Racing the 12 Hours of Santos

Racing mountain bikes is fun. Racing mountain bikes on a four-man team for 12 hours is even more fun.  I've done these types of races before but admittedly it has been many years since I have participated in one. That all changed when my buddy Thomas texted me a few weeks before the “12 Hours of Santos” and asked if I wanted to be on a team. I had no hesitation!

My bike racing history dates back to the BMX tracks New Jersey. In college at the University of Florida, I rode for the Florida road cycling team. After college, I didn't get back into competitive cycling until my late twenties when I picked up mountain bike racing. I absolutely fell in love with it. There's nothing like pushing your body while navigating technical trails. It is fully engaging… both mind and body. 

We had our four-man team all set until one of our members defected to another team to cover for someone who had dislocated his shoulder in an event a few weeks before. Enter my son, Dawson.  Dawson has been riding cross country with me in order to train for slopestyle (slopestyle is basically a downhill event with a series of jumps where riders are judged on their aerial tricks and form). 

My son Dawson, at his first 12 hours mountain bike event

Dawson has done a few races over the years. I put him in some cross country mountain bike races when he was young.  When he was around 10 years old, he did a few seasons of cyclocross. He proved to be very natural at both cross country racing and cyclocross, but he never got too serious about those disciplines. He has fun with BMX, even winning a National race in his first year of racing, but his passion lies with slopestyle. I knew Dawson had a great engine when he could pretty much out-sprint me when he was 12 years old. The kid has amazing fast twitch muscles.  To say the least, I was beyond stoked to be racing a 12 hour team event with my son.  He and I both got more excited as the event drew closer.  

What I love about the format of these team races is it can be ultra competitive or just a fun, all day event. Our view was pretty much a mix of both. All of us on the team are competitive, but none of us wanted the pressure of getting very serious about it. In this team mountain bike event, teammates basically tag-team as each comes into the start/finish area, also known as the transition.  A small device is carried that has a computer chip for electronic timing.  After putting it on an arm, the next rider heads out for his lap. It’s a day of hanging out and relaxing, riding hard, then hanging out again. If it sounds like fun, it is! 

Chilling out between laps is part of the fun of these events

The race was on a Saturday, and we began at 10:00 a.m.  The beginning of the race is a Le Mans start, which means the first rider runs about a quarter mile to their bike. Since he is a fast runner, we chose our teammate Tyler to do the running portion. Tyler’s speed on his feet proved later to be vital to our team surviving that day.

Watching a pack of mountain bikers clad in spandex and clogging along a run in thick-soled mountain bike shoes is a site to behold.  As the pack of runners approached the bike staging area, Tyler emerged in fifth position. A great start to our day!  As Tyler headed off on his lap, the three of us–Thomas, Dawson, and I–headed back to our makeshift camp for the day to rest. We knew the lap times were going to be around 40 minutes, which gave us plenty of time to relax and recover. And that's one of the things I really enjoy about these types of events.  This cadence of pushing hard for the team and then resting at camp and socializing is what I love about this style of event.  The Florida warm weather and sunny skies provided the perfect backdrop.

The 12 Hours of Santos is a Le Mans start, which means the first rider runs to their bike

After Tyler had been out for about 20 minutes, I started to get ready. I suited up, packed my jersey with an energy bar and tools, and made sure my water bottle was on the bike. I warmed up for a few minutes and then headed over to the transition area. Fortunately we could see riders on course about a minute before they came through the transition. The three of us watched and waited for Tyler to come through. Anticipation was high! A few very fast riders came by which was to be expected. Then, more and more riders came through…that was unexpected. "Thomas, how fast is Tyler?" I asked. "Faster than me!" was his response. Uh-oh. This is not good.

After waiting about 15 minutes, I finally asked a racer coming through the transition if she had seen someone with a mechanical problem. "Yes, a young guy with an orange kit was walking his bike on the trail.” Snap! That was Tyler. Tyler finally rolled, or actually ran, through the transition area, about 20 minutes behind schedule. Tyler ended up hitting his rear derailleur on a root a few miles into the course. At first he thought he ran two or three miles; later we calculated it was more like five or six miles of the 10 mile course!  As Tyler was the fastest runner on our team, all of us were actually glad it was him and not us.

Tyler’s rear derailleur suffered catastrophic failure a few miles into the race

I headed out on my first lap, determined to have fun and enjoy the day no matter our position. The course that the race directors put together had a lot of variety with a nice mix of slow, technical terrain and fast flowy sections.  For those who have never ridden Santos trails in Ocala, Florida, it’s a very unique trail system with over 70 miles of trail.  It also has great variety, from long flowy trails, to jump areas, to the technical and rocky trails located around the Vortex area.  The race used these technical trails in various sections of the 10 mile race loop.  It was a good challenge to ride technical trails, jump onto a smoother flow trail, and then back onto a technical bit.

Thomas, aka the bearded Canadian, finishing a strong lap

Six hours into the race, each of us had done one lap apiece. It was some time at that point that Thomas came into camp and announced that we were in second place. We were a bit stunned, to say the least. It turns out, all of us were putting in fast and very similar lap times. I was especially impressed with Dawson, who was clearly stronger than his former 12-year-old racing self! He was having a blast and coming back smiling after each of his laps. When he puts his mind to it, he can be very fast on a cross country mountain bike.

Thomas hands Dawson the small baton containing a chip for timing. It has an elastic band that we wore on our arm.

Heading into the second half of the race, each of us continued to put in solid, consistent lap times.  I was impressed with how strong our team was riding.  As with any race, fatigue starts to set in, but the adrenaline of being on a race course with hundreds of other riders keeps the motivation high.  Throughout the day the atmosphere was competitive yet festive as we shared the love of riding on great trails in great weather.

Dawson smiled a lot during this event. The lower pressure team-style event proved to be his style of XC racing.

We anticipated that each of us on the team would need to ride a night lap. By the time you start your night lap on a course like this, you know it very well, which really helps in the dark! Throwing lights on a bike and riding in the complete darkness is quite an experience that turns a familiar trail into one that seems somewhat unfamiliar. Besides, it's not often we get to ride our mountain bikes at night. So the night-riding novelty ups the fun factor.

Sweet trails and festive vibe…the 12 hours of Santos is a great day on the bike

My night lap was a minute or two slower than my day laps. I could have been riding more cautiously or the fact that I was getting a bit tired. It's one thing to push yourself hard for a classic two-hour race. It's another thing to do a hard lap, then let down, then go do it again.  Dawson was fourth position on our team to start his lap, which means he was also the last one to complete the night lap and finish out the race, which we did just before 10:00 PM. 

Dawson and Thomas

After 12 hours of our four-man relay, we were able to hold second place. Had we not had our mechanical, first place would have been a possibility. But that's bike racing for you! Mountain biking, and especially mountain bike racing, is about having fun and overcoming challenges.  This race proved that no matter what the trail throws your way, no matter what obstacles you face, all  you can do is keep a good attitude, overcome, and maybe run it in!  Part of the adventure is not knowing what's going to happen, and that's what keeps us coming back for more.  Remember, no matter what your adventure…racing or not racing, don’t just live…explore!

Dawson finished his night lap strong to bring the team home!