Team F.M.W.T.B.F.M.E invades 6HOP

My brother and are are going to be packing up to make the drive to Ellicottville, NY for the Six Hours of Power. We entered the "Male Duo" class under the team name Freddie Mercury was the Best Front Man Ever. I don't know how well we are going to do. Heck I don't even know what bike I'm going ride. This is one of those "for fun" things that people do when they don't want to raise expectations. I can tell you however that we will probably have more fun than most other teams out there. The combination of low expectations, fast trails, alcohol, grills, grins, too many other fun people encouraging, and bonfires is a recipe for an awesome time. We went on a "training" ride last night which consisted of Jeremy bouncing over mud puddles and me bitching about still being tired from Michaux.

Race Report and Artist Rendering

So I described my Michaux experience to an expert (me) and he was able to illustrate exactly what was going on in those woods.


Ok. Few things to note. First of all, he has TWO faces. One is scary (the top) and the other is scarier (the bottom). The reason the bottom is scarier is because once you are down there you eventually have to make your way back up toward to the top. This usually meant some super steep hike a bike that I wouldn't even walk down let alone up while pushing a 25 pound bicycle with sharp edges. You'll also notice the right leg. The front of the leg is a Dave Mustaine Twin Neck Flying V guitar. Dave Mustaine is of course from Megadeth and you don't get much more rock than that and a Twin Neck Flying V; though it really should be called a "W". It is also enforced with mini rocks that have eyeballs. Don't mess with that leg. On the other side is a tree trunk for a leg. No big deal right? Trees are fun to climb and pose only a danger when they are hit by lightning and fall on you. Well look closer and think again. This tree eats bicycles. Throw in a right arm that was ripped off of Pennywise and you have one brutal mess. That's Michaux.

The race went well. I went out easy with the intention of keeping the same pace for the entire day. I didn't want to start faster than I finished. I knew it was going to be a long day after we peaked the first rocky climb. My heart rate hit the max for the day at 185 and I looked down to read the accumulated mileage so far- 3.42. I rolled into aide station 2 at 25 miles to fill bottles, pay the drivetrain some attention, and stock up on food. I wasn't eating much more than gel and endurolytes and I hoped that lack of solid calories wouldn't catch up to me. By the time I hit the last station at 35 miles, I tried to eat half a banana. I really had to choke it down as I think my body was just kind of preparing to go without food for a bit. Some more gel and endurolytes and I was ready to finish this thing up. It ended up being 45 miles, but I wasn't complaining. The last mile or so was a nice fire road climb that I handled a lot better than I thought I would.


Afterthoughts-


- It was very difficult; almost demoralizing. Had I gone last year when I was half tempted, I would have been in for a real treat.


- It was very fun. Once I got all of bones shifted back into place thanks to Dr. Don, I actually realized the whole thing was a blast.


- It was very hot. 90's and humid the entire day. Maneater.


- I still don't descend well, but I'm getting better.


- I'm glad I changed my tires at the last possible moment. Something with more sidewall protection was nice after seeing countless people off to the side changing flats. I ran into one guy who had something like four blowouts.


- The people who ran it were super cool. They would grab your bottles out of you cages to fill for you while you either tried to eat or tried to vomit at the rest stations. Great people. Great event.

Michaux

Six hours and fourteen minutes.  More later.  G'night.

Don't let me explode.

I signed up for Michaux. In a fit of overconfidence I figured if I pre-registered, I would become more obligated to prepare myself. This is working out pretty well. I was on the fence about the entire thing for quite a while; 50 miles is a long way to go on a dirt bike. Add to that the fact that there are a few monsters out there will start and end this whole spectacle fast. Me doing well in this event is strictly finishing. I do not have a time goal (6.5 hours or I quit forever) or anything silly like that. I read all the fine print on the waiver hoping that something would push me over the edge. Found it!

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