Sacrifice (Rain) Fly
For the first time, I showed up at Rapelje the day before, on Friday evening, to set up my camp. When I got there, I was one of the first people. Set up in a good spot, right next to Team Muleterro. All signs pointed to rain, and soon, but I needed to get a run in for Kip, so I took off up the course.By the time I got to the top of the first long, straight road away from town, I turned around and it looked like it was raining on Rapelje already, so going back meant going right into the rain. No choice but to turn East and see what happens.
What happened was rain. Quite a bit. Right at the end of the lap, around the scum pond area. Trashed the bike, and got my traditional Rapelje Gumbo Lap out of the way. My hope: that I sacrificed one for the team, and that as a result on Sat & Sun the course would stay dry.
Running Start
Another 1st: I ran a bit to start the race. Usually I walk the Le Mans style start, where you have to run 100 meters or so to your bike. I've been playing soccer lately though, and reffing, so I jogged and got off to a pretty good mid pack start. The course was in great shape, taller grass than usual, and lots of cowprints and super diarrehea everywhere, but every year we stay at the same loop it gets better and better. 59 min flat for the first lap, then a food break. I am trying to stay more on top of my food and water intake this year, so after every lap I made sure to hydrate and get some calories in.
Another lap at 59 min. Then one at an hour flat.
Racing a Fattie
Shrek (my Trek Fatbike with Hed carbon wheels) was a great choice for the course. There were some other fatbikes there as well. Saw two or three traditional ones, and two or three others fitted with 29+ wheelsets. I think that in the future, that will be a growing approach for people: a fattie with normal wheels for the winter or adventures, and a second 29+ wheelset for fast rides and races. As for Shrek, I was glad to have the 4" tires; there are a lot of sections where the cowprints are rock hard, creating a singletrack with a reverse cobblestone patter, as if you took out the cobblestones and just left the divets. By the end of the race, it was a lot smoother, but for the first sixteen hours or so the extra width, running tubeless at around 7.5psi, really took the edge off.
Also, there are sections where the fat tires are a distinct advantage. Rapelje has a few little DH sections, and the last one is the most serious; it's a small section, but it's a rollicking, wild ride down from a small ridge to the valley floor, where the track runs straight as an arrow across the valley floor for at least 500 meters or so. The big wheels hold the momentum from the DH really well, I could roll across the valley floor on momentum alone and catch people who where steadily pedaling along. There are also long stretches of double track straightaways where the fatbike seems to pedal and roll really well, with surprising efficiency.
Intermezzo
The rains came in the early evening. It looked really bad from camp, so I headed home to Absarokee to clean the bike, shower, and drink some chicken broth. When I got back about three hours later, the skies looked really bad, but on the ground it seemed nice. My neighbors at Muleterro said that the track was running great, and I saw people coming in for timing nice and clean. So I felt silly for leaving, and hurried back out. Track was great. 57:30. Big break to hook up my new lights. There was a problem with the shipping, so they came late. I had to set them up for the first time that night, in the dark. Luckily, the Fenix BT20 lights are easy to use, and the setup went smoothly, and I took off.
Night Fever
My first night lap was by far my worst. I couldn't get my temp right, and I was stuck in a empty spot in the circuit, with no other lights around, super lonely, I just wasn't feeling it. I turned on some tunes, and that made all the difference. Having music at night is sweet. I put the phone on my chest strap, and used the speakers. Headphones suck and have potential safety issues. The speakers are just the opposite. People can both see and hear you coming, but they are quiet enough you can also hear trail and traffic noises. Anyway, the music shook off the doldrums and the sandman, and I was cruising again.Three laps in a row: 1:10, 1:05, 1:08. Then sleep.
Coffee Run
Filled up the water bottles with butter coffee, and headed out. I felt great. 55 min flat. Great surprise at the pits when Yokie and Rose showed up, with smiles, beautiful outfits, and more coffee. So, filled up again, and went all in on my last lap. 51 minutes 42 seconds. That beats my previous best by about twenty seconds, though I've never timed it as accurately as I can now with Strava. And my previous best was on an efficient full suspension XC machine (Trek Top Fuel 69er), so doing a faster lap on a rigid bike that cost about half what my old one did was a great feeling. 
Thanks
Nine laps, 104.2 miles, 9 hours 22 minutes in the saddle, and at one point I went 28.2 mph (must have been on the steep DH section). My most mileage at Rapelje ever. Couldn't have done it without the support of Yokie and Rose. They've always been there for me this year, putting up with me taking off for whole days. And my dad came up from Albuquerque. He drove up here on a BMW motorcycle with Ratso, his half Chihuahua half Jack Russel dog stuck on the back of the scooter (pics later). Too cute man. It was his second year in a row at Rapelje, and it's a great treat to have him there. This year I had more energy, and my bike was running better, so he didn't have much to do, but it's great to have a friendly face back at the pits.
Also thanks to the Muleterro guys. I met Dan and Sam, and camped next to them, and I couldn't have asked for a nicer, cooler couple of dudes to have for neighbors. And the fact that they were clearly smoking me in the same solo class kept me motivated to get back out every time. Sam did 13 laps, on a cool 29er that he welded (or brazed - not good at that vocab). Dan was on a Mukluk Ti, cool bike, with 29+ wheels. He was way faster than me until he hit his head hard on that widowmaker tree in the cool techy rocky section. Really stoked to meet him because he's coming out next week to SD for the 100 miler as well, so it will be great to have some MT guys out there with me. Something tells me he'll be way ahead of me during the race, but it's still nice to have somebody you know out on the course.
And, as always, thanks to Rapelje and all the racers. For those who have never been, it's a really unique race, with a cool vibe, that is tough to describe but a real joy to experience.
Thanks to all!!! See you next year.