I’m not usually one for the 6/12 hour style races where you do 45 min to an hour laps around a trail system. However this weekend I ended up getting registered for 12 hours of Tsali in the open duo class with Wes as team Sycamore Cycles Dad Jokes. I was looking to get a hard race effort this weekend and it’s been a long time since I’ve done one of these type events so it sounded fun. I also made the call to just go ahead and ride my Stumpjumper ST with all the gears, because hey, why not.

The day before the race was one of the nicer days we’ve had in a long time, slightly cooler temperatures, no clouds, just really nice. I kept thinking that with the cooler temperatures maybe there was a high pressure system that would stick around for a day or two and make for an epic Saturday of going around in circles. However, in the middle of the night I vaguely remember waking up to Katie telling me that the thunder woke Lizzie up and it was raining. Then I woke up to everything all wet so I guess that theory was no good.

I picked Wes up at the shop at O’Dark thirty and we headed over. We got there just in time to get a parking spot in the main transition area which was actually pretty nice as it meant the car was really close to the finish line and bike wash, this would be important. After some deliberation and lollygagging we finally hopped on the bikes for a light spin. We rolled up the beginning part of the course, the climb up county line rd., and found it really wet. It must have rained a lot more here than in Brevard….

Wes is a bit faster than I am so we decided he’d take lap 1. He got lined up and Nick Bragg was taking the first lap for his team of four. Between the two of them I was pretty sure that this first lap would be the fastest of the day and they’d most likely come across 1-2. As soon as they started I went about my business and finished getting ready for my first lap. A quick snack and warmup then I headed up to the transition spot. Not really knowing how long the lap would take I wanted to leave a little extra time just in case. I know how Wes and Nick race so I wanted to be ready for a quick lap time. After a few pleasantries with last year’s winners I settled in to my waiting.

Sure enough those two came in 1-2, both really muddy, but they assured me it wasn’t that bad on the trail…and just like that I was off. I hit the gas pretty hard out of the gate and up that first climb, I got a little uneasy at one point after I wasn’t sure if I missed a turn or not and backed off a little bit. Finally I got some confirmation and picked up the pace again. While it was muddy it wasn’t terrible and I actually felt pretty good. We got a little sprinkle during my lap but all and all it was a pretty good lap. I finished up, handed the chip over, and headed to grab a quick snack. After a snack I got my bike hosed off, chain lubed, and readied for lap 2.

Lap 2 I decided to back off a little more, we already had a decent lead and with 5 more laps I wanted to try and settle into a good pace, hard but not too hard. Pacing is something I’m really trying to figure out. I stayed comfortable, pushed in a few places but all and all just rode good and steady. I was starting to feel pretty good, having fun working the bike into the corners (for the most part). I was riding smooth and enjoying things. Back into the transition and again, finding a snack and then heading up to the bike wash to rinse things off. Then it starts to rain…at first just a little…then a lot.

By the time I went up to the transition the rain had stopped. Wes came out of the woods and was hardly recognizable. It looked like the trail conditions had gone from pretty rough to really bad. It didn’t take long to figure this out once I headed out. Everything was a mess. Slipping sliding into and through all the corners even the uphill bits it was tough to keep traction in a lot of spots. About a third of the way through the lap I could feel the rear brake fading quite a bit, which was surprising since the pads were new this week. I kept on the ride hard but ride steady mantra, I was still feeling good. The lap was a little slower but I think a lot of that was due to conditions.

I turned the chip over to Wes and this time I went right to the bike wash line as the line was pretty long with a number of the 6 hour folks being done with the race. The rain was coming down again and it wasn’t long before they announced that the race was going to be shortened to a 6 hour race.  We were pretty far ahead at this point so it didn’t really matter whether the last lap counted or not. At this point it was time to get the bike rinsed off and head down to the lake to jump in and rinse off.

Sure enough our last lap didn’t count, but Wes rode a hell of a lap turning something like a 53 min lap in pretty brutal conditions. Our effort was still good enough to win the Duo and after looking at the results, it looks like we had the most laps in the shortest amount of time overall. The awards for the 12 hours of Tsali include a giant trophy like you might get at a karate tournament, which I’m not sure what I’m going to do with. But we did get a sweet Fox shock pump as well so that was cool.

I won’t lie, I was a little bummed things got called short. I don’t get a lot of opportunities to go out and ride more than 3 hours so when I have one it’s a bummer when it gets cut short. I was also pretty happy with the pace I had settled into and wanted to see if I could keep it up. While my lap times slowed down between 2-3 I attribute most of that to the conditions getting rougher. Realistically given the conditions it was probably good both for our bikes sake and the trails to stop the race so I think they made the right call. However I was really looking forward to the longer hard effort of the whole day. I really had more fun than I thought I would, it was a good time getting out to race on trails like this. It was also kind of fun riding in the slippery conditions.

Getting to finish up early did let me get home in time to put the kids to bed and hang out for a few minutes before that. Which at the moment is always entertaining.