rothar.com racing
Marin Dusk til Dawn 2003: rothar.com
We weren't going to do it, then a few months ago we decided that we should defend our reasonably high placing (9th in pairs) from last year. So I teamed up with Chilly to give the increasingly popular Marin Dusk til Dawn 12hr race a crack. It being our local event, we didn't rock up at the venue until 5pm, by which time things were getting pretty crowded in the campsite. I guess if it continues to grow in popularity then there might be some restrictions on car numbers next year.
the weather for the event was great
camp site was much bigger than last year
prime location for sponsors
Virtual Pivot Point suspension
Pace forks on the Mount Vision Pro
Indian Fire Trail and Rocky Ridge
The pre race briefing was held as the sun was setting and Chipps and Ken Ward reminded everyone of the ins and outs of 12hr racing. The forest was tinder dry and the Forestry people were understandably worried about fires. Even smoking was banned this year.
Team mate Chilly hath no fear/
..we listened as the sun set
Being a few weeks later this year than last, by the time 8pm arrived it was pitch black and the riders were soon disappearing off into the night. The use of multicoloured glow sticks (blue for soloists, yellow for pairs and green for teams) as well as pink for marshals meant that at times things were colourful, in a chemical kind of way. Everyone was advised not to drink, loose or play with their glow sticks, a subject that seemed to generate a fair amount of amusement...
the fast...
..the walkers
The course was fast, but the dry summer had led to a few tricky sandy corners catching riders out. Chilly rode the first two laps and put in a good time on the just over 10 mile course. My next two laps were bang on 1 hour 30 minutes and then Paul was back out for a further two laps.
Chilly's photos from the race...
Photos by Chilly giant-pygmy.com
Photos by Chilly giant-pygmy.com
Photos by Chilly giant-pygmy.com
Photos by Chilly giant-pygmy.com
Photos by Chilly giant-pygmy.com
Photos by Chilly giant-pygmy.com
Photos by Chilly giant-pygmy.com
Photos by Chilly giant-pygmy.com
Photos by Chilly giant-pygmy.com
Photos by Chilly giant-pygmy.com
Photos by Chilly giant-pygmy.com
Photos by Chilly giant-pygmy.com
Photos by Chilly giant-pygmy.com
The third lap was a bit messy. Just after the bombhole in the second loop of the lap, in one of the big plantation sections of singletrack, I managed to get a fairly big stick in my back wheel which ripped off the rear mech. Fortunately the rear wheel escaped relatively unscathed and I managed to rig up a single speed setup. This seemed to work really well and I actually ended up overtaking a few riders. I decided to stay out for my fourth lap, but just before the rollercoaster, things started to go horribly wrong. By the time I reached the end of the fire road after the section of old woodland, the drivetrain was completely toasted and wouldn't even go around.
destroyed rear derailleur hanger
cracked and broken xtr chainring
three missing chainring bolts
The long walk back to the arena started, but even this was spoilt somewhat by the lights packing up about fifteen minutes later and then the backup light becoming tempermental. I reached the arena, filthy, tired and bloody annoyed. My racing this year has (apart from the Singlespeed Champs), been plagued by problems. I'm hoping next year's going be better.