As the saying goes … all good things must come to an end and following that adage, the PPFMTB team made sure to end this season with a strong showing to cap off what has been an exceedingly successful year. The last race of the season was set to take place under a deluge of cold rain. Throughout the week, the racers stalked the weather reports and, by some good natured luck, the forecast began to reverse; having started out as a disheartening 70% chance of rain on Monday, the forecasted rain thankfully diminished to a 30% chance by race day.
The overall race turnout was still sizable, with a large crowd of racers favoring their odds against the weather. Total attendance of PPFMTB riders, however, was only two, Guy McDermott and Hubert Otlik. The remainder of the crew was tied up with military deployment and/or training requirements. The two riders made the better of it and both rode an outstanding race. The morning of the race, the weather was (mostly) cooperating as a gentle drizzle began to fall half-way through the first lap. It was noticeable, but not uncomfortable. Shortly after the start, Hubert (who was racing in the Men’s 6 hour Open Solo category) decided to spend his day racing in support of Guy, who started the race ranked first in the Men’s Expert 12 hour Solo category going into the series finale. At the start of the third lap, the two teammates had managed to overtake Guy’s closest placed rival and put in a three minute gap. Lap 4 proved to be a decisive turning point as Guy and Hubert pushed the pace on the seemingly endless dam(n) climb. Snaking its way onto the overlooking ridgeline, the view would otherwise be beautiful to take in, had both riders not been cross-eyed and hypoxic from the effort. Lap 5 was once again a memorable one as the early morning drizzle had created a perfectly tacky surface on which you could do no wrong; traction was incredible and both Guy and Hubert rode that lap relishing the traction and speed.
And just as they allowed themselves to comment on how nice the weather had been, Guy and Hubert immediately sensed their folly as the rain returned in earnest and the course quickly turned from an idyllic tacky and flowing trail into a giant vat of mud soup. Lap 6 quickly deteriorated as the rain steadily grew stronger and the light drizzle with imperceptible rain drops turned into a deluge with what seemed like bucket size rain drops descending upon the entire course. As the rain fell, traction began to deteriorate at an exponential rate; rock faces that once provided some degree of traction now felt like sheets of glass that had been smeared with bearing grease. Riders were falling backwards onto the course, where ever there may have been a small puddle, was now a six inch deep front wheel eating mud bog. Visibility on the course quickly vanished as mud splashed onto glasses and into eyes. Pulling into the pits at the end of the sixth lap, Hubert was both relieved and disappointed; relived that he hadn’t been eaten by the giant mud holes that were appearing like small lakes of quicksand all over the course, and disappointed that he was leaving Guy to finish the rest of the race alone, especially with the weather turning. Since Guy’s brain does not understand words like “quit,” “suffer,” or “this is too hard” he rode on for another three hours, until, at the 8 1/2 hour mark, the race director called the race for safety reasons – the rain had made it nearly impossible to complete a lap without going sailing off the trail.
In the end Guy finished his last 12 hour solo race of the year in 1st place with a total of eight laps and Hubert, despite his slower lap times to help out his teammate and captain, earned a well-respected 10th in a competitive, 50 rider deep field. To top it all off, Guy's victory earned him the title of Southern California's Endurance Champion in the Men's 12 hour Solo Expert division for the 2011 season, while Hubert finished 6th overall in the Men’s 6 hour Solo Open category.
The team now looks forward to their winter training to build the base for next year’s campaign and would like to give all of its sponsors, supporters, friends, and family a huge thank you for their support and encouragement.
See you in 2012!
