Race Number Three - Blackfly Challenge

A New Year's resolution was to compete in more bike races this year. So far I am on schedule with the Battenkill-Rubaix, Saratoga Duathalon and now the Blackfly Challenge completed. Next weekend it is the Whiteface Mountain Uphill Bike Race. We have so many great opportunities to participate in races close to home that it would be shame to let them go by. Having a training purpose to riding and the added effort of racing both enhance fitness and keep the juices flowing. Some other races on the horizon include Putney Moutnain XC MTB race, some time trialing events and local KOM (King of the Mountain) event.

"The Blackfly, Beat em or Feed em!," is the motto of this 40-mile one-way destination race from Indian Lake to Inlet, NY through the Moose Plains in the Adirondacks. Donna and I both signed up in the Sports Masters categories. With over 200 participants in all categories, there were plenty of others crazy enough to pedal hard through the Adirondack woods in the heart of blackfly season. The race was well-organized with people handing out water every 10 miles or so. The route was flat and fast on paved and dirt roads for part of the ride, and loose, sandy and hilly in the middle. One long hill with about 8 miles to go was a killer for many, including myself, as cramps set in. After recovering on a nice paved descent, there was one last section of twisty single-track that I was able to take back some riders on.

I started off fast near the back of the mass start field and worked my way up drafting groups on the paved roads. I would catch onto a pack and then recover, and then sprint up to the next pack and do the same - leap frogging up until the packs thinned out and dirt and hills took their effect. Once about 15 miles into it I was pretty much by myself. There would be a few riders that would trade positions back and forth with me. I use the Margaretta (high sodium/salt) Cliff Shots and a couple of GU gels along with two water bottles in the cages on the Epic - no hydration pack. I took the water at the stations and slugged it down on the fly and then used the rest to cool off. At about 25 miles I felt good - before that I worried that I may have spent too much too early, but the eating and hydration was working. I passed a lot of riders that were falling off the lead packs at this stage. In the long flat sandy sections I especially was able to take over riders that were not physically or mentally up to that work.

My high spirits were soon dampened as I passed the 10 miles to go mark. As I stood up and pumped over a rise with the front shocks locked-out my quads locked-up. Here we go again, just like the Battenkill-Rubaix, cramps the last 10 miles of about a 3-hour effort. The timing couldn't be worse for this course because the longest and steepest hill was at hand. I put it into a low gear and just spun up the hill slowly with a few riders passing me back now, including John from Norm's spin class. John and I had been leap-frogging each other the whole race. I thought I had passed him for good back at the sandy section, but he now passed me on the hill and looked strong. Others were in the same predicament I was. Finally at a break in the climb I took in another gel and finished off the last of my Gatorade. It took effect within a few minutes and when I pushed I did not cramp. So, the last 5 miles I was able to push hard, but there was a long descent that benefited everyone. When I turned into the woods for the final mile of single track I was cooking and over took about 5 riders, but not John who finished just ahead of me.

As it turned out my 2:41 time was good enough for 4th place out of 22 in the Sport 50+ age group and 65th out of 220 total riders. When I hit the finish line my cramps returned - especially in my upper hamstrings. I biked to the car and refueled with milk and peanut butter and jelly. I moved the car closer to the finish area and found Donna as she just finished. She was delighted to have beaten the 3-hour mark, which earned her third place in her age group. We met up with Gary, who actually beat me out of third place by a couple of minutes and talked with John and their friends. We enjoyed the soft seats of our portable camp chairs and rested and refueled as they tabulated the results. We gathered up our gear and car we left in Indian Lake and headed home. Still lacking enough food to replace the calories we expended, we had to stop in North Creek to buy, make and eat some turkey sandwiches.

Another fun race event that reminded us why we love to do races and why we do not get obsessed over them. They are fun and make for good training and it is good to see how you compare to others that are into the sport. If all the training was just for racing, then you would get burned out and bummed out if you did not do well. When the racing is an enhancement to improving your fitness and fun - then it is just that - fun.