at the race venue by
about 5:15 and greeted by some familiar faces.
Before I knew it, I was on my bike, lined up on the front
line with a bunch of fast dudes. I’d
decided to shoot for the front this year so I wouldn’t get held up in a pack of
people going slower than I wanted, and it worked out perfectly. I held a pretty
steady pace for the first lap. I climbed easy so I wouldn’t burn up my legs
before the last lap, rolled through the aid stations because I had all I needed
to complete one lap of the 33 mile loop, and blissfully hammered the swoopy
sections of singletrack with as little use of my brakes as possible.
There was just one problem: stomach issues.
I don’t usually have a problem with my stomach once a race
has gotten underway. Normally, it’s
before and/or after the race that I find myself with any sort of GI issue. But for some reason or other (possibly eating
too much for dinner the night before), I felt off and had a really hard time
forcing myself to eat throughout the day.
My race nutrition was a combination of rice cakes (Feed Zone
Portables style that were either savory bacon and pineapple or
coconut-blueberry-chocolate), “hippy snacks” (those bite-sized energy blocks
you can buy in bulk at health food stores), and Accelerade.
I quickly found out that rice is difficult to eat while
pedaling, and decided to save those for my stops in between laps; there was
just enough time for me to eat them while Dereck cleaned my drivetrain and
lubed my chain. I popped a hippy snack
here and there, and I only ate three caffeinated GUs throughout the day (to
avoid the seemingly inevitable can’t-sleep-after-racing syndrome I usually
get).
The second lap actually felt pretty good, and I didn’t slow
down much at all (the lap was only 10 minutes slower than my first one, which
could possibly be attributed to the fact that I started my Garmin about 1 mile
into the race on lap one).
Lap 3 was a different story. While I managed to stay on my
bike for the sections I’d been riding all day long, I could feel my body
slowing down. I knew that I hadn’t been
eating enough, and I started craving coca cola. Dereck was riding that lap with
me, and he was really encouraging. It was fun having him along to see all of
the really great trails out there (and even more fun to be able to talk about
the course with him afterward and have him know exactly what I was talking
about).
At the halfway point aid station, I finally stopped and had
about a half a can of coke, and the volunteers politely offered me some salt
and vinegar chips from their own cooler after I declined a peanut butter
sandwich in search of potato chips. I
didn’t want to leave that table.
I don’t think I stopped for long. The final miles of the race were intermixed
with thoughts of last year’s finish (and the terrible thunder storm that had
erupted all around me during the last miles), the realization that I finally
felt like eating, and attempted ignorance of the painful situation arising in
my shorts (diaper rash, anyone?).
I’d hoped to finish in less than 12 hours this year, but I
slipped past the line at 12:03 (guess I’ll have to go back next year).
My first 100 miler on a full suspension is officially in the books.
Can you say 'game changer'?
I bet you can...
The Kona Hei Hei Supreme is a smooth, slick, buttery ride, and I even managed to drop a dude or two on some descents and close a gap or two on a climb. Big thanks to the guys at Kona for hooking me up with a sweet deal!
This year’s racecourse was very much like last year’s, but
there were some new sections of singletrack, making what was an awesome loop
even more amazing. Ed Dixon (one of the
promoters) had been working his butt off (along with his wife and whoever else
helped out), and the new trails are some of the nicest I’ve ever ridden. Who
would have thought Maryland would be a mountain bike destination?
So the next time you’re headed down to Pisgah, or some other place down south, make it a point to stop by Maryland and visit the Hub in Cantonsville, get some tips on the
best place to put your rubber to the dirt, and stop back in town after to grab
a latte from Atwater’s (right next to the bike shop). And bring me with you!
