The 2005 Raccoon Rally

Thoughts
Wow, this race really kicked my ass. I'd been to the Raccoon Rally several times in the past and it's one of my favorite races. The 25+ mile course is not technical at all, but does have a TON of climbing and some real fast downhill sections. The goal this year was just to finish, especially since I had only been riding for a few months and not really putting a lot of mileage in.

The Sport class started in a grass field, then headed down a dirt/gravel road for about a 1/2 mile before entering the woods. The first climb was killer... somebody said it was about 4 miles long. It seemed every bit of that and just seemed to keep going and going and going.... to make things worse, much if it was out in the open, and with temps already above 90 degrees, the sun beating down on us didn't help matters. I made it up the climb and the course finally flattened out a bit, but there were a lot of rolling hills to keep things interesting. I settled into a good pace and the rest of the first lap went well. At the end of the lap, we headed down a bunch of switchbacks carved out of a ski hill... this was pretty nasty since I don't get to ride stuff like this much. By the time I got to the bottom and started lap #2, my hands were numb! Anyways, lap #2 was underway and the climbing started all over again... this time the main climb was a little shorter... somwhere around 3 miles. Damnit!! My legs were toast. The rest of the race was pretty uneventful, although during my last trip down the ski hill I almost lost it trying to stay ahead of the guys behind me. I finished just under 3 hours... 2:50:17 to be exact... good for mid to back of the pack in Sport class. I had a freagin blast. If you like to suffer, the Raccoon Rally is the place to be in late June. I will be back next year, and hopefully in a little better shape.

Race Details
Distance: 25.5 miles
Start Time: 10:35am
Temperature: 92 degrees!!
Class: Sport Male
Finish Time: 2:50:17

Race Day Food/Hyrdration
Pre-Race:
7:00am: Met-RX Big 100 Nutrition Bar w/16oz water
9:00am: Cytomax Pre-Formance Drink w/water
10:00am: Gatorade Endurance Formula (18oz water bottle)

During Race:
Water (Camelbak with about 60oz water)
Gatorade Endurance Formula drink (18oz water bottle)
GU (4 servings)

Post Race:
Endurox R4 (18oz bottle)
Clif Bar
Pringles (full can!)
Miscellaneous other stuff...

Bike Setup
Bike: Ibis Mojo
Front Tire: Kenda Nevegal (45 psi)
Rear Tire: Specialized Fast Trak Pro (45 psi)