Marathon Crash Race 2 Promo from Warren Kommers on Vimeo.
I had the extremely fortunate opportunity of being able to attend my first Hustle Race with some fellow Irvine Ridazz. I did not sleep the entire night, playing Black Ops to stay awake untill 2am, when we left for Tangs Donuts in Silverlake (hipster capital of LA). We parked nearby Tangs in a nondescript neighborhood off of Sunset and Fountain, evading armies of police towtrucks hauling off any cars in the way of the marathon route. It was freezing cold -I had only brought a shortsleeve jersey plus armwarmers- and I could feel my muscles cramping up. The scene at Tangs was confusion, 300+ cyclists with every imaginable bike setup milled about on the street and in the parking lot, trying to stay warm. I recognized the organizer, Hern, from photos on LA Fixed, and inquired about registration. He simply handed me a sticker from one of the race sponsors. Assuming that was the registration itself, I tried staying warm while waiting for the start.
(The only actual evidence that I attended. -red jersey on the right)
Right at 4AM, the rolling start took off winding up to Dodger Stadium. The first few miles was a death race, barriers, cones, cars and trucks busy setting up the course blocked all but one lane in most cases. Sprinting ahead to the relative safety of the lead pack, I was fortunate not to crash out on the slick asphalt from intermittent sprinkling. I was staying with the top 20 the entire time, untill a series of steep hill climbs let a small group of 6 roadies and 2 fixies break away. I stayed in the chase group the rest of the race, which was mostly downhill/straight, and let me took advantage of my single speed 3.5:1 gear ratio. The 25 miles to Santa Monica was almost a blur, highlighted by occasional dismounting and jumping over barriers. Near the last 5 miles, there were only about 4 other riders in the chase group, and we took turns drafting, which meant gallons of spray in my face from the wet roads. Finally, at San Vincente Blvd, the last 2 miles were completley downhill to the beach, and it was only a Ritte team rider and myself left. I had no idea what the route was or where the finish was, so I relied on following the Ritte guy to not get lost. Finally I saw the finish in the distance and we had a healthy sprint to the line where I was ahead by a little more than a bike length. I have no idea what the official results were until the finish line video gets posted, but im sure I got at least the top 15. At the finish, there were maybe a dozen people hanging around, most of them with super high end road bikes. It was exactly 5:00AM when i finished, and the majority of the riders had finished by 5:30.
Right after the finish, the sky opened up, drenching everyone and our bikes. The organizers held the podium ceremony under a tree; JTR on a road bike took first overall, with 2 fixed riders from AZ taking second and third overall. I didn't stick around much longer, since I was cold and wet, and took refuge in a packed starbucks with other riders, untill my ride came. All in all, great ride, and I can't wait untill next year.
Some great photo sets:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikeywally/sets/72157626322865242/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/42813603@N04/sets/72157626312860606/with/5545125141/
http://midnightridazz.com/artist.php?artistId=954
