Bone Bender 3 & 6-hour MTB Race
Published on 4/15/2013
The Bone Bender 3 & 6 at Clinton Lake in Lawrence, KS
This race had a good vibe. Lots of Foo Fighters and G N' R being played. I felt like I was at a throwback event from the early '90s.
The weather and trail conditions were perfect. There were 3 hour and 6 hour divisions on an approximately 14 mile loop. I was in the 3 hour division.
It was a true fat tire course. There were very rough sections. Rigid fork guys must have been hating it! No real sustained climbs or down hills, just bone bending rock after rock.
There were times in this race that I felt like I was just on a nice, epic mountain bike ride. That's a good thing in terms of my enjoyment. Not so sure it says much about how competitive I was, but anyway...
My bike performed beautifully and there were no mechanicals or flats. That was fortunate because I had a mechanic (a.k.a. volunteer working registration that had worked in a bike shop in college) fix my headset the morning of the race in two minutes after I had spent hours on it the night before.
I did have some major cramps for the last hour and a half of the race that put a "hitch in my giddyup". That's something I need to get worked out before Syllamo, May 18th, which will be twice the race this was on all levels.
All in all, it was a great day!
I was the first (and only) KCBC finisher!
But seriously, 9 of 27 in age group. This was my first mountain bike race in 16 years, so I'm proud of that finish.
Thanks to my KCBC team mates for all the great rides. I'm fired up for the next challenge!
Alan
P.S. As an aside, I would have killed it in the Clydesdale division!