I did 2 races this past weekend. The trip to the midwest was to race
The Berryman Trail Epic with dad. It is a 1 loop 56 mile mountain bike race almost entirely on pristine Ozark, leafy, rocky, singletrack. Not overly technical, but very rocky and bumpy. I was on a brand new Trek Elite carbon hardtail frame for the race. Dad was on his Fisher Superfly 100.
Cayle and I flew in on Friday morning, getting into STL at just after 10. Then we drove down to
Bass River Resort in Steelville, MO where the race would start and finish. On Friday afternoon, dad and I headed out to preride the first 5 miles of the trail. At this time all equipment was working great, and the trails were in great condition!
The race starts at 830 on Saturday morning. Temp was in the low 30's, but supposed to be warming up to mid 70's by early afternoon. Perfect for racing! It was Dad and I, and another friend from Effingham, Blackberry. Blackberry had done the last 100 mile race with me as well in Ohio, and had done this race last year. We lined up about 4 rows back which put us somewhere in the top 50 starting out, out of 221 racers. Mass start. Unfortunately, some poor souls forgot how to clip into their pedals, and there was a massive traffic pile-up/jam at the start! By the time we got going a few seconds later, we were closer to 100+ people back of the leader. Only one thing to do... I TOOK OFF!!! I knew where I wanted to be (near the front) going into the first 3ish mile rock road climb to the beginning of the singletrack. I quickly passed bunches of people, and finally settled into a rhythm about 40 back of the front. When the climb started I continued passing bunches of people, until I was eventually riding with a group of 4 just behind the leading group of 15 fast guys. We were running a good paceline, trying to close the gap when we entered the singletrack. I was first in my group into the singletrack, just a bit behind the leaders.
I felt great! Coming from altitude, there was so much oxygen, I never even got winded. Shortly after entering the woods, my chain fell off to the inside of the crank.... (OH CRAP!!! Not shifting issues this early in the race!!!!) Turns out I could just shift and get the chain back on, ok, no biggie. Within the next couple miles, my chain did this 5 more times.. I thought I was hitting the shifter with my hand, but nope, that wasn't the issue. Front Der. just wasn't lined up quite right to prevent the chain from hopping off. So anyway, I hit the first checkpoint about 11 miles in, right at about 20th position. Didn't stop, just kept going, out onto the highway for a 1/2 mile, then back into the woods. Climbing. About halfway up the 1/4 mile climb... BAM!!!.... chain had snapped in half.... DAMN!!!! Never have had this happen to me before, not sure why it happened this time... No tools to fix it, so I rolled back down the trail about a mile to the checkpoint, and luckily somebody was able to help me fix it. Took about 10 minutes or so. At some point in this time, Dad had passed me, and Blackberry also. I told Blackberry I would catch back up, and he said "I hope not." I caught him within 3 miles... I was really moving, trying to make up lost ground, and I ended up having a small crash on a tight switchback that bent my derailleur a little bit and yanked the chain out of the der. More trouble... Seemed to be the theme of the day. This one put me out of the race. Luckily another guy was also having trouble, and he helped me fix mine enough to get to the next checkpoint where the rest of the family was waiting. Soon as I got there (20 miles in) I was done! Tired of shifting issues, and bike not working properly, I was forced to quit. Damn! I was feeling great too. On the plus side Cayle had a Huge Smile for me when he saw me!
Dad had a great race! No bike issues, and was able to cruise to the finish with a time of 5:15 good for 32nd place out of about 150 finishers. Great result for sure!
The race was super well organized and super fun! Great weather! Great Beer after! Great Swag! I still can't believe all the things they offer for this race!
Free Beer!
Tons of Swag (including backpacking tents, GPS units, and 3 single speed mountain bikes!)
Great prize $$$ $1000 to first, plus $400 for breaking the course record, plus good money to the top 10, and the top 3 finishers in each age category!
Just a very well organized and well run race, and I would like to try again some time!
Sunday was a cyclocross race in STL. Bubba Cross race #3 out at Fort Bellefontaine Park on the north side of town. We were undecided if we were going to participate or not until Saturday night. Mainly because my race went so poorly on Saturday. I decided to line it up with the B category, while dad was doing the C's. He gave me the option of riding his cross bike after he was done with it, but I just opted to stay with the mountain bike which I was more familiar with anyway. The start is super important in cyclocross races, so I made sure I got a front row spot. I had my pink argyle Yeti's kit on, and got tons of stares and compliments! That kit gets so much attention outside of the local race scene here in Colorado. I didn't really know what to expect, and I think people underestimated me because they didn't know who I was, and I was on a mountain bike. A guy asked if he could have my front row spot, and I gave it to him.. (stupid!)
Dad finished 5th in his race the day after a strong 56 mile mountain bike race!
When the race started I shot out of the pack and quickly settled in at 4 spots back. 1/2 way through the first lap, I decided we were going to slow, and tried to make a pass, and everyone started yelling at me... (ride faster then...) There were 4 of us most of the first lap, and I felt pretty great. Down to 3 on the 2nd lap of the 45 minute race, and then down to 2 for the rest of the race. I led for several laps, and he led for several laps before finally putting in a little dig and gapping me by just enough to hold me off. I ended up taking 2nd about 8 seconds back on a full suspension mountain bike! Would have been interesting to see if the result would have been different on a cyclocross bike. But I made my choice, and was more than stoked with 2nd place! It was great having Bob, Michael, Mom, and dad, and a few others yelling at me and cheering for me the whole race! This made up for the bike problems the day before!
Bubba #3 B Race Results
Fort Belle Fontaine Park - Sunday 10/23/2011
My fitness was dialed in! Weight was great! And got the results to show for it! Now time for chicken wings, donuts, ice cream, and beer whenever I want. It's snowing outside right now, winter is here, and time for some rest and non bike riding activities! First 7th grade basketball tourney this weekend!
He also loved playing in the nursery area! He loves to play, but does not like it when there are lots of other kids that are loud and have lots of energy. He likes to survey his surroundings for a bit first before he jumps in to play.
He looked super cute in his lion outfit!
