NCOM Race Review: Things went Well!

No Country for Old Men (NCOM) is a bicycle endurance challenge based out of Ft. Davis, Texas. The event started Saturday October 16, 2021 in Jeff Davis County Park and featured a beautiful 75-mile Davis Mountain loop course. The event had different mileage options, 150, 225, 375, and 525 which were all non-drafting. There were also solo and team divisions as well. Each of these challenges also offered the availability to have a crew, that could follow you leapfrog style during the day and directly follow at night. Both the 525 and 375 were also Race Across America qualifiers. This event also offered a 75-mile (one lap) mass start/draft legal “road race” style on Sunday, which Emily took advantage of.

NCOM

The magical Loop

Part of the route

In deciding on which race I wanted to sign up for I took into consideration RAW and the complexity of the logistics. What NCOM offered was the ability to ride a 75-mile looped course and not have to rely on 5 wonderful family and friends to travel 18.5 hrs to help support me. I wanted to choose a mileage that wouldn't take me into the depths of night. I also took into consideration my strengths and wanted to do a race that allowed me to not only finish but have a good result. After consideration, I decided to sign up for the 225-mile option. Emily vouched for the Sunday draft legal 75-mile race. I actually had signed up for the 75-mile race as well but didn't know if I would feel up for it after racing 225 miles the day prior. In regards to gear, I pretty much had 98% of the things I needed in order to be successful. The route did provide neutral water support at mile 35, but I didn't want to stop each time and/or leave any bottles there. So I reached out to my buddy Mike and he allowed me to borrow his seat post bottle holder. Now I had 4 bottles at my disposal and was set. On Thursday morning October 14th at 3:30AM we left for Ft. Davis Texas.

After 18.5 hrs. of driving, we arrived late Thursday night and settled into our Airbnb which wasn't far from Ft. Davis and the start/finish line. We like to choose Airbnb because of the at-home feel, and they provide you with all the amenities that you would normally have at home as well. This post is by no means sponsored by Airbnb, but we have had great success with them. This one in particular offered a couple of different telescopes. I knew that Ft. Davis was home to the University of Texas McDonald Observatory but had no idea just how spectacular of an area it was for star viewing. One of the race supporters described the ambient light to be "North Korean" like. This allows for optimal star viewing. The Friday night before the race I took out our host's telescope. Using my phone to locate planets I focused on what was Jupiter. At first, I thought something was on the lens, but quickly realized I was not only looking at Jupiter but also a handful of its moons! This moment made me feel like a spec and reminded me just how microscopic we are to the grand picture.

Jupiter and some moons

Elevation Profile

Saturday morning arrived and it was time to race. The morning was a bit colder than my previous ultra race, about 70 degrees colder. It was roughly 45 degrees to start the morning and I opted for just a light jacket with no gloves or leg warmers. I knew that I would warm up fast and didn't want to deal with all the layers for 75 miles. As you can see from the elevation profile above the first 15 - 18 miles is a steady incline. I knew that I needed to get my pacing correct and that this would allow for a nice steady start. The day called for a light breeze out of the SE but other than that it was perfect weather. This breeze actually helped a lot on this first open climb each lap around. For the remainder of the course, my Garmin 1030 would show 5 total "Major" climbs. Each of these climbs would pop up for me and allow me to know how far up I was on each of them. This was such a great tool and a great motivation to know exactly where you were.

Things were going perfectly, with my first 75-mile lap finishing in just under four hours. I want to point out that my goal going into the race was to finish within 15 hrs and average around 200 watts total. Emily helped get me more water and supplies and I was in and out within two minutes if even that. NASCAR ain't got nothing on Emily! For this race, I switched up my diet to all water/liquid. Four bottles of water mixed with GU powder each containing about 80 grams of carbs. My goal was to drink one per hour supplementing this with SiS Nutrition Isotonic energy gels every 30 - 45 min. This was roughly 100 grams of carbs an hr. This turned out to be the correct cocktail and while I desired some solid food, it kept me fueled perfectly with only minimal stomach issues.

Lap two found some trouble, however. Thankfully at the 35-mile mark and the water station, I realized I had a front tire going flat. Now I think their names are more than this but all I can remember is them stating their last names were Porter. Regardless this father and son duo saved me. They helped me change the tube and get me back on the road. During this time Thomas Miller, who was in 2nd place, was able to catch up. What is so awesome about cycling is my competition offered his stash of tubes and C02 cartridges to me as well. Such a friendly sport. The Porter family got me back on the road and I was able to ride with Thomas for a few minutes. Thomas told me he had never ridden two hundred miles before and this would be his first. I was super stoked for him!

Thankfully my tire held up and I rolled into the start/finish completing lap two. I told Emily what happened and she worked on the water while I swapped the front wheelset out. I had lost trust in that tire/tube and started fresh with a whole new wheel. It was determined that Emily would meet me at the waterpoint and provide direct follow support for the third and final lap. This was just much safer and allowed her to have the supplies in case I were to flat at night. I slipped on my jacket and was off, with only about 5 min. in the transition area. Just before I left Thomas was arriving looking good!

It was uneventful (thankfully) all the way to mile 185 where I met up with Emily just as the sun was going down. The video above is her following me on climb 1/5. After the sun went down it was extremely nice to have the lights of the truck behind me. This allowed me to rely less on my front-mounted light to see. Especially as we hit certain points of the route that allow for open fenceless grazing of cattle. It doesn't feel good to be climbing at 5 mph and have a cow square up to you in the middle of the night. Thankfully they allowed us to continue. It is a surreal feeling to be bombing 45 mph down hills at night.

After 12 hrs 49 min and 35 seconds we crossed the finish line. 34 min and 47 seconds behind me Thomas finished his first ride past 200 miles. His quote? "Woof"... He was right, it had been a taxing day but extremely rewarding. I would describe the course as a sick Disney World ride. Each lap did not feel like a broken record and offered the same enjoyment as the first.

Stats: 225 miles

12 hrs 49 min

Avg Power: 201 watts

Avg Speed: 18.1 Mph

Avg Heart Rate: 148

Elevation gain: 13,560 ft

Calories burned: 10,180

I came to NCOM with a goal and a solid plan. It was executed and thanks to Emily's wonderful support it was a great success!

But the weekend wasn't over! It was time for Emily to crush her 75 mile race. Givent the circumstances I chose to support Emily off the bike. After she took off I made my way to town and ordered a breakfast only Paul Bunyan would consider. The man sitting a few tables down watched me as if I was Joey Chestnut competing in the hot dog eating championships. After polishing my plate I made my way opposite on the course to find Emily on one of the climbs. I found a great spot to park and wait.

She was SMASHING the race. She finished in a total time of 4 hrs 9 min and 32 seconds averaging 18 mph and taking 1st place overall women! Super awesome to see her destroy it.

It was a clean Wollmann sweep of the weekend. Race Organizer Andrew loaded us up with our swag and beer and sent us on our way home a happy couple. Only after a Texas steak dinner of course! If you are looking for an enjoyable, safe, challenging race please consider the NCOM. It is worth it!

As always special thanks to my supporters Dairy Queen of Madison, Berry Fast Bicycles, 605 Real Estate, Sunshine Foods of Madison, Madison Family Dental, State Farm Randy Schaefer, and Techniche.

Until Next time!

Mathew Wollmann