When I put the Guts and Glory 12 hour race on my schedule earlier this year it sounded fun. It’s a really cool grassroots race with no entry fee. It was being hosted this year by Josh De Boisblac, a friend of mine and Cat 1 bad ass. I was really excited to ride in this because the last two months have been very spotty for me training wise and I was eager to get some good miles in. I went to this race with my teammate Justin Calland. In the last 12 hour race out at Warda Justin and I were 2nd and 3rd so I knew he was up for a good suffer fest. Riding your bike for 12 hours off road is always hard, but the difficulty goes up considerably with the oppressive heat. I don’t know how hot it exactly was, but I estimate it was around 96-98 degrees all day and it felt super humid. There is little tree cover in comfort so the sun was hitting you almost the entire time.
The race started at 8:06 in the morning and it was already hot. I felt fresh because we had a great little hotel room in Kerrville and I had a good nights sleep and a great country breakfast. I was also on my new bike . Justin and I had a plan to ride together and just see how long we could go. Each lap was approximately 20 miles long and the trails are really fun to ride. We rode together for three full laps, which is close to 6 hours in the saddle. The heat was brutal. My legs felt great, but I kept getting the chills from being so hot. The heat was just sapping all my energy. After the 3rd lap Justin decided to take a break and cool off. He is currently leading the dirt remedy series of races and was keeping his mind on that. I decided to keep on going and rode half of my fourth lap listening to my ipod. Music really helps take your mind off things. That half lap I rode with music was refreshing. When I got back to the pit, I ran into my buddy Marshall Bell and rode the second half of my fourth lap with him. We were both cramping up a little from the heat, but we got it done. When I got back to the pits to restock my water and food Justin was eager to go. Justin, Marshall and I took off together. Justin was fresh and setting the pace. Marshall was having cramping issues and dropped off a little. As I took off on my fifth lap I was told that no one has ever completed six laps at comfort. I had a new goal at that point… set the record.
I felt okay starting my fifth lap and then all of the sudden the heat got to me. It is strange how it happens, but it just took away my drive. About 45 minutes into my fifth lap I was overheating. I kept thinking about the ice cold beer I saw everyone drinking each time I would come into the pits. At this point I was juggling the numbers and figuring out when I could stop and still keep the win. I was a full lap up on second place and time was running out for anyone to catch me thankfully. Luckily Justin was in second place and we could make it a 1-2 finish for team Cycle Progression. He is an awesome competitor and I was really excited to ride with him in this race. When I came into the pits at the end of lap 5 it was 6:40pm. I was cooked from the heat and decided it was time for a beer. It was a 10.5 hour day for me with about 100 miles of single track covered. I am guessing about 7500 -8000 feet of climbing .
The trophy is the coolest one I have ever seen. A local metal worker made it from steel found in local landmarks around Austin. The base plate is from the old Mueller airport terminal made in 1930, the rail road track was taken from some of the first used to connect trains into downtown Austin found near the old Café Mundi coffee shop and the twisted piece of steel is from the Driskill Hotel, made around 1860. It was used as reinforcement for the bank vault in the basement. I am really stoked to have this in my house :)
I had a blast doing this and I am really thankful to be part of such a cool community. Texas mountain bikers rock, and I look forward to more races and rides with all my friends (old and new)!
Peace.
