I had only 2 goals for the race at Rural Valley. First of all I wanted to continue the spiritual journey I had begun in tennis – where I ask the Lord to strengthen me in the midst of my playing (now, riding), just as He does in every other aspect of my life. If I lean on Him and trust Him for all the “big stuff” of life, why not keep my focus there on my recreation – especially when competition is involved, and I desire to go beyond my own “normal capabilities”. Secondly, I wanted to stay on Todd’s wheel – as long as possible, or at least keep him in sight, since he is usually 5 to 10 minutes faster than me.
These were pretty lofty goals since I have been in tennis training and not bike training all summer. I’ve only ridden on my MTB 3 times prior to the race, and each time it was on my own trails. So, the first 2 minutes were the usual butterflies, until we hit the heinous climbs designed to thin out the pack – and thin us out it did. I never “saw” the hill though, as I focused 100% on the back of Todd’s wheel until we were all the way to the top. I was inches from him, and that hill never felt “easier” (even though I was completely red lined).
I hung on his back wheel for the next 3 or 4 climbs, but it started to get tough around hill 5, and by hill 6 when everyone had to get off because it was so steep, I started to see a gap between us develop. I remember thinking around that time “At least in tennis I can enjoy a good shot every so often. I might even win a game now and then – there is a bit of “joy” along the way, this is just suffering.” All I was feeling was “pain”, and I saw no end in it till I finished the race – “why am I doing this” was the question that came to mind. This is the question that usually comes to mind in every race I’ve ever done during the first 30 minutes; where I’m trying to find my legs and get “warmed up”.
Shortly thereafter, I lost him by about 3 riders between us. I can handle descents better than most riders, so I eventually caught up again after a few down hill sections. All was well for the next 10 minutes, and then my chain came off on a quick unexpected climb where I tried to shift too aggressively. Three guys passed me, and Todd was out of sight. I worked like crazy again to try and catch up, and fortunately for me, he dropped his water bottle and stopped to pick it up. That was all I needed and I was back on his wheel.
Things were feeling really good now. Right around that time I had fully recovered, and figured my heart rate was probably back to around 130 or so, and I felt like the “first race” was over, and I was about to start my second race. I would stay on Todd’s wheel for the next 20 minutes, aware that this was the closest to the front of the pack that I had ever been – in any race. When we got on the single track, I had riders in front of me, and I found myself invariably hitting my brakes more than I wanted to, but it was way too tight to pass, and I was still pushing pretty hard, so I wasn’t worried about it.
We then got to a climb I had forgotten about – where it’s a long climb, out in the open (translate – hot sun), where the second half is a very steep and loose rock section at about a 14% grade. I decided to “settle in” for a long grind, but Todd seemed to be into too low of a gear, and he was spinning a lot but not going very far, and we weren’t yet to the hard part of the hill. I wanted a little better tempo, so I kicked up my gearing and pulled out around him. I figured he would catch me on the climb anyway, and I would continue to take tickets on the Todd train, content to sit on his wheel for the rest of the race. But, that didn’t happen. I felt strong going up the hill, since it felt exactly like my hills on the home trails, and so I just put my head down and kept going.
That’s when Phil Ligget turned up in my head. The three weeks of watching the Tour de France had given my mind plenty of his race calling to draw from. All of a sudden, I heard Phil exclaim in as excited a fashion as the British display “ Well, it looks like Nacey’s going to break up the team. If he gets to the top ahead of Pugh, he’s probably going to try and attack at the summit. Yes, I think he’s going here Paul (of course he’s not talking to me – he’s talking to Paul Sherwin his co-announcer). I don’t see anyone immediately ahead of him, so he won’t be held up in the woods or on the descents either. I think we’re going to see him put on a bit of a gap here”. Then of course, Paul Sherwin had to get into the act… “Phil, I think Pugh is in a “spot of bother” here on this last climb, and while I’m sure Nacey liked sitting on his wheel, he probably going to take advantage of the situation.”
I had to shut those guys up for a while, because I didn’t want to lose sight of the fact that this was also supposed to be a spiritual journey as well. I was still focused/praying that the Lord would “ride through me”, and give me the lungs and the legs to keep the pressure as high as I could. After a series of tight single track and a few down hill sections, I flew down the longest and “scariest” descent of the day. I was beginning to recover for a second time, and now I felt that I was ready to start my third race.
There is a large hill now in front of me, and I can see one rider way ahead. I’m told that I’m 16th or 17th. This is pretty exciting since I’ve never been in the top 20 before. This might be the first time I ever felt like racing was fun before I was finished with the race. Phil was quick to come back with the comments “Well Paul, if he can keep this pace up, he’ll find himself with a surprisingly high finish. Looks like he’s digging deep now, he’s turning himself inside out, he wants to keep the gap on his rival Todd Pugh.”. “Yes Phil, I think Nacey’s setting his sights a bit higher than he first imagined.” is Sherwin’s response.
I continue to push hard, but I get passed by one rider (I’m not a fast climber, just a steady one), but I’ve closed the gap on the guy ahead of me. We enter the woods, and I have these two guys ahead of me, and within a quarter mile or so, I catch them. I can’t get around them. I’m using my breaks a lot now, as the first guy is a 13 yr old (which is incredible in itself – he was fantastic for his age), and he is being pretty cautious in the technical sections and down descents. All this “slowing up”, finally allows Todd to catch us, and we are now a foursome. In the Tour de France vernacular, I’m figuring we are probably “chase 2 or 3”.
It’s good to see Todd back in the thick of it, and I’m feeling like the Lord has given me new strength once again. We hit one sharp turn after a steep descent and one of the guys spins out ahead of us, but he’s alright, so we fly by him, now it’s the kid, me and then Todd. We get to the exit of the woods, where there is a field crossing, dropping us to a gravel road, and then a short paved road with two turns to the finish line. I know this is my chance to pass the kid, so I use most of the field to pass him on the left, and hit the gravel road almost too fast, but I’m by him. I know Todd will be on my heels, so I kick up the gears and charge to the first 90 degree turn to the left, on the asphalt. I’m counting on my tires holding the line and so I make the turn faster and with more lean than I ever have, knowing that Todd will try to beat me at the line if I don’t. I get around the corner, lock out the front shock, and leap out of the saddle to stamp on the peddles as hard as I can. I’ve got one more 90 degree turn to the right and I take it as fast as I can. I stay out of the saddle and sprint to the line, with no one challenging. I found out later that it was the speed of my turn, according to Todd, that kept him from catching me.
I finished 17th out of 57 riders. It was good enough for first place in my age class, (as well as probably a half dozen other age classes), with a time of 1:07. It was the best race of my life, and the highest personal finish overall. It will also be my first individual trophy, since I’ve only come in fourth in my age class in every preceding year. This was a small miracle – and the reason why I now focus on the Lord in my sports endeavors. He bring the best out of me – beyond what I can do for myself, and even when I lose, I’m much more at peace.
Todd was 18th, and took 1st in his division. Bill took 3rd in his age class, Mike Maher was 3rd in his age class, and Nick Pointon (16 yrs old) was 5th in the race overall, and obviously took 1st in his division. None of us could see him after the first few minutes. Rich had a flat tire right near the end, after being somewhere in the top 5 – a big bummer for him. All in all though, with the perfect weather, it was a great day for the group of us.