Troupe Racing Co.

report by : Jeff Resnick

I get the strangest looks from people when I tell them I’m going to do a 12 hour mountain bike race solo. When there hear its in Temecula in mid-June, they know for sure that I’m crazy. It is these reactions that motivate me to do long distance bike races, such as the 12 Hour of Temecula on June 12th.

This was the second 12 hour race in a 3-part series put on by one of our favorite race promoters – Jason Ranoa. The first race was in January and the third race will be in November. We lucked out for this race as temperatures were very mild and Jason set out a fun course.

The Troupe team had 3 solo riders, Mykyta, Damon and myself, a men’s team composed of Tom, Kevin, Ben and Roy, and a women’s team composed of Michelle, Laura, Monica and Mary.

We all arrived bright and early to set up a pit along the course, which was near the pool area at Vail Lake. After lugging our stuff from our cars to the pit, which felt like miles, we got the gear ready, did final bike tune-ups and prepared all our bottles for the upcoming long day. I was already tired and the race had not begun.

The race started on time at 9am and the pace was fast. Several pros, such as Tinker Juarez and John “Fuzzy” Mylne, were pushing everyone. This combined with a fast course and cool temps made for fast lap times. Most in the sport, expert and pro classes, whether on a team or solo, were pushing lap times between 40 to 55 minutes.

For the first 4 laps, my lap times were around 50 minutes. I’m not sure why I felt so good, but figured I’d take advantage of it and try to get a lead on my competitors. I didn’t recognize any names in my class, which was the solo master 40+, so I had no idea who my competition was. After the 5th lap I checked results to find out I was in 2nd by about 1 minute. The battle had begun. In fact, at one point in the race, 1st and 2nd were within 10 seconds of each other, with me leading. I then lost my lead when I went over the bars on a soft and loose downhill section. These kind of things happen after you’ve been on the bike for 6+ hours. Luckily, I did not get hurt, but did have to make some minor bike repairs, which caused me to lose some time.

During races you sometimes only know people by there number plate, so I only knew this mystery 2nd place racer by his number, which was 157. I keep asking my team, has any seen 157. It turned out that 157 was pitting right next to us and his name was Alex. When we stopped to rest between laps, I could gauge how Alex was feeling. I overhead Alex say he was cramping so I figured that if I keep moving, I could retake 1st and build a lead. During the middle of the day, the weather warmed and my lap times slowed. Also, nothing I ate was satisfying. It didn’t help that the start and finish was near the pool area, so each time I finished a lap I saw people frolicking in a cool and refreshing pool – that was painful.

As the sun started to set I got a second wind and felt much better. During the race I saw some of my teammates, Tom, Damon, Roy and Ben. I tried to ride with them when possible. I saw Ben twice, the first time when he passed me and the second time when he crashed. Unfortunately, the crash turned out to be a bad one and Ben had to drive himself to the hospital for stitches. Our 4-man team was no a 3-man team by default.

I never saw Mykyta who was also riding solo until the last lap, which we rode together. Mykyta and I had tentative plans to ride together and push each other. He has been racing well all year so I knew he could push me. We finally met up and rode together during our last lap.

The race ended for me at about 8:15pm with 11 laps in 11:13 hours. Mykyta, Tom and I all finished our last lap together – which was fun. There was no time to do a 12th lap. After finishing I checked results and it turned out that I was in 1st place. Other Troupers also did well – Damon placed 2nd in the solo Clydesdale class and our Women’s team came in 3rd in their class. Mykyta and our men’s team all had respective finishes. After getting cleaned up and packing the cars, we all hung out in the cool summer night, to enjoy the raffle and awards ceremony. Another successful race in the books for the Troupe team.