Not much going on over here (other than excited anticipation as my headset should arrive today, brakes by friday).
I didn't get to join in on the group ride last night as I was busy doing grown up things with the Mrs., namely house hunting. Still a little early for us to full on jump into the scene, but a property popped up we had to see. It was pretty sweet, nice garage/workshop that is currently owned and loved by a mountain biker (Fuel Ex 9.8 in the garage).
The other day I got a message in regards to my post on the forums about having taken pictures for the Cat1 racers at the Bouldergeist. I sent out what I had of the racer, and received a nice thank you from him (which is always nice!)
I do enjoy taking pictures after I race. Its easy to pick a spot to grab pictures after having ridden the course as I already have an idea of the flow, the challenges, etc. For Cat 1 races it's nice because there are typically multiple laps so I can get to a few different spots to take in the action. I do my best to get everyone at each spot so each rider has multiple shots in different areas.
Fight for the lead (first location)
always grab air for the camera!
Backside of the first location - a two for one opportunity!
On the way to the second location I caught the lead
The "real" second location
The course was a little difficult to follow walking since it was so winding in sections so I only got 3 legit shot selections for each rider (but multiple pictures per location) which isn't bad I suppose. Racing, taking pictures and cheering on riders, pretty good day for a mountain biker!
So, I jump up off the ground, shove my water bottle back in the cage, and start running up the trail to get out of the way. I hop back on the bike and now it's catch up time... way too early. Of course I'm in my own head now, and anytime I feel any movement in the front wheel I automatically imagine going over the handlebars. Ain't nobody got time for that while racing the Bouldergeist!
Already we are catching riders from the waves ahead of us... maybe this will help me close the gap. At times, I think I might be catching up, but a couple times I get caught behind riders just a little longer then I would have liked. It's hard to tell exactly where you are on the course, and in relation to those you are chasing, because of the constant switchbacks. I catch glimpses of the singlespeed field here and there - and they started 15 minutes before me. I finally settled in, dropped the worry, and rode. Since I couldn't accurately gauge the gap I decided to not overextend myself and instead try to keep my pace and see if I could catch someone falling off as I picked through the field ahead.
The one bonus of the course bending back on itself so much is that it easier to keep at least someone in sight. There always seemed to be someone ahead (or behind) to keep you motivated and moving. I pushed myself to keep my speed up as well as I could. Knowing that the garmins will surely inaccurately report my mileage I'm racing on time. Looking at last year's results I knew that if I can finish around/under 1:10ish then I'll likely be in good standing.
When we hit the gauntlet I felt a surge of energy.
(at about 40 seconds you get a view of a section of the gauntlet)
This is where I can capitalize on others mistakes. I enter the "pre-gauntlet" (yes, there was a sign identifying it) and I see a rider ahead fumbling a bit. I catch up to her and am looking ahead to see if there is a safe place to pass... there isn't. I follow her as we enter. She's keeping her pace and we are both staying on our wheels so I can't complain. On the first switchback to the left she dismounts in the trail, forcing me off the bike. I run up by her and hop back on the bike and attack the rocks. I'm loving every second of it!! I'm not annihilating the trail, but I'm clearing it. I roll up to the last hard switchback and decide to jump off and run it. I wasn't sure of the line and felt I didn't have the speed to just bust through. I was a little disappointed on the decided dismount, but I was really happy with my riding through the majority of the gauntlet - a shout out to the Boneyard in really making me work on rock garden riding.
After the gauntlet was the first, and really only, respite. A nice long, smooth, downhill run that gave me a chance to get a drink of water. I hit a couple of hard strokes and coasted as I drank. Quickly I rethought that strategy as this was an opportunity for speed. So I jammed the bottle back down, shifted and hammered. I used that pristine straight away for all she had and jumped back into the singletrack.
As I was catching more Cat 2 females I noticed a rider gaining on me. He had been back there, but typically I had maintained a rider between us. Finally there was no one between us. I didn't recognize his jersey from the start line so I imagined he was the 40+ leader. On a climbing switchback I yelled down to him to let me know if/when he wanted to pass. He was content to follow.
I dabbed on a switchback allowing him to close in. Clearing the next switchback I gave it to him, riding to the right I told him to take it. He did, and thanked me. I jumped on his wheel... briefly. He took off, and suddenly I wondered why I hadn't called back to confirm he was the 40+ leader... what if he was in my class?? I was pretty sure he wasn't, but it was too late, he was pulling ahead and what I had left in me to try to grab back on didn't seem to be enough. I pushed the thought out of my head and kept riding.
I was finally in no man's land. I could no longer see him in front, and no one seemed to be behind. Soon I enter one hell of a jump line. It scared me at first because I wondered if I was off course... but no, below me I see the rider who got away and it looks like this the way to get to where he is. Nothing I can do now, so I just ride. I can't say I went balls to the wall on it - something about getting massive amounts of air during a race doesn't sit well with me... so I pump it to keep tires in the dirt as much as possible.
As I clear the jump line I can once again see riders on the switchbacks - but now I was more focused on those that were behind. I didn't feel I would be able to catch anyone from my class at this point, but I wanted to make sure I didn't give up ground either. I looked down at the garmins and it was around 56 minutes at this point.
Ok, best case scenario I have 10-15 minutes left... that is, if I've been riding well enough. I think I have? F it. There isn't anything I can do now if I haven't, so I decided to ride it like I only have 10-15 minutes left. That meant no letting off. No leaving anything on the trail. No coasting. I see a female rider ahead, now I have the bait. I use her as motivation and work my way up to her. I'm behind her as we climb, and we just seem to keep on climbing. We MUST be near the end by now. She spins out on a short up and we dismount, she tells me to go ahead, and I do with a "thanks." She jumps on my wheel and now it is up to me to set the pace. We enter the dragon's tail and now I KNOW that we are close to the end as one of the racers at the start mentioned we finished out on the dragon's tail. It is a fun little back and forth bermed downhill section. Although I'm loving that gravity is once again my friend, I am dreading the climb back up to the finish. I can finally see the start line through the woods and express my joy to a spectator - who can do nothing more than laugh.
As I exit the woods Sean is there with my camera yelling "pro line." If he hadn't been there I would have had a choice, but he was set up towards the "non-pro line" on the right so I was naturally going left - through the root drop.
Now I'm out in the grass looking at the last climb. I don't see anyone ahead and do a quick gut check - just as I thought, nothing left in the tank to really bust it up the hill. So I get my cadence up and work to just not loose speed on the hill. I make it up to the top and cross the line, completely done. Shortly there after the last rider I passed comes across and thanks me for pulling her through to the end. I returned with thanking her for pushing me to finish hard!
One of the guys from my class comes up to me and congratulates me. Huh? "Looks like you snuck onto the podium!" Really? That isn't possible... I'm happy at the thought, but it doesn't compute in my head. My look must have given my doubt away and he says he is pretty sure, but maybe I should check. I check the preliminary posting and I got 4th. A little bit of a let down, only in the sense that 3rd had been dangled in front of me when I didn't think that would have been an option. But I am happy with 4th, but more so I'm happy with my finishing time. 1:11 - right about where I wanted it to be. I'm psyched I got 4th, but even more proud that I hit my goal.
I finished that race just happy. Happy to be riding, happy to be racing, happy to have been able to keep myself pedaling, happy to be riding with such great strangers - and happy that I got to race on such a great trail!!
Sunday was my first race of the season in the Southern Classic Series, Bouldergeist III. This course, held at San-Lee Park, had it all. Tight switchbacks, fast trails, a jump line, nice berms, and of course rocks. Rocks strewn throughout the trail, big boulders to roll, and even a nice climbing rock garden. Oh yeah, there were roots too. And I loved every minute of it.
This was such a departure from the winter short track series (just pounding as hard as you can go over smooth trail) and really reminded me of why I love XC racing. Sure I was sore and tired by the end of it, wondering where the trail would pop out so I could climb back up the start hill to the finish line. But that's the glory of it, to ride your hardest on a trail that is challenging.
I must say, for having never ridden the trail before I was very proud of my performance on the technical sections. Pre-riding probably would have helped my speed through some of the faster sections, but over all I was happy with my performance.
Before the race I did ride the intro section of the course up to "bouldergeist." There was a tight steep switchback leading up to the big rock roller and I knew that would be a place that either I or other riders would get hung up. Then into the fun. The roller wasn't bad, it was making sure you were in line for the sharp left that quickly followed was the key to riding this section. There seemed to be two lines. The quick hard left utilizing a nice "rock berm" that was in the middle of the trail, or go wide around it. I rolled up right at it to look at the lines. The outside was clearly chewed up with dragging wheels as riders grabbed fistfuls of breaks... didn't look like the line I wanted. If you went too wide you'd be down in the creek. There was a guy setting up the sponsor banners and I commented that it looked like the inside was the way to go. He concurred. He also gave me a little hint as to where to come off the roller to be set up perfectly for it. It was a great hint indeed.
When race time came around I took full advantage of my "insider" knowledge and cleaned the section flawlessly. Well, THAT section at least. Remember, I hadn't actually ridden the rock berm and down across the creek crossing.
The approach
Headed right for "dismount"
Off and clear
Lining up to utilize the rock berm
getting it
cleared
what's that guy over there on the left of the trail doing?
Yup, as I was headed to ride the rocks built over the creek bed I made the mistake of looking at the guy standing with his bike off to the side of the trail. What happened next? Over the bars I went as I crossed the rocks. Luckily I rolled free and into the trail, my bike was fine, but launched my water bottle. I got up quickly, grabbing my bottle and stuffing it back in it's cage, and I was back and riding. Only problem was that now the rider in front had put in a gap. And, of course, confidence was a bit shaken for a while...
The race was long, but this post doesn't have to be... so I'll get the rest of the story and results to you tomorrow... unless, of course, you are a detective. Then you likely already know the results.
*Thanks go out to my teammate Sean for the pictures
I'm ok with that as I'm not one to shy away from the rocks. I miss the rocks. Well, I say that now, but we'll see what this course is like come race day. If it is that rocky, that will likely mean speeds will be down. So it will come down to actual mountain biking and not just a mashfest like the winter short track series - so that is good!
I'm excited, but since starting the new job it feels like I haven't ridden in forever!! The winter series seems so far off... it will be interesting to see just where I am fitness wise for this race. As I'm settling into the new job hopefully I can get some sort of riding schedule fit in there somewhere. But what better way to start the year off then to just jump in feet first?
I'm ready.
Oh, I also got my new team kit - so I'll look legit and flashy for the race. It's race cut (ordered club fit) so I'm glad I've dropped a couple pounds...
