Yes, I know, the Chupacabras is a animal/monster that sucks blood from sheep, but the Chupacabras 100KM is a mountain bike race held in Ciudad Juarez in the state of Chihuahua (Mexico) that sucks the energey from mountain bikers. This is a HUGE race. This year they broke last year's record with over 3500 racers.
PRE-RACE
This was my first time doing it so I didn't know anything about the course. I decided to go do it since my friend Jay said he was doing it (and signed up for it) but then chickened out at the last minute (He had a good excuse though - watching his son play in a soccer tournament). As luck would have it, Jay and I stayed with a friend (Danny) of his that was racing, so at least I had some company.
Danny and his wife Liz (and Jay) gave me the scoop on the race and the course. The only thing I really got out of it is to be careful on the Levee and the long hike-a-bike section. The morning of the race, Danny got me in the front chute (which made a big difference) using somebody else's name. The rule is that the top 100 finishers from the previous year get to line up in the front chute, but this was a rule that was only followed for about 20 minutes, then everybody was jumping over and lining up wherever they could find space for their bikes. I was still in the 3rd or 4th row by the time the race started.
Danny and I were both lined up about 7:45 AM... the race started at 9 AM, which meant not much of a warm up. I wanted to get a good start since the race went straight into the levee after 1/2 mile or so.
THE START
When the gun went off, I was bit careful, but moved up pretty quickly. I was in the top 20 by the time we hit the levee. I stayed near the front, but the main pack was moving rather slowly - probably around 17-18 mph. I was getting pushed back so I decided to go to the front, take a pull for a minute or two and warm up the legs. I pulled for about 30 seconds and looked back thinking somebody would come around but there was nobody there. Pack was about 30 meters behind me, so I decided to keep going. Pace felt comfortable.
I was off the front by myself for about 10 minutes and built a lead of about 200 meters. Finally, 2 other riders bridged up to me, then 5 more came across. The 9 man break worked really well together and everybody was drilling it. I pulled when it was my turn, but wasn't overly anxious to do to much pulling, we still had 55 miles to go. When we got off the levee into some single/double track section, we were still together but only 4 or 5 of us were working, the rest were struggling to keep up. We finally got back on the levee and this is were we were caught by the Pros - two Italians, Emmanual (from Turbo, a professional mexican team) and a Trek-VW riders. The Trek-VW rider had some mechanical about 1 mile later and never saw him again. Not sure if he finished or not.
We had to "cyclocross" across a couple of railroad ties and this is where the pros dropped me like a hammer ...'Adios amigos!!'.
INLAND WE GO
We finally stared going inland - after over 20 miles - which meant climbing was about to begin. The course is fairly flat with just over 3,000 ft. of climbing - good for me!! We went through a very poor neighborhood with dogs all over the place, and I was still in the top 10. Once we hit the first real climb - steep and loose - but short, more fast guys were catching up with me. My initial goal was top 100, but after talking to Danny and Liz, my goal dropped to top 50, so I was in great shape.
Just before the King Kong steps (the first hike-a-bike) we went though a feed area that also had a microphone and probably a hundred or so fans just encouraging the racers. The announcer was telling every rider their position, which I thought was very cool. I was 18th. Maybe I could get a top 20????
I had done the first 35 miles in just under 2 hours - OFF ROAD!! I was moving pretty good. I got passed by a few other riders and by the time I hit the King Kong steps, I was 24th. Maybe I could get a top 25???? :-)
The steps turned into a 7 minute hike-a-bike - not bad. Danny and Jay had told me that the hike-a-bike section was 20-30 minutes long and I thought they were full of it since it took me about 7 minutes. The next section was fun downhill singletrack through a wash. I w
as catching people on the technical sections, but it was hard to pass. At one point, I tried to pass another rider in the wash only to realize that the trail went in another direction. I had to stop, catch the same rider and finally pass him... AGAIN!!
Another feed zone, with fans and sound system --- 22nd!!
"THE" HIKE A BIKE
I realize that the steps was not the section that Danny and Jay had mentioned when I saw the climb. This is a brutal, rocky, loose, steep and long section that is 100% UNRIDEABLE. It climbs about 500 ft. in about 1/4-1/2 mile and took me about 35 minutes. Got passed by a few riders .... need to practice hiking while carrying my bike before next year's race. I had new shoes that I had only worn twice before this event and never really walked in them. I thought cycling shoes were for CYCLING!! not hiking. WTF??!!?
Once at the top, then come the other half of the WTF??!!? La Bajada del Diablo (transalation: the Devil's downhill). Ummm? I wonder if it's technical? I stopped to retighten my shoes at the top - a rider goes by and about 30 yards down, he goes down really hard. There's my answer. It is a bit technical. I was riding well on the downhills, and didn't have any issues. I missed one switchback were I had to dab and also walked the last 20 yards due to another one that was followed with a very steep section with big boulders at the bottom. Too old for that shit - I can walk.
THE FINISH
I ended up catching a couple of riders once we hit the dirt roads again, but the last little climb - called the Terminator - did me in. My legs didn't want to keep going. I lost contact with the two, then another rider that I had dropped just about 2 miles ago, caught and I couldn't stay on his wheel. My legs were done. I rode the last 5 miles at a decent pace, not too slow, but didn't have much umph!! in them. I finished the 64 miles in 4:46 - I'm pretty sure I finished around 25th place. Final posting are not in yet. Danny came in about 5 minutes later probably right around 30th place.
POST RACE
This is a big event, with all sorts of drinks, food, vendors at the finish. Top 650 finishers get a jersey, so if you think you can finish 100 km in less than 6:30 hours, you get a jersey. I stongly recommend anyone thinking about to come out and do it. The course is fun (mostly) with only 3000 ft. of elevation gain. I had lots of fun. We parked the cars in El Paso and rode our bikes across the border to the park. About a 1.5 mile ride. If you come, remember to bring proof of citizenship so you can get back into the US. Many thanks to Danny and Liz for taking such good care of me.
Next up is another 100 km race this Saturday in Ensenada. Thanks for reading!!
PRE-RACE
This was my first time doing it so I didn't know anything about the course. I decided to go do it since my friend Jay said he was doing it (and signed up for it) but then chickened out at the last minute (He had a good excuse though - watching his son play in a soccer tournament). As luck would have it, Jay and I stayed with a friend (Danny) of his that was racing, so at least I had some company.
Danny and his wife Liz (and Jay) gave me the scoop on the race and the course. The only thing I really got out of it is to be careful on the Levee and the long hike-a-bike section. The morning of the race, Danny got me in the front chute (which made a big difference) using somebody else's name. The rule is that the top 100 finishers from the previous year get to line up in the front chute, but this was a rule that was only followed for about 20 minutes, then everybody was jumping over and lining up wherever they could find space for their bikes. I was still in the 3rd or 4th row by the time the race started.
Danny and I were both lined up about 7:45 AM... the race started at 9 AM, which meant not much of a warm up. I wanted to get a good start since the race went straight into the levee after 1/2 mile or so.
THE START
When the gun went off, I was bit careful, but moved up pretty quickly. I was in the top 20 by the time we hit the levee. I stayed near the front, but the main pack was moving rather slowly - probably around 17-18 mph. I was getting pushed back so I decided to go to the front, take a pull for a minute or two and warm up the legs. I pulled for about 30 seconds and looked back thinking somebody would come around but there was nobody there. Pack was about 30 meters behind me, so I decided to keep going. Pace felt comfortable.
I was off the front by myself for about 10 minutes and built a lead of about 200 meters. Finally, 2 other riders bridged up to me, then 5 more came across. The 9 man break worked really well together and everybody was drilling it. I pulled when it was my turn, but wasn't overly anxious to do to much pulling, we still had 55 miles to go. When we got off the levee into some single/double track section, we were still together but only 4 or 5 of us were working, the rest were struggling to keep up. We finally got back on the levee and this is were we were caught by the Pros - two Italians, Emmanual (from Turbo, a professional mexican team) and a Trek-VW riders. The Trek-VW rider had some mechanical about 1 mile later and never saw him again. Not sure if he finished or not.
We had to "cyclocross" across a couple of railroad ties and this is where the pros dropped me like a hammer ...'Adios amigos!!'.
INLAND WE GO
We finally stared going inland - after over 20 miles - which meant climbing was about to begin. The course is fairly flat with just over 3,000 ft. of climbing - good for me!! We went through a very poor neighborhood with dogs all over the place, and I was still in the top 10. Once we hit the first real climb - steep and loose - but short, more fast guys were catching up with me. My initial goal was top 100, but after talking to Danny and Liz, my goal dropped to top 50, so I was in great shape.
Just before the King Kong steps (the first hike-a-bike) we went though a feed area that also had a microphone and probably a hundred or so fans just encouraging the racers. The announcer was telling every rider their position, which I thought was very cool. I was 18th. Maybe I could get a top 20????
I had done the first 35 miles in just under 2 hours - OFF ROAD!! I was moving pretty good. I got passed by a few other riders and by the time I hit the King Kong steps, I was 24th. Maybe I could get a top 25???? :-)
The steps turned into a 7 minute hike-a-bike - not bad. Danny and Jay had told me that the hike-a-bike section was 20-30 minutes long and I thought they were full of it since it took me about 7 minutes. The next section was fun downhill singletrack through a wash. I w
as catching people on the technical sections, but it was hard to pass. At one point, I tried to pass another rider in the wash only to realize that the trail went in another direction. I had to stop, catch the same rider and finally pass him... AGAIN!!Another feed zone, with fans and sound system --- 22nd!!
"THE" HIKE A BIKE
I realize that the steps was not the section that Danny and Jay had mentioned when I saw the climb. This is a brutal, rocky, loose, steep and long section that is 100% UNRIDEABLE. It climbs about 500 ft. in about 1/4-1/2 mile and took me about 35 minutes. Got passed by a few riders .... need to practice hiking while carrying my bike before next year's race. I had new shoes that I had only worn twice before this event and never really walked in them. I thought cycling shoes were for CYCLING!! not hiking. WTF??!!?
Once at the top, then come the other half of the WTF??!!? La Bajada del Diablo (transalation: the Devil's downhill). Ummm? I wonder if it's technical? I stopped to retighten my shoes at the top - a rider goes by and about 30 yards down, he goes down really hard. There's my answer. It is a bit technical. I was riding well on the downhills, and didn't have any issues. I missed one switchback were I had to dab and also walked the last 20 yards due to another one that was followed with a very steep section with big boulders at the bottom. Too old for that shit - I can walk.
THE FINISH
I ended up catching a couple of riders once we hit the dirt roads again, but the last little climb - called the Terminator - did me in. My legs didn't want to keep going. I lost contact with the two, then another rider that I had dropped just about 2 miles ago, caught and I couldn't stay on his wheel. My legs were done. I rode the last 5 miles at a decent pace, not too slow, but didn't have much umph!! in them. I finished the 64 miles in 4:46 - I'm pretty sure I finished around 25th place. Final posting are not in yet. Danny came in about 5 minutes later probably right around 30th place.
POST RACE
This is a big event, with all sorts of drinks, food, vendors at the finish. Top 650 finishers get a jersey, so if you think you can finish 100 km in less than 6:30 hours, you get a jersey. I stongly recommend anyone thinking about to come out and do it. The course is fun (mostly) with only 3000 ft. of elevation gain. I had lots of fun. We parked the cars in El Paso and rode our bikes across the border to the park. About a 1.5 mile ride. If you come, remember to bring proof of citizenship so you can get back into the US. Many thanks to Danny and Liz for taking such good care of me.
Next up is another 100 km race this Saturday in Ensenada. Thanks for reading!!
1 comment:
Great way to start your south of the border hat-trick. Good Luck in Ensenada!
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