Kenda DInO- Versailles State Park

Hot. Everything about this race screamed hot. A fair bit of climbing, dusty trails, humidity through the roof in the woods. Hot. In the shade my Garmin was reading 92 F. That's hot to be forcing yourself to ride at your limit for an hour and a half.

But that is what we got at Versailles this weekend. Jess somehow had the day off so we drove out and met Chris at 7:20 in the morning to set up our pit area. Nice canopy and rocking folding chairs thanks to Chris (btw... rocking folding chairs are on my Christmas wish list- they are the perfect post race chill spot).

My race went off first at 10 am. We had about 10 or 12 guys in my start wave. I had pre-ridden the first mile of the course and felt very confident in my tire selection. Bontrager XR 0- a light tire with very little tread, but great roll. From the bullhorn (we don't use guns to start races here in the Mid-West) I jumped in to second place for the fist single track section. At the first gravel road crossing about 600 m into the race, I nearly took out some spectator by sliding out under the tape. Evidently my tire choice wasn't too hot.

For the rest of the race I was second guessing my line choice and sliding through turns like I was riding a road tire on ice. I had guys passing me left and right on some of the tight descents. I always caught and passed them on the fast flowing sections and the long climbs, but would give my advantage away at any sort of technical descent.

On the last fire road climb and subsequent single track slog, I build up a decent lead over what I assumed was sixth or seventh place. I then descended the rock garden to the finish line like there was not tomorrow. I didn't bother resting my index finger on my brake lever, just gripped the bar and let the bike bounce.

I gave this race more juice than I have ever given a race. I just let it all hang out there and ripped the climbs and the last few descents. Evidently that payed off, because I wound up placing third in my age group and start wave, which should bump me up nicely in the DInO overall. Here is me at the finish line, just thank full to be upright and done.

After about an hour of cooling off, Jess and Chris started their respective races. Jess met a few trees and rocks along the way, but ended the race with a nice sprint. Chris met a kid who couldn't quite stay on the trail, but never the less raced to a nice 2nd in the intro class. Looks like it's time to cat up! Here's Jess ripping the first section of single track.

For Chris' take on the race check out his blog @ Will Climb for Downhills.

OMBC#5: East Fork Race Report

I am going to preface this race report with a summary of my week.
Monday: 4th of July spent hanging around the apartment
Tuesday: Rode with Justin in the morning to show group ride route, then worked
Wednesday: Worked, then hung out with Jess, Jared, Caitlyn, and the rest of the D-clan
Thursday: Work and Shadowbox! Followed by staying up until 3 in the morning watching Top Gear
Friday: Work and sleep
Saturday: Work, short ride, sleep.

So it pretty apparent that I didn't get a lot of sleep and didn't ride much throughout the week. Which leads me to today's race.

Chris and I drove out to Eastfork together, in what is beginning to become a Sunday routine. We nabbed a nice little spot by one of several closed restrooms (evidently in this economy, the parks commission has decided to abandon parts of Eastfork). During our pre-ride we found that the course still had a lot of mud holes, some of which had branches laid across them to attempt to minimize damage to the trail. What probably was not thought of was how much damage the mud soaked branches could cause to the racers. Most of these spots where on the beginner trails, which I think we could have easy done without (this is a very biased opinion as you will soon find out).

The first mile and a half of the race was a paved climb to the beginner trail. My Garmin told me that this section of the race was about 110 degrees. Whatever the temperature, it was scorching form the top (sun) and bottom (pavement). In my normal fashion I nailed it from the get go and hit. Leading up to the trail head my legs began to feel a little dull. Not quite dead, but close, so I eased up and let a few people lead me into the woods. A handful more passed me throughout the woods, only to have me catch them on the road section on the second lap.

Shortly into the woods the second time I lofted my front wheel over a mud hole filled with branches. When my front wheel came down on one of the last branches, it shifted and my front wheel slid out sending me sprawling over the trail. And bashing the family jewels into my frame. And both knees into something hard. After a minute or two sitting of leaning over my bike and letting most of the race go by me, I was able to (gingerly) get back on the saddle and continue on my way. After what seemed like an eternity, I made it back to the pavement and caught one of the riders who had passed me while I was immobile. He had just enough left in him to out kick me to the line. Which is how I would up last by  3 seconds.

Now back at home, I am planning on taking these next two weeks to train and pick up a little more speed in my legs. Hopefully Versailles (two weeks away) will treat me a little better.

Two Very Full Weekends

I know two weeks ago I promised a few posts, but things have been pretty exciting and I haven't had the time or energy to sit down and write. So I will start in chronological order.

New Bike: I sold my Madone last week back to its original owner and picked up this thing of beauty...

It is a 2009 Gary Fisher Presidio cross bike with True Temper OX Platinum steel frame and all of my old standby components (all of the components have been on my last three bikes). Because of this bike Jess now has a brand new Rival drivetrain and brake and Bontrager wheel set up on her road bike.

OMBC #4 Race to the Hills: Lake Hope

It rained from 6 AM until halfway through my race. That should be enough of a description. There was mud everywhere. I wound up sitting 3 rows back at the start and had to fight tooth and nail to hit the trail head in the top 20. After that, I was thankful for mud tires and cursing my derailleurs. I had awesome traction, but couldn't shift. Chain suck was a huge problem (to the point of ruining my front mech) and my cassette (rear gears) was so clogged with mud that I could only access 3 gears. I wound up finishing 6th in my class, one spot out of the money.

England-Idelwild Time Trial series:
For the past month, Jess and I have made the trip down to Kentucky of the Thursday night mountain time trial series. So far I have posted two 6th and one 9th based off of average speed (I have been racing three laps which is the longest allowed). This past Thursday I not only bettered my personal time by a handful of seconds, but also slotted in the 5th fastest average speed. Things are looking up!

DInO #4: North Vernon- Mascatatuck Park:
First off, by the beginning of the race it was clear that I wasn't going to have reliable access to my large chain ring which meant that I was going to have to attack every climb in order to limit my losses on the descents and flats. When the gun went off I managed a good start, hitting the woods in third position. The second placed rider slid out in front of me about two turns in, allowing me to move up. On the first climb, with four or five guys sitting behind me, the leader let me pass, at which point I gave the hill everything I had. The rest of the three lap race I spent climbing like mad, and picking up as much free speed as possible when heading down. I never saw another racer from my age bracket, though one junior from my starting wave nipped me by a second or two at the line. I would blame my lack of a big ring, but at that point, I don't think it really mattered.

In other news... I have qualified for the USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Championships! To bad I only found this out today and the race is in three weeks... in Idaho. Hopefully I will qualify again next year.

Enjoy the ride.