Landmine Classic

Media Fridays

We'll post videos or photos that will hopefully inspire trail shredding weekends.

I miss this race... used to be my old stomping grounds.  Now that we are settled down here in Charlotte... well almost completely settled.  The bathroom reno should be wrapping up next week, and then I get to finally start on my bike room - right now it is a pile of dusty bikes and bathroom materials.

Anyway, once we are in the groove down here it is time to start thinking about possibly visits back up north.  I know it is too late for this year, but perhaps next year I can get a visit to coincide with the Landmine Classic.

Season 1

My first race season has come to a close...

Overall, I've learned a lot.  A lot about my fitness, my riding, and hopefully I have an idea of where I need to go from here.  I've also been fortunate to meet some really great people through this blog and through racing.  And I'm grateful for all the advice and support I've received, so a big thanks to all you out there!!

For my final race, the Landmine Classic, I had no Annie or parents rooting me on... Annie is in LA with her best friend... so I took full advantage of that fact when making sure things looked good on the HiFi on Saturday.

That's condo living!

Even in their absence, I was still able to pull a crowd!!  My buddy Matt (a coworker) came out, even though I repeatedly told him he certainly did not have to show up (I didn't want him to feel obligated to check out my race since I had just stopped by his rugby game).   I spotted him as we were lining up waiting for the Cat 1 and Cat 2 riders to go off.  He didn't stay the entire time, good call on his part, and I greatly appreciated him seeing me start.

It was great seeing some familiar faces, and as with every race, meeting some new riders.  As I pulled in to park the door of the truck next to me swings open and out comes a question "are you following me??"  Low and behold it was Charlie - I swear, I'm not a stalker!!  I also met up with my buddy Pat at the end of the race.  I missed him before everything got started as I wasn't sure if he was going to ride the 25mi race or not.  I was out warming up right until they were getting things started so I didn't have time to thoroughly check for him... didn't see him on the course, but apparently passed him at some point.

I'd have to say, overall things went great for such a big race (400+ riders).  Instant results on the big screen was pretty sweet.  I heard a couple riders missed turns out on the course, which is unfortunate.  I made a turn late - but that wasn't really due to markings, that was more so because of traffic.  I had just let a rider pass me back as another was coming up behind me calling for the pass.  I was focused on staying to the right to let the pass happen and just followed the rider in front of me and at the last second looked up to see a left turn as the rider back was coming up for the pass (on my left).  I called out the turn (which he didn't seem to be making, following the rider ahead of us, and we both took it a little off trail to make the turn without crashing.  I tried to yell back to the rider who had passed me, but I'm not sure if he heard before going too far off course.  For the most part things were marked well - although I would agree that some taping across trail splits would have been nice here and there.

So my race...  I'm happy to say I've ended my season on a positive note.  From my pre ride I estimated a finishing time of around 1 hour 20 minutes.  I felt that as long as I was able to pace myself and not take off too hot I should be able to hit this goal.  In the line up I ended up towards the back, which was unintentional.  It was hard to tell where the age group in front of us ended and where ours began... I thought I was sitting pretty good until the age in front left... I was toward the back of the pack.  At first I wasn't happy about that, but then I thought it might turn out to be good, keeping me back a little so I didn't start off too fast... I quickly learned that wasn't the case at all.  Well, id DID keep me from not going off too fast, but it was too slow.  I worked my way through the pack as we rode the straight flat start before we hit the first turn into some rooty singletrack.  This put me at a slightly faster pace than I really wanted, but I was feeling good.  I was still working my way up steadily through the field when all of a sudden a rider went down on a rooty turn.  He fell hard next to me and we got jammed up for a second.  I made sure he was ok before taking off after those that got out ahead.

After that point I caught a few more people, got passed by a couple, but pretty much held my place for the rest of the race.  I had no idea how far I had gotten up, but I felt pretty solid in my ability to hold off those behind me.  The course was beautiful - considering the rains we had earlier in the week.  Some roots were a tad slick, but overall the course was pretty dry and fast.

Wet roots... my nemesis at the start of the season were no longer the monsters they once were...  I mean, they aren't my friends, but I feel my bike handling skills have improved by leaps and bounds throughout the season and I was able to aptly take them on turns and off camber trails with little worry.

Overall it was a day of good riding.  I finished in 10th place (out of 30).  I was happy with that.  I was kinda hoping I had cracked the top 10, but I am still happy with those results.  10th out of 30 is good enough to earn me a little something extra.  What I am much more pleased with was that my finishing time was 5 minutes faster than my target time!  I ended up finishing the 12 mile race in 1 hour 15m minutes.

So cheers to a great season.  I think I'll take a week to enjoy the season, and then it's time to start getting my ass in gear and training for next season.  I've enjoyed racing greatly, but I have a long way to go and I'm ready to get serious about this mess!

The Final

In just a few days I'll be racing my final race for the season, the Landmine Classic.  I've been looking forward to this race since last year - when I thought about racing for the first time.  If I had a home court, Wompatuck would be it.  It's my go to place... it's where I started on the old roads and paved paths (and where Annie in turn started out as well)... eventually venturing onto the plethora of singletrack.  It's my winter ride zone as the paved paths get nice and crusted with foot traffic and snowmobiles - you can usually ride without studded tires.  

I pre rode the course yesterday and it's looking great.  The promoters really deserve a high five for the work they put in cleaning up after Irene.. and at least a skeletal signage up to allow for pre riding this past weekend.  (Most arrows were perfect... only one arrow misaligned and one missing).  Closer to the race, tape will be up and "confidence arrows" as well.  To be honest, I haven't been riding nearly enough lately... I think it's the back to work blues (today is our first day back), but I really turned into a bum the last couple weeks.  It's too bad.  But it is what it is at this point.  So although my endurance is going to be a bitch in this race, I did feel super great on the bike handling side of things during my pre ride.  I cleared everything (except two wall crossings) but rocky/rooty climbs, stone walls, muddy rock gardens... things were looking good!!!  

The other day while I was on the Cutler part of my Cutler Commute something randomly hit me.  No, it wasn't a downed tree from big bad Irene... although there was a fair share of that out there....  I call these guys the triple threat.

Ok, to be fair Cutler is anything but technical... BUT it was while I was out tearing it up on the trail that a random thought flooded my brain and things just made sense (that's one of the things that I love about mountain biking... sometimes out of nowhere things just click and everything makes sense).  

My whole outlook on technical riding got a kick in the groin.  I guess I was stuck in some sort of simplified outlook on clearing technical terrain where it was all about steering and pedaling (momentum).  So yeah, that is involved, but the missing link for me was a new focus on body position!!  Working with your body position - getting out of the saddle, leaning right/left, etc. - equals balance!!  Get your balance right, keep your momentum up, and you are in a position to give that extra kick you need to get over that obstacle...

Simple stuff I know.  But until it clicks in your head it doesn't translate on the trail.  Mountain biking is a bit of a mental game - more often than not the biggest obstacle on the trail is your own head getting stuck because of fear.  

So, all that being said, I felt technically strong on my ride yesterday at Wompatuck.  And really, that's what it's all about.  Seeing the improvements.  I've got a ways to go in racing... but first comes strength and confidence in one's own abilities.  And I am very happy to say that as this season (my first race season) comes to an end I feel that I have continued making strides to becoming a stronger, more competent rider. 

Why would I pay attention??

By now I should know not to pay attention to weather forecasts and the random percentages they throw out to signify the chance for rain.  I succumbed to the forecast and did not ride on Sunday... when I totally could have!!!  So that was a missed opportunity.

Monday there was no debate, it was WET!!

Today I'm heading to Connecticut to drop the dogs off at my parents as we are getting new windows put in the front of our condo tomorrow... depending on the weather as I'm leaving Boston I may bring a bike along to hit a trail on the way back... I'm not holding my breath on that one though.

As you may have noticed from Annie's post, we hit up Cutler on Saturday.  Thursday I also hit up Cutler as I waited for the HiFi (which you can see here).  Riding the 4300 it was evident that there is a BIG difference between riding a 26er and a 29er.  After riding the HiFi for so long, I guess I pretty much forgot how awesome big wheels are.  On small wheels things slow you down that you don't even have to pay attention to on big boy wheels.  Speed itself seems to be your friend on 29 inch wheels, always ready to give you a lift... whereas on little wheels it seems like you are chasing to catch up to that bastard speed, and the minute you coast he flips you off and leaves you behind.

BIG V. small

BUT, it was refreshing to ride the 4300 alone, to remind me just what the trail is like for Annie.  It helped recenter me, bring me back to where I started on the trails and feel how trail features are a totally different challenge to a beginner on 26 inch wheels compared to someone riding 29 inch wheels.  Once I got used to actually having to focus a little more on the navigation piece, I quite enjoyed railing Cutler on the small wheels!!

Signed up for my final race of the season.  At this point I don't know exactly what to expect, but I'm positive.  I've had fun racing this season.  Results haven't been jaw dropping, but it's a start...  This season is my baseline - where I fall with little/no focused training.  Hopefully I can pull things together, get focused during the off season, and come back with a solid season next year.

Either way I have to say racing is a good time.  The people are great!  It's nice to see familiar faces from race to race, and it's been great getting to meet some other riders out there.

New roads, races, AND trails!!

Thursday I looked over Fells commute route, tweaked it a bit, waited for the plumbers to finish and off I went.  Ended up with a ride that was only a little over a mile less than the Cutler commute, but still...  you don't get a view of Boston on the way to Cutler.

Climb up this bad boy (located in the Mystic River Reservation in Medford)...

And catch a glimpse of the Beaner

You don't really want to know what I found under the look out....

Had a decent little ride around the Fells.  I was able to quickly join the Bike Loop from my entry point, toured that around and came across a number of riders, which was really nice.  I often ride without seeing another mountain biker, so it was cool to see a number of riders.  I probably jumped off the loop sooner than needed to in order to get back to the task of rodeoing back home... but that is what transpires on a scouting trip.

Saturday I hit up Wompatuck to ride attempt to ride the race course (as they have posted up a map outlining the course).  Overall it was pretty easy to find, a couple head scratches here or there and I was back on track... but I did get tripped up twice.  One was due to a lot of intersecting trails amongst some sweet dips, turns, and jumps... rode around that hill for a bit trying to determine the actual course.  The other spot was coming to the end.  I got suckered into following the Time Trials markings and got all turned around... and of course this occurs in probably the most technical area.  Which, in reality was just a great opportunity for some practice.  I was totally psyched that I was clearing all the rock gardens and rooty/muddy mess that was thrown in front of me.  When I determined I was off track I backtracked through the technical minefield and attempted to get to the finish line.... well it never happened.  I ended up doubling back somewhere by mistake and with my time on the trail nearing 3 hours I decided it was time to get back to the car (after all there were beers, wings, and the company of friends by an open fire to be enjoyed later that night).

Of course there is a race BEFORE the Landmine Classic, but there doesn't seem to be much going on in terms of a pre ride on that front.  I did see today a GPS from last years race and it seems I have ridden much of the course on my ride down there earlier in the summer.  So I feel fairly confident in heading down the day before to just tour the course.  One of the things that I was reminded of while riding in Wompatuck is that I need to utilize my gears.  This seems to be a cycle I fall into where I stop using my gears and just try to push too hard.  I don't know what it's all about (some subconscious feeling that I should be stronger/faster?) but it throws me off my game.  I was very happy to snap myself out of it and get back to spinning - pushing hard and riding fast, but making sure I was spinning those gears.

I'm in a good mindset going into the Annual Hodges Village Dam race so I'm feeling good about that.  I've backed off working my legs this week as I started the Fells Commute with a nice "burn" going on that never went away in my right thigh.  My legs felt pretty good at Wompatuck (could feel them working throughout - which is MUCH better than the void they were floating in for the Boneyard) so I'm hopeful I'll be in good shape for this upcoming race.  I'm ok with "feeling" my legs, as long as there is some output!!

Monday I decided to have some fun and hit up a new trail.  I went up to Chelmsford and rode Russell Mill.  HOLY CRAP that place is sweet ass!!!  The trails were just pristine.  So sweet and fast.  They did a great job of utilizing the natural features, hitting up rollers and wall crossings whenever possible.  Some nice quick twisty singletrack throughout.  And a pump track to boot!!  Not the longest trail system ever, but certainly a fun place.  I wanted to hit it for a second loop (mainly to snap pictures of the awesomeness that was the trails) but clouds were coming in and I had to get to the grocery store before I picked Annie up so I had to bail.  No fear, I will be back... and probably with much more media accessing technologies than just the garmins and iphone (possible mini movie??).