But sadly they will be re-retired to the poo poo thunder later today. More about this after the spine tingling race report.
At the beginning of the race, all the riders deemed worthy are called up to start in the front of the pack. Yesterday I got a call up. I feel validated.
Starting at the front sounds nice in theory, but when the first half mile of the course is totally flat, on a SS it's more of a cruel joke than it is an advantage. When the go signal was given, I heard the furious clicking of gears as the the mechanically assisted field picked up speed and rolled by me. A lead pack broke away and I stupidly tried to catch them. I failed.
We hit the first big road climb and everybody bunched back up. JPok went by, but I didn't really have the legs to go with him, so I just settled into a nice pace and trundled up the hill.
(Pirated from Mike Briggs facebook. Why did no one tell me I looked so silly on those bars? And if you did, why didn't I believe you?)
We hit the first big road climb and everybody bunched back up. JPok went by, but I didn't really have the legs to go with him, so I just settled into a nice pace and trundled up the hill.
(Pirated from Mike Briggs facebook. Why did no one tell me I looked so silly on those bars? And if you did, why didn't I believe you?)The road ended and narrowed to a moist leafy section of flat double track. Before long we began to hit deep mud holes. They became more and more frequent until they appeared about every 230 feet. The trail took a sharp right and started up a super steep climb.
I was caught behind two Dirty Harry's gentleman going up the hill (I use the term caught very loosely, because I was not actively trying to become un-caught. perhaps 'followed' would more accurately describe my situation.) Anyway, we were not moving with any sense of urgency, so I alternated between running and riding my bike.
At the top of the hill the course became very predictable. If you missed it, I'll paint a written verbal photograph:
Right
Left
Log
Log.
Log
Left
Log
Right
Log!
Log
Cheering women in the middle of nowhere
Log.
Log.
And so on.
There were a ton of slippery logs. In the two four mile laps of that course, I think it's safe to say that I crossed more logs than I have in all my other races this season combined. After the land of the logs, the track went back down the hill. Near the bottom of the paved climb, it went back up and the pattern of mud holes, running, and logs was repeated.
Coming down the hill the second time, I saw I sport rider up ahead who was about to complete his first lap. We hit the pavement at the same time and a sprint to the finish/ half way line ensued. I narrowly edged him out as he rolled through for four more miles. I am such a bad ass.
While I did thoroughly enjoy using my upside down grandmotherly handle bars, they will not be on my mountain cycle for the next race. The sweep was good, but they're just too narrow to be practical. I was not feeling like I had enough control on the wet rooty sections of the course. A bar with more sweep and the same width as my Salsas would be about perfect.
1 comment:
mother and i both agree that you look very bearish with your long hair. and by bearish, i mean cute. because cute is the only adjective to describe a bear, other than vicious, and you don't look vicious at all.
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