Rocky Mountain Endurance - Ridgeline Rampage

The epitome of Front Range mountain biking.  The Ridgeline Open Space course in Castle Rock is a fun, flowing, up-and-down, dry, and loose course.  It's man-made, purpose-built trail system, is a well-groomed and well-designed 10 mile loop.  It lacks any real technical challenges, but makes up for it in the constantly undulating and physically demanding, never-give-you-a-rest trail design.

This was my first ever "endurance" mountain bike event.  How did I even find myself there?  I still haven't figured that one out.  The longest race I had ever done before was a 20+ mile XC race in Indiana.  My longest ride of the year was not more than 50 miles.  This was a 60 mile race.  I had thought about trying some of these endurance events after some new friends had suggested them to me.  I was still up in the air about going until 2 days beforehand.  I honestly was skeptical that my legs could handle that distance at race pace. That was a Thursday.  I went out that day for a big ride, by my standards (remember I live in Boulder, where my training routines are trumped two-fold by half of the population).  It turned out to be a ~55 mile day on the single speed, and I felt great afterwards.  It was then, Thursday afternoon, that I decided I would go for it, on Saturday morning.

Saturday, May 5 2012.  I was less nervous this morning than any of the XC races I had done in the past.  I had no idea what to expect, and no expectations, just ready for a long day on the bike.  The trails were described beforehand by the race announcer to be like "kitty litter", super loose in some corners, and super dry.  As if grip wasn't already compromised enough, a lot of the tight turns fall away from you towards the outside, which made it pretty frustrating to try and maintain any speed.  The start began with about a 1/4-mile dirt road climb leading into the tight singletrack.  I wasn't trying to kill myself, but at my own comfortable climbing pace I entered the singletrack in 4th place.  I quickly passed and got into 3rd.  At this point I hung out for about 3/4 of a lap, trying to gauge the speed of the others.  I was easily able to hold the wheel of the 2nd place rider, without expending too much energy, and always keeping an eye on the guy out front.  When I saw him start to separate, by maybe 20 meters, I decided to pass again.

Me chasing.

At this point I was in 2nd, and I would stay there until the 3rd lap.  For a lap and a half I was doing some mental assessments.  First, I was trying to figure out if this guy was just messing with me; if he was letting me hang on just to put the hurt on midway through.  But I also noticed some things about where he was gaining and losing time on me.  On any of the flat sections, of which there were only about 2 or 3 in the 10 mile loop, he would put some gap on me.  But when it came to the downhill sections, fast turns, and rollers I would quickly catch back up and be right on his wheel.  This is unusual for me, generally being a climber, and especially since I was running a rigid fork that day.  He was a good climber as well, but I was just a hair faster.  When we came through the start/finish on the 2nd or 3rd lap, me holding his wheel, the race announcer rang out "And here's your single speed leader, and wouldn't you have imagined it, Charlie Hayes!"  Apparently this guy is a perennial single speed beast, well known in these circles.  That next lap I decided to put on the heat and get out front.  I wanted, needed, to see if I could put a gap on him, and also if he would fight back.  Coming through the start/finish the next lap in the lead, the announcer again rang out "And coming through on just one gear, is, uhh, uhh, (quick look at his rider list), Richard Trent from Boulder.  Just one gear folks!"  I kind of laughed to myself.  The rest of the race I was out front.  It is largely a blur, the only aspect of note being my incredible leg cramps for the last 30 or so miles.  I had muscles cramping that I didn't even know existed.  At one point or another I think every muscle in each of my legs cramped.  But I knew from previous experiences that the only way to get through it is to ride through it.  So I came through the finish line for the 6th time that day, filled with adrenaline.  A warmth and exuberance and well-being had taken over my body.  It was an incredible feeling, taking the WIN, on my first endurance race ever, and only my second race in Colorado.

Lucky for me, the post race events included bucketloads of free beer from Rocky Mountain Endurance Series sponsor Oskar Blues Brewery (a favorite around these parts), and a post-race meal.  I was actually surprised by how well I felt afterwards. It was a very hot day, 4 hours in the saddle, and draining.  After some of my previous XC races I had felt physically ill, sick, not able to eat or drink anything.  All in all, it was a great day in Castle Rock, and a sweet introduction to endurance mountain bike racing.