I decided to try my hand at another race. I entered the Dirty Dawg mountain bike race at Mountain Lake with a week to spare. I had never ridden there, in fact I think this would only be the second time in my life that I've ever been up to Mountain Lake. For those who aren't familiar with this place, it is the "resort" that is featured in the ultimate chick flick "Dirty Dancing." So it was off to Kellerman's Sunday morning. I was hoping that since Mountain Lake is indeed on a mountain that it might be cooler than the humid, sweltering heat of the Roanoke Valley. I was rewarded with temperatures in the upper 70's, but still humid. Oh well at least it wasn't 100.
So leading up to the race, I checked BikeReg to see if any other women would sign up for Sport class. All too often I find myself racing against no one, so it's really hard to judge you abilities. I tend to try to beat at least one guy if all else fails. I couldn't set any sort of time goal for this race because of the unfamiliar terrain etc. As it turns out there were two others preregistered, so then I began to wonder how I would measure up against these women who I don't know. The drive from Roanoke took a bit over an hour - I tend to drive slow anymore. I failed to read the directions to the parking area so I disregarded the paperplate sign displaying MTB with an arrow. I thought this was a course marking in all honesty. Well once I completed a nifty tour of the forest service roads that border the property, I found myself in the correct spot. SIGH - hopefully this would not be a sign of things to come.
After arriving, I noticed that another young lady was present who typically beats me. I figured I'd at least finish behind her as she is good for 16 years of age. Oh well, I reminded myself this was going to be a fun way to see a new (to me) trail system. So I registered, then changed and went to preride the part of the course to see what I was getting into. I was worried right off the bat because there was a lot and I mean a lot of loose shale-like flat rocks. Oh please let my tires stay inflated. On top of that there were rock gardens and tree roots galore, would I have enough confidence to handle it? When I prerode I was timid and anxious and only rode a short distance down to a downed tree which I managed to hop over. I decided to turn around and go back to the parking area since I was unsure of how to get back if time ran short. I pre-rode another short section of the course which seemed easy compared to the first section.
For the start of this race, they crammed all of us on a gravel road that led up to the start/finish line. This would be a mass start meaning all classes go at once and it quickly turned into a clump of riders as soon as people hit the singletrack and the aforementioned flat rocks. Once we all stopped then started then stopped again, we were able to get rolling down the flowy part of the trail. I was following the quick 16 year old and she was picking good lines, so that was fine with me. We watched a guy endo over the log, but both of us managed to stay upright and passed him. Once at the bottom of the rocky, rooty hill, you hit this short, steep muddy hill that goes onto a wooden bridge then quickly up to a gravel road. The muddy section was a bit squirrelly, but I managed to stay upright. Gravel roads are ok as long as they are packed down, but this one was packed to the point where the mud was sucking you in and when it wasn't it was slick and would kick your backwheel out from under you. Next up was a slight left onto singletrack again. Some faster people came barreling by on the left never saying a word, so I was shouting to the people in front of me because this was the stupidest place to pull that kind of move. One of them slipped and nearly fell - deservedly so, I passed him, never asking if he was ok or anything. Jackass. Once of the hill, people started footing out and walking. Forget that, this is a bike race, I just geared down and kept spinning. I passed two or three people including the girl on this hill. It seemed like this hill went on for a long time, but I just kept turning the pedals. A guy was behind me and struck up a conversation which was great because it took away the monotony of the climb. Eventually this trail goes left onto a double track to another gravel/mud road. I got passed by another woman at this point and figured I'd let her go and see what I could do about it. She got away a bit on the gravel road, but once on the next singletrack downhill, I caught back up with her. This singletrack was a fun downhill leading to another access road (I think). It all runs together. After that road you turned onto gravel again for about a half mile. The woman got away again, but I would soon find her walking up a climb that was riddled with rocks and roots. I passed four people including her on this climb. I'm not sure where the skill came from to manage this feat, but I was proud of it.
Soon I would zoom though the start/finish line and start my second lap. The initial downhill section was a lot more fun without people in front of me. I had to put a foot down before the bridge, but soon found myself climbing back the hills again. I had to walk a bit on the first section near a big trailside rock, but then found a rhythm to continue on. I kept expecting the other woman to come by me at any point, but the only person near me was the DireWolf racer, Erik then an expert guy who rode behind for the longest time. The second lap was easier to negotiate, but my legs grew a bit tired. The mud on the fire roads was worse than riding in grass. It seemed to sap my strength. I ended up having to walk a few steps at the top of the rocky/tech climb. The the last uphill that I had walked on the first lap, I rode a good ways up the second before my legs said forget it.
As I came out of the woods to head the finish line, I had even dropped the DireWolf guy. I rode as fast as I could through the finish line. I truly expected that someone had finished ahead of me, but as it turns out I was the winner of the Sport Women category!!!! After the results were posted online, I discovered that I beat the 2nd place person by nearly 4 minutes. WHAT? As I've said it has been a long time since I won anything, and I don't think I've ever won by that wide of a margin. It still makes me wonder how much I've progressed since I don't know the other person to know her abilities. Anyway, I was/am very excited at how this race turned out. I think the course was just right for me with the long,steady uphills and the mixture of gravel roads and trails. It just all worked out great! =)
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Fat 5 INFERNO Enduro
Well instead of boring you with tons of information about the windstorm from hell, I'll summarize by saying, my lights got knocked out Friday night when it rolled through and didn't come back until July 4th; so 4.5 days without power. You know all that you need to know by now about what happened and I'll share some funny stories and insights about my experience towards the end of this long post. Since this is a bike blog, I'll focus on the bike race.
Of course the power got knocked out the night before I was to be in a 5 hour mountain bike race. I had been hydrating all week since the forecasted temperatures kept climbing and climbing without any respite in sight (had to rhyme sorry). I slept horribly without AC and my mind was on a dozen other things. I woke up at 545 after probably falling asleep around 1am. I decided that since Kenny Palmer is almost certifiably insane when it comes to his races that the show must go on. I turned on my phone which by now was down to minimal battery and found on facebook that indeed the race would go on as scheduled with a possible delayed start due to many fallen trees on the 7.5 mile race course.
So I decided to pack up my stuff and head down to Bedford. This was an adventure in itself as I had to move sticks and debris from my stairs before I could even get my bike and coolers out of my basement. Then along the drive there were a few trees that had fallen on the road and of course VDOT had not bothered to set out any warnings or even attempt to move them. Well made it to Bedford, set up "camp" near the bottom of the hill - any amount of shade was the goal with the temperature now forecasted to be 100°F. Prior to the race, we all shared stories of wind damage, power outages etc; but all decided we were going to have a fun day! As we were getting ready, Kenny and his band of merry men were out on course clearing trees and other debris. I think he said they moved around 20 trees with 10" or larger trunks on the first 5 miles alone. Now that is a dedicated race promoter! The show must go on!!!
I think the race started about 20 minutes later that originally planned. I had a goal of completing 3 laps or ride for 3 hours (of 5 total) then I could quit. Falling Creek Park and I have a tendency to not get along in the summer. Recall two weeks ago I crashed, last year was a horrible race; so it was bound to be my turn, right? So when the race started, the fast guys went off like they had 5 minutes to get done while I decided just to take it easy and get into a comfortable pace. It was already hot. What was I thinking?
The good thing about Falling Creek Park is that I've been there enough to know the trails. I know where I can go and where I need to take time to pick a good line. I still can't ride one particular right hand switchback - it's aggravating!!! I didn't wipe out at the bottom of the first down hill for the left hand turn before the Strava climb. In fact, I climbed the hill behind the nursing home every time without walking and actually passed people on it. There is this one uphill that goes over a tree root, immediately followed by a flat, left hand turn over another root then down. I rode it the first lap and encountered someone stopped on the flat, so I managed to foot out and get around them. On one of my other laps I flew up and over it all the while a guy stood there watching and asked how do you ride that? I said it's taken me 5 years to figure it out and laughed. The other memorable section of the race course was the "beginner downhill run" at the end of the bike park. Kenny routed us through the bike park where obstacles were optional - the only one I messed with was the rock garden each lap. The downhill run is a flowy, singletrack downhill with berms and jumps. An absolute blast! I enjoyed jumping the jumps each time especially the last two. I did play on the berms a couple of times, but as I got more and more fatigued I just skipped them.
In the end, I was so happy with my effort - I did 4 laps (got talked into the 4th one as I was going to quit). I rode for about 4 hours and 45 minutes which was about 29 miles. I finished 5th out of 7 women (last of those doing 4 laps), but I climbed really well at times. I did walk some, but not much. I managed to ride across the slick rock, but had to foot out on the far side of it. It was a tremendously fun day. There was more than enough water, gatorade and places to cool off. The misting tent at the finish line was so awesome. During the race, I did two laps before I stopped for a break. When I went back out for the 3rd lap I put ice in my jersey pockets then pulled some out and put in the top of my helmet. There were ice towels at the finish line and the water stop which were an shocking way to cool off. I have no idea how much fluid I drank during the race, but I never felt dehydrated nor did I get a headache after the race which usually happens.
This was a great day - I decided to enter another 6 hour race in Patrick County in August. I am hoping that I continue to have time to prepare for that type of race - I may drum up a partner for it since I've never ridden there and supposedly it is a harder course. The big goal for me this year is the Rotor Meltdown in October which will be approximately 33 miles at Carvins Cove. Meanwhile, today is rest day since it's raining and I need to head to Kroger for food!
I'll write up another post about living powerless for 4.5 days! Stay cool, have fun!
Of course the power got knocked out the night before I was to be in a 5 hour mountain bike race. I had been hydrating all week since the forecasted temperatures kept climbing and climbing without any respite in sight (had to rhyme sorry). I slept horribly without AC and my mind was on a dozen other things. I woke up at 545 after probably falling asleep around 1am. I decided that since Kenny Palmer is almost certifiably insane when it comes to his races that the show must go on. I turned on my phone which by now was down to minimal battery and found on facebook that indeed the race would go on as scheduled with a possible delayed start due to many fallen trees on the 7.5 mile race course.
So I decided to pack up my stuff and head down to Bedford. This was an adventure in itself as I had to move sticks and debris from my stairs before I could even get my bike and coolers out of my basement. Then along the drive there were a few trees that had fallen on the road and of course VDOT had not bothered to set out any warnings or even attempt to move them. Well made it to Bedford, set up "camp" near the bottom of the hill - any amount of shade was the goal with the temperature now forecasted to be 100°F. Prior to the race, we all shared stories of wind damage, power outages etc; but all decided we were going to have a fun day! As we were getting ready, Kenny and his band of merry men were out on course clearing trees and other debris. I think he said they moved around 20 trees with 10" or larger trunks on the first 5 miles alone. Now that is a dedicated race promoter! The show must go on!!!
I think the race started about 20 minutes later that originally planned. I had a goal of completing 3 laps or ride for 3 hours (of 5 total) then I could quit. Falling Creek Park and I have a tendency to not get along in the summer. Recall two weeks ago I crashed, last year was a horrible race; so it was bound to be my turn, right? So when the race started, the fast guys went off like they had 5 minutes to get done while I decided just to take it easy and get into a comfortable pace. It was already hot. What was I thinking?
The good thing about Falling Creek Park is that I've been there enough to know the trails. I know where I can go and where I need to take time to pick a good line. I still can't ride one particular right hand switchback - it's aggravating!!! I didn't wipe out at the bottom of the first down hill for the left hand turn before the Strava climb. In fact, I climbed the hill behind the nursing home every time without walking and actually passed people on it. There is this one uphill that goes over a tree root, immediately followed by a flat, left hand turn over another root then down. I rode it the first lap and encountered someone stopped on the flat, so I managed to foot out and get around them. On one of my other laps I flew up and over it all the while a guy stood there watching and asked how do you ride that? I said it's taken me 5 years to figure it out and laughed. The other memorable section of the race course was the "beginner downhill run" at the end of the bike park. Kenny routed us through the bike park where obstacles were optional - the only one I messed with was the rock garden each lap. The downhill run is a flowy, singletrack downhill with berms and jumps. An absolute blast! I enjoyed jumping the jumps each time especially the last two. I did play on the berms a couple of times, but as I got more and more fatigued I just skipped them.
In the end, I was so happy with my effort - I did 4 laps (got talked into the 4th one as I was going to quit). I rode for about 4 hours and 45 minutes which was about 29 miles. I finished 5th out of 7 women (last of those doing 4 laps), but I climbed really well at times. I did walk some, but not much. I managed to ride across the slick rock, but had to foot out on the far side of it. It was a tremendously fun day. There was more than enough water, gatorade and places to cool off. The misting tent at the finish line was so awesome. During the race, I did two laps before I stopped for a break. When I went back out for the 3rd lap I put ice in my jersey pockets then pulled some out and put in the top of my helmet. There were ice towels at the finish line and the water stop which were an shocking way to cool off. I have no idea how much fluid I drank during the race, but I never felt dehydrated nor did I get a headache after the race which usually happens.
This was a great day - I decided to enter another 6 hour race in Patrick County in August. I am hoping that I continue to have time to prepare for that type of race - I may drum up a partner for it since I've never ridden there and supposedly it is a harder course. The big goal for me this year is the Rotor Meltdown in October which will be approximately 33 miles at Carvins Cove. Meanwhile, today is rest day since it's raining and I need to head to Kroger for food!
I'll write up another post about living powerless for 4.5 days! Stay cool, have fun!
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Lights are back on, finally! Only 108 hours later....
Going to write a book about the past 5 or 6 days - Meanwhile, here's a link to Strava to share the bike race data from Saturday.
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