Bonebender MTB

With the only road racing being in Hermann, MO a 3 hour MTB race in Smithville sounded pretty fun. Options for racing were a 3 hour or 6 hour race. Do as many laps as you can in the time frame. Since Joe A. is mending a bum knee I took the opportunity to steal his MTB from him since I don't have a MTB of my own. If you have to borrow a bike from someone, this is the kind of bike you want. Spooky frame, 1x9 gears with grip shift, nice set of tubeless wheels and tires, SID team fork. The whole package had to weigh around 22 lbs. Thanks Joe. I went into the race thinking I was just going to ride a good pace, stay within myself and have fun. I figured top half would be a good result considering I haven't ridden a MTB in almost 2 years.
LeMans start, got out really slow, near the back. Was pretty much riding single file behind someone the whole first lap it was so congested. Didn't really work too hard the first lap, when I came through the pit I stopped and added some air to a soft rear tire, got a drink and was off. 1 hour 6 minutes. Got out on the second lap with some room to ride and just started hammering it. Caught right back up to the group I was with but eventually made the pass. Was riding really well, went down once and dropped the chain another time. Came through at 2:08. Had lots of room to ride once again and was going good. Legs started to feel a bit heavy. Some cramping came on and dropped the chain again. Came upon a group of guys that included teammate Brad W. who was racing the 6 hour solo race. I had seen him after the first lap when he was about 5 minutes ahead so I knew I was doing good. Rode with them for a bit and by the finish line passed them all. Ended up finishing 4th overall in the 3 hour under 35 category at 3 hours 10 minutes. Was really happy and surprised. Britton was the next fastest a couple minutes ahead of me. First place was really fast and second was only a minute ahead of Britton. Britton did have a bunch of mechanical though. The way I see it, Britton should have had second and I should have had 3rd. Next year.

Overall good day. Legs were in agony after race. 35 miles of singletrack is about the equivalent of 70 on the road, maybe more. Will sleep good tonight.