Well loyal fans of the NECS there has been a lot of sweat and miles put in for this year's running of the Wilderness 101 and for the 10th edition of this fine race there is a new recruit to enjoy the suffering. Yes our beloved and self named "Fat Chick with Hot Girlfriends" is making the journey to find his inner self on the trails of Bald Eagle State Park (and not in the form of puke). For those that don't know the story of FC it is rather compelling. To break up the monotony of riding solo or in pairs, Top Chef came up with the idea of the Saturday group road ride (which our beloved Ewok of Moab quickly dismissed as a millionaires riding club and hence the name MRC). Well at the first ride FC showed sporting some serious (we believe they were 52mm) aero carbon rims on a fully pimped ride. Guppying off the back on the first big climb FC crested the summit and announced to the troops "I feel like the fat chick at the bar with the hot girlfriends" and thus was born the name. Well FC went on the mileage diet this summer and suffered through numerous ascents and hot humid training sessions to get his dirty century cherry popped.
Arriving in Coburn we were graced with some of the best weather of the summer, cool temps, low humidity and a course that was dusty and dry, assuring all mortals in the middle of the pack the famous brown snot shot from the nose. Establishing a forward position by the trees and finish line, Mrs C-Dubs and I erected the tarp village made famous by the homeless and working classes of third world countries and soon were getting suited up for a bit of preriding.
Thundering into the park in his diesel super pickup, FC hopped out and was ready to go and within minutes we were up the first climb of the course and taking in the scenery. With the recent workdays extending to well over 12 hours, while I was physically in peak for the race mentally it was a different story and expectations were low. Mrs C-Dubs was looking to double the distance from last year and get the first 40 in and FC was aiming to finish before the vampires came out.
Race day dawned even cooler and excitement was in the air resulting in these incredibly long lines for the port-a-johns
and was followed by the prerace warning about the first descent (there are bad crashes every year and this one was no exception). As we rolled out of Coburn Park for a single lap of madness I once again took my time a waved to the locals.
Always a slow starter I get great amusement each year watching riders hammer the first 20 - 40 miles, looking for pacelines on the flats and thinking "I have this one dialed in". Once the climbing starts at 45 miles these warriors usually drop off the back and tend to roll over the line totally shattered with a 1000 yard stare sometime after the 12 hours mark.
As the race progressed I was hitting all of the aid stations in my fastest time ever and not really feeling like the pace was being pushed. By aide station 4, Mrs C-Dubs had caught the shuttle and had my bottles ready, I was feeling great and limiting time at the stops to a few minutes before getting back on the bike. On the last climb Iwas reaching my limits and did get passed by one other master who was being paced up the hill by a waiting CX rider! Across the finish line in 9:32 for a pr and it was right to the campsite for a chinese egg roll, beer and a dip in the river. The Mrs. revealed that FC was moving right along and was in good spirits at aide station 4. A bit later, wandering back from the Freeze Thaw hospitality area, it was a great set up with tables, chairs, kegs and music, I witnessed a smiling FC rolling over the line in a Terry Ti Butterfly Saddle crushing time of 11:30. FC was so fresh looking I thought he might have been contemplating another lap of the course!
The evening was spent eating, eating, drinking and eating (final tally for the night - 2 cheeseburgers, plate of vegetables, 2 bags of gummi colas, bag of mint milanos, package of pecan sandies, half a box of Entemann's cinnamon buns plus other assorted foods that I can't remember. Mrs C-Dubs was excited about making the first 40 she was pounding down the wine until near the midnight hour but sadly FC opted for the hotel 30 minutes away and missed the night of partying.
C-Dubs, showing clear thinking even after 101 miles, reaches for the pint glass as he crosses the line
Cinderella makes it to the ball
Think of it as your own personal Eau de Eastwood. It's inspired by Oregon's Pendleton Round-Up, the oldest and most prestigious four-day rodeo in the West. (Trust us: you would not want to smell like a five-day rodeo.) So inside the bottle, you'll find all the glorious fragrances from your last summer camping trip. The wild lavender. The musky foliage. The slowly burning soft-amber wood fire. A tantalizing hint of cold PBR (This alone is reason enough to buy up all the stock you can find).
