Fonta Flora Barnburner 50k, 2018

 I signed up for this brand new race, thinking it would be fun to ride bikes with 199 friends. 
I have not been race training and don't intend to, I just want to be fit and ride bikes faster than if I was not fit.  Anyway,  I got to early check in and stopped for a moment at Whipoorwill Brewery to take in the view. 

 I went to Lake James State Park Campground and set up camp, chatted with the neighbors a bit, burned some wood and went to bed. I slept pretty good in my adult treehouse mounted on my truck.   Another camper's dog kept barking periodically at random things in the dark, but other than that, I slept pretty well. 

 Up at the crack of dawn, which is now around 7am.  I love, love, love a race with a 9am start!  That extra hour really helps give me time to eat and drink some coffee without feeling that gross early morning pre-6am sluggishness! 

 I was going to line up at the back of the field to make sure I didn't race.  When I rolled up to the start, my plan was shattered.  People were starting to gather, but there was a ton of room in the front.  Oh, well.  I parked it in the second row and waited.  People filled in a little bit, but not many.  I was sitting in the top 25 before the start..... not a good sign.

We started the race and the pace went pretty high pretty quick. A mile or two of pavement into a mile of slightly downhill gravel and I decided to push the pace.  I was hoping to get in with a decent group for the single track, or at least get on my own and not have to deal with traffic.  Traffic on the punchy climbs would be stop and go and not much fun. 

Into the single track, I found myself at the back of a group of 10, everyone going the same pace as the guy at the front.  Hmm,  not good for me.  I started respectfully requesting passes.  It was working.  I asked one dude for a pass, he said" There are 25 guys in front of us" I said, "That's racing".  I asked again to pass and he kind of move to the right.  As I was passing, he took a couple of strong pedal strokes to match my passing pace, and we almost collided.  I kept calm and moved on and never saw him again. 

As my heartrate went up around 180, I found a good place and settled down into my rythym.  I found a couple of good people to ride with and set the pace. 

Well, so much for not racing.  I had put the effort in and if I slowed down now, I would get passed and have to yo yo for the next 2 hours. 

About 2 hrs and 15 minutes in , I was feeling it and ready to be done.  Still had around an hour to go though.  My nutrition was perfect.  It was so hot and muggy that I was drinking more than normal, but a quick stop to refill with Coke at one of the rest stops had me left with enough fuel that I would not have to stop. 

Still I was in that slump.  On the tight, twisty, punchy single track, I could see people in front and behind me.  I yo yo'ed with a couple of people.  I was following a group of 3.  Rachel was leading.  The guy behind her dropped a chain, the guy behind him, ran into him on the little climb, and I ran into him. Like rush hour on I-26.    I ran up the hill and got back on the bike.  Within a couple of minutes I caught Rachel on a short decent.   Her pace was a little faster than my "I wish I were done pace" so I stuck with her.  That was great, just what I needed to get out of the woods. 

We hit the pavement and sprinted the last mile to the finish:  I wound up 53rd overall, 25th in Master's and 1st (unofficial single speed)!!