June 14th, 2014
Pat's Peak mountain bike festival in Henniker NH (http://www.patspeak.com/summer/bike.html). What a venue! I have raced here 3 times before, with this time being my 4th. The first time I ever came here I raced my stumpjumper FSR comp, 26" wheels with 6" shock travel. I entered the 12 hour solo. That race was pure insanity. I don't know if I have encountered a course as hard as Pat's Peak 12 hr solo either before then or after. This was the only race that I have ever fell asleep on from sheer exhaustion. No joke, the year I did the 12 hr, I got off the bike after riding for 11 hours, sat down on the ground to take a break and remember waking up 30 minutes later shivering from my sweat and the dew condensing on me.
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| At the start of the 12 hr solo, notice the smile |
To say that Pat's Peak is technical is an understatement. It is a 5.5 mile loop with about 800 feet of climbing per lap. The entire course is on a ski mountain in Southern NH. With that much climbing there is obviously a lot of downhill, but with the mud, trail camber, and roots and rocks the downhill is actually harder then the up!
My first year at the peak I completed 9 laps in 12 hours. My second year I DNFed because it was pouring the entire time and I was miserable. The 3rd year I entered the 6 hour solo and raced my stumpjumper again and completed 5 laps.
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| Racing my first 6 hour solo |
This year I raced the Epic 29er.
Except that the snow had finally melted on the backside of the mountain the week before and the week in between the resort saw 4 inches of rain fall. So, it was muddy. Very muddy.
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| Pats Peak 2014 6hr solo |
But still, despite the mud, the hills, the technical, and being lunch for hundreds of mosquitoes, I had a blast and even managed to break my PR, completing 6 laps in 6 hours and 20 minutes :)
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| Downhill at a ski mountain during an endurance race |
See you next year Pat's Peak (maybe for the 12 hr this time?)
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