Skip to main content

18 Hours of Fruita

Back from a successful venture in Fruita. Didn't feel quite as strong this year, but managed to podium with a third place finish. Did about 154 miles in 17:07. I had enough laps to secure third without having to ride the last 53ish minutes, thankfully. I was pretty spent and could have managed another lap, but it wouldn't have been a lotta fun.

Zero rain this year, which was nice. Also, the course was extended with another 1.1 miles of new singletrack. Good stuff, but irritatingly rough and dusty. Will be good once the track wears in. I cratered hard in the new section on my fourth lap. Total face plant and managed to roll the tire off of the rim, resulting in a flat to fix and a sore neck and shoulder for the rest of the race.

Overall, I felt pretty decent, but mid-morning started to overheat. Took a bit of an extended break to cool off and recuperate. Then, I went back out and turned my final 4 laps with Nordby, which was a fun way to finish off a good race.

Daniel had an awesome race and pulled off second place in the solo category. Tirpak unfortunately crashed an burned early in the night. Pulled out of the race with a sore back and neck. He spent the rest of the day wrenching for Jon, Daniel and myself, which was especially a godsend for Jon, who was having serious mechanical issues due to an earlier chain/cassette explosion (on the first lap!).

Thanks to the crew (John, Austin, Jill, and Tom) for making our race bearable and successful! Hope you all had a good time while we were choking down the baby powder dust for 18ish hours.

Comments

Unknown said…
congrats on the third place finish!
May 19, 2010 at 12:24 PM
Unknown said…
Also, how did the 2 lights on the handlebar, 1 on the helmet work out?
May 19, 2010 at 12:26 PM
Brad Baker said…
Thanks!

Turns out that the slightly longer laps meant I would need to change batteries every single lap if I used the tiny helmet light. So, I sucked it up and just ran one MagicShine on my helmet and one on my bars. I ended up having no neck issues, aside from the faceplant in the middle of the night.
May 19, 2010 at 1:30 PM
nirad said…
Hey dude great race out there, we had pretty optimal conditions this year huh!! I too crashed during the night laps on of them right after leaving the start gate and turning right in the loose gravel, went down hard on my shoulder and helmet, guess that's part of racing huh! see ya out there somewhere soon!!
May 24, 2010 at 9:11 AM
Brad Baker said…
nirad-

Ha, I crashed in the same spot last year, augering in hard on my hip.

Nice to meet you and see you out there on the trails somewhere!

Brad
May 24, 2010 at 10:14 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Yuba Mundo...Schwing!!!

It's been a while... I'd say the knee is almost 100%, but wouldn't wanna hex myself. :-) I've managed to get out for the occasional ride the past 6 weeks or so. Most of my biking focus has been building up the new kid hauler / cargo bike. The Yuba Mundo V3. Nearly fully sorted, just need to come up w/ something for the kids feet. I installed a carbon fiber stoker bar with matching grips...stylin'. I've had the bike out for a few test rides, including a 19 mile, sub-zero night ride on trails. Worked fairly well. Some chain length issues to sort out and disc brake tuning, but otherwise...smooooooth. Riding on the back deck while hanging onto the bars is fun. :-) Specs: Mundo V3 frame - blue Mundo V3 fork (threaded) Shimano STX headset (threaded) Nitto Albatross handlebars Kalloy adjustable stem Oury Mtn grips - blue Shimano LX M581 brake/shift levers Avid BB7 185/160 disc brakes Deore/Ditchwitch wheels w/ 14mm adapters 2.4" Mutano Raptor tires XT sha...
9 comments
Read more

New Year, New bike!

It's been abnormally warm and dry here in Colorado, so I've gotten out for a lotta rides. I'm already up to 22 outdoor rides this year, which is a healthy amount for the 30th of January. Since Salsa's announcement about 1.5 years ago, I've been jonesing for a Salsa Spearfish. I'm convinced that 29ers make a difference for me, and the lure of a full suspension 29er has been strong. Well, Bikeman has a closeout deal on last year's Spearfish frame, with a Rockshox Reba RL and a nice headset for $1199. I couldn't resist! Here are the build specs: 18" Salsa Spearfish frame Rockshox Reba RL fork Cane Creek headset Carver MyTi handlebars Titec titanium seatpost WTB seat Magura Marta SL front brake Avid BB7 rear brake RaceFace Dues crankset (22/32/42) SRAM cassette SRAM Attack shifters (9 speed) FSA PF30 bottom bracket Stan's 355, WTB Laserdisc Lite wheels XT front derailleur XT rear derailleur Geax Saguaro tires Total weight is about 27.5lbs. I t...
2 comments
Read more

Yuba Mundo V3 Upgrades

It's been a while since I posted about the Mundo. It has been pretty cool for toting around 70ish pounds of kids. After some riding, I decided to invest in a few upgrades. I put on a deflopilator, a double-legged kickstand, a front rack (just because it was laying around), and figured out the 185mm rear disc brake. The 185mm disc brake requires a 203mm adapter to clear the rack frame member. Seems to work fine with that setup (at least on the stand, I haven't taken a real ride yet). 185mm rotor with 203mm rear disc brake adapter Cheapo 2 legged kickstand (big improvement)
6 comments
Read more