Andrew covered the 365mi and 38K of elevation in record time. A near sleepless race for Andrew he maintained incredible focus!
Sent in this morning from Andrew:
2 days 8 hours 8 minutes. Good for a new SS record!
Really rugged loop with a lot of time spent hiking. I think it's a great loop for a singlespeed to compete with geared bikes because there's very little smooth flat pedaling terrain.
My legs felt good the first day so I decided to make a move on the first major climb. Then I just tried to keep moving all night! Getting the Kokopelli done overnight was great in terms of avoiding the heat out there on the lowest section of the course. A quick resupply at the gas station in Fruita and I set out feeling optimistic about the second half.
I took a series of short naps the second night. Struggling to stay awake in the early morning was definitely the hardest part for me. I was fading that third morning but the end was in sight. The Roubideau section near the end is the crux of the route in my opinion. You cut across 17 drainages right after one another. Chunky descent down, hike back out, repeat.
Feeling grateful for good friends at the finish line and looking forward to seeing other friends complete the loop.
Bike was fantastic! Lubed my chain a couple times. Dry and dusty conditions. 32x20 was perfect for me.
My fork was pretty stiff by the end and making noise when climbing out of the saddle (like half my time ). I think dust got inside the seals? I should've serviced it again for the race, but it was feeling ok. The miles of cow trampled singletrack near the finish were even less enjoyable with a semi rigid fork! I replaced just about every other wear component a couple weeks before and went into the race feeling really well prepared, so thanks for the parts hookup!