By Luis Calderon
The Cohutta
100 is in the books. This was my first time
riding 100 miles on dirt (if you can call it
dirt) and first 100 miles on the singlespeed.
It took me longer than my goal but I'm still
satisfied with my 10:05 finish. I had zero crashes
and my bike worked perfect with zero flats or
mechanicals. Mentally this was the toughest
day I've experienced on a bike.
Friday we (Ron and Karlos)
drove up from Flori-duh. We made good time and
got to our hotel early in the afternoon. After
checking in we went to the Ocoee Whitewater
Center to pick up the race packet and ride a
bit. The trails around the WWC are really nice,
packed and groomed. We weren't really paying
attention to where we were going, we just kept
making turns until we reached the Thunder Rock
trail. This was a nice, pretty fast descent.
We would ride this again the next day at the
end of the race.
That night we monitored the weather for a while.
A strong front was supposed to roll through
the area and bring cold and heavy thunderstorms
with it. I kept wishing for it to move out of
the area fast.
Race Day
We woke up at 5:00 am. We were semi-happy to
see the rain had blown over at night. It was
a little chilly and still drizzling constantly
but nothing heavy. We ate, got ready and made
our way to the WWC in total darkness.
I picked a good spot at the start line not too
far from the front and chatted a bit with people
while the announcers called the heavy hitters
to the front row. Soon enough we were off. The
race began with a paved climb. I tried to maintain
a good pace. But, no warm up, chilly weather
and 32 x 20 gear meant my heart was in my throat
quickly. I pushed on as I knew this would pass
as soon as the blood began flowing. I really
wanted to get in front of the trigger happy
shifters before the singletrack since they really
know how to screw up your momentum. I had to
enjoy tiny bit of singletrack at the beginning
since there would be none until the end of the
race. The trails were muddy in spots from the
previous night rain but they flowed very well.
I settled into a comfy pace and was having great
fun. After a couple of miles I started passing
people with flats left and right on the side
of the trail I thought "Jeez, it sucks
to be you" ;). After a while I passed Danielle
crashed out on a wooden bridge. She was being
helped of the ground so I kept going. So much
carnage so early in the race!
At this point the trail ended and we began the
mind numbing, 70 miles of forest service gravel
roads. I felt good an was keeping a steady pace
up the climbs. I was pretty happy with my gear
choice. Pretty soon I was at Aid station 1.
I still had 1 bottle of Heed so I kept rolling.
I heard a guy ask "Is this checkpoint 2?"
Even the volunteers laughed, I mean WTF?
The gravel climbing and descents continued and
I felt good. I would catch up to some riders
and we would chat or crack jokes for a bit until
I left them or they left me. I was happy to
reach Aid station 2 since I had been without
liquids for a couple of miles. I grabbed my
gels, refilled bottles and kept going quickly.
At this point Danielle caught me and I said
"You survived!" which made her smile.
Pretty soon she and her group passed me never
to be seen again.
After Aid station 2 it was all up, up, up for
a while. I passed a rider in an IF kit throwing
up on the side of the road. I still felt good
and was riding with a couple of guys (geared
and singlespeed). I stopped at Aid station 3
to refill my bottle. One of the lady volunteers
said "you're almost at the top, 200 more
feet of climbing" I almost told her "you're
full of shit" but I wanted to give her
the benefit of the doubt. I caught a group of
riders and after what seemed like a climbing
eternity I turned and said half jokingly "I'm
heading back down to kill the bitch" Everyone
laughed hard....
After aid station 4 there was a BIG gravel descent.
I was in a ridiculous looking aero tuck bombing
down the mountain. It worked because I kept
passing people. I clocked 37.4 mph on that descent.
I had a few close calls with the rigid fork
on some stutter bumps but I kept the rubber
side up. After the descent I reached Aid station
5. I talked a bit with the Fixie
Monster Freak. The
Tomato rolled in as Rich was leaving and
had the audacity to mention that he could smell
the beer. Yeah we're only 30 miles out...it
took me a few minutes to put that thought out
of my mind. I left right behind him and I could
see him up the road for a good while but eventually
he was gone. Eventually I saw Rich again hanging
out with some campers on the side of the road
enjoying a nice refreshment. This section of
road was flat, and it was a never ending hell.
I would spin fast for a bit, then coast, then
spin, then sing to myself, then look at the
houses near the road. Geared riders would suddenly
appear and leave me. Oh well...
After what seemed like an eternity the climbing
started again. I've never been so happy to see
a climb. The first section was very steep and
I walked most of it. But it was over quickly
and more sensible grades followed. Rich caught
back to me quickly and passed me. After a couple
of gravel climbs and descents we were finally
at Aid Station 6. I kept rolling since it was
10 miles to the finish and was so happy to be
out of the gravel. I entered the trail to be
greeted with another climb. I did the best I
could on the trails, trying to be efficient
and conserve what little energy I had. I also
felt the beginnings of a cramp in my left inner
quads. Sure enough about five miles in it hit
me I tried to keep rolling but it was pretty
intense. I stopped to shake it off, opened up
two Endurolytes capsules and dumped them in
my mouth. Not a pleasant experience. I chugged
about 1/3 of a bottle of HEED
and kept going. When I reached the Thunder rock
express I was so happy. I bombed down the trail
fast but being overly cautious as I did not
want a flat or a crash at this point. The descent
was fun and over in like 90 seconds. The last
section was a paved flatish trail back to the
WWC, over the bridge and to the finish line.
A rider in a Cannondale jersey who I had been
seeing all day caught me on this section but
we crossed the line together at 10:05. I was
pretty cooked and headed straight for the river
to cool off.
Overall, this race was really a test of mental
fortitude. There is little fun payoff for the
amount of gravel climbs. The race organizers
and volunteers did a superb job though! The
course was well marked, the aid station volunteers
were super helpful and the food was good.
Thanks to Twin Six for making a jersey that
did not drop any of my crap while bombing downhill
and Waltworks
for building the perfect bike.
Special thanks to Apple for making my warranty
replacement Ipod Nano incompatible with all
the music on my computer when I went to transfer
it the night before leaving for the race. Racing
in total silence allowed me to sink deeper into
a delusional state than ever before!
