salt to saint! again!

(courtesy fightingmean)

Racing in Salt to Saint: Round 2

Last year I described the Salt to Saint bike relay as 'the most fun I've had racing on a bike'. This year lived up to that description. Racing in the event for a second time meant that I was much less nervous and now understand why the event is so much fun. But having fallen short of what I felt like was my potential last time meant I had some dragons to slay this year. Half of our eight person team was not only new to the race but some were new to cycling as well. All the rides and work I've put in on my bike this year culminated in a great day and night and day at the Salt to Saint bike relay.

The 400+ mile relay race from Salt Lake City to St George has a staggered start and tries to offset the difference in projected finish times by having slower teams start earlier than faster teams. Fearless Phil the team captain and his wife Ronelle, both solid cyclists, invited me to join them again on their team 'RIU crew'. The RIU crew is a fast team and we were assigned the last start wave at noon with nine other of the teams. This means that the noon start of the race has some of the fastest riders on the fastest teams for the entire event. The road follows Wasatch Dr but is also on some bike trail. Where the main road has bridges crossing the river valleys the trails steeply drop down to the river bottom and then steeply rise out. This steep rise out of the river bottom proved too much for me last year. I was hanging with the lead group but when we hit the rise out of the river bottom I couldn't keep up with the lead riders. I just didn't have the legs. When I got to my team I was out of breath, shaking, and completely devastated. Because I had ridden this technical and challenging section before, I was assigned to it again this year.

For months I've been picturing this 11 mile section of road. The memories and feelings of disappointment from getting dropped have been there when I've ridden up mountains where the air is thin and the legs burn. They've been there when my alarm has gone off at 4:45am. They've been there when the winds have pushed me backwards and the cold early morning air has nipped at my face. This year I had one single goal: Don't get dropped. The race started exactly like it did the year before. A fast group quickly formed into a pace line. We rode out of Hogle Zoo and began our way winding South down Wasatch Dr. Then the pace line descended into the first river bottom. The bikes zipped to fast speeds - 30 - 35 - 40 - and then the trail pitched up and gravity set in. Instantly my heart rate was maxed and my legs were on fire. But they held. My quads flexed, calves burned, feet desperately pumped, but I held on. As this section progressed not only did I have the legs to hold the lead group through these steep twisty river bottoms but I helped pull the entire group for some of it. Once uploaded to Strava, a bike app that tracks rides using GPS, I discovered that not only had I posted one of the fastest times of the race but on this section of road I had posted one of the fastest times ever ridden by anyone.

Achieving a personal goal put me in a fantastic mood to say the least. The rest of the race could have gone terrible and I'd still have been on top of the world. But the race didn't go terrible, in fact everything went nearly perfect. Our next rider, Joe, took the SPOT GPS tracker from me and hit the road. No one had ever ridden with Joe but before the event he had informed us that he had ridden several Ironman triathlons as well as having run marathons and even ultra marathons. But finishing an ironman doesn't mean what it used to and he remained an unknown as to what his role would be on the team. Now with the SPOT in his jersey pocket he tucked down into an aero position on his Trek TT bike and smashed his section. And every section he cycled thereafter. At least in my mind he earned the moniker 'Ironman Joe'. But as I reflect while writing this, he did somehow find time to kick back and roast a hot dog over a camp fire in the middle of the night during this high paced bike race - so perhaps he's better named 'Hot Dog Joe'. This picture really says everything I could write about Joe and he contributed to the athleticism and personality of the team.

After Joe finished his section he passed the SPOT to Craig and he began the brutal ascent up the North side of Suncrest. Craig finished his fifth LOTOJA, a one day classic that is 206 miles with 10,000' of climbing, this year so his ability was not in question. He gave it his all and the 90+ degree temps and wind made for an extremely challenging climb. He was literally foaming at the mouth when he finally crested the summit and began the fast descent down. Craig's wife Kristi also took on the race this year. She's fairly new to cycling and was apprehensive about being an integral part of the team. But she dug deep and posted her fastest average speeds ever. They contributed their Honda Odyssey mini van to the cause. I've always had a staunch anti minivan position and most that know me have heard me swear, "I will never own a mini van." But having spent most of this race riding in and driving this vehicle I've had a complete change of heart. The Honda Odyssey is really a great vehicle. And Kristi absolutely must be given credit for riding confined in her van for over 20hours with three smelly dirty men - her nausea as we reached the finish line is entirely understandable.

Once Craig was off the bike Amber took over. Ambinator, as I've come to think of her, is one of the best all around cyclists I know. She's a confident climber, smashes flats, and descends like a meteor bent on global extinction. Last year she was a little bummed at how short her turns were and, true to form, the Ambinator demanded longer legs this year. In total she logged 76.1 miles for the event and maxed out at 48 mph. The only rider on the team who logged more miles was myself with 81.6. Amber's friend Angie took the race on for the first time this year also. Like Kristi, Angie is also fairly new to cycling and took on the Salt to Saint relay for the first time this year. But the Ambinator had vouched for her as a climbing champ so there was no doubt she would do well and her performance was exemplary.

One of my segments was a long descent. My subcompact crank had me pedaling on average around 105 rpm for 46 minutes. Craig followed me in the mini van providing much needed light for the fast mountainous descent. Afterward he commented on how I only stopped pedaling for a few seconds for the entire time. I replied that his observation was a mark of the training I've done. I've come to think of my riding as not only training but practice. Cyclists get all sorts of bad habits like coasting down hills and through corners. Phil remarked that he struggled at a race where there were 90 degree corners and was getting dropped around every corner. Then he realized that the more competitive riders were pedaling through the corners and he was not. It's a small thing that makes a big difference and also makes for a good life mantra: Pedal through the corners.

With our combined efforts The RIU Crew had an excellent race. With 420 miles of continuous complex racing things are bound to go wrong. We had a flat tire but found it on the bike rack. We had riders not ready at transitions but the current rider went a little further and we met down the road. There were crosswinds, headwinds, and temperatures ranging from 95F to 42F. Throughout everything, the synergy of the team quickly formed and our pace was excellent. In fact, in the 8 person mixed gender category we placed first of 38 teams. While of the 130 total teams that entered we had the 10th overall fastest time.

Having ridden the race for a couple of years one of the things that is consistently fun about the event is how it draws out everyones best. Our diverse team had riders who were new to the sport as well as veterans. But when on the bike everyone seems to grab the sense of what it means to be a team. Even though each rider is physically alone on the bike, in spirit it's totally a team event. At every transition the team is there to celebrate the finishing rider's accomplishment as well as propelling the next rider onto their own. The event distills what is so special about friendship in endurance sports.

For endurance athletes their sport serves them in several ways. It serves as their therapist when having a hard day. It serves as a source of accomplishment as the athlete reaches personal goals. Consistently accomplishing hard things gives the athlete a confidence that cannot be bought. While endurance athletes have many of their needs met in their sport, friendship serves a unique role. The best friends help the athlete get up a little earlier, suffer a little more, and go a little farther. Friendship in endurance sports helps the athlete reach a potential they didn't know they had. At the end of the race with all of its challenges and triumphs, friendship is what is most special about the Salt to Saint relay.