I had my first race last night since moving to Colorado. It was also the first Mt. Bike race I have done in almost 2 years. When I last raced on the dirt I was competitive in the sport class and this was 2 years ago, and I have or like to think I have greatly improved in that time as a cyclist. So I signed up for the sport class. My goal was to be competitive.
I arrived late to Beaver Creek ski area and was told the parking garage at the top of the mountain was full so I would have to park 3 miles down the hill and ride my bike to the top. The race was supposed to start at 5:45 and it was now 5:30. There is no way I would have made it to the top in time to get money from an ATM, register and be ready to race. So I drove up to the top anyway and did circles around the parking garage looking for a spot... nothing.... still nothing.. still nothing, then I gave up hope and was ready to head home. As I came out of the garage I saw a lady walk into the garage, so I did a quick u-turn and followed her to her spot and when she left I took her spot. Within 5 minutes threw my bike together, got dressed and took off for registration. They were very helpful, I was able to use my check card for payment, and all I had to do was sign a release and they help me put my number on my bike. Then I took off for the line. I was stuck in the back of about 150 riders. All of a sudden they blew the whistle, and I thought it was my field, so I hopped over the barriers and ran with my bike in front of everyone, and then they announced... "Men's Sport up next" whew, what an idiot I was, I had just butted in front of everyone else in my class. So I said sorry and just got ready to go...aka tried to catch my breath....
So in any mountain bike race I have ever done, you usually start out trying to get the hole shot, then gear down to be ready to climb the first short hill. Short being the key word! So coming out of the gate I was in about 3rd wheel, really moving along, then we hit the climb..........and it kept going and going and going and going...... and I kept losing spot after spot after spot. So starting the hill I might have been in 3rd wheel, and halfway up the hill about 15th and just looking for a spot on the trail where I could duck out of the race and quit, cause I couldn't breathe and couldn't feel my legs. I was doing about 3.5 mph and was getting passed left and right. When we got to the spot where the road met the single track I just hopped off my bike and pushed up the last little bit, (just to make sure my legs were still connected to my body...) Hopped back on my bike and there was a false flat section of single track that I was only able to do about 12 mph on it, I didn't know I was still going uphill, I thought I was riding on a flat tire.... We hit the downhill and I started catching people and passing them but when we hit the uphill on the second lap all the people I had passed came back by me. Got a 2nd wind on the 2nd lap and started feeling much better, still only going 4 mph uphill, but my legs didnt hurt so bad. On the ensuing flat and downhill single track I was flying. I caught a lot of people and was able to pass several of them before the finish.
Ended up 19th out of 25 in my class. Didn't get lapped by anybody in the pro class. Not really what I wanted, I ended up about 14 minutes behind the leader of my class. But really excited to have done my first mtb race out here, and got a really good workout.
Bottom line..... lose 10 more pounds and get stronger and I should be able to compete for the top spot next year.
Results:
Story:
No comments:
Post a Comment