Arthur and Jeff Sires passed me. I had talked to Jeff before the race while he installed some aero bars. I remember thinking out of all the people I had met pre race he was the least of my concern.  I caught up to them both right at the start of the climb up Burke mountain. While I walked up the entire mountain and watched them slowly inch away, I was thinking how they might have more in them than I thought.

I stopped at one of the shelters up top to roast one down and then ripped down the mountain. I was surprised at how beautiful and remote this section of the route was. I asked a guy in the one truck I saw if he had seen any cyclists. He said "About ten minutes ago,  you guys know your going out into the middle of nowhere?". Ahh yes I was definitely not nervous at all riding into the night in the middle of nowhere.

My goal for the day was the West Mountain campsite at mile 122. The furthest I had ever ridden in one day, on a singlespeed MTB, on dirt. I felt mildly accomplished when I got there, but I was actually kinda pissed. There was an RV parked in the flattest spot, with an obnoxiously loud heater. I set up my tent and slept until another racer came through, after that i pretty much just laid there until about 2:30. I really didn't want to ride in the dark anymore (I didn't have a really great light setup) but I couldn't help thinking if I just got up now I could finish before it got dark again and make podium.

Only 40 miles more than what I did yesterday. Just easy, no problem, a walk in the park is what I kept telling myself. I shook the dew off my tent as quietly as possible and started rolling. Descending those steep loose power line roads in the dark was sketch. When I got to the bottom I met Tennille. She had ridden through the night and her derailleur had sheared off. My heart went out to her, and I wished her luck on the rest of her hike.

It was very motivating when the sun finally came up. By then I only had 120 miles to go, I knew I could finish before dark. I stopped at some little country store for some breakfast and talked to some Canadian cyclists who were touring around northern Vermont. They had just shared breakfast with a church group across the street and gave me a piece of ham. I was grateful.

I pushed on until Newport where I was able to check Trackleaders and get more food. Jeff had a huge lead on me at this point, but there were 2 guys that I knew I could catch. Only 90 more miles. I pushed like those two guys were the finish line. I later found out that they were riding the full 8, but if it wasn't for them I don't know if I would've pushed as hard as I did. It was on one of those rougher roads that resembled a river that I encountered a conga line of off-roaders, at least 50 of them blocking the narrow path. A guy on an ATV in the back said he had just seen the other bikers 5 minutes ago. I kinda felt like an asshole scurrying past all of them. Some people seemed pissed, some got spooked, but the ones clutching Busch apples gave me a very motivating "GO GETUM!!". I passed the last one and then they started moving. I'm flying down this river road, getting my legs soaked, with the redneck go-carts hot on my tail. They caught up to me once we hit the dirt road and nearly cut me off when I was trying to make a left turn. I didn't care at this point. I came around a corner and there were those fellas I'd been chasing, hanging on the side of the road at the base of a decent hill. I did what any reasonable singlespeed racer would and went absolutely petal to the metal. They said "your not supposed to be going that fast!" I responded "I have no choice!" Which was very true. I either attacked every climb on this route or walked. There's a simple beauty when riding a bike with three speeds. Sit, stand, walk.

I enjoyed brunch and lunch on the bike before the next rough section. I got myself some whole chocolate milk and a banana at a store, I just wanted to get this done with. Looking at the elevation profile it looked like the last 40 miles weren't too bad. Boy was I wrong. There were some wicked steep climbs and the final rough section was brutal. I was dreaming of Mexican food and laying in the grass on the capital lawn. As I got closer to Montpellier I felt I should be descending . There were several small hills that filled me with rage. My feet were so swollen when I hit the final singletrack, and it was rather sketch with my rear brake out of order.

I was so relieved riding though town and finally to the capital lawn. Jeff had been waiting for about an hour and a half. I was very glad he waited, but we were both surprised there was no one else to see us finish. We both went to a Mexican restaurant and enjoyed some victory burritos and quesadillas. We hung around and talked in the parking lot. Will S had let me borrow some showers pass gloves for the race, I jammed them in the back of his pickup and hit the road back to Pawlet.

I was in a weird state of complete exhaustion but feeling totally wired from pushing further than I had ever before. I would have loved to stay and see my new friends finish, but there was an Epsom salt bath and coconut water only 2 hours away.

The next day I struggled to walk up stairs and sitting up hurt my abs a lot. It's not just leg day when you ride a SS. Part of the southern lobe passes very close to where I was living and I saw that Will was passing though. I went out with my lovely unloaded bike and waited for Will at the bike path in Granville. I was happy to motivate my new friend who helped me greatly. We rode together for a few miles in the rain before I turned around.

Bikepacking is weird. I didn't really want to go push my limits, but I knew I would regret not trying. The whole experience may not be enjoyable, but it stamps a memorable story in you, more memorable than a fun MTB ride.
 

 

What I learned:

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• Komoot voice navigation is the shit. I was worried while planning the race that I would struggle with navigation because I don't have a cycling computer. I got a Komoot membership and was really surprised at how well the voice navigation worked. I never went the wrong way or got lost, even on singletrack sections.

• If you want to do well in any bikepacking event, good lights are important. I have a 20 dollar NiteRider which I've used trail riding at night before. It works, but when you're going 20+ mph down unknown terrain it gets scary and dangerous. Next time I'm going to invest in a better light with an external battery, until I get one of them fancy dynamo hubs.

• Whole milk reinvigorates the legs like nothing else, the chocolate helps it go down.

• My hands never went numb with my lovely swept back bars. I've had some wrist injuries and have struggled pushing 100+ mile days on a bike with drop bars. Contact points are very important for a endurance events. 

GEAR

 

 

BIKE!

• Niner SIR 9 SS 32x19

• Vittoria Mezcal 29x2.35 tires

• Corvus Sweet 16 swept back carbon bars with the center wrapped in handlebar tape. Ergo grips with bar ends(essential for a SS)

• Revelate Seat Pack:

  • 20⁰ sleeping bag

• Revelate Frame Bag:

  • Food, water filter, Portable charger, safety meeting equipment, Tools

 

TOOLS:

• spare tube, tire lever, small Allen key set, chain breaker, Stan's sealant, CO2 and inflator/w tire plugs, curved needles for sidewall repair and dollar bills, Tri-flow chain lube and small rag.

• Blackburn Handlebar Roll:

  • Big Agnes Tent footprint, rain fly, poles, stakes. Nemo Sleeping pad and pillow

• Revelate Stem and top tube bag:

  • FOOD, phone, wallet, trash, Kanberra chamois cream, headlamp

• One water bottle on a Tailfin fork mount, one on the downtube

 

CLOTHING:

• Pearl Izumi X-ALP elevate shoes

• Alpaca and smart wool socks

• Pearl Izumi padded shorts

• Coalatree adventure pants

• Polyester base layer

• Burgeon Hoodie

• Patagonia Rain jacket

• Pearl Izumi gloves

• Will Savrti's Showers Pass Gloves

• Smartwool buff

• Scott Helmet with NiteRider light