That's it.

Sunday was a bright and early morning as my race start was 9 am and I had and hour and a half drive ahead of me to get to Dark Mountain.  I got there a little later than I wanted, and the conditions looked curious at best.

I was greeted by the other racers in my class as I had been MIA for a while now.  It was great catching up with them, but that of course ate into what little time I had before the start.  I got a quick warm up in and the course looked great, and dry.  Even the little run off that goes through the start area was dry!  Before the start all the fog burned off - conditions were great!

Having ridden here last week with the 18 (not race pace) I figured I'd be solid with the 20.  Maybe I would have, had my legs not exploded.

I don't know what happened.  Was it the fact that I destroyed my legs at the gym?  I went for a ride Saturday, but it wasn't anything demanding?  Maybe I shouldn't have stayed on the wheel of the guy in front of me off the start and let them go through the flatter stuff ahead of me?  Or maybe, just maybe, I've lost some from not racing in a bit?

Who knows what exactly attributed to it.  But all I can say is I didn't have it.

It wasn't until the second climb that my legs came back and I felt like I could put anything into them, or even stand and push on climbs.  By then it was too late.  The guys in the wave behind me were already catching me so I pulled off to let them go... and got stuck letting them all go as I didn't have time to get back and up to speed before the next guy - so I did a little running in the gaps.

There had been talk of a beer at the top of Snake... if there was beer, I was stopping to have one as this "race" was over for me.  (There was no beer...)  I rode the trail, had some fun, but wasn't able to keep pushing it like I should have been during a race.

So that's a wrap for the season.  It's also probably a wrap for racing for Blood Sweat Gears.  My buddy Sean (my connection to the shop) is out of racing for the foreseeable future due to an overuse injury to his hip.  He was ordered off the bike for over 2 months and is now only getting the ok to leisurely ride - but is told he won't be able to race again.  And Denver is just too far for me to maintain a relationship with the shop.  Of course I'll wear the kit out and about, but I think I'll be racing for someone else (myself) next season.

Some random thoughts about this season:
I need to ride more.
I need to do more focused training.
I don't get nervous at the start anymore because I've come to realize that I really am just racing myself.
Confirmed once again, mountain bikers (as a whole) are good people.
If your race involves a free t-shirt, I will most likely be there!

Oh, and I did manage to finish 5th in the season standings... so that's something I suppose.            

Who does #2 work for?

This Sunday marks race number 2 for the season for me.  I'm headed down to Spartanburg SC (about 1:30 from me) for what looks like it's shaping up to be a fast race.  I've scouted through the internets minefield to gather some key information.

Here is the map provided by the Stump Jump site.  Cat3 rides the blue loop shown below.  Cat2 and above ride a longer loop that extends into the trails to the east (past G).

The course should be similar to that of last year, although I know the start will be slightly different but I'm not sure that will be that huge of a change.  Looking at the strava data you can see from the elevation and speed that it looks like it's going to be a fast one.  

From some videos I've found it looks like the (significant) climbs are wide open so it should be easy to get around slower climbers (or move over for faster riders) if necessary.  Here's a little recap from the 2011 Cat3 race - again no sure how close the course will be to this years, but it gives a sense of the terrain.

Looking at the results from last year it looks like I'll be aiming for sub 28 minute laps (26.5 if I'm looking for the win).  From the strava data it would appear 30 minute laps would do the trick...  Cross referencing my data I see that the number 2 spot on the strava list finished in 8th in the Cat3 race.  So 28 sounds like a good aim and we'll see if I have a little extra to lay out there and finish quicker.  In reality I need to try to get off with the front group and just hang on.  If I get stuck too far back I fear I'll settle in with a slower pace, leaving too large of a gap to the front group.  

I go off at 9:30... meaning an early morning for me to get up and out there.  Although the weather looks fine for race day, looks like they'll be getting rain out there Friday.  Someone posted up that the trails don't drain all that well out there, so we'll see how that might effect conditions.

I'm excited for the race.  Not sure who else from the team is going to be there.  I do know that my buddy Sean won't be there - doctor ordered him off the bike for a month due to some back issues - brutal...  With the second race in the books I'll be "in" race season and I just might have to start paying attention/planning my rides a little more appropriately for race preparation.  Although, the pace of the "social" ride is a nice kick in the pants at times - when we aren't standing around and talking on the trail that is.

Well, I'll be back next week with a race recap and other assorted stories.

One Down (late edition)

The first in the winter short track series is in the books... the virtual books.  Results were posted up yesterday.  I already knew my results of course, but now they are up for public consumption.  One VERY cool feature of the results is that they are posted in three ways.  Broken down by laps, team names, and lap times.  Very fun to look through/anguish over.

So how did my race go?  Good and not so good.

"posing" for a picture on the first lap

The good...  I started off the front and went into the single track toward the front (probably about 6th or so) in a field of 25.  Coming through the start/finish after lap one I was in 4th.  It was a slow slide/yo-yo from there.  The singletrack was tight and didn't allow for much passing, so it was mostly coasting behind a rider (and enjoying the time to rest), and then climbing out and onto the gravel road.  There was a grass section added that totally sapped whatever "speed" you might have had on the front end of the gravel grind... through the grass, a short up with a sharp switchback before meeting back up with some gravel.  This section at least provided some respite as it was a slight downhill back to the original gravel road.  As this was a "surprise" addition, the transition back to the original gravel road was loose as all hell with no defined lines.  So speed had to be checked and lines experimented with.  I determined a wider approach was best to allow for the most speed carried and put me in a pretty decent position to drop the hammer back up to the parking lot.

And drop the hammer I did.  I actually felt guilty by my performance in this section of the course.  Each lap it seemed that I was able to repass most anyone who passed me in the grass section once we got back to the gravel road.  I felt like I was riding like a roadie... slower on the first section of climb and grass, and super fast on the second half of the gravel.... but such is the design of the course.

I felt pretty strong for the first half of the race.  A group squeaked by on the third lap (I think) and the field ahead of us started becoming a bigger factor as we were working out way through.  Getting stuck behind the "wrong" rider through the singletrack could prove fatal.

The not so good...  With two laps left I was losing gas when it came to the first section of the gravel road, and I had to pull to the side to let faster riders go.  Luckily, by now there weren't that many behind me and I was in a group that I was able to let go in the grass, and catch again in the climb to the parking lot.  So I still had hope to at least take the lead of my little group.  As the call came out that it would be our last lap I was wondering if I could pull it out after the singletrack.

As I hit the boulder before the gravel I knew I didn't have it in my legs.  I slowly worked up to the grass.  A rider passed me heading into the grass and I noticed he was spinning out in his granny ring.  I looked down and I was nowhere near granny and wondered if my downfall had been in not effectively using my gears....  it was too late to really examine that aspect of the race now... I did drop a gear or two to hang on him through the grass and as soon as tires hit gravel I got on it.  There were two riders a few seconds ahead and now strategy flooded my head....

I knew I could hit it and catch them before the parking lot, but would that leave me nothing for the final sprint??  Did they have anything left for a final sprint??  Would catching them now give me a better chance??  All this thinking left my body in limbo.  I didn't put it all out there on the gravel and I halved the gap before hitting the parking lot.

As they cleared the final turn they hit it in an all out drag race with each other.  I put my head down and gave it all I had.  I knew at this point I wasn't catching them but I wanted to put in my best to hold onto them at the finish.

I ended up 1.5 seconds behind the two in front of me.

After the race I rode up to one of the riders finishing in front of me and congratulated him on a good race and thanked him for keeping me going.  We had been going back and forth through most of the race.  For whatever reason I had picked him as the rider to not let get away.  So anytime I saw him get by I made sure he didn't get far.  He also had a cheering section out on the course.  They were camped in the grass for the most part and it was a great indicator for myself as to how far I was ahead of him, the times I was leading him, as they would rattle the cowbell and yell for him when he entered the grass.

Overall, I'm feeling good about the series.  My fitness will (hopefully) only improve throughout the series and I won't fade as early or as hard.  I can rely more on bike handling skills and speed/finesse through the singletrack to recover and really work the climb and gravel/grass.  And now with the results of the first race I can start looking at who I should pick next to battle to the finish... hopefully I can find myself climbing through the ranks before the end of the series.

I think I mentioned it before, but I don't know if I made a formal announcement... but I am racing for a team(which you can see over there in the left column), which has already paid off.  I'm racing on team Velo 16 Blood Sweat Gears - based out for Blood Sweat Gears Cycle & Skate shop in Denver, NC.  While warming up for my race I noticed a bit of brake drag on my front wheel... having a team (tent, bike stand, and all) there made the necessary adjustment an easy one.  I'm still getting to know the guys as I was only officially added just last week.  I had to wear a jersey from last year for the race, and let's just say it was a tad snug.  Hopefully I'll get this years kit sooner then later.

crossing the finish

What else is new for this years racing... I got a "new haircut" for the series.  Sorry for the late post, but I wanted to wait to get the pictures from my brother before posting.

Less facial hair equals faster rider??