Snake Creek Gap TT 2013

[dgaddis]

Who's going? 17 or 34?

I am most certainly IN again this year. 4th year in a row. 34 mile, gonna get me another belt buckle! Hopefully it'll take a lot less time this year though haha.

[dgaddis]

Price goes up soon. Get in now while the gettin's good.

[Nathanrtaylor]

Waffled and then caved. In single speed this year. I need another buckle to go with my other two.

It's gonna hurt.

[dgaddis]

Good deal Nathan, say hello if you run across me out there. I'll hopfully be on my geared bike, if I can get the front brake sorted out. I'll be in my Shredneck jersey :)



Here's a picture of the first creek crossing, ~2 miles into the 34 mile day. Taken yesterday. Hopefully the water level drops a lot between now and Saturday....

[Nathanrtaylor]

Here's a picture of the first creek crossing, ~2 miles into the 34 mile day. Taken yesterday. Hopefully the water level drops a lot between now and Saturday....

I still can't figure out how they got that dog to lay down in two inches of cold water like that.

It can't be more than two inches deep, right?


(a bunch of my first-timer teammates are freaking out about the creek crossing. We aren't doing anything to alleviate their fears)

[dgaddis]

I still can't figure out how they got that dog to lay down in two inches of cold water like that.

It can't be more than two inches deep, right?


(a bunch of my first-timer teammates are freaking out about the creek crossing. We aren't doing anything to alleviate their fears)

it's just a little water!

So I'll be on the SS. piston is froze in the front brake on the geared bike.

[Nathanrtaylor]

it's just a little water!

So I'll be on the SS. piston is froze in the front brake on the geared bike.

Nice. If I run into you I'll hike with you for a while.

[dgaddis]

Nice. If I run into you I'll hike with you for a while.

So how did it go? I didn't feel that great, and hated getting caught in traffic on all the climbs, and did a lot of walking the last few miles, but I managed a 4:33 which is 45 minutes better than my previous best, so I'm pretty stoked about that. I think I can knock off another 15 minutes or so with my geared bike. Looking forward to round 2!

[Too Tall]

Well heck yes. Doing things like this changes you for the better. Personally, I dig the prep. for these nutty things as much as the event.

Kudos.

[dgaddis]

Still got plenty of room for improvement.

Thomas Turner won the money class with a time of 2:44. daaaaaayyyyyuuummmmm. He also has the course record (2:36).

Like I said...plenty of room for improvement!

[Nathanrtaylor]

So how did it go? I didn't feel that great, and hated getting caught in traffic on all the climbs, and did a lot of walking the last few miles, but I managed a 4:33 which is 45 minutes better than my previous best, so I'm pretty stoked about that. I think I can knock off another 15 minutes or so with my geared bike. Looking forward to round 2!

It being the 10th time I've ridden the course, I went out there with the express purpose of taking it easy and enjoying it. That meant a sedate pace and a lot of walking and chatting with people I only see at races. I ended up being on the course for 6 hours, but I have no idea what my rolling time was. (the total time is what counts anyway). That's an hour and 40 minutes slower than my fastest time from last year and dead last in singlespeed by more than half an hour. I have successfully set the bar as low as possible for the next two rounds of this.

NFS lube worked great all day, Toots!. I'm not sure how much of it is left after all of the creek crossings and mud puddles, but I remember distinctly hitting a section of the course that is blanketed with pine needles and realizing how absurdly silent everything was.

15 minutes is definitely possible. Especially if you shuttle yourself to the start and get out early. If we have room for another bike in round two you can shuttle with us.

[dgaddis]

T-minus 12 days till Round 2. Got the geared bike working again. BRING IT.

[Nathanrtaylor]

T-minus 12 days till Round 2. Got the geared bike working again. BRING IT.

I think I left it out there last time, so I'm going to do my best just to find it. Maybe I'll bring it to the last one.

[Nathanrtaylor]

snake24-800x600.jpg
(why is my chain so clean? I'll give you one guess what lube I used)

I guess we never recapped the second Snake Creek Gap race. I'll go. There was ice. Mud. Water bottles turned to slush. Probably nerve damage in my feet. Definite hypothermia in several racers who dressed for the forecast, not for the actual temps. Snow. Sleet. Brain-freeze inducing rain. Cold beer. Peach cobbler. And campfires at several points along the race course.

If that sounds like it was a completely awesome day to be on a mountain bike. It was. One of the best. I hope to never forget the sound of the sleet falling through the pine trees while slowly spinning up to the ridgeline of yet another mountain on my singlespeed. Amazing day to be "racing".

What was my finish time? Who cares* Not as fast as last year, but not as slow as last month.





*I did see that Dgaddis put in another respectable time this month

[dgaddis]

*I did see that Dgaddis put in another respectable time this month

I was really surprised by my time. Once it started snowing I quit racing and just enjoyed being out there, it was really beautiful. I stopped and took pictures. Enjoyed the campfire and some fig newtons at SAG #2. Had to stop and de-ice my FD after SAG 1. Used a combination of gatorade and a rock to get the ice off. Once the derailleur was moving I then realized the granny ring was totally encased in the ice, no teeth even sticking out at all, so I beat on it with a rock too. Then I stayed in the granny the rest of the day. Everything froze up again.

It was an awesome awesome day of riding. I do wished I'd have taken a vest with me...it was a bit chilly. And I hope the weather next month is nice, I'd like to hit it hard and see what I can do.

Excited and nervous racers on the shuttle to the start. At this point no one was expecting snow, or all day long sub freezing temps.


He spent more on the bike racks than he did the car.


I suck at wheelies, but I was having fun.

(photo credit: Regular Joe Photography)

FD Ice Block. Look through the gap in the middle ring and you can see the ice-encased granny ring.

[Nathanrtaylor]

Another cold and wet Snake yesterday. I wasn't feeling it at all and couldn't get any fire into my legs to drive the single cog up the climbs.
I was already considering calling it a day at the halfway point, but after seeing my buddy Jamie there with a broken crank arm I confirmed my decision. We swapped number plates and he rode my bike the rest of the way. No third belt buckle for me. Oh well. :-)