Relationship break down

I noticed the moon Thursday night but I was grateful for it last night. It wasn't enough to see the trail by, but it did add an element to the race that made the event unique. Most of the course was along Koshkonong Creek. The cool night air, the fog, the rolling hills, trees, tall prairie grass and the full moon blended to take the edge off what could have been just another race. 

In the last four years I've developed a relationship with my 29ers. The Rig was like a first love. It let me experiment and forgave the baggage from my "teenage" 26" experiences. The Ferrous is the Laura Petrie in the garage. Solid, forgiving and always read to sigh "oh Rob." The Flyte has been the girl on the side. It doesn't want a commitment, doesn't care what you do with it, but is still fun to ride, even thought you'll be going back to Laura afterwards. So with the Ferrous tuned for back-up duty it was time for a night out with the Flyte in 2x9 form.

As for the race, it was good and bad. Since the 3, 6 and 12 hour riders were starting together, the officials asked the "non-competitive" riders to gather at the back for the Le Mans start. Most of us took a couple of steps back and everyone laughed. It seemed most of us just wanted to have a good time and ride in the dark. That changed once I got to the Flyte and was rolling. I could tell by the number of lights ahead of me that I was fairly close to the front and I'll be honest, I have only two settings: stop and go. After the first few climbs and sections of singletrack I had passed ~6 riders and was cruising. I was digging the choice of gears. On the far side of the course there was a bonfire with a table of Twinkies and PBR. I flew past and shortly after my bike broke. The chainring caught on a fallen tree as I rode over and the spyder broke free from the crank arm. The result was any power put to the pedals did nothing to turn the chairings and chain. So I ran the uphills, "Fred Flintstoned" the flats and coasted on the downhills back to the start/finish/lap exchange in about 44 minutes. I had the Ferrous with my cooler of water, beer and snacks, so I swapped bikes and continued to ride. The Ferrous did fine and I had a good race after that. I stopped for a PBR (I drank half at each stop) at the bonfire area on the next two laps (~45 minutes each) and by the time I finished my third lap I still had time to ride a fourth. I put my head down and didn't stop for a beer so I was able to finish the fourth lap with 4 minutes to spare before the cut-off and I finished 8th overall. I think there were about 20 other riders in the 3 hour. 

I whiled the rest of the evening away sitting by another fire drinking beer with other racers. We enjoyed the view of the creek and the moon while cheering on the 6 and 12 hour racers. By 1 it was time for me to call it a night since my day started at 5am. I was happy to have my head hit the pillow.