Croatan Buck Fifty - 2019

Wow.  Things have been super busy and crazy since DK200.  

Due to some medical issues, I had a pretty mundane cross season, but had a blast with all of my teammates and friends.  I even got to race at Nationals, which I will possibly write about at some point (but in all honesty, probably not).  

So, without further ado, we get right into the 2019 gravel season with the "Buck Edition" of the Croatan Buck Fifty.

Training has been pretty non-existent this year.  This has been for a mixture of reasons, but mostly because of the medical issues mentioned above.  I will not go into too much detail, but basically all of my power and endurance is completely gone.  It sucks.  But I did get out on some training rides with friends, and that did not suck.

Hi Pete!
Photo Courtesy of Jan Feuchtner (I think?)

So, with that said, I had tempered my expectations for this race.  I really wanted to finish in less than six hours, but I figured that with my body rebelling against me and the anticipated headwinds, it would most likely be between 6.5 and 7 hours.  I also wanted to finish the race without stopping. 

Just like last year, we left Thursday morning so that we could have all day on Friday to relax, goof around, and play on the beach.  It was a relatively uneventful drive down and once we arrived, Dane and I checked out the house, unpacked, got the pups settled, and went to the store for pizza ingredients and beer.  We had a little bit of time to kill before other folks from other houses showed, up, so we chilled by the pool for a bit.

Super sweet salt water pool! Did I mention it was 75 degrees out!?

When Dane went in to grab more beer, I noticed a little insect floating in the pool.  At the first glance, I thought it looked like a honey bee, so I got up to investigate.  Sure enough, there was a little worker bee struggling to stay afloat in the pool.  So I grabbed the net and fished her out.  She was quite damp, but no worse for the wear.  I kept her on the netting and hung it back up so she could dry out and fly off when she was ready.

Sweet little honey bee, go pollinate all the flowers!

Soon enough, folks started to show up for the pizza party.  I absolutely failed to take photos here, but we had a blast.  I made pizzas, we drank lots of beer (and wine and whisky), sang a few songs (Thanks, Joe!). 

After everyone headed out (at 2:30 AM!), I needed to walk the dogs one last time.  As soon as we walked down the drive, I could hear the ocean!  I figured it must be closer than I expected, so we headed that way and walked down to the beach in the moonlight.  It was absolutely beautiful.  I really wish I would have thought to take a photo of the ocean at night.  But I might have had a bit to drink and was laughing at Nola chasing a ghost crab.  The crab finally got tired of her shenanigans and turn around to fight her off.  It was HILARIOUS.  I did manage to snap one non-blurry photo of that encounter, though.

The ghost crab defends!

 After that photo, I told Nola to stop harassing the crab and we headed back towards the house to get some much needed rest.

The next morning, I got up early to take the dogs for a sunrise walk on the beach.  Yep, I only got about three hours of sleep.  But...  Sunrise on the beach!

The dogs love the beach.  I think Nola thinks the sand is just like snow, but less cold.  She just wants to run around and kick it up.  

Nola gazes out, wondering how many of those birds she can catch.

Bella is quite a bit more reserved in her dignified old age.  She just wants to sniff around.  

Bella gazes out over the sea, contemplating life.

It was a lovely walk and a lovely sunrise.  I had the beach entirely to myself, which was surprising.

The sun finally peaking over the clouds at the horizon.  It was spectacular in person.

Although, it was a bit windy, so there was a bite of chill in the air.  We walked for about an hour before heading back to the house to see if anyone else happened to be awake.  (Spoiler alert, they were not...)

Salty wind in my hair!

After a while (a rather long while), folks started to wake up.  We had some makeshift breakfast and chatted about what we wanted to do for the day.  While we were exploring the house the day before, we noticed that there were several beach cruisers in the garage.  They all had flat tires and needed some... corrections...  Dane and Stearman set out to tackle that while I walked the dogs again.  Once that was done, we decided to take the cruisers down to the beach and ride on the sand.

Anna and Dane cruising towards the beach.

The beach cruisers only had coaster brakes, so it was an interesting experience.  It is kind of crazy when you think about it.  As kids we all road bikes with coaster brakes on them all the time.  We did all kinds of stupid and ridiculous things, such as riding down very large hills and jumping them off of things.  But now, a bike with coaster brakes is more than a little terrifying!

But also fun.  SO much fun!

Once we actually got them moving, they were super fun to ride on the pavement.  But once we got down to the beach, the sand proved to be a bit of a challenge.  It was hilariously hard to ride the bikes in the sand.  There was a very narrow stretch of damp sand that proved to be hard packed enough to ride on.  But if you drifted too far towards the dry sand, you would sink.  And if you drifted too far towards the ocean, you would sink.

Dane advised he got his interval workout done for the day.

After we finished up at the beach, we headed back to the house to clean up.  We were hungry, so we decided to head out to a local Mexican restaurant for some fuel before heading to the speedway to pick up our stoke boxes.  

At the speedway, I also failed to take photos, but we grabbed our stoke boxes (SO MUCH STOKE!) and chatted with pretty much everyone we saw.  I was happy to be able to grab a few minutes to chat with Emily Hairfield (the queen of stoke herself) as she was doing swag swap duties.  I also got a few minutes to chat with both Gordon and Matt (the race directors of this amazing event).  Events like this make me so happy to see so many of my wonderful bike friends in one spot.  This one is especially good because it is the first event after a long, damp, and dark winter.  And there were SO many wonderful bike friends there!

On the way out, we happened to notice this little hut with Coca-cola garb all over it.  Once we got closer, we noticed the interesting choice of vending machine housed within.

All the Coca-cola memorabilia (more on the outside)...  With a Pepsi machine inside!

Nathaniel, Stearman, and Dane convinced me to do a quick openers ride with them when we got back to the house.  It was really fun and gave us an idea of what riding with the headwinds would be like.  We even got to practice our level lift/bunny hop skills on some speed bumps.  It was surprisingly fun.

For dinner, we had a massive pasta dinner prepared by Helen and Simona (THANKS!) and as the evening winded down, I started to get all of my race gear ready to go.  Since I was not planning on stopping, I grabbed a few sleeves of ShotBloks (Huh...  It seems they are just called Bloks now...?) and a Clif Bar to put in my top tube bag.  I filled up my Source Hipster and two 24 ounce bottles of water.  It was going to be cool enough that I should be fine with that amount of water.  I packed up all of my clothes and then took the dogs for a quick walk before bed.  It was peaceful, but still breezy.

I did not sleep very well, which is par for the course for big races.  I finally gave up and got up well before my alarm was scheduled to go off.  I got dressed and took the dogs out for their morning walk.  That morning walk was needed for me just as much as for the pups.  Walking in the cool morning breeze with a hint of salt in the air was pretty calming.  We did not hit the beach so that our feet could stay sand-free.  

Getting back to the house, other folks were already out and about getting breakfast ready.  Dane cooked me a couple of eggs, which I was able to get down.  Pre-race nerves always do a bit of a number on my stomach.  After a bit, we were loaded up and on our way to the Carteret County Speedway to start the BEST BIKE GAME EVER.  

Hi Big Green Bus! (And Simona!)

We got the bus set up and started getting all of our things squared away.  We even got to watch the sun rise over the stands at the speedway.  It was kind of magical.

Getting bikes and gear ready to go.

Nothing out of the ordinary happened pre-race.  We saw friends, chatted about tire pressure, gave everyone encouragement, and freaked out a little.  You know, normal pre-race stuff.  

Because everyone was in the same spot at the same time, we did make time to get a team photo.  Can I just take a moment to say how amazing my teammates are?  Seriously, last year when Gordon told me about this race, I was super excited, because I was going to get to do an inaugural gravel race that was being put on by the guy who once spray painted a carbon single speed frame glitter gold (you better believe I remember the "blingle speed", Gordon!) at the BEACH!  Well, I mentioned it to a few folks on the team and told them it was guaranteed to be a fun time.  Needless to say, I think about 20 teammates joined me last year.  Everyone brought back the stoke and I think we ended up with the majority of the team this year (40+ AND loads of friends of the team).  They all came, they all crushed it.  And it was so much fun to see everyone on the out and back sections!

Best Team EVER at the Best Bike Game EVER

I just want to take the time to also point out that Josh's eyes are closed.  Again.

Alas, it was time to stop goofing around and line up.  A few folks headed away from the group and lined up either closer to the front or closer to the back.  I lined up in the big group of pink and green and the man behind the camera himself, Ben Kristy, lined up next to me.  Ben is also known as Dominion Cycling Photography and does a wonderful job of documenting local MABRA cross (and road, I think) races.  This is the first time I have seen him with a race number pinned on!  He recently purchased a Salsa Warbird from Bikenetic and this was his first race on it (maybe first race?).

Hi Ben!

Soon enough, it was time to go!  And go we went...  for about six feet.  With all mass start bike races, things often get started a little slow.  I was still really nervous, so I was being goofy and making faces (apparently) while we scooted along waiting for things to clear up.

I have no idea what is happening with my face...
Photo Courtesy of Sheila Canaday

Once we finally got going, we picked up a bit of speed and there was a lovely sea of pink and green around me.

Sea of pink and green!
Photo Courtesy of Jack Looney

Man, those bright green Shimano shoes really do pop!  

The first couple of miles were the same as they were last year on pavement.  I kind of slow rolled it a bit, since I take a while to warm up and I hate being in the mix at the start.  Once we turned onto the gravel, I ended up with Ben Kristy for a bit.  I was excited to be able to share a couple of miles with him and hear his thoughts on the course/race.  Unfortunately, a few minutes later I had some technical difficulties and had to stop for a second to adjust my chain.  I got back on and was able to pass some of the folks that just passed me.  Until it happened again.  This time I was able to get back on quicker and made up more time.  I passed Ben again and a few friends from the Bike Arlington Forum.  (Hi guys!)

At some point Nick from Bluemont Connection happened to ride up to me.  Apparently they got in a little late and had a late start.  It was good to ride with Nick on this section for a bit and catch up.

We made it through to the first bypass to get us off Route 58.  This was a huge improvement over last year, since those sections of Route 58 are pretty heavily traveled and a little sketchy by bike.  The cornfield by-pass was really kind of fun.  It was a bit more like single track than I was expecting.  The actual cornfield section was a little bumpy, but definitely worth the extra effort.  Until...  my chain dropped AGAIN.  GRR.  This time it dropped beneath the drop stopper so I had to loosen than to get it out.  I ended up kind of knocking the drop stopper out of the way and that was the last issue I had with it.  Not sure what that was all about.

Quick side note:  The gravel racing community is so amazing.  Every single person that rode by me while I was stopped asked if I was okay and had everything I needed.  It was refreshing to know that so many folks were willing to stop their race to help me.  

Getting off the cornfield put us back onto pavement for a couple of miles, which was a welcome smoothness after the cornfield and the washed out gravel road of the course.  I put down the hammer and caught up with the group that had passed me as I was stopped after the bypass.  I noted that Robyne and Judd were with that group.  As I was getting ready to pass Robyne, she lost a bottle after hitting a pot hole and had to stop.  Hi Robyne!

At this point, it was very obvious how badly the hurricane last year had affected the course.  Areas that were relatively smooth were riddled with deep pot holes.  Sections that were rather sandy last year had almost no sand on them at all this year.  It made things a lot more challenging this year, especially if you were trying to pace line.  Last year I was pretty confident riding someone's wheel.  This year, I avoided following someone closely as much as I could.  Unfortunately, this was probably my biggest downfall.  More on that later.

I must admit, that I failed miserably at taking pictures this year.  So I apologize for the giant wall of text here.  So, to tide you over, here is a picture of Shiba butts on the beach:

Shiba Butts!

I chugged along for a bit until we made the turn on the "longest, flattest road ever".  You may remember this from my race report last year.  This year, it had just been graded.  So while, it was relatively smooth, it was super soft.  About two miles into this section, I started to see the leaders coming back through.  This was absolutely my favourite part of the day.  I got to see the race leaders, which was a group of about 10 at that point.  The chase group was HUGE and saw Jay Owen hanging on it in (!!!).  After that, folks just kept rolling on by.  Loads of shouts, low fives, and words of encouragement were flying all over the place, it was AMAZING.  

A few lone Bikenetic folks were with other groups and I saw Dane out front of a group and was floored at how well he was doing.  A few minutes after he went by, the main Bikenetic group went by and I got a lovely low five from Stearman.  (Best part of my day!)

I was just plugging along when Brad and Simona caught up to me.  I rode with them to the aid station/turn around point where they stopped and, as per my plan, I kept rolling along.  On the way out, I got to see many more folks and give out words of encouragement.  At this point, the wind was blowing, but I was not feeling it at all.  I was having the time of my life.

After the "longest, flattest road ever", was the short section before the highlight of the race: Savage Road.  I got to high five Steve O and Chris, who were volunteering at the intersection.  Steve also graciously got a photo of me passing by the Savage Road sign.  Thanks!

Heading out on Savage Road
Photo Courtesy of Steve Offutt

I am not sure if it is because I am a better drop bar, skinny tire bike handler this year or if Savage Road was in better shape than last year, but I felt a lot more confident rolling around the car-sized mud holes.  Just like last year, I used this as a recovery section and kind of slow rolled it, focusing on getting out of the saddle and using different muscles.  I was relatively alone when I rolled in, but I did have to put a foot down in a spot (my brain still freaks out in sharp dips).  This allowed a group to catch up to me. 

Leading the train through the mud holes of Savage Road.
Photo Courtesy of Jack Looney

I gave them space to pass, but they kept their distance and followed me through until Kelly Roberson found a spot to pass a few folks and blew by me like I was standing still.  That girl has gotten so strong! 

There was a lovely contingent of folks at the end of Savage Road playing music and having a good time.  They dared me to go straight into the biggest puddle at the end of the road...  I laughed and told them not to tempt me!

Nearing the end of Savage Road
Photo Courtesy of Jack Looney

Once I got off Savage Road, my recovery section was over.  I was feeling pretty good, so I pushed and caught up with Kelly.  We chatted for a bit (she is recovering from being hit by a car earlier in the year) until she asked if she could grab my wheel.  I laughed and told her sure, but I kind of suck at missing pot holes.  (Sorry about that!)  Another woman (found out later her name was Joanna) caught up to us and grabbed on as well.  I lead them for a few miles and Kelly offered to take a turn up front.  I told her I was a bit nervous about drafting on such rough roads so she and Joanna road ahead.  I hung back for a bit, but caught up with them a bit later.  We all rode together until we got back on the pavement.  I pulled them up to Pete's group and I dropped them on the pass back through the cornfield. 

Once we got back on gravel, everyone caught back up.  We were in a relatively tight line going through the mud holes near the start when Joanna, who was ahead of me took the right line (which ended up being the wrong line) and had a very close encounter with the mud puddle.  She miraculously saved it, but did have to dismount, which caused me to dismount.  Everyone else went through the left line (which ended up being the right line...haha) and dropped us. 

I do not remember much of the rest of that lap, except going through the second bypass was a bit of a shock.  It was pretty chewed up mud and was not expecting it to be two-way traffic.  So my apologies to the guy who knocked me over...  Totally my fault!  Whoops. 

I hopped on the pavement and headed back towards the speedway.  At this point, I passed by the big Bikenetic train and attempted a low five, but missed.  Whoops again!  

I also passed by a lovely woman (who I later learned was Meena) who was questioning all of her life choices.  I spoke with her for a couple of minutes on the way in and told her to just keep pedaling.  I rolled through the speedway without stopping and kept rolling.  Less than three hours!  I felt a bit of fatigue, but was in good spirits.

Another wall of text, another photo of Savage Road.
Photo Courtesy of Jack Looney

And then I hit the headwind.  OMG.  I have no idea how I did not feel the wind on the way out during the first lap.  But I went from feeling relatively well to barely being able to push 12 mph on pavement.  I went through the single track section mostly by myself and the mud zapped whatever remaining energy I had left.  I knew right then that going out for a second lap was a bad idea, but I am stubborn and am trying not to let my medical issues affect the things that I want to do. 

I was alone for a bit, then Kelly and Nick caught up with me.  I knew that I needed to get over my fear of drafting on rough roads in order to survive, so I grabbed onto Kelly's wheel and tried with all of my might to hang on.  Did I mention how strong of a rider she is?  I think I lasted about three minutes before she road me off her wheel.  Talking to Nick afterwards made me realize it was not just me, she really IS that strong.  After Kelly rode off, Cyndi, Kevin, Trey, and a few others showed up.  I grabbed onto Cyndi's wheel, who was following Kevin.  I was able to hang on with them for a few more minutes before the pot holes finally got to me.  I remember telling Nick that every time I hit a hole my legs would seize up.  I bid them farewell and trugged along by myself.

Mile after mile after mile of rough, flat, headwind put me in a really dark spot.  Unfortunately even seeing friends and teammates coming along could not pull me out.  I really hate to admit it, but my darkest moment was seeing someone that I love dearly succeed.  You know that person that does not train, barely rides their bike, yet can crush any race that you throw at them?  Yeah...  I have worked my ass off training and pushing through even though my body is fully rebelling.  I have worked so hard.  It is just not fair.  All of those thoughts just came crashing down on me. 

Luckily I was alone. 

Because I ugly cried on the course. 

But I kept pedaling through. 

I spent most of the rest of the second lap alone, which was both a good thing and a bad thing.  I was in a really bad place physically and emotionally.  Heading back after the turn around spot, I got a bit of relief from the wind, but not much.  I was able to pull it together to cheer for some of the folks behind me.  I knew they were probably in worse shape than I was.  Turning onto Savage Road was a relief.  I had an excuse to slow down and move around on the bike.  I did not have to put a foot down at all on the second lap, which was a very small, but significant victory in my weary mind.  But when I got to the end of Savage Road, I had to stop.  My body was in so much pain and I wanted to swap bottles.  I stretched for about 10 seconds while straddling the bike, swapped the bottles, and gave myself a stern pep talk.

And then I carried on.  I felt a bit better and was able to pick up speed a little.  I ended up passing the one guy that passed me on Savage Road and that was just the victory that I needed to keep me going.  Meena caught up with me just before the pavement and we chatted for a few seconds before she kept up her pace.  I was happy to see the cornfield bypass come up and apparently felt good enough for Brett Rothmeyer to get a good photo of me.  I have no idea how I look this good in this photo, because I was dying on the inside!

Rolling through the Cornfield Bypass on the way back in on the last lap.
Photo Courtesy of Brett Rothmeyer

The last few miles are a bit of a blur.  I was doing a great job of staying hydrated and was almost completely out of water in my pack and my last bottle was about half full.  I rolled through the mud pits, but came up short on the last one.  My brain was not able to make quick decisions.  There was a girl coming out as I was going in and she had stopped as well.  I laughed and told her that the far right line was the correct one, now that I was stopped I could see that.  I backed up and rode through.  She watched and went that route as well.

Shortly after that, with about three miles or so to go, I saw Robyn Spann ahead of me.  I slowed down to chat with her since I figured she could use some company and so could I.  She was also in a pretty deep hole and even with my words of encouragement she advised that three miles was too far, she needed a break.  If I had not be about to crack, I would have stopped with her.  But I knew if I stopped pedaling, there was no way I would have been able to keep going.  While I was slowed with her, Joanna passed me.  I thought about trying to catch up, but at this point, it was not worth it.  I bid Robyn farewell and reminded her to eat and that I would see her soon and rode on.

Coming up to the muddy single track section was like seeing a watering hole after being lost in the desert.  The end was near!  I could almost taste the beer!  

Right after making it through the muddiest section, Chris from Bluemont got behind me.  Apparently his bike rebelled against the dust and he was stuck in one gear, and not the one he wanted to be in.  He grumbled something and pushed on through.  I tried to keep up, but my body was not having it.  

Rolling back into the speedway this year was a different feeling than last year.  Fifty less miles but way more suffering.  I was disappointed and frustrated with myself and in a pretty intense amount of pain.  Simona and Brad stopped me on my way to the tent to tell me congrats.  I almost was unable to start pedaling again.  Dane met me and tried to talk to me.  I told him I could not stop until I got to the tent.  When I got to the tent, I dropped the bike and sat down.  And cried.  Again.  Those tears were filled with lots of different emotions: Relief (I finished!), Frustration (WHY ME?), Disappointment (I did horribly), Love (All of these people love me!), and a bunch of other feelings. 

Dane brought me a beer.  I took my shoes off.  Helen (seriously, god bless her) massaged my back.  Ben came over to chat about the race.  So many people came by to give their cheers and congratulations.  These people keep me going.  Every one of them.  

I finally pulled myself together, changed clothes, and felt human enough to interact with other people.  I went and checked the results.  I finished in six hours and thirty-two minutes.  I was surprisingly happy with that.  Well, not really, but happier than I was expecting to be.  

After race face...  Where am I supposed to look?

I got to cheer on friends who finished after me.  I got to be there for folks who did their longest race/ride EVER.  I got to high five Dylan, who won, not by a sprint, but by a full five minutes!  I got to drink some delicious beer.  I got to chat with so many lovely bike friends.  And I got to tell Dane how proud I was of his sub 6-hour time.  (I think his official time was less than 5:30!)

I know I have more to say about this race and my time down in Croatan National Forest this year, but this is long enough.  If you are reading this and are on the fence about doing it, know that I am already looking forward to next year's race.  This is a fantastic format and is so accessible to everyone that can ride a bike.  I am hoping to get some of my lovely friends together for some interviews in the next few weeks, so stay tuned for that.  

Best Team EVER.
After the Best Bike Game EVER.

Shout Outs:
Gordon Wadsworth and Matt Hawkins - Race Directors

Emily Hairfield - Queen of Stoke

Ridge Supply, Cutaway, Hand-up Gloves - Sponsors

Team Bikenetic - Best Team EVER

Bikenetic Full Service Bicycle Shop - Best Bike Shop (and Sponsor) EVER

Salsa Cycles - My Warbird was awesome again this year

Source Hydration - Keeping me hydrated on bumpy roads, yet again

Hand-up Gloves - My hands were literally the only part of my body that did not hurt

#teambikenetic

#shakethedust

#bestbikegameever

#adventurebybike