I decided to do one more 6 hour race this year before cyclocross starts up. I had fun at Chainbuster's Conyers event this spring so when I heard that there was another Chainbuster race 2 weeks after arriving back from Europe, I decided that this event would be it.
I'd never ridden the Tribble Mill course but after checking out the course profile and elevation, it looked like it would be a super fast and fun course with no prolonged climbs but plenty of hard accelerations broken up by switchbacks and low-speed tech sections.
The morning of the race, I arrived early to get my pit set up. I would be racing self-supported but sharing a pit area with Eddie and Namrita O'Dea of Topeak/Ergon who were racing Co-Ed 2 person. At the start, I looked around to see who I would be racing against but it was difficult to pick out who was in what category. I had a good starting position and after a short lead-in, I went into the woods in second after Eddie. My goal was to stay at least 80% of an XC race pace to stay with a lead group for the first lap and then settle down to my 6 hour pace. After two miles, it became clear that there would be no lead group and I decided to pace off Eddie for the first lap (but at a reasonable distance so as not to piss him off). After the first lap was done, I overtook for the overall lead and held that until the fourth lap when two team riders finally came past.
I saw a few guys who looked like they might be in my category (based on the numbering system, which I hadn't bothered to figure out prior to the race) in the first few laps as I was exiting the transition and they were inbound, indicating about a 2-3 minute gap, but they soon disappeared as I kept the pressure on.
After every lap, I stopped at the tent to grab a fresh bottle of iso drink and always drank at least 2/3 of a bottle on the spot as well. I ate a delicious gel that I found at the pit after the 5th lap and had a Coke before my 7th and final lap. Other than that, I just drank iso drink and thankfully had no physical or technical problems.
Most everyone was polite and encouraging and I tried to say thanks to everyone who allowed me a swift pass. I was obliged to excuse myself a few times while passing riders on the outside on lines that didn't exist. No amount of gnar-shredding and making motorcycle noises was going to make semi-slicks grip on pine needles and sand-over-hardpack.
At the end, I completed 7 laps and could have completed an 8th if I had about 10 minutes extra, which was basically the amount of time I wasted in the pit box each time getting my own drink.
But winning is winning and it doesn't matter if you win by half a lap or a full lap so there's that.
I also won a "recovery mattress" which I've never heard of anyone doing at a bike race in my life so that's cool. It's super comfy, in case you're wondering.
