Results: I finished
Teammates: none
Others racing: Mike B., Chris M. Rey S.
45+ 1/2/3 group B with about 20 racers
Temperature: 80 – 110 deg F
I drove up with Chris M. which turned out to be a lifesaver because after suffering heat exhaustion I needed the rest on the way home. We arrived about 6:30 am with lots of time to warm up, actually too much time. I did close to a 45 minute warm up ride which was too long considering the length and temperature of the race. Last time I did this race was in 2010 when it was one lap. The extra lap and the heat made it a very different and difficult race.
The first lap was active with several break attempts. By the beginning of lap 2 a break of two was 10 seconds ahead and soon were out of sight. The field finally jumped and I missed it. Three of us worked together but then my two friends shutdown so that was the end of our race. The next thing we knew someone turned on the furnace and the temperature quickly rose to 109.4 deg. I was out of water with several miles until the next feed zone. It was no longer a race but a challenge just to finish. Our average speed was dropping fast. We pushed on and eventually made it to the feed zone where it looked like we must have been some of the last on the course. I lucked out and got two ice cold water bottles and one lukewarm one. It wasn’t long before I was out of water again with over 10 miles to go. Somehow I managed to keep going and the three of us finished together. Back at the parking lot Chris was waiting but most of the 100’s of others had already left.
What a race. My lack of training really showed in this race. I need to do some longer riders!
Bill