 |
| From New River and falls race 09 |
 |
| From New River and falls race 09 |
 |
| From New River and falls race 09 |
 |
| From New River and falls race 09 |
When we crossed the New River Gorge Bridge, we knew we were getting close to Oak Hill. Eventually we arrived at Ace Adventure Center, and I have to say, at first I was a little concerned. From the quality of their website, I was expecting a little more from the welcome center. It was small, olive drab, and unassuming.
After checking in and receiving our free camping, we headed up the steep switchback laden road to the ‘mountain top’ campsite. My trepidation was erased when I saw the bathrooms. They were very nice, and very clean. Nothing says more for a place than a nice place to do business. It was with out a doubt one of the nicest campgrounds I’ve ever stayed in (with the exception of the loud, intoxicated neighbors.)
 |
| From New River and falls race 09 |
My original plan was to pre-ride the course, but we arrived too late, so I contented myself with a short spin around the camping area before bed.
 |
| From New River and falls race 09 |
The short rotund man with glasses raised his arm and cried “Ready!” We were off. Befuddled, he said “ok, I guess go.” But we were already flying down the dusty road. I had lined up at the front so I struggled to spin fast enough to stay with the geared riders. Before we finished the first half mile, I heard the hiss of a flat tire. Another single speeder had picked up a puncture right off the start. The field rolled by.
As we narrowed down and hit the first section of singletrack, I had managed to stay near the front. The trail was cut into the side of a steep ridge, and the guy in front of me was sliding all over the place. On the first climb I saw Benji come around me and promptly crash into the rider in front of him. He hit the ground with a thud and I swerved to avoid him, knowing that he would probably catch up again.
The trail opened up to a section of dirt road and I estimated there to be about five riders ahead of me. We rode down more singletrack before hitting a dark tunnel of rhododendrons. The slippery path snaked through the shrubberies before terminating in a long rock garden. I was bunched up behind a guy who dabbed a foot or two, and I saw Benji take a shorter line through the rocks and blow by.
We spilled out onto a fire road climb, and I put in a hard effort to catch back up. I looked down at my computer and saw that I was climbing at 17 mph. Not to shabby.
We made a quick left and started a steep descent. I noticed that the trail name was ‘Rigor Mortis’ Suddenly my field of vision was filled with big yellow signs that exclaimed ‘!!!CAUTION!!!’ The rider in front of me skidded to a stop and dismounted his bike. Not knowing any better, I kept going, and the trail dropped straight down. There were roots and slippery rocks scattered all over the path, with a few big ledges thrown in. At the bottom of the section, the 12’ ribbon of dirt turned sharply to the right with a huge drop off on the left side. The next down hill was nearly identical. I got my ass way behind the saddle and hoped for the best.
When I finally hit the bottom, I shook out my hands and put the power down. Before long I caught Benji, and we rode together for a few minutes. Eventually I heard him say “I’ve got no recovery today.” With that I pulled away and kept hammering up the climbs. The rest of the lap was much less technical, but still a blast. I was looking over my shoulder the entire time, expecting to be passed.
 |
| From New River and falls race 09 |
I rolled through the start finish area and started my second lap. My mind was on Rigor Mortis the whole time. I traded places with a geared Gary Fisher guy a few times before we hit the deadly down hill. I rode the descant sans drama, and pulled away from the other rider on the next climb. I was so excited that my skin was intact and that I hadn’t crashed.
The course was super fun the rest of the way. It was smooth, with fast turns and just enough technical and climbing thrown in. I was still pushing hard expecting to be passed, and my quads felt fit to burst. In my oxygen deprived state I reasoned that one 11.5 mile lap + another 11.5 mile lap = 21 miles. When my computer hit 20 miles I started to sprint, thinking that the finish was less than a mile away. 21 miles came and went, and with a disheartened laugh I realized that 11.5 + 11.5 = 23 miles. Oops.
Finally I saw the light at the end of the trees and I hit the last climb. Gunnar came from nowhere and passed me. “No way am I gona let that old man beat me with 400 meters to go” I thought. But I did. I was tired. And he was fast.
 |
| From New River and falls race 09 |
I crossed the line with one other single speeder in front of me. I had ridden my entire race like I was in 2nd and chasing the winner, and as it turned out, that’s exactly what I was doing.
 |
| From New River and falls race 09 |
No comments:
Post a Comment