In the awesomely-bad movie 'Gone in 60 seconds' starring
Nicholas Cage, Eleanor is a beautiful Shelby GT Mustang. Eleanor is also the one car that Cage’s character
Randall “Memphis” Raines has never been able to steal successfully. Memphis had unsuccessfully tried to steal the
same model car numerous times in the past, but each attempt ended badly.
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| Nicholas Cage & Eleanor |
Eleanor Quote from ‘Gone in 60 Seconds’:
Donny: Eleanor’s Memphis's unicorn.
Freb: What's a unicorn?
Donny: Fable
creature… you know the horse with the horn…impossible to capture. It's the one car no matter how many times you
try to boost something always happens.
Freb: What’s he doing?
Donny: He's talking to her man…trying to get
reacquainted… they had a rough history. She almost got him killed a couple a times.
Donny: Flipped one on the Harbor Freeway.
Kip: He went off the long beach pier once.
Why is the Park City Point to Point my “Eleanor”? I have signed up to race the PCPP every year
since its inception in 2009. Out of five attempts, I have completed it only three
times. In 2010, I came down with the flu
the day before the race and did not start.
In 2011, I came down with the flu the week before the race (no, I am not
kidding), tried to race anyway, and pulled out at Deer Valley. In the three times I have finished the PCPP,
I have yet to execute a “perfect” race.
Leg cramps, small mechanicals, weather, and going off course are some of
the little things that have stood between me and perfect PCPP.
Have I mentioned that I friggin’ LOVE the Park City Point
to Point?
Going into the 2013 race, I felt ready to shake the
monkey off of my back. I had a good race
plan, felt rested, and had the extra boost of having Michelle there to support
me throughout the day.
Race Morning
Conditions don’t get much better than they were this year
on race morning. Cool temps and tacky
dirt from thunderstorms earlier in the week made for perfect racing conditions. It was nice to start this race in shorts
& short sleeves for a change! However,
I did apply a nice layer of Mad Alchemy embrocation to take the edge off of the
morning chill. I love the smell of embro
in the morning!
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Mmmm, embrocation
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Start to Deer
Valley Aid
The big question every year for me at the Point to Point
is “which wave should I start in”? With
a revised course for 2013, I decided to err on the fast side and I lined up in
the 7 – 8 hour wave which started after the Open Men, Open Women, and Sub- 7 hour
waves. This was perfect. The Round Valley section takes about an hour
and it is important to settle into a good group of riders that can move around
the loop efficiently. The Round Valley
section flew by without incident and I had a blast!
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| Lined up with the 7 - 8 Hour Wave |
Once you leave the bike path and begin the climb up Skid
Row, the real suffering begins and this is where you will quickly know whether
you have it, or you don’t. The group I
was riding with was awesome and I was right at the top-end of my sustainable endurance
race pace. My friendly rival, Paul Nash,
had managed to get onto my back wheel despite my efforts to lose him in bike
path traffic. Doh! He wasn't bashful about telling me that I was
basically his “pace mule” and I was already wondering whether I could stay with
him beyond Deer Valley.
Ping! That is the sound of a rear spoke breaking just
above the hub flange. I had to make an
evasive move in a rock garden and evidently it was more torque than that little
Sapim spoke could stand. My wheel went out
of true, but not fatally. However, now I had loose spoke whacking my carbon
chainstay every revolution so I decided I better stop and deal with it. I
stopped on a flat section and twisted the loose spoke around a good one, but I
lost contact with Paul and the group I was in.
Leg Cramps! WTF? I was
only 2.5 hours into the race when I had my first twinge of leg cramps. My hydration and fueling were on track but I
think the steep climbing + race intensity were taking their toll early. I was able to lock out the shock & fork, drop
two cogs, and stand and pedal. This
changes the muscle groups I use to pedal and allows me to keep riding instead getting off the bike.
I rolled into Deer Valley a little frazzled and feeling
the hard effort of trying to catch back on to the group I was in. M was there and ready for me with a rice cake
& new hydration pack + fuel for the next leg to Park City. I took one big bite of a rice cake, a swig
of Pepsi, and got out of there in a hurry.
Deer Valley to
Park City
I love this section of the race and was looking forward
to seeing the new-to-me trails: Corvair
& Sam’s. However, Eleanor was about
to deal her second blow of the day. In
the dark twisty forest before Flagstaff Loop I missed a turn. It was marked…I
simply had my head down, following
Sarah Kaufmann’s wheel, and
wasn't paying attention to the course markings. Several of us missed
the turn, caught our mistake quickly, backtracked to where we left the course,
and kept on going. We lost about 4-5’
total. Eleanor, you are a bitch.
The Corvair + Sam’s descent, which
AJ appropriately named“Carve-Air”, instantly became my new favorite section of the race. I was fortunate to follow a speedy local down
it in the race…we were En Fuego!
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| The John's 99 descent |
Just in case you have done the Park City Point to Point in
the past, but your memory is a bit foggy:
Yes, the John’s descent is still hard on your upper body and makes you
wish you were climbing again. And yes, the Drift Road + Steps climb is still a kick in the
junk at the hottest part of the day. Ooofta!
I had to nurse my leg cramps on-and-off through this section of the course
and it definitely affected how hard I could ride.
And then there is the greatness of Shadow Lake! I didn’t quite have the juice I was hoping to
have at this point in the race but I was able to stay on the gas AND thoroughly enjoy this
section. Woot!
Jay Burke threw a nice little surprise at us just before
the PC Aid. Instead of descending the
shitty service road directly into the aid station, we descended the super-fun lower
section of Jenny’s (or was it Loose Moose?) and it was rad! Good call Jay!
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| Drinking water, eating rice cakes, NASCAR style, Photo by Grizzly Adam |
M was ready for me at the Park City aid and we had a NASCAR-like
pit stop. I had my mojo back and I was on a mission. I ate ½ a rice cake, took a
few big gulps of plain water, grabbed new hydration pack + fuel, and a stuck bottle of
Black Gold, aka Pepsi, in the bottle cage. This ain’t no party, this ain’t no disco…
Park City to
FINISH
The Armstrong climb is nice! It is like the Yin to Spiro’s Yang. Sorry Spiro, you have been replaced and I won’t
miss you for a second. The cruel reality
of this section is that you think you are done climbing once you are at the top
of Armstrong…Ha! You still have two,
that’s right two, substantial climbs left before the finish.
The section of Mid Mountain between Armstrong and Red
Pine Lodge can punish you. It is rocky, served
with a side of rocks, and a sprinkle of gravel.
This section of the race makes the choice to ride a full-suspension bike
an easy one for me. I was able to stay
aggressive vs. simply surviving this section thanks to my Scott Spark29.
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| Home stretch |
Mentally, I treat "Red Pine Lodge to the FINISH" like my
home stretch. Jay Burke, thank you for
having a course marshal on the other side of Red Pine Lodge! This area has become very busy with increased
bike park traffic and we rode through the middle of it. Seeing a course marshal
on the far side waving a bright orange flag was a nice reassurance that I was on track
and aiming in the right direction.
Ok, systems check: My legs have been cramping for the past several hours and my low back hurts,
but overall, not too bad. HTFU and let’s rock!
After ripping the Rob’s descent and shredding the
sagebrush singletrack of Rosebud Heaven, you know what is coming next. It has been in the back of your mind all
day. Are you going to go out fighting or
are you going to soft-pedal the last climb like a sissy-boy? I hate you Ambush! I swear that climb was longer this year. Did the trail beavers add an extra switchback
over the winter?
I really tried to finish with authority but the reality
is that I just survived Ambush. The leg
cramps prevented me from truly stomping on it and the body simply didn't have much
left.
I crossed the line in 8:25:17 and was greeted by M’s big
smile and hug, and high fives from Brandon & Sarah! How could I not smile?
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| Crew Chief & Best Friend |
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High five from AJ, who killed it at the PCPP!
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Close, but not quite...
When I finish an endurance event, I can't help but self-grade my race. This is not about my placing. I ask myself: Did I absolutely empty the
tank? Did I execute as well as I could
have? Was I able to go as fast as I think I should have been able to go (I realize this is totally subjective but I did say
I was “self-grading” here)?
I absolutely emptied the tank at the 2013 Park City Point
to Point. However, I would have to mark
myself down for execution since I went off course.
Lastly, I thought I could go faster on this day…I wanted to go
faster. I simply couldn't. My legs lacked the “depth” I needed to make a significant improvement relative to my category. For these reasons, I will have go back at
some point and try again.
What worked for me?
Tires with
sidewall protection: This is not a
race for flyweight race tires. I am not
exaggerating when I say that I saw at least 25 racers changing flats during the
race this year. It was so prevalent that
I thought someone put tacks on the course at one point. I ran Schwalbe tires with Snakeskin sidewalls
and fresh Stans. I also carried a small
roll of Gorilla tape, a Panaracer Tubeless tire repair kit, a tube, and a Big Air. Flats happen…be prepared to fix it when it
does.
SRAM XX1: I continue to be impressed by SRAM XX1. It is so quiet and simple and just works. I ran a 30T front ring and that was perfect
for me. I read that the “fast guys” ran
a 32T or a 34T.
Original Carbo
Rocket: There is a huge battle for
your water bottle waging out there in the Sports Nutrition marketplace. The original
Carbo Rocket was one of the first
low calorie/high electrolyte drink mixes to the market and it still stacks up well against all of them. No matter what else
I try, I always come back to Carbo Rocket for race day. I used Kiwi Lime & Orange in my hydration
packs during the Point to Point and my tummy stayed happy the entire race.
