Carl Sanders's Blog – July 2012 Archive (3)

Somewhere past 8 hours, not able to read or figure out the split time board posted near the finish, I finally asked the time station where I sat against other 12 hour riders.  '15 minutes off..' 'she said. 'Back or ahead?' I asked. 'Behind...' she replied. I took off in hot pursuit after Justin Graves, who I thought held the lead position.

Early in the race, I held a strong lead for the first 5 hrs, enjoying the day and my brisk pace. Unlike the trying conditions at Tahoe Sierra, the…

Good ‘old timey’  mountain bike racing is what Jim the promoter promised. Still not quite sure what he meant. The course would cover 102 miles, point to point, climb nearly 16,000’ and descend close to 18,000’, following most of the Western States Trail route used during the equestrian Tevis Cup and foot endurance races. Shiloh and I would drive up two vehicles, leaving mine at the finish in Auburn and driving his and our bikes up to the start at Soda Springs, just off Donner…

Bad math?

198 miles + 20,300' worth of climbing + 8 High Sierra passes = FUN.

On the backside of Monitor Pass, somewhere into hour twelve, blasting down the smoothest wide open descent on the planet, clocking just over 50 mph, my bike began to wobble un-controllably. Squeezing the top tube between my thighs and pulsing the brakes couldn't stop the increasing oscillations from one end of the bike to the other. First thought: flat? Second: wheel tension gone? No matter. Stay…