This wasn't the first Dickie Scramble, but it was the first one I believe that was a long gravel event.
The weather leading up to this event was not very good. There was 14 inches of snow in the area 5 days prior. Despite all that, the roads were in very good shape for the most part. We had to skip about a 8 mile stretch since the stream we would have to cross was too deep. This out us on a lot more pavement than I was expecting. I'd say we ended up with a 50/50 split. Not a bad thing though, it's nice to not have to work so hard all the time.
The race started a little slow and I was able to hang on to the lead group much longer than I normally do. Once things got going though I was unable to hang on in the flats. As much as I enjoy riding the SS, if I ever want to really start moving up in these races I'm going to have to get some gears, because I'm not going to be near strong enough to push the required gear to stay up towards the front for a long time (ever).
I settled into a good pace and before I knew it I couldn't see anyone in front or back of me. So I just turned on the ipod and cruised along. I missed a couple turns briefly because I was just enjoying the day and not looking at the GPS, but got back on track after 50ft or so. I was a little bummed that we didn't get to cross the stream and that put us on more pavement, but it is what it is. At one turn I wasn't sure about I slowed down and a group of 5 or 6 caught up and verified that I was going the right way. I rode with them for a bit and then lost them on the climb and downhill right before crossing the bridge near Hwy 61.
I rode by myself through the closed road and stopped briefly to take the sleeves off of my jacket. I could feel the sweat just sitting dormant and knew it was time to shed a layer. As I was heading towards the MMR 2 guys caught up to me and I hung on to their back wheel. Once we got to the MMR we broke up. This just kept getting slightly worse, the more we went up. At first it was loose gravel, then wet gravel, then snow covered gravel... I am sure that it is not a very difficult climb on a summer day, but it was a challenge to not have to walk.
Once at the top I knew that the checkpoint was not far ahead and that I would have to decide which route I was going to take. Ultimately I decided on the short course because my calves were killing me and I wanted to watch the Wild game at 2, also, I didn't want to get home at 7-8 at night on a Sunday. (Side: my legs were feeling so crappy because I ran 7 miles the day before, not a good idea)
I hung out at the checkpoint a little too long considering it was a race and all I did was fill my bottle and eat a banana. I think I was there for 30 minutes at least. It should have been more like 5 minutes. It cost me a few places, but I don't really care since I wasn't in the long race.
Once I finally got rolling again things went pretty smooth. There were some long tough climbs that I had been waiting for all day. They are my one chance to put some distance between myself and other racers. I got within about 50 yards of passing 2 guys after the second climb, but in the flats they rode off and I never saw them again.
With the snow on the ground, the sun out, and the race almost over, I started looking around the bluffs and taking it all in. It was beautiful. I wish I had stopped to take a picture. Everything look perfect, and I am not someone who usually notices the landscape that is around me during a race.
When I arrived back at the Huddle I went inside and wrote my time down, then I went out to the car and changed and looked at my phone and realized that I must have written down the "bar time." So once I got changed I corrected it and shaved 20 minutes off my time!
I sat down and ordered a beer and burger. There is a big difference between small town bars and the city bars when it comes to beer selection... That's alright though, the burger was awesome and the beer was cold. They also had the Wild game queued up and ready to go. I couldn't have asked for anything more.
A big thanks to Drew and all of the volunteers for putting this on. I will be back again.
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