Riley and I made the long drive 6 hour from Kirkland Lake to the Sault. The preride was promising with lots of hard packed singletrack and fast double track for a total of just over 10km.
On race day, the weather looked promising for the 94 riders. I rode the first 2 laps at a reasonable 4th overall. 'lil Ringer took the tag for the 3rd lap. Unfortunately a few minutes later I heard the PA announce that team 133 had a mechanical. SHIT! That's our team.
I quickly catch up to Riley and work on his bike for a few minutes to get it rideable again. He had lightly hit his derailleur/hander and the chain was getting thrown into the spokes. Riley and I completed the 3rd lap together and then I wrenched on both bikes for a bit (my crankset tensioning bolt was coming out - not a good sign).
I head out for another 2 laps. My best time for the day is about 32 min with the overall race average for all participants being close to 45 min. Riley completes his 2nd lap (our 6th) with a very respectable time of 55 min despite stopping to adjust his camelback and to get a drink of water from a checkpoint, and a crash.
I start our team's 7th lap and within 20 feet I knew something was wrong. The stupid crankset tensioning bolt had come undone and the non-drive crankarm was almost off the BB! Unfortunately, the pinch-bolt system on the non drive arm has stretched over the years and couldn't hold the axle anymore. It was pushing against the tensioning bolt which is not designed to be a structural member (being aluminum). Obviously FSA knew of this issue was they changed the deign of their Gossamer crankset set after only a couple of years on the market.
After a lot of waffling around, I decide to risk it and pour on the loctite to the tensioning bolt to try and get one last lap with Riley. Thankfully the crank held and Riley put in a smoking 51 min lap. That's only 19 minute slower than my best time. His total of 30 km is quite respectable as well.
So despite the mechanicals, be both enjoyed the day. The singletrack was extensive 70% and LOTS of fun.
Riley got lots of swag and even an interview from a local publication:
Unfortunately, due to the mechanicals we had to skip the final planned stop in Sudbury.
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2 comments:
WICKED!
Good job Fritz & Lil' Ring!
good to see your little fella keeping the action going strong!
keep'r going fella!
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