I am very sad to have read this post today. I have followed these folks lives for over a year now and FC has been very open about a lot of things. Elden is a very stong man and my heart goes out to him and his family. I am so sorry.
I will be racing in my Fat Cyclist jersey on Sunday. Other than contributing to team fatty and his livestrong effort (perhaps I should have joined the team for Philly?), but other than contributing, there is nothing I can do, but I can and will the jersey Sunday in honor of Susan.
Go hug your wife/husband/child(ren)/dad/mom/brother/sister/dog/cat/neighbor. Enjoy the each day and embrace it. Each is truly a gift and you never know if will get the same gift tomorrow. Make each one count.
www.fatcyclist.com
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
An open letter to my teammates
Team,
I wanted to share my experiences with you from the night race at Marsh Creek State Park. When I first heard about the event, I knew it was one I wanted to do. I have always had a good race at Marsh Creek, with my record being 2nd, 5th, and 3rd for the last three years. The course is nice, with some singletrack, some nice climbs, and some power road sections, which I do not like, but that is because wide open power sections are a weakness for me. Throw in some rocky sections, and some mud and it is a lot of fun. Before we get there though, I want to talk a little bit about my 2009 racing season.
A top five series ranking in the MASS is my goal for the year. It is my last year in Vet 1 Sport as I will officially be old next year (40) and racing in the next age cat. So far, the season has been fairly kind to me, with both Fair Hill races being the exception. I started racing way back in January, finishing 4th out of 60 riders in Leesburgh, VA in the ice and snow. In April, FH 1 was not kind to me because I was not smart at the start. I learned long ago that a finish line sprint at the start of the race is not too smart, but I entered this race with one goal in mind and if the course was only 1/4 long, I would have accomplished that goal. Unfortunately I forgot my previous lessons and I paid the price. The rest of the season has been pretty good to me, finishing just off the podium at many races and coming back late in other races to finish up strong. Granogue 6th. Iron Hill 4th. TdT 6th. Then I got sick after Tour De Tykes. Real sick. Coughing, phlegm, nasty sick. 11 Days of anti-biotics did a number on my body and I finished them the day before FH 2. I started the FH 2 race feeling strong, but knowing I was sick and had not trained in the three weeks prior to the race. Mentally I was blown before I even started. Sure I rode during these three weeks, but I did no intensity. None. And I paid the price. Right from the start, I was off the back and just rode the race instead of racing the race. Everytime I tried to get going, my body said no. My 15th place finish was not good, but it matched my finish from the Spring FH race, one that I was hoping to drop from my score. It was still better than mid pack though and I did manage to stay in the big ring for just about the entire race. It was also my first race on a 26er in a very long time. On the open, fast course, my 29er would have been a big advantage.
After FH, I looked ahead at the remaining races and put together a plan. Marsh Creek was too soon to train for, but I had to start training for the rest of the season. Game on. Tuesday after FH had me doing 5 minute start intervals. Wednesday was hill climbs, Thursday was two 20 minute time trial efforts on the MTB. Love those things.
I arrived to the Marsh Creek venue to find it was very dark. I got lost a few times getting to the venue, but that is to be expected up there as the park is tucked away behind houses and an actual town. Soon after registering, I found Joel Kahney. Shortly after, I met up with Steve McCann and then I saw Kid Chris (Consorto). Cool. We had four strong riders. I got dressed and took a pre-ride with Mark Sanford and Dan McDermott. I got lined up at the front and hoped for the best. Fields were smaller, but it was hard to tell who was in each class. I knew Mark Sanford was there and Chris Yanovich too. Number 1 and 2 ranked in my class and I was currently sitting in fifth place. I stayed close to Chris on the MASS start and I was among a select group of ten riders. I knew Mark had to be very close behind me. I held my position for a bit, then I got myself into trouble in the dreaded open sections by the Dam. I managed to hold my position in the first open section as Mark Sanford rolled easily up to my wheel right before we entered the woods. He coached me through the wet sections as he pre-rode the course earlier in the day and knew where the trouble spots were. I managed to get away from Mark over a really big (3 foot) double log crossing and started the stone road climb back up. Mark came rolling by a few minutes (OK, seconds) later, knowing the open sections were my kryptonite. This open section of the course was over a mile long and I really, really hated that. A few more riders came by and I could not wait to get back into the dark woods. I knew from racing this course last year that a big climb was coming up, one that I had to run with my singlespeed last year but would be able to ride with gears this year. I got most of the way up before slipping out and having to run the rest of the way. The woods were really dark and I switched on my second light so I could see better.
The rest of the race was pretty much all of the same. Some singletrack, some narrow doubletrack, some nice climbs, both long and short ones. The wide open sections were only part of the prologue, so I was happy to be through those sections. Wet trails at the bottom of the park, dry at the top, a lit up ruins house in the middle, and a rock valley that allowed my rear wheel to slide two feet to the right every single time (scary fun). I rode each section as I would my 20 minute time trial efforts. Somewhere out there, the battery for my bar light slid down my bottom tube and it disconnected. After wasting 15 seconds trying to reconnect it while still riding, I gave up and tucked the wire under my cables. I still had my helmet light and if I lost that, I would come to a stop and fix the bar light. I passed the scoring trailer, confused if I just rode 4 miles or 9 miles. See, the course was 1 prologue lap and two laps and I never asked how many times we would cross the finish line. Looking at my watch, I figured out that I was out for about an hour and hopefully had two laps down with one to go. During my last lap, I got passed by a few of the Elite riders that were out before us and rode one more lap. First was Rob L, then a little later Wes came by. When Matt Miller came by in 5th place, I jumped on his wheel for three seconds, then I heard Kid Chris announce his arrival and I backed off so Chris could jump on Matt's wheel. I pointed out that Matt was right there in front of us as he passed me, but Chris told me he was right in front of him all race and he had been trying to close the gap for the entire race. I rolled on Chris' wheel for a short time, allowing him to pull me forward and therefore closer to the finish. The rest of the lap was uneventful and I was surprised how much shorter it seemed (well, duh, it was only 5 miles VS the 9 for the prologue/lap ). After crossing the line, I verified I was indeed done and turned in my chip.
The podium was kind to me as I finished in 3rd (of 5 riders) and scored the points that go along with 3rd, moving me up in the overall Vet 1 rankings. Awards started about 1:50 AM and looking at the pictures, it was pretty clear I was sleeping on the podium. My only podium this year so far and you would think I could look happy? I know I felt happy and smiled, so I think the posted picture was taken early in my 15 seconds of fame. I think this finish places me solidly in 4th place, but I am not taking the time to do that math right now. Once we get past 7 races, the posted points mean nothing unless you account for the best 7 races for each rider. Prior to this race, the rider in 4th has one extra race than I do and the rider in 6th has one less race than I do. The 4th place rider has beaten me the last two races by a small margin and is a great climber. The rider in 6th was the de facto champ in Vet 1 Sport last season as the rider awarded the championship upgraded to Expert once the title was locked up mid season.
As far as team points, prior to this race, we were in 5th place. I think we may currently be in 4th and we have some work ahead of us to make it to third as Bike Sport had a ton of riders out there on Saturday night. When I joined this team, it was with the vision that Allied Milk would be a top three small team in the MASS. It has been a great ride and I hope we finish that ride up strongly. I trained quite a bit in the off-season, losing 25 pounds of extra body mass and training like never before, scouring the internet and training books to learn how to get better, as well as bugging all of my racing friends for training ideas. I left a team I have been riding with since 2003 (first as the Wooden Wheels team and then Henry's Bikes, with a core group of riders all moving at the same time), give or take two seasons where I was lucky enough to be sponsored by Fort Frames, where I starred every week as pit master for the Elite team after racing the C and B Master's races earlier in the day. I gave up cyclocross last year to focus on MTB for 2009, allowing myself to build a good base in the off-season instead of racing myself silly year round. I am just an average racer that has had to work hard for the results I have earned and I know that I still have a lot of work to do to get where I want to be, but I am passionate about this sport and goal oriented. I wanted this season to count and I wanted to be on a team that wanted the same things I did. I know that Dan wanted a team podium when we talked about it over the winter. I know from Saturday night that Joel and Steve want it. I know Kid Chris wants it - why else would he be chasing down Cannondale sponsored riders for a 5th place finish at 1:45 AM instead of being out late partying like other 22 year old males?
So for the rest of the season, I have laid down a challenge to myself to finish up on the podium at each race and keeping myself firmly positioned in the top five ranking in the Vet 1 class. I am facing my kryptonite at Sewell this weekend, the land of super-fast big ring riding and few climbs or technical sections. I know it will be the hardest race of the series for me, for I am at home when the riding is technical, the climbs are long, and the conditions are horrible. I get by with my skills and average fitness. But I am facing my demons on Saturday. The rest of the MASS season is important to me and to my teammates. Who knows where we will be next year or what will happen with the MASS? Things could change a lot, but rather than focus on next year, let's focus on the rest of this season. The only thing that matters now is the next four MTB races if we want to podium. On Saturday, we will be in the belly of the beast, slaying the D and Q dragons who I think are now right behind us in the Small Team rankings due to our Saturday night performances. They have been close to us all season and I get to directly take on one of their riders who will be in his element on this power driven course.
Thanks for listening to me. I hope to see you all at the Summer Sizzler on Saturday.
James
Sunday, June 14, 2009
I think is best to write race reports right after the race. As time passes, details are forgotten. Here is the deal with Iron Hill. I went out hard, I pulled away from most of the others pretty easily. I rode tempo a bit when I should have been going harder, I held off the 4th place rider in the hardest part of the course only to let him pass in an easier section, let him get away, realized what was happening, and then took chase and gained a lot of ground between us, but not enough to pass him or even to catch him. I let him escape for about 20 seconds and pulled 12 of those back in the last 1/4 mile. I am pretty sure I could have taken the sprint if I was just smart enough to stay on his wheel when he went by. Push off the podium by the same rider who pushed me off the podium at Granogue.
Tour De Tykes
I was disappointed to be the only Allied Milk rider at this race, other than Seth who did not race but provided moral support out in the woods. Race started on a very long climb and I managed to blow myself up before the top, sat in, and took about two miles to recover. Once I got moving like I knew I could, the course started going downhill and I was left to just ride the brakes on the steep, loose terrain. It went this way until the second loop of the course. I saw fellow rider and friend Mark Sanford up the trail, so I took chase. We were climbing a long climb and it appeared he was in granny (I later found out his shifter cable broke and all he had was granny, although on this course, one could get by with just the little chainring). So I worked my way though a couple riders and got on Mark's wheel. He immediately offered me the chance to pass, but I told him it was me and that I would not pass until I earned it. He let me by anyway and I thanked him. I worked hard to put a gap between us and shortly came up on Tom Snook. I played the same game, passing the riders between us, was offered the chance to pass, and identified myself and told him I would earn the pass. He agreed. I was able to pass him shortly after that, and worked to put a large gap between us, not large enough as I would find out later on. At this point, I was riding pretty good and other riders were falling off the pace. I saw another "V1" on a calf and made chase. We were in the last mile or two of the course and I really tried, but was unable to pass this last rider. I would get close and he would pull away. An Expert rider was between us (they started before us and rode a longer loop). The Expert rider would bobble and allow the V1 Sport rider (another BikeLine rider named Chris Doocey) to gap me. The last 1/2 mile of the course was cruel. The course would head downhill and you would think you were done, then it would turn right back up the mountain. It did this at least four times. I kept my eye on the Bike Line rider (Chris) and would watch as Tom Snook was behind me, but not able to pass me.
We finally came out on the road and I sprinted for all I was worth to the finish line. I should have sprinted a little more, 2 second faster to be exact. You see, the race used a timing mat at the beginning and at the end. Remember in American Flyers when the Russian, David, and 7 Eleven guy were racing along and 7 Eleven guy said "You are in front of me, but I am 10 seconds in front of you?". It was the same with Tom Snook. He had a 10 second cushion on me, because he rolled over the timing mat 10 seconds behind me at the start. Even though I gapped him and fought hard to stay in front, he was awarded the 5th place finish because it took him 2 seconds less to cover the course. There was so many places I could have pulled back those 2 seconds, but I had no idea. Rich Bilson finished on the podium about two minutes up on me, but I do not even think he hung around to get his medal and prize.
The climbs in this race, combined with conversations with Nathan Diebert had me thinking a 26 is a good choice for certain courses. I "think" I would have climbed better with the smaller wheel and the course was technical, but not that technical that I would have needed the 29er. The flatter rolling courses are where 29er is king (not to mention the rocky venues too), but 26 climbs better than a 29er when one is in granny and the course offers 180 degree turns followed by more granny climbs. I was definately taking inventory of my parts after this race, seeing if I had enough to put together a race worthy 26 from the parts I have in the basement. I think I am pretty close.
So even though I have failed to earn one this season, I am still in the game for a podium shot. The guy who keeps me off the podium, Chris Y from D and Q? He finished up in 2nd place at TdT - good for him. I knew he was serious when I was getting dressed and he was warming up on his trainer with his road bike.
I am looking forward to the next races in July. That allows me a good training period to get ready for the races and I have a plan in place. Hopefully by the end of July, I will have the chance to stand on a MASS podium. Racing has been good to me this year and I have some really good finishes, just not quite what I am looking for. Season is not even half over yet though and there are plenty of opportunites for improvement.
Tour De Tykes
I was disappointed to be the only Allied Milk rider at this race, other than Seth who did not race but provided moral support out in the woods. Race started on a very long climb and I managed to blow myself up before the top, sat in, and took about two miles to recover. Once I got moving like I knew I could, the course started going downhill and I was left to just ride the brakes on the steep, loose terrain. It went this way until the second loop of the course. I saw fellow rider and friend Mark Sanford up the trail, so I took chase. We were climbing a long climb and it appeared he was in granny (I later found out his shifter cable broke and all he had was granny, although on this course, one could get by with just the little chainring). So I worked my way though a couple riders and got on Mark's wheel. He immediately offered me the chance to pass, but I told him it was me and that I would not pass until I earned it. He let me by anyway and I thanked him. I worked hard to put a gap between us and shortly came up on Tom Snook. I played the same game, passing the riders between us, was offered the chance to pass, and identified myself and told him I would earn the pass. He agreed. I was able to pass him shortly after that, and worked to put a large gap between us, not large enough as I would find out later on. At this point, I was riding pretty good and other riders were falling off the pace. I saw another "V1" on a calf and made chase. We were in the last mile or two of the course and I really tried, but was unable to pass this last rider. I would get close and he would pull away. An Expert rider was between us (they started before us and rode a longer loop). The Expert rider would bobble and allow the V1 Sport rider (another BikeLine rider named Chris Doocey) to gap me. The last 1/2 mile of the course was cruel. The course would head downhill and you would think you were done, then it would turn right back up the mountain. It did this at least four times. I kept my eye on the Bike Line rider (Chris) and would watch as Tom Snook was behind me, but not able to pass me.
We finally came out on the road and I sprinted for all I was worth to the finish line. I should have sprinted a little more, 2 second faster to be exact. You see, the race used a timing mat at the beginning and at the end. Remember in American Flyers when the Russian, David, and 7 Eleven guy were racing along and 7 Eleven guy said "You are in front of me, but I am 10 seconds in front of you?". It was the same with Tom Snook. He had a 10 second cushion on me, because he rolled over the timing mat 10 seconds behind me at the start. Even though I gapped him and fought hard to stay in front, he was awarded the 5th place finish because it took him 2 seconds less to cover the course. There was so many places I could have pulled back those 2 seconds, but I had no idea. Rich Bilson finished on the podium about two minutes up on me, but I do not even think he hung around to get his medal and prize.
The climbs in this race, combined with conversations with Nathan Diebert had me thinking a 26 is a good choice for certain courses. I "think" I would have climbed better with the smaller wheel and the course was technical, but not that technical that I would have needed the 29er. The flatter rolling courses are where 29er is king (not to mention the rocky venues too), but 26 climbs better than a 29er when one is in granny and the course offers 180 degree turns followed by more granny climbs. I was definately taking inventory of my parts after this race, seeing if I had enough to put together a race worthy 26 from the parts I have in the basement. I think I am pretty close.
So even though I have failed to earn one this season, I am still in the game for a podium shot. The guy who keeps me off the podium, Chris Y from D and Q? He finished up in 2nd place at TdT - good for him. I knew he was serious when I was getting dressed and he was warming up on his trainer with his road bike.
I am looking forward to the next races in July. That allows me a good training period to get ready for the races and I have a plan in place. Hopefully by the end of July, I will have the chance to stand on a MASS podium. Racing has been good to me this year and I have some really good finishes, just not quite what I am looking for. Season is not even half over yet though and there are plenty of opportunites for improvement.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Iron Hill - -- Arrgh$&^@#&*^
Like the name of this blog, I have spent the entire year chasing the podium and while I have failed 100% of the time to get up on the box, 75% of the time I finished up just below the podium, missing it by one place and at Iron Hill, by 10 seconds. To make matters worse (or perhaps to fuel the training fire more), I was the podium presenter at two of these events. It was bitter sweet to be standing behind the podium as the top three in my class stood on the podium.
As I was leaving my house, the skys opened and rain began to pour. YES! I love the days with rough conditions as I think it brings out the true mountain bike racer. Muddy courses require fitness, bike handling skills, and a good mindset. Technical courses like Iron Hill even more so.
Arrived on site and helped the promotors with registration. They decided to take a different route with the timing chips and I think the Sport lines may have been a little longer than those at Granogue. The timing guy is new this year and we are all learning. Here is a message to other promotors using the time. Split up your chips by beginner, sport, and expert so that you do not have to sort through hundreds of chips at a time.
Mark Sanford and I went out on a little pre-ride to scout out tissue hill and slime hill. Tissue hill went straight up the hill this year (down by the parking lot) and the angles were a little different. On to slime hill to see if it would be ridable. It was not, but we talked about where to run up (left or right). Left was King here. We got to see some 8 year old boy become totally frustrated here, falling down over and over again. He started to cry a little bit, then Mark picked his bike up and got him up the hill. It was a very nice move on Mark's part as the boy stopped crying and started racing his bike again.
The race start was not too fast and furious. I think all of us in Vet 1 are content with a cival starting pace, at least everywhere except Fair Hill and I can thank myself for that start. Chris Arterburn was leading us once we got into the woods, followed by Damon, Paul, Me, and Mark Sanford. Poor Chris went down on the first wooden bridge and his wreck was not bad, but he was on the right side of the bridge and his bike was on the left, so he had to wait to get back to his bike. Order was now Damon, Paul, Me, Mark. Paul was the next to go down, so order was Damon, me, Mark, Paul recovered and came around to make it Damon, Paul, Me, Mark. I let Mark by and the four of us just pulled away from everyone else. I fell off the pace, but passed Mark on Boneshaker as he crashed hard and was pretty shaken.
I remained in third from Boneshaker until almost the end of the race. Riding along, passing lots of folks from other classes, feeling the build-up in my legs, but feeling pretty fresh the entire time and attacking sections of the course. I was a little surprised at how easy it felt, but my legs were telling me we were putting out some efforts.
(MORE TO COME)
As I was leaving my house, the skys opened and rain began to pour. YES! I love the days with rough conditions as I think it brings out the true mountain bike racer. Muddy courses require fitness, bike handling skills, and a good mindset. Technical courses like Iron Hill even more so.
Arrived on site and helped the promotors with registration. They decided to take a different route with the timing chips and I think the Sport lines may have been a little longer than those at Granogue. The timing guy is new this year and we are all learning. Here is a message to other promotors using the time. Split up your chips by beginner, sport, and expert so that you do not have to sort through hundreds of chips at a time.
Mark Sanford and I went out on a little pre-ride to scout out tissue hill and slime hill. Tissue hill went straight up the hill this year (down by the parking lot) and the angles were a little different. On to slime hill to see if it would be ridable. It was not, but we talked about where to run up (left or right). Left was King here. We got to see some 8 year old boy become totally frustrated here, falling down over and over again. He started to cry a little bit, then Mark picked his bike up and got him up the hill. It was a very nice move on Mark's part as the boy stopped crying and started racing his bike again.
The race start was not too fast and furious. I think all of us in Vet 1 are content with a cival starting pace, at least everywhere except Fair Hill and I can thank myself for that start. Chris Arterburn was leading us once we got into the woods, followed by Damon, Paul, Me, and Mark Sanford. Poor Chris went down on the first wooden bridge and his wreck was not bad, but he was on the right side of the bridge and his bike was on the left, so he had to wait to get back to his bike. Order was now Damon, Paul, Me, Mark. Paul was the next to go down, so order was Damon, me, Mark, Paul recovered and came around to make it Damon, Paul, Me, Mark. I let Mark by and the four of us just pulled away from everyone else. I fell off the pace, but passed Mark on Boneshaker as he crashed hard and was pretty shaken.
I remained in third from Boneshaker until almost the end of the race. Riding along, passing lots of folks from other classes, feeling the build-up in my legs, but feeling pretty fresh the entire time and attacking sections of the course. I was a little surprised at how easy it felt, but my legs were telling me we were putting out some efforts.
(MORE TO COME)
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Iron Hill Week
Iron Hill is scheduled for this Sunday. Iron Hill is the place where many of the Delaware/MD/PA riders go their start, either racing or just riding MTB. For a small park, the place offers a lot: Challenging climbs, rocky trails, rock gardens, whoops, fast descents, and just a really fun place to ride. Many of the trail names are known to the local riders and some are as colorful as the place once was. I got to ride a fast lap on Sunday with a local Jedi and then two more fast laps on Monday, pretty much have the course dialed in. Expectations are high for this weekend. Hopefully the rest of my Allied Milk teammates will be in attendance this weekend as well and we can take a big chunk of the small team competition points.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Fair Hill Race Report
The day started a little earlier than average. Up at 5:30, breakfast and coffee made, eat as much as possible and drink as much water as possible. Arrived at Granogue around 6:30 and made my way to registration. Lauri Webber had a great system set up and I trained the other early 
workers and got ready to register the 32 pre-registered marathon racers. Around 8:00 or so, I left registration to get ready for my 9:00 race. Warmed up on the road a little bit, dumped my vest and arm warmers, and took my place in the staging pens.
Before I knew it, my group was at the starting line and next to go. Fat Marc set us off and I fight my temptation to go hard off the front. I still find myself at the front, but decided to just sit in and not get too excited. Former Fort Mate Richard Bilson and his C3 teammate start to pull away from the rest of us towards the tower. I sit back and wait for someone else to chase, but after about 5 seconds of this, I decide to bridge up to their wheels. Rich led us up the Tower Climb and we hold formation to the top. Once on the other side of the tower, a few folks get around me, and then slow me up big time on the singletrack climb out to the cross-roads. Into the new singletrack section and through Deputy’s Woods, I am definitely in the wrong place and get held up a lot. I found it faster to just get off the bike and run around some of the riders who are slowing me up. By the end of Deputy’s Woods, things are more open and I start to move forward. I also pass the last place singlespeed rider right after the road crossing. The trend of passing the singlespeed riders continues for the rest of the race and I pass all but the top three SS racers by the end of the race.
The rest of the race was mostly uneventful except for my exchanges with Chris Y from D and Q. He and I start exchanging positions about halfway through the first lap and thi
s continued to almost the end of the race. He had more power than me on the open sections, like the road climb, and was a much better descender. I rode uphill a bit better and ran better. I casually mention we could wait until the end to fight out who would finish first and he replied “Or we could just continue to sort it out now”. He got away from me at the end of the first lap and I did not see him again until the river trail, where he stopped to clean his bike. I told him I was going to go ahead and attack him and he said fine. He jumped on his bike and hung with me for the rest of the lap. I asked him if I thought we were close to the top ten and he told me we were in the top five, which turned out to be true. We both advanced forward, but never caught anyone from our class. He did have two teammates up ahead and we saw one of them at the top of the last singletrack climb. Chris attacked me on this section and got away. I never saw him again. It was about this time that my rear shifter crapped out, leaving me with two front rings and only a 34 in the rear. I switched to the big ring and stayed there until the end of the race, ending up in 6th place for the day. One place away from the podium.
The next MTB race in the MASS is not until the end of this month. This is the Iron Hill race, an event that I am looking forward to competing in.
Major props to Rich Bilson, who ended up 2nd in Vet I and had a blazing first lap time.
Pictures by the uncomparable Dennis Smith
workers and got ready to register the 32 pre-registered marathon racers. Around 8:00 or so, I left registration to get ready for my 9:00 race. Warmed up on the road a little bit, dumped my vest and arm warmers, and took my place in the staging pens.Before I knew it, my group was at the starting line and next to go. Fat Marc set us off and I fight my temptation to go hard off the front. I still find myself at the front, but decided to just sit in and not get too excited. Former Fort Mate Richard Bilson and his C3 teammate start to pull away from the rest of us towards the tower. I sit back and wait for someone else to chase, but after about 5 seconds of this, I decide to bridge up to their wheels. Rich led us up the Tower Climb and we hold formation to the top. Once on the other side of the tower, a few folks get around me, and then slow me up big time on the singletrack climb out to the cross-roads. Into the new singletrack section and through Deputy’s Woods, I am definitely in the wrong place and get held up a lot. I found it faster to just get off the bike and run around some of the riders who are slowing me up. By the end of Deputy’s Woods, things are more open and I start to move forward. I also pass the last place singlespeed rider right after the road crossing. The trend of passing the singlespeed riders continues for the rest of the race and I pass all but the top three SS racers by the end of the race.
The rest of the race was mostly uneventful except for my exchanges with Chris Y from D and Q. He and I start exchanging positions about halfway through the first lap and thi
s continued to almost the end of the race. He had more power than me on the open sections, like the road climb, and was a much better descender. I rode uphill a bit better and ran better. I casually mention we could wait until the end to fight out who would finish first and he replied “Or we could just continue to sort it out now”. He got away from me at the end of the first lap and I did not see him again until the river trail, where he stopped to clean his bike. I told him I was going to go ahead and attack him and he said fine. He jumped on his bike and hung with me for the rest of the lap. I asked him if I thought we were close to the top ten and he told me we were in the top five, which turned out to be true. We both advanced forward, but never caught anyone from our class. He did have two teammates up ahead and we saw one of them at the top of the last singletrack climb. Chris attacked me on this section and got away. I never saw him again. It was about this time that my rear shifter crapped out, leaving me with two front rings and only a 34 in the rear. I switched to the big ring and stayed there until the end of the race, ending up in 6th place for the day. One place away from the podium.The next MTB race in the MASS is not until the end of this month. This is the Iron Hill race, an event that I am looking forward to competing in.
Major props to Rich Bilson, who ended up 2nd in Vet I and had a blazing first lap time.
Pictures by the uncomparable Dennis Smith
Monday, May 4, 2009
So. Darn. Close.
More later, but I was so close to hitting the podium yesterday, I could taste it. During the race, I was actually in a podium spot, only to lose it in the last mile of the race. Great course. Awesome MTB conditions, and an interview on http://www.cyclingdirt.com/ right here.
I will post my race recap tomorrow, but suffice to say I was pleased with my finish. I also figured out that I blew my Fair Hill Result in the first 60 seconds of the race. The rider who finished directly in front of me at Fair Hill commented when he saw me at Granogue about how fast the FH start was. In pictures, he was right behind me in the starting line sprint. At Granogue, he finished up in 3rd or 4th position. I did not overcook myself at the start of Granogue and was able to do much better as a result. I was stupid at Fair Hill, drew other riders out in my stupidity, and they suffered a similiar fate. Lesson learned. No more sprint starts for me.
Big thanks to this guy and a well timed comment about my race performance. Your words made a lot of sense Travis and when I read them last Thursday, I started feeling good about my chances at Granogue. Your advice, as small as it may seem to you, continues to help me get where I want to be. Knowing you were here before and seeing where you ended up helps a lot, like when Julian Michaels on the Biggest loser pulls out her fat pictures!
Race Recap will be posted soon.
I will post my race recap tomorrow, but suffice to say I was pleased with my finish. I also figured out that I blew my Fair Hill Result in the first 60 seconds of the race. The rider who finished directly in front of me at Fair Hill commented when he saw me at Granogue about how fast the FH start was. In pictures, he was right behind me in the starting line sprint. At Granogue, he finished up in 3rd or 4th position. I did not overcook myself at the start of Granogue and was able to do much better as a result. I was stupid at Fair Hill, drew other riders out in my stupidity, and they suffered a similiar fate. Lesson learned. No more sprint starts for me.
Big thanks to this guy and a well timed comment about my race performance. Your words made a lot of sense Travis and when I read them last Thursday, I started feeling good about my chances at Granogue. Your advice, as small as it may seem to you, continues to help me get where I want to be. Knowing you were here before and seeing where you ended up helps a lot, like when Julian Michaels on the Biggest loser pulls out her fat pictures!
Race Recap will be posted soon.
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