Run June 3, 2007
The call from David was amusing. "Alpine Shop is sick of Big Shark winning their race every year so they want to pay the entry fee for me and my partner." The race in question was the Conquer Castlewood Adventure Race which is sponsored by Alpine Shop. The reason this is amusing is that the Big Shark team he was referring to was none other than David and I. No problem, I'll "join" his team rather than the other way around if it makes his sponsor happy. I do plenty of other events wearing a Big Shark jersey each year.
Despite our track record, Conquer Castlewood is not an automatic win for us. It used to be, but the quality of the field has really come up in the last few years. Three years ago we got bit in the butt when we were just a bit too casual about our preparation. We finished third, only 12 seconds out of first. That hurt so the next year we got our act together again and won, but it was hardly a rout.
The team we're most concerned about is the one that finished between us and the lead in 2004. We affectionately refer to Nick & Trey Robinson as "the college kids" even though they have graduated since acquiring the moniker. Normally, we don't pay much attention to teams in their young 20's because they have trouble with the distance. Conquer Castlewood is short enough (each of the three disciplines is roughly 30 minutes) that there's more of a balance between speed and endurance and they've got plenty of speed. With David out of the country for last year's race, they won easily.
The week before the race, David and I scope out the river. We paddle the Meramec all the time, so we have a pretty good idea of where the current runs, but we've never actually timed the best lines. The key decision is when to cross to the south bank. Getting through the current in the middle of the river quickly can save a lot of time. We try two obvious points and they come out exactly the same. I suggest we try one more line that has less shelter along the bank, but goes behind a large log stuck in the middle of the river. It turns out to be 10 seconds faster. Not much, but remembering 2004, we decide that will be our play.
I get to the park right when the gate is supposed to open at 6:30AM. There are already a few teams there waiting to get in. Snagging a good parking spot and transition area is worth getting up early. The race director is there and since he doesn't seem to have anything else to do right at the moment, I pester him about the start. In my most diplomatic tone, I suggest that he might consider having us run to the boats rather than the chaotic on-the-water start that's traditionally been used. He's skeptical, but the more we talk about it the more he seems to like the idea.
After snatching both the best parking spot and the best transition area, I set about getting my things ready. David shows up a bit after seven and we go for an easy jog to warm up. When we get back, we're told that some of the canoes came off the trailer when being transported to the race. As a result, they can't start all the teams at once and we'll be in the second heat. At first I'm none to happy about this because I think we might run into slow teams on the single track descent during the bike. David's pretty sure we won't catch them that quick and points out that having sixty riders go over the trails ahead of us might squeeze off some of the surface mud from the previous day's rain. At any rate, it doesn't appear to matter as all the fast teams that we know about are in the second heat.
After the boats are back from the first heat, we all line up for the run down to the water. With the field broken into heats, this is less of an issue since 30 boats can fit across the river. I still prefer the format, and we are able to get underway without any serious altercations with other boats. After a minute of paddling, we're in a lead group of three boats. Up front are the college kids. We don't recognize the next team, but they've obviously held a paddle before. We alternate between drafting them and staying in closer to the shore.
We're a bit surprised that none of the lead teams go for the early crossing. In past years, most of the field has preferred to get over to the south bank as soon as the river stops bending to the north. We figure that means they'll be taking the late crossing; we stay in third so as to not tip our hand. We cut over just below the log we identified in practice. The river is down just a few inches from our test runs which has things flowing faster in the middle. What was a minor shelter before is now a game changer. We surge past the other boats and hit the far bank ahead. They scramble to cross, but with no shelter in the channel, they are a good 15 seconds back when they get across. This is our chance to get clear and we make the most of it. We hammer back downstream to take out with a minute lead.
At the transition, I take a few seconds to squirt the sand out of my cleats. That puts me on the bike behind David who sets a stern pace. While teams are allowed to split after the paddle (team time is the sum of the individual finish times), I'd like to at least stay with David until the descent. I'm quite sure I won't be able to match his speed there, especially in these slick conditions.
The first mile is flat, followed by the long climb up the ridge. Shortly after the climbing starts, I spin my rear wheel on a slick rock and go down. I get up quick and try to hammer back and do it all over again. Stop, breathe, compose. I get back on and manage to get the rest of the way up without incident. A bit of hard charging along the ridge top gets me to within about 10 seconds by the start of the descent.
Descending Love trail is normally one of those activities that reminds you why you do these things. It's fast, twisty, with just enough bumps to make it exciting, but nothing to really knock you off your line. Having already hit the dirt twice, I just don't have the confidence to really go after it. I get down with no problems, but by the bottom I've been caught by another rider. The rest of the course is flat, so I figure I'm still in good shape. I get back on the gas and, whoops! The front wheel washes out on a tight turn and I go down hard. I'm not hurt, but it does cost me the spot.
Much to my surprise, I get all the way through the trail running before Nick shows up. I make a feeble attempt to match him on the road back in, but I'm already pretty close to redline and drop back after a few hundred meters. I lose 30 seconds to him over the last mile, but he doesn't catch David. I'm still well ahead of Trey, so we've pulled off the win.
Racing with David is always a blast. Afterwards we agree that we really ought to do it more often (although his regular commitments with the Alpine Shop team don't give him a whole lot of empty space on the schedule). Oh well, if it's going to be just once a year, at least we put out a great performance when it happened.
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