2007 Tree Shaker

Last weekend I ventured out to Ann Springs, SC to meet up with some old riding buddies from Charlotte, NC and few other Vassago Teammates for the 2nd Annual Tree Shaker 12 Hour Race. Here's my view of the event.

This was my second 12 hour solo race of the season and I planned to use what I learned from the First, to make this experience a little more enjoyable.The fact the temperatures were 30 to 40 degrees lower also "seemed" to assist with this a little. From the beginining, I had decided to use this event to challenge myself more than the other riders. My goal was to complete 10 laps hope that this would be good enough to put me in the top 10. That may not sound like much of goal for some readers but for someone who has had to cut back his riding to 3 days (approx 7-9 hours a week) this year, top ten in any race is a great reward.

The course was approx. 9 miles of well maintained singletrack at Anne Springs Close Greenway in SC, with the last 3 miles proving to be the most technical and hilly of the course. The weather couldn't have been better and the trail conditions were just as nice.

The race started promptly at 9am with a running start and as everyone who was there knows, this really didn't do much to break up the pack. The first lap was probably my slowest lap of the race, due to the congestion and varied levels of riders on the trail. I decided to keep the pace down, pass when it was safe and save energy for the end. Laps 2 and 3 got a little faster and I began to become comfortable with the course.

Laps 4-6 continued to go well. There were times when I felt I should have given a little more. However, I continued to ride smart knowing that you can't train hard for 9 hours a week and then ride 12 at race pace in one day. Somewhere during these laps I met up with Teammate Brian Archer. After changing places several times we lost touch and I rode on. Somewhere in here I was hooked up with a well awaited cup of starbucks iced mocha by my Vassago Support and her anonymous assistant. Thanks for the boost!!!!

A couple of local riders, Scott Trotter and Joe Recore came to provide some support and company for lap 7. This lap went fast and I continued to feel good. After being unable to talk them into another lap I decided to take a few minutes to eat some lunch. After some sweet potatoes and watermelon I was off for lap 8. It was approx 4:30 and I was well on my way to hitting my goal of 10. In fact, at this point I decided to shoot for my first 100 mile trail ride and increase my aim to 11.

5:30 was the cut off time to add lights and I was determined to complete laps 8 and 9 before stopping and mounting up the evening wear. This was accomplished, and sometime around 6pm I stopped to mount lights and put on some dry clothes before starting laps 10 and 11. This long stop was the biggest mistake of my race. It cost me 3-4 positions in the line up. As I stated before, I was racing against myself and never bothered to look at the standings. Had I taken the time to do this I would have realized there were several riders, including me, that would end with lap 11. Those extra minutes cost me.

By this point in the race, the Starbucks had run it's course and I was becoming physically and mentally drained and looking for something to keep my going. That something or someone, was Rebecca Tomaszewski who quickly rode by me during lap 11. I immediately picked up the pace and jumped in behind her. After stalking her for approx 2 miles and entering into conversation I learned that she was riding a SS with a 32 X 17 gearing and she was one lap up on me. Suddenly, I had the energy to finish strong.

I rode across the finish line around 8:45pm, with 11 laps completed, 10 hours and 24 minutes of ride time and about 100 miles posting on the computer, I finished 8th in the solo male category. Once again, as in every race this season, I finished the race with no mechanical and no flats.

Thanks to my sponsors, Vassago, WTB, White Brothers, Bike29 and Cane Creek for building and providing me with dependable and comfortable parts for another long hard ride.

Congratulations to the first place solo female Rebecca, First place solo male David Hall, First Place Solo SS Rich Dillen and to Teammates Kevin Clark and Brian Archer for finishing 3rd and 7th in Solo SS.

See you all at this one again next year...