A-Train and the Diesel got a silly idea a few months back that it would be a good idea to try a 12 hour solo race. A-Train had completed a 6 hour solo a few years back and Diesel had a couple marathon races under his belt. Why not. Well after months of training and many ups and downs as to whether they should actually go through with it, the day of reckoning came.
May 12th, the weather was actually in the 50's for the start of the race. 20 degrees warmer than the average start temps this year to date. Rain was in the forecast but they had been prepping for this for months so they had to go through with it. Even though they got there with plenty of time to spare it seems like the morning was rushed and they had just made it to the starting line 30 seconds before the gun was to go off. They were going to be out there for 12 hours so if they forgot anything at base camp they could just pick it up as they lapped around.
The course at Stony Creek was just over 11 miles with a mix of two track, single track and some decent climbs that would wear on the legs after a few hours. The idea of this race for those who aren't familiar, is to go around the 11 mile course as many times as you can in the 12 hours allowed. The plan was to stick together and see what would happen.....great plan huh? Dub 9 was also there along with a newer friend of the team, Wil, who is proving he has some good legs as the races pile on this year. Dubs went out fast with the leaders and it was in the best interest of the Motor Club to let him go. So Diesl, A-Train and the man who needs a nickname, Wil, grouped together and set off for what would be an looong day in the saddles.
The laps started piling on and our trio of wheelers held tight. The Motor boys did all of the pulling while Wil sat on and got some lessons in single track carving from Professor Diesel. After 44 miles (over 3.5 hours) Diesel was ready for an extended rest. A-Train needed to keep moving though as he was worried that if his arthritic knees cooled down they might shut down. So after a quick stop A-Train told Diesel he was going to press on. Wil had stopped and reloaded and said he was going to take off with A-Train.
Two laps later A-Train and Wil caught up with Diesel back at the tent. The Diesel had went out for a solo lap but the three riders were reunited and ready to go out together again. Everything was looking good for the first 200 meters of lap 7
until A-Train's wheel caught a hidden stump that sent him into instant Superman mode...aka....joining the over the bar club. Diesel said it was a nasty fall and A-Train said, "It sure as hell felt like one." That spill took a good 5 minutes to recover from but mostly because the Racer X-29 needed some trail side repair.
Off the trio went again in search of finishing another lap but it turned out to be a burning lap as in it took a lot out of all three riders. They all came around close to the same time but A-Train's bike was done for the day with a bent front wheel, a front rake that wouldn't let go of the it's rotor and a bent front skewer. After a failed attempt to mount up a loaned front wheel from Dub 9, the Titus was retired for the day. Luckily Diesel had brought his Giant and in less than 5 minutes the pair had A-Train hooked up and ready to roll out.
This is when the rain started to set it. It had been drizzling on and off for a couple hours but now it was coming down steadily. A-Train and Wil had taken off again and Diesel hung back at his pace because his knees began to ache. Diesel had to call it quits after 7 laps, 77 miles (about 7 hours of ride time). A-Train made it around another 3 laps with Wil on his 6 before calling it quits for the day. The rain had wreaked havoc on the course and the Stand Raven tires on the loaned out Giant were not equipped for it. In the end A-train had finished 11 laps covering just over 111 miles in ~10 hours.
So what was supposed to be a combined 24 hours turned out to be only 17 but both riders walked away from the day riding further than they had ever had in a single day. Diesel did enough work to grab 7th place in his class while A-Train broke into the top 5 with Wil finishing in 6th, about a second behind him. While both riders had a good time they are of course a few things they would do different the next time around. Diesel was heard later saying, "If I would have ran more than a 1x9 set up he could have rode further. Only having the 34t up front wore my legs down on the climbs later into the race." A-Train, who also runs a 1x9 with a 36t, said, "The biggest improvement I can make the next time would be not crashing and retiring my bike."
Last, good job to our fellow Twin Six rider Jon Dub 9 for taking the win in the men's 12 Hour solo. He finished 13 laps in the allowed time and did over 130+ miles. Solid performance.
Visit our friends at Landshark racing to see video of the day's race: http://www.facebook.com/landsharkracing
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