Winter Short Track Series #4: Back on big wheels

 

   For the first winter short track race I had a strong showing on a 29er rigid single speed (in the SS class).  I missed race #2 because of a conflict with the final NCCX races.  For race #3 I rode a full suspension 26" bike.  It was very nimble through the tight sections and floated over the roots and rocks.  My form was a little off and I struggled in the Expert (CAT 1) field.  This week I was back on a 29er.  My awesome team was kind enough to let me race a Tomac Flint 29.  It's an amazingly light hardtail.  They mounted some fast rolling Vee Rubber tires on some American Classic wheels and it was off to the races.  Since it had gears, I was back racing with the big dogs in the CAT 1 field.

   I felt pretty comfortable on this bike immediately.  All of my laps were within 9 seconds of each other.  Each lap I made an effort to concentrate on hitting my marks and being smooth and in the correct gear.  I suffer up the gravel road, through the parking lot, and do it again.  I actually got to race with a pack of 3 to 4 racers taking turns leading and drafting.  In the end I wound up 9th, but at least I was in the ballpark this week.

   Next week I should be able to unveil my secret weapon as I should have my new bike by then.

See you for the season finale! 

Transitions. Winter Short Track Race #3.

 
   Sunday marked the transition from cyclocross back to MTB, from single speed to gears, from 29" to 26" wheels from rigid to full suspension from my old team to my new team and from my old coach to my new coach.  Sound overwhelming?  Apparently it was.  I went from front runner in race #1 to back marker in race #3.  Like, way back.  As in, got lapped twice.  I had an opportunity to race an amazingly well set-up bike that wove it's way nimbly through the woods with ease only to get blown away lap after up the gravel road and through the parking lot.  To be sure, the experts were setting a torrid pace but I was a bit off my usual pace.  But this wasn't a race I was tapering and preparing for.  Rather it was a race to train through and to get familiar with a new bike.  So, in that respect it was mission accomplished.  It just never feels good to get smoked so badly.

   I must say, I did a have a great time.  I got to hang out with a lot of friends on a beautiful day.  I got a great training ride in on an amazing bike.  I'm starting to learn how to shift gears again and by about lap 15 I was starting to figure out how aggressive I needed to be on the corners with the little wheels.

   I really enjoy the atmosphere of these races.  There are so many encouraging people all around the course.  It really keeps the motivation high.

  I'm loving being back on the MTB, I'm starting to get shifting down (XX is SWEET), I'm still a little sketchy on the 26" wheels but I can see where they are going to be faster,  I am really digging the new team and the tremendous support I am getting and it looks like the new coach is going to work out well, too - he lets me ride an extra 30 - 60 minutes after the scheduled workouts if I want to :)

   It's almost like when you ask for help to make the right decisions  ...and listen to the answer that amazing things can happen.

I am amazed.  I am blessed.  I am thankful.

See you on the trails!

End of a series, start of a season.

  This weekend ended the NCCX Cyclocross series, but started a new racing season for me.  I raced my first, of what I hope to be many, races in my new Cycle Works kit.  And what an eventful race it was.

   The first race in the new kit was the CX3 race at Orange County Speedway.  Rainy conditions meant slick technical sections and racing on the speedway provided fast drafting sections.  It was a good mix that made for lots of back and forth battles.  I fell victim to others sliding out on the off camber section on several occasions but kept managing to work my way back up.  I found that I was faster than most through the rooty, muddy trails but invariably I got behind someone that crashed, or crashed myself trying not to hit an out of control racer.  In the end I didn't end up making up too many positions where I should have been at my best.  At the end of the race I was muddy, bloody and bruised ...and 9th. 
   I felt pretty good for the SS race later in the afternoon.  I knew that I could do well and I was ready to hammer at the start.  Unfortunately I was woefully overgeared for the now sticky, soft, deep mud sections.  My options were standing and risk spinning or sitting with my weight back and grunting it out.  I ended up in a 3-way battle for 2nd but couldn't hold on for the final kick to the line.  So, 4th on the day it was.

   Sunday's race at Bur-Mil Park was slick, but less muddy (and a lot colder) than Saturday.  Apparently I bent my rear derailleur hanger on my geared bike somewhere along the way.  I struggled to a 14th place finish on a bike that really didn't want to be in any particular gear and certainly not the gear I wanted it to be in.  I was a little over-geared, or perhaps over-fatigued for the SS race.  I maintained contact with the leaders but wound up 5th on the day.  Good enough to secure the overall SS points awards.

   I can't thank my team enough for the support they've already given me.  It means a lot to race for a team that is there to race and do well.  That they have welcomed me aboard is a huge honor.  I will do my best this year to represent them well.  Whatever happens, it's going to be an amazing year!

See you on the trails!

Winter Short Track Series Race #1

The first race of the season is in the books.  I lined up with a field of 24 Single Speeders for a slightly shortened (to no ones complaint) 40 minute race.  Just to shake things up a bit from last season I decided to not have a terrible start.  I lined up in the 2nd row and got a decent jump going into the woods.  Normally that would be a good thing, but on SS it usually means you don't have a big enough gear.  Which I didn't, but it was pretty close.  I found a nice spot to settle in the lead draft.  I was still feeling pretty comfortable when the pack was reduced to just the four of us.  As we continued to work through the lap traffic, closing the gap and all the high rpm spinning on the pavement began to take it's toll.  I lost contact with the 3 off the front.  I soloed home to a "comfortable" 4th place finish.

Tomorrow is my deadline for a team decision.  While I am still without a firm decision I do have a little more direction.  I am blessed to have so many really good choices.  Now if I could just make a decision on my coaching...

See you on the trails!

Race day!

The 2012 race season begins! Winter short track series preview.

 The five race Winter Short Track Series http://www.charlottemtnbike.com/short-trackhome.htm starts this Sunday, January 15th.  This event is significant for me because it marks the four year anniversary of my first bike race ever.  I started in Beginner Men 40+.  I had done a little bit of road riding and precious little MTB riding at that time.  I started in the rear of the field.  I was just about too nervous to pedal by the time we rolled off.  I survived and had a heck of a good time.  Through the years I've raced Beginner, Sport, Single Speed and Expert.  I raced 26" hardtail, 26" full suspension, 29er hardtail and 29er full suspension.  At times I've opted for a cyclocross bike in both geared and ss classes.  I've raced in the warm and the cold, wet or dry and even snow and ice.  One thing has never changed though: it's always an incredibly intense 30, 45, or 60 minutes of racing.   Just when I think, "I can't do one more lap" I hear Neal call out "Three laps to go!" and I think "...I can do three more laps" and I do.

And so can you.

A lot of things may be changing for my 2012 season.  I still have a lot of questions I have left unanswered and although I am not training specifically for results in Sunday's race I will be there, no matter the weather, on a rigid SS going 1/2 heartbeat BVT (Below Vomit Threshold).

See you on the trails!

Pisgah Moutain Bike Stage Race: Day Five

Cool weather welcomed the racers to the final stage of the race.  Jackets, arm and leg warmers were the attire of choice for most racers.  Adding to the "cool factor" was the fact that the 15 mile trip to aid station #1 featured 6 creek crossings.

We rolled off from the Black Mountain trailhead again.  This time we had a police escort for the 6 mile ride on Hwy 280.  Some racers actually opted for a road bike for this section, then swapped out bikes when we turned into the woods.  My legs were hurting from the previous 4 days of racing and it was a struggle to keep up with the pace on the road.  I managed to place myself around the people I was racing against and just hung on. 

When we turned off the highway, we were greeted with a bit of a climb.  The climbing suited my legs better and I managed to pull into the lead of my class.  And then the creek crossings started.  All of them were cold, some were quite deep and a few were technical in that we had to navigate slippery rocks.  After the creek crossings the trail turned upwards once again.  By now the sun has come out and whenever I'm not completely surrounded by rhododendrons the warmth feels good.

At aid station #1, Beth is there to help in the transition from cold wet clothes, to drier, speedier clothes.  It feels good to be in some dry socks and shoes but the legs haven't really come around yet.  I'm still leading but I feel depressingly slow.  But the trail continues upwards, so I keep climbing.  I've got no HR data again today so I'm trying to climb at a sustainable pace.  The climb goes on and on with some hike-a-bike but mostly pretty sweet single track.  More climbing.  I remind myself that this is the biggest climb of the day.  It's all easier after this.  Soon I get to a trail sign that reads "Pilot Mtn ".  I've never ridden Pilot Mtn, but I know that it's rocky and a favorite place for photographers to take pictures of the technical descent.  Descending is good, so I'm happy about that.  For a moment.  When Pilot Mtn turns downward it really turns downward.  It's a bit technical at first but it soon turns absolutely crazy.  There is one section of rocks ("rock garden" does not do it justice) where photographers, spectators and the white squirrel mascot are yelling and cheering the riders on.  The riding is so intense you have to stay completely focused.  Even so it's tough to ride the right speed to maintain momentum, but not so fast as to endo.  Constantly I am searching for the next rock to bash into that won't hurl me over the bars.  When I get out of this section, the rocky descent continues.  Only now it's big rocks and tight, tight, tight switch backs that you really don't want to overshoot.  I actually managed to pass two riders on this part, even though I dropped my bike 3 times on switchbacks.  The rocks ease up for a bit, but I'm still not at the bottom.  So I stay off the brakes as long as I dare.  Partly because it's a race and partly because I just want to get done with the descent.

When the bottom arrives I notice my legs feel a bit better, I feel a bit better.  I think it's the adrenaline.  I'm stoked to be alive to reach aid station #2.  It was one of my goals.  Their are only two climbs and two descents left, and I was pretty sure I could live through both of them - another one of my goals.  The climbing goes well even though I did get passed by a rider, but it was one I had passed on the descent so I didn't feel too bad.  The next descent is Avery creek.  It's a bit softer dirt than most of the rest of the trail and a bit technical, but quite rideable.  At this point I'm just happy to be going downhill again.  At the bottom of Avery creek is a few short creek crossings and some mostly flat trail making it easy to keep the pace high.

The final aid station is a repeat of yesterday's at the horse stables .  The wife hooks me up with the final gel and water bottle of the week.  I know the final miles pretty well by now.  The steepest part of the climb comes up first and my legs just don't wanna get going after the brief stop.  I thought I was leading (I wasn't).  I know it's about 45 minutes to the finish and I have a 51 minute lead in GC at the start of the day.  My body says take it easy, but Todd (the awesome race promoter) said he wanted to see everyone use up every ounce of energy on this last section.  The legs start to come around as the grade lessens a bit and I grind up the climb.  There is a rider up ahead, so I convince myself to reel him in.  I finally catch him near the top of the climb.  At the turn onto Black Mountain trail several Dirt Divas (A local to Charlotte MTB club) cheer me on.  Way cool.  It makes the hike-a-bike seem a bit shorter.  And then I reach the final descent.  In and of itself the Black Mountain trail descent is totally awesome.  Finishing a 5 day stage race with the opportunity to win all five stages makes it absolutely amazing.  I remind myself to enjoy every foot of trail.  I was a very little cautious on the couple of tricky parts near the top, but after that it was brakes off, full speed ahead.  If I flat or crash, I can walk in from here.  A bit scary, but amazingly gratifying to fly through the air, land and rail a bermed corner ...and do it again and again.  At the bottom I sprint across the line at 4:44.  I found out the rider I had just passed on the final climb had been leading the day in my class.  So I end the week having won all 5 stages.  It's way more than I could have hoped for and leaves me feeling very blessed.

Now for a little time off the bike.

See you on the trails! ...but not for a couple of days.