Back to Mountain Bike Roots – Lock 4 Challenge

When Armondo suggested I join him and Justin for a mountain bike relay race, I swallowed my tongue.  It had been years since I’d ridden trails, and it certainly wasn’t a race.  So, in my signature haphazard form, I said, “Let’s do it!”

The race was set for Lock 4 Park in Gallatin, Tennessee, and I came to find out the trails are maintained by the “Lock 4 Trailblazers” who could not have been happy when they saw our team name, the “Lock 4 Falcons.”

Regardless, the “Blazers” put together a bitch of a course* full of rocky climbs, tight turns, and three hill white knuckler of a roller coaster.

Of course, I had no idea what was waiting.  I’d never ridden the course, nor had I ridden the new Gary Fisher mountain bike I bought off a dude on Craigslist two days before the race.  It was a big, enticing mystery that had me running for cover and peaking behind the black curtain at once.  I was shaking in my toe clips and eager to unveil talents from my hidden past.

So, here I was back on a mountain bike ready to soar into the unknown world of Lock 4.  Armondo (aka The Red Wolf) started the relay with a solid 55 minute loop and I waited by the gate for Justin to complete his.  The minute I saw his red shirt emerge from the woods, my heart screamed to get out.  It was on, and all I could do was hope I hadn’t forgotten how to handle roots, trees, rocks, and random animals.

I was off, and luckily alone, on the single track.  I started slowly, but it didn’t take long to remember.  I was dialed in, but it not comfortable to be racing a course when you have no idea what is coming.

I tore through the first mile or so with no problem.  There were a few tight turns, but nothing that put fear in my belly.  I curled around a bend, then tore into a straight away that immediately dropped over a seemingly endless hill of roots.

“Trust the bike.  Trust the bike.”

I was feeling it now.  I knew how to find a line and explode through the bottom.  I felt good.  I was back!

Then I came around a corner and saw a short steep hill which I climbed, then immediately dropped straight down off the backside.  It was almost like a cliff, but rolled right into another steep 12 foot climb, then off the back edge again, straight down.  There were three of these in a row and I was freaking out.  Maybe I wasn’t back!

I pressed on.

Other than hitting the breaks with ridiculous frequency, I felt like I was making good time.  I ripped into a badass banked bridge that you needed to hit hard or fall in the water, nailed several jumps, and took in unbelievable scenery along the lake.  I felt good, maybe even like I would keep us in the game with an Armondo-like 55 minutes loop.

I hadn’t seen another rider the whole time until I crept up behind a guy in a gray jersey.  I rode his back wheel for what seemed like miles, but he kept pulling away on the downhills.  He told me it was his third lap and delivered a crushing blow when I asked if we were almost done.

“Uh, yeah.  Only 3 and a half miles left.”

I sucked it up and gave everything I had to get by him for the next half mile or so, then I saw an opening on a short climb.  I stood off my seat and dug in to pass him when I heard a loud clang.  Suddenly I was spinning my wheels and not moving.  My chain broke with 3 miles to go.

Now, I have absolutely zero technical skills with fixing shit and a bike is no exception.  I watched as the guy in front of me pulled away while I went backwards down the hill.  Back in the day, I would have thrown in the towel and walked it back, but somehow the newly reformed triathlete in me saw the challenge.

Instinctively I jumped off my bike and started running it toward the finish line.  If I had a downhill, I’d hop on and coast as far as I could, reaching out with my leg to push off trees or rocks or whatever I could use as leverage.  On the flats I put my left foot on the left pedal and pushed with my right foot like I was riding a skateboard.  I was a man possessed and treated the experience like I was doing a brick.**

It was a never ending trail and one by one riders called out “passing on your left” as I sheepishly stepped to the side.  There were 5 in all and everyone asked if I was okay.  I chugged along with my feet flopping like a walrus and said I was fine.

It was not an easy task, but I wanted to win and felt like my time to that point was pretty solid.  I slid down hills, climbed over rocks, and skate-biked my way to the end where I had a calculated “look of disgust” just to make sure everyone knew the trail didn’t beat me.

I ran my bike around the loop and passed the baton to Armondo.  It was a stirring moment, and as mad as I was, I really felt good about being able to run that trail, let alone with a 30 pound bike in tow.***

Armondo knocked out another nice lap at around 54 minutes and a nice gentleman gave me a hand with my chain.  I would get one more lap to prove my prowess, but not before I had a couple beers with my new friend Liz, who has done Ironman Wisconsin twice and dished out loads of actionable information (that I may or may not share with the Fab Five).

Justin made it through his second lap and I was off again.  This time, no surprises other than I nearly clipped a deer in mid-air as I channeled my “inner Lock 4 Falcon” off the five foot rock jump.  I was amazed at how strong my legs have become from all the training and truthfully didn’t get all that tired.

I split the trail exit and spun around the loop where Armondo was waiting with a camera. I slowly glided in his direction, posing big time for the camera before jumping off my bike.  I high fived my Falcon teammates and the guy at the timing table yelled out, “Hey buddy, you might want to cross the damn finish line!”

Post script:  The Lock 4 Falcons took home 2nd Place medals in the “Doing this for fun” division.

* After a little research I noticed that several bikers scored this course “fast” and not very technical.  So, I guess that makes me a wuss.

** A brick triathlete lingo for combining two events at once in training.  In this case, bike and run.

*** The bike/run lap ended up being 1:01 and my second lap was just over 55 minutes.