Fireweed 200 race report - by Brant

Thanks to Brant for sharing his race report! Awesome job!

Brant climbing Thompson pass

It has taken me a day to recover and reflect on my experiences of the Fireweed 200 solo time trial and my psychologist says I should write about my feelings more, so here is a long post. 

I was not even sure about this race until a few weeks ago. I have done it a few times, once as a two day, once as the "ride" with two others and once as the "ride", but alone. I had thought about the time trial, but 200 (192) miles with no drafting didn't sound all that appealing. I was training for a week long trip to Montana at the end of July and that had been going so well, I decided to finally give the 200TT a try.  Bria was more than willing to drive support and I cannot thank her enough. She is the BEST!

Bria had not been feeling well and asked that we leave on Saturday morning. Since I am such an early riser it was really ideal for me. Of course when the alarm went off at 4:00am I was wishing for 2 more hours of sleep. Once we arrived at Sheep Mountain Lodge, we ran into Nick in the parking lot. He mentioned his team was short a rider and they would be competing in the 4 person relay with only three people. This also meant he had room for us in Valdez. Knowing that was an option helped my attitude later in the race.

The start was sunny, cool (not cold) and no wind. Absolutely ideal conditions! Started with one water bottle and a few gels and Cliff Bars. I knew Bria would always be nearby so no real need to carry much water. The first few miles are rolling uphills and a fast downhill past Gunsight Mt. A few of the other 200TT racers really took off fast. I knew I could not keep up with them, but I have decent endurance and an uncanny ability to suffer, my plan was to hang back and make minimal stops and out suffer them. The weather was AMAZING and I made record time to Glennallen. Swapped out a water bottle and turned south towards Valdez. The course is still downhill through here, but the wind was strong and my average speed was dropping quickly. I had told Bria I would need more water every 40 miles or so. Since it was so nice to Glennallen that seemed to work well.

About 90 miles in I was out of water. I had drank an entire bottle in 10 miles. It was hot, sunny, and WINDY and I was on the first real challenge of the course. The climb to Willow Lake is not difficult, but the wind made it terrible and the conditions dried me out. I was seriously dehydrated and everything hurt. Finally I found Bria and told her I wanted to quit. I did not think I could recover and I still have 100 miles to go. She quickly (and calmly) took charge and emptied my pockets, gave me a sandwich, a Coke, and two water bottles, one with Skratch sports drink and one with water. I dropped into the little ring and just started to grind out the miles. Know it was almost impossible to recover from such dehydration I made sure to take a small drink every ten minutes, alternating water and Skratch. I was now drinking two bottles an hour and eating a half PB&J each hour. Bria was on point though here and always at the right place at the right time. I had lost a few positions during my melt down, but I slowly began picking other riders off. I was also being passed by the faster 4 person teams at this point. I knew there were 3-4 ahead of me in my division. I was feeling better and grinding out the miles, but the wind was relentless and I still had the big climb up Thompson Pass ahead.

Bria continued to push the water and food and was never more than 5 miles away. The road was BRUTAL. Every crack felt like someone was driving a nail through my palm. Many areas the shoulder was unrideable. Somewhere before Thompson Pass I got a flat tire. Either a staple or wire from a steel belt. I felt my rear tire get a little squishy and I looked up and Bria was right there. I coasted in and was able to change the tire with proper tools and a real floor pump. This also gave me a chance to drink a little more Coke and eat some more sandwich, but I also ended up giving back every position I had made up. As we started up Thompson Pass I was passed by Nick (driving) and then Pete riding his shift for their team. We chatted a bit and this gave me a little boost that I needed for the big climb. They swapped and I was able to chat with Nick a bit. Thompson Pass really only has three big difficult climbs and the rest is pretty easy. The scenery is the best in the world and while the miles are hardly clicking along, the vertical feet are adding up. I stopped with Bria one last time before Worthington Glacier for a bite of PB&J and two water bottles. I was cramping horribly in my left leg and rode some of it one legged in an effort to shake out the cramp. The last climb from Worthington Glacier to the actual pass is TOUGH. There were a lot of other riders in this area and that helped me along.

The descent from Thompson Pass is really fast with just one turn. The road is on decent condition, but the shoulder is not, so I took the lane and enjoyed the effortless 40 MPH cruise. As we approached Keystone Canyon the wind was back and worse then ever. I was averaging 16 MPH with 20 miles left. Any chance at breaking 12 hours would require a big effort and a break from the wind. Upon exiting Keystone I got what I needed. A slight downhill and no wind and I was cruising at 18 MPH for about 10 miles. It was the best I felt all day. I was passed by another 200TT racer and was very careful to give him the required three bike lengths. After all this I was not going to be DQ'ed for drafting with a few miles to go. Of course, he grabbed the wheel of the next racer and was gone...  :(

I was stopped for a few minutes at a construction site but getting through the break in the pavement was not too bad. Of course the wind was back and it was a struggle to average 16 MPH. That was the magic number to break 12 hours and I did what I could. The cramps were horrendous, but short lived. There is a big repaving project in Valdez and we were required to drop down to the bike trail. I could see the finish line and looked down and was able to make out my time on my Garmin through the sweat, tears, Skratch, gel, etc. and it was 11:58. I really thought I could break 12 hours, but the odds were not in my favor. I rolled across the finish line in 12:00:30. I had to go back to the timers to tell them my number since my bib blew off somewhere after Glennallen.

Brant about to cross the finish line in Valdez

My first thought was that I never had to do this again. I now have an official time in the 200 TT. Of course after a few recovery beers I keep thinking of things I could do differently to finally break 12 hours. And THEN I would never have to do it again...  :)

I cannot thank Nick enough for allowing us to bunk with him. We had planned on tenting it, but after 200 miles I did not want to deal with the tent. MANY MANY thanks!!!!

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