Camp Eagle Race Report- Keeping Air in the Tires is a Good Thing

So the hot summer has finally gone away and the humidity has dropped quite a bit. A few days ago we turned the calenders over to September which means two things 1) My birthday is only a few weeks away(28th if you would like to drop gifts of at the shop.) and 2) The TMBRA Fall season opener at Camp Eagle.

So here's the deal Camp Eagle is an awesome place, but skill wise it is way beyond my comfort zone. Also, last time I was there, I had a major mechanical malfunction about 3 miles into the race. This year, I was finishing no matter what. I was fully prepared to walk the entire course. i don't however know if my ride was prepared to wait for me to walk 18 miles.

I prerode on Saturday and had a good ride. My confidence was pretty high on Sunday morning and we arrived about 2 hours before the race started. As I pulled the last of my gear from the car, a motorized cart came by with a rider sporting a brand new neck brace. CRAP!!! Racing is fun but paralysis shouldn't be part of it. I started my warm and tried to block all that out of my mind. Then the helicopter came.

So the gun went off and it was time to race. The course started off with a 3/4 mile open start loop. I can best describe the start of our race as courteous. We entered a long climb to start the race. I was very comfortable with the start but I was going to get too froggy because of all the technical crap ahead of me. So we get to the top and get going on the hard stuff. Still fine. More single track, some berms and a rock drop or two. Feeling great.

Then the bad stuff started. There was a small ledge that dropped down onto some rocks. One of the rocks punctured my rear tire. uGh, not again. I heard the air and the STANS rushing out of the tire. The Stans sealed the hole but not before too much air got out. I have never had to deal with Stans in a pressure (ahahha get it) situation but I knew the basics. Hold the cut low, cover the gash and so forth. I added some air and the added pressure broke the seal but not too much. So I let it sit for a few seconds and hit again. It took a few more attempts before I was satisified and back on the course. Back to "racing."

At this point I am in last place and I start riding again. I have some air in my tire but not a whole lot. Not good for a big guy on 2.0 tires. I am bashing my rim on everything. With every thuck and thud, I figure my race is over, but I make it through the river bed in 1 piece. I start into the north loop. The North loop starts with a nice run along the river with plenty of places to bang the rim. I made it through started up the long and actually passed a guy. Yes, I passed a guy climbing. So the North Loop is fun, abit hard in places but you have to fight through it. I passed another cat 2 19-29 guy walking the other way with a puncture.

I come around to the North/South loop transition area/feed zone and grab a new bottle and proceed. This starting climb is a lot harder than I remember, but I make it to the top and get back to the river bed. I some how manage to be smoother and faster through it this time around. Finally, the finish line is in sight and I finish off with a nice little "sprint."

I had no idea how I finished, but I knew I wanted water. Luckily, I had friends around and I was taken care of. After a few bottles of water, I started to feel much better. Then the results got posted. After being solidly in 4th flatting and having to nurse a half inflated back through 15 miles of rocky single track, I finished in 4th. I was only 2 minutes out of 3rd place. Excellent. A great way to start the season. next up is Palo duro.

The bad news is I will need a new rim and tire. I see a Stans Arch in my future.