Harpeth Bicycles Racing team members Jonathan Woody and Nathan Taylor, and potential D-Squad member Gabrielle Woody participated in this year’s Lock 4 Six Hour Challenge on November 14th. The conditions couldn’t have been better for a race, especially compared to the rainy week preceding the original race date of September 5th. Sunny, cloudless skies, and temperatures quickly rising to 60 degrees made it easy to get motivated for this event.
Jonathan, Gabrielle, and I registered as a 3 person relay team, as it was our first race and we weren’t sure what to expect. Our plan was to have me do the Le Mans start and first lap, followed by Jonathan, and then Gabrielle. This would give us each at least two laps on the 9 mile loop. 
My first lap time was 58:45. The trail was smooth and fast with a layer of fallen leaves that was quickly being mulched into dust by all the racers. I exceeded my threshold a few times on the short climbs near the lake and had to slow to let some of the faster racers pass.
Jonathan’s first lap was 53:05. He had both of our fastest laps of the day and definitely held the position of anchor for our team.
Gabrielle officially turned a 1:02:44 for her first lap, but Jonathan and I waited too long at the pit area before going to look for her, so we missed her at the Airplane Field Trailhead. Once we realized that she had already gone past, we relocated to the road crossing and waited there. A few minutes later we got word that she had finished her lap, couldn’t find her team, and started a second lap! Luckily, we were able to find her only a half a mile or so inside the trail and make a trailside relay transition.
My second lap time was 1:05:24, which included all of the time that we wasted by botching the transition. I took it easier on the short climbs so I didn’t spike my heart rate, and felt a lot more consistent throughout. By this point in the race the “fast” line was clearly visible through the leaves. 
Jonathan pulled a 50:28 minute lap for his second. Every time we saw him at one of the traileads, he was cranking hard and not looking up. He pushed the last section of trail fairly hard and almost overcooked the dry turn into the trail following the first road crossing. Gabrielle and I waited at the transition area so we didn’t miss Jonathan and it was clear that he was done after this second lap. 
Gabrielle finished out our sixth lap of the day with a 1:05:29 time. She crossed under the inflatable Red Bull banner with five minutes to spare!
Our cumulative time and lap count (6) was good enough for second out of fourth place in the 3-person “Just Having Fun” category. Racing two laps each (Close to 19 miles) didn’t seem like much when compared to the 8 laps that some of the solo racers were able to turn, but it was enough that I felt it the next day.
Originally published on www.harpethracing.com copyright Harpeth Bicycles Racing Team 2009 all rights reserved.
Additional race day photos here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nathanrtaylor/sets/72157622693747411/
