Muddy Buddy - August 15, 2004

Muddy Buddy - August 15, 2004
Bonelli Park - San Dimas

Nancy and I were talking about this race all summer and finally signed up about a month ago. It's a team event where one person is running while the other is biking, then you switch at various transitions. You switch three times and each person ends up doing about three miles mountain biking and three miles running. Then there is a mud pit at the end you have to crawl through.

This was purely for fun and we did not take it seriously. I have not been on a mountain bike in years and we were talking all week about getting together to at least try out Nancy's bike to make sure we were used to it. Every evening was filled and the one night we had committed to it, we both cancelled at the last minute. One of the discussions was the fact that the bike didn't even have any pedals and we would need to put them on. We discussed doing it on Saturday, but that didn't happen either.

So, 5:30 am on Sunday morning I arrive at Nancy's and find her finishing putting on the pedals. We pump up the tires, ride the bike about 20 feet and throw it in the car and leave. We arrived at the race site around 6:30 to find the back tire is low on air and it must have a leak. We also realize that we don't have a patch kit and we left the pump in her garage. This was just the begriming of the Laurel and Hardy morning. We barrow the equipment from two guys next to us and spend about 15 minutes but cannot find a hole in the tube. I put it all back together and borrowed a floor pump from a car further on to fill up the tire and decided we'll try to get a new tube from one of the vendors (there are usually bike vendors at these things) at the race finish.

At this point we're laughing because we really are only here for fun, but you would have thought we could be a little more prepared. A Specialized tent at the finish has a sign advertising bike repairs, but it is as yet unoccupied. At around 7:15 they arrive (race starts at 7:30) and the first guy doesn't have a tube. He asks his buddy who has an extra in his bike. We quickly change the tube and pump up the tire. All set to go and we've missed (just not listening) a good portion of the race instructions being spoken over the loud speakers. Oh well. We probably got most of it...

We're in the fifth heat and I finally get on the bike and ride it about 50' to get warmed up. When the cannon goes off we see the biker racers run into the lake. Yes, the first 100 yards are about 10 feet off shore in the lake. They are all carrying their bikes. After the pack gets about half way to shore, the runners leave the same way. We've already decided to put Nancy on the bike first as the race instructions say to put the best person in each event going first. I'll be running. We only decided to put her on the bike first as she has ridden a mountain bike at least once in the last year. We spent some time trying to see if she can even carry the 37 pound beast we are riding. Looking around at some of the $2000 mountain bikes (probably weighing 5 pounds) we can tell we are here for fun. Nancy bought this bike at Costco for $199 for a trip to Moab. The name of the bike is a "Ground Pounder" made by Motiv in 2001. Basically a Huffy of mountain bikes.

At the last minute we decided that our bike needs some sort of marker as many of the bikes are decorated. At each transition, each person will have to find the bike as the person who is riding should arrive there first, leave the bike and start running. We rummage through my back pack and find a grocery store bag (Vons) and tie it to the goose neck. Nice.

When our turn started I saw Nancy run down to the water, but could not pick her out of the crowd as I watched them all run through the water. The runners were given the go and I ran for the water. About half way though the water (about thigh deep) I hit my shin on a big rock and sprawled up to my neck in the water landing on my knees and hands. Ouch. I knew immediately my shin would be bleeding and I had abrasions on my knees. "Don't look", I thought to my self as I jumped back up and continued running "Every thing still works, just keep running.". Out of the water in the lead pack and running hard. I don't think there were more than a few people ahead of me and I kept most of them in site. My running has been stronger than ever lately.

After a little more than a mile of running I came to the first transition. We had to climb across a jungle gym with military guys on top yelling at us. I found the bike where we had agreed to leave it. As close to the bike entrance as possible, on the right. That was what we decided ahead of time without seeing any of the transition areas. The bike was right where I expected it. I jumped on and started riding.

Immediately there was a steep hill that went for a long ways. I got about 100 feet up the hill and decided to shift the front chain ring down. Even before I did it, I knew it would be a mistake as I had too much pressure on the pedals and of course the chain popped of. I pulled over and the chain was wedged in between the chain ring and the frame of the bike. Wedged tight. I grabbed both ends of the greasy chain and began to pull very hard to try to get it free. I worked and worked and it. At one point the chain ring spun backwards and caught my little finger tightly between the sharp point of the chain ring and the chain. Ouch. Took me a few seconds to decide how to extricated my pained finger. Finally after about a minute of struggle the chain came from and I began to run up the hill rolling the bike next to me looking for a flat spot to get back on the bike. I jumped back on and rode (still uphill) until someone blocked my path losing my momentum and ran again the same way. This hill went for nearly a half mile and I continued like this the entire way. It should also be mentioned that this bike was in dire need of a tune up. The chain kept trying to switch gears the entire time. I stated after the race that it was like the left pedal was in a different gear than the right. Over the entire ride I do not remember it doing anything but clack clack switching gears back and forth. I ignored it and pounded the pedals.

Near the top I jumped back on the bike, crested the hill and flew down the other side yelling "On your right!" over and over again as I passed both bikers and runners. I could feel that I was punishing that bike. I hit every rut and rock at full speed and I could feel the shock absorber bottoming out continually.

At one point there was a short up hill leading to a tunnel. I had a good amount of momentum rounding the corner, saw the tunnel and realized I probably didn't have enough momentum to bunny hop about a 1 foot step leading into the tunnel. At the last second I realized there was a small patch of dirt on the left hand edge of the step and I just pointed the wheel and held on. Up the dirt patch and had to use my foot on the wall of the tunnel to maintain my balance. That was a fun move, but it could have gone bad.

I got to the second transition to find Nancy waiting (with a big crowd) for the bike. We did a Pace yell (WhooWhoop. oh yes, our team name was Team Pace) and I handed her the bike. There was a small diagonal wall to climb over I hopped over and started running up the short hill. We were near the top of another hill and I sprinted down the other side passing many people. After another mile of running I was passed by only two people and I kept them in site. There was a cargo net to climb over and the military guy leading up to it told me "Way to keep moving" as I sprinted by and began the climb. Over the net I had a little trouble finding the bike, but once I did I sure was glad we put the grocery bag on the bike. I jumped on and began the clank clank riding as the bike was changing gears over and over again.

I got behind one guy on a short down hill and tried to pass. He moved in front of me to block as I yelled on your left. I kept saying on your left and tried another pass. I said, "I want to pass on you left", nicely and he said "Too Bad." That wasn't very nice. I soon found an opportunity and passed at full speed on the other side. What a rude person! There was a big down hill where we were required to get off the bike. I jumped off and started to sprint down a very steep hill with the bike next to me. I held the back brake of the bike on and just let that slow me slightly as the bike bounced and jerked down the hill next to me. Towards the bottom it got really steep and I found my feet sliding. I just sort of kept my balance and let the slide happen for about 10 feed at a time until my feet would stick and I started running again until I started sliding again. Basically, I was completely out of control. I jumped back on the bike and was soon at the third and last transition. Nancy was there waiting for me again. Every team we talked to afterwards said this was the case.

I handed her the bike and began another climb up a cargo net with a big slide on the other side. Nancy said she passed a couple of people climbing too slowly up the net she had to climb. We were both animals at this. I slid down and started running, keeping a nice pace up a couple more hills. One person passed me and I kept him within about 20 feet and decided that he was not going to beat me to the finish. My body was complaining and I felt like I had been running anaerobic for most of the race. I just remembered a really strong run earlier in the week and ignored the complaints. About a half mile from the finish I was feeling strong again and really started to give it all. I quickly passed the guy and started passing many people after that. As I neared the bike end I was running so hard and was so tired that I was closing my eyes and just running as fast as I possibly could.

Nancy grabbed my hand and we sprinted over to the mud pit. A bunch of military guys were there to direct us. We had to crawly about 40 feet on our bellies. Non belly crawling would result in having to do it over. There were little flags draped low over the water we had to go under. Some of these required submerging my face in the goop or trying to get my hand on the flag to get it over my head. Mud everywhere, even in my mouth. We struggled out of the mud pit and Nancy grabbed my hand and we began sprinting again for the finish about 100 yards away. It was a blur, but I remember her pulling hard and I was using every last ounce of energy.

We crossed the finish line and I had to just wait at little while to catch my breath. We went over to the hoses and spent about 15 minutes just trying to get most of the mud off. We were talking wondering how we did and I said we should be in the top 10 as I know no one passed me that I didn't catch later on the next leg and Nancy said the same thing.

We made our way back over to the results and I couldn't believe my eyes. Second place! I told Nancy and she made me look again. Second place! We were so excited. I don't place very often in anything so this is huge. We the next hour laughing about the crazy (37 pound) mountain bike and all the problems we had with it. Amazing that we got second place. It just goes to show you that it's not about the bike, it's about the engine and Nancy and I both seem to be peaking lately even though we train separately.

Now I'm really looking forward to LA Triathlon in a few weeks.