Coyote Hill - May 27, 2012

courtesy of Crystal Gauvin

courtesy of Crystal Gauvin

A true mountain bikers course, Coyote Hill proved to be a fun challenge for the team this Memorial Day weekend.  There were many podiums - Rich 2nd, Chris 3rd, Liz A 1st, and Liz B 2nd- in their respective racing categories.  John finished in 6th and Tracy completed her first race in her new category.

courtesy of Crystal Gauvin

John Hansson:

Courtesy of Crystal Gauvin

"Where to begin...if there was ever a course that i had a chance to hang with all the roadies this was the one. The 30 foot sprint just to dive into tight single track really set the pace for the rest of the course, i found it to be butt puckering exciting and leg burning challenging.  As always the root 66 guys put on a heck of a function, kudos to them. Nearest i could tell, everyone had a great time riding that course. Its definitely my new favorite. Now, couple that with a super fun trip to kingdom trails after the race and blammo...you have the best weekend a mountain biker could ask for.  But by far, my favorite part of this weekend was really feeling like part of a team. The club turnout was fantastic, everyone was there from beginning to end. We had our own tent, our own grill, and a crap ton of laughs.  That was the reason why I wanted to race.  I know I didn't mention the countless hilarious discussions, the quote list, the off road adventure, the camping adventure, the mcdonalds deposit, and story time with aunt liz...wow i'm still reeling."

Liz Bove:

courtesy of Crystal Gauvin

“I'm not good at remembering the order of things that happened during a race. That was particularly true for this venue. The course was a very difficult one for me. I recall a blur of slide-outs, slips, endos, and overall cramping misery. I lost my water bottle on the first lap. I've never had such cramping on a ride. My calves and quads were killing me for the whole 2nd lap. First place was well ahead and by the second lap I didn't see the woman in third, so decided to take it easy and hope focus on finishing. I stopped to recover my water bottle and another time to gather myself and drink Gatorade and eat a GU. My thought was that if third place caught me, then so be it. I couldn't have finished without giving myself the breaks. It ended up working for me. First place was never a consideration. She passed me early and appeared to be flying over the technical course! The results showed she won by 9 minutes! I finished in second place and was very happy to be done with it.”

courtesy of Crystal Gauvin

Tracy Gustafson:

“My first Cat 1 race, DAM THAT WAS HARD!!! 

courtesy of Crystal Gauvin

This course was more technical than any other course I have raced so far and, since I upgraded, I got to do 3 laps instead of 2 - YIPPEE!! There was a lot of single track, roots, bridges, and twists and turns. Now for the play by play: At the start, my plan was to be at the back going into the single track, being my first cat 1 race I didn’t want to screw anyone up. Soon after the start I was able to pass 3 girls for a little while anyway. The first lap I felt good it seemed to be all coming together and I was thinking dam this is fun!! By the second lap I was slowing down some, but was able to hold off 2 of the girls until the end of that lap, when cramping started to slow me down some more. Going in to the 3rd lap I was starting to really hurt. Still holding off one of the girls until probably mid way through, when my legs and arm started to cramp even more and I had to stop. Then it all fell to shit, I tried to keep it on the bike but, cramps in calfs, feet, adductors and hands slowed me down and at this point I just wanted to be able to finish. Overall glad I upgraded, I may have been DFL but, I finished and had fun. Pain = Fun right? I am very impressed how fast peeps were able to race that course, some very skilled racers out there. Also impressed how kind everyone was, anyone who passed me whether it be the Pro and Cat 1 guys lapping me or the and the girls in my Cat. They all would ask it I was okay or offer words of encouragement. MTB racing is an awesome experience with wicked cool peeps!!! Looking forward to another beat down next weekend.”

Liz Allen:

courtesy of Crystal Gauvin

"It was survival.  I felt awful after the first lap and felt like I was barely moving at a slow crawl.  My start was a little stressful, but I was able to put that behind me after a bit, but I never really got into a good groove.  Racing on the 26 hard tail seemed to take more energy out of me than I wanted.  I was constantly out of the saddle.  It was tough, but I didn't let myself quit, regardless of how badly I wanted to.  Thankfully, the course was fun, and it's about time we see something more mountain bike racer inclined and less 'roadie'."

EFTA's Weeping Willow

A handful of DAS racers took the starting line in Ipswich, MA Sunday for the Weeping Willow race at Willowdale State Forest.  With this being the farthest drive of the season (so far) at a little over 2 hours, it meant leaving pretty early for those guys and gals racing in the Sport category at 9:30 am.  Representing DAS this time around were Liz Bove, Matt Danis, John Hanson, and Liz Allen.  

The race had required registering in advance because of its popularity and lack of parking, and it was capped off at around 400 riders well before the registration was officially scheduled to close.  DAS had been fortunately tipped off to this in advance and told that it would be a fun race to head out to.  The rumors held up; the course was fast and fun.  

Liz B - courtesy of Michelle Packer

Liz B had a podium finish once again in a stacked field.  This race brought out a lot of female racers, which is not always that common in mountain biking.  Here’s her take on the experience:

Women's Sport - courtesy of Michelle Packer

“Weeping Willow was a course that suited me well. It was fast, flowy and not very technical. Since the women's fields are so small, we all started at the same time. In the Root 66 series, I'm familiar with many of the racers by now, but in this race there many new faces and I couldn't be sure who I was racing against. I got off the start in 2nd position. At the second section of single track, a woman who looked crazy fast (yes, I judged a book by its cover) got in front of me. She got caught up a couple of times, each time I tried to get past, but couldn't. The third time she fell I was able to get around her. We were about 3 miles in and I led the first lap from that point on. My reaction to being in the lead was to ride scared. I was anxious and trying to look behind me often. This made me push harder than I probably should have. 

Liz 1st Place - courtesy of Michelle Packer

For a while I think I had a sizable lead, but soon into the 2nd lap, Kyla caught up to me. I knew Kyla to be a very fast rider, but also in the younger category. We stayed together for most of the 2nd lap with Kyla leading. With two miles to go, we had been caught by two more women, Haley and Amanda, when I wiped out. Now all three women were in front of me as we headed into the final stretch together. I didn't know what category Amanda was in, so I passed her, only to be passed by her, Haley, and Kyla respectively. It was an exciting finish with all four of us passing and being passed in a short distance! I was relieved to learn that Amanda was also in the younger category and I had taken first in the 40+ Cat 2. 

I had a great time racing and really have come to appreciate the camaraderie of the super cool women that race!”

John H has been working hard the past few weeks.  With only two races under his belt and bike that weighs a good 5-10 lbs more than the competition, his attitude is admirable:

“I came with a plan to race my own race. I didn't worry about the hole shot and aimed just to keep them in sight. Everything worked out great! Came through the first lap with plenty of legs left. Made a couple of passes stick through most of the second lap in spite of two minor crashes. But at the very last section of single track I had a really good crash that took it all out of me. The frustrating part was losing all the places that I had moved up to, knowing I had enough left to hold position. But in writing this while sitting in the doctors office waiting for x-rays, I’m smiling remembering how much fun it was. Looking forward to coyote hill. I’m hoping for some better luck so I can see the hard work pay off.”

Matt made his debut this week racing a geared bike for the first time this season.  He raced his singlespeed at his last two races.  Another guy with a commendable attitude despite results that he wasn’t completely ecstatic over:

“A bad day on your bike is better than not riding at all. That's what I am going with today. The course at Weeping Willow was fast and flowing. I however, was neither. If the goal was to suffer, then it was a complete success.”

Liz A lined up with 5 other elite women for what was certain to be another leg ripper.  Unfortunately, she had her first, and hopefully last, DNF of the season:

“I should have known better than to go into the woods with no tools again.  I’m done with that.  Regardless, it wouldn’t have made a difference even if I’d had the proper supplies.  I was basically about 2 miles in when I noticed my bike was steering a little off.  In fact, I thought something was wrong with the fork at first. When I finally allowed myself to look down, I was devastated to see my tire had lost a lot of air.  I kept pedaling while I really let it sink in.  In retrospect, that was probably a terrible idea because then I had even farther to walk out of the woods.  I also think the flat had started before I’d even really gotten going because my bike felt awful from the very start of the race.  Anyhow, I spent some time cheering on the racers that had started after me as I made my way back the way I’d come.  Fortunately, or unfortunately, (I’m not really sure about this one yet) I came across a guy who was patiently waiting for a medic to escort him out of the woods.  He’d hurt his hip and couldn’t get up, but he offered to give me CO2 so that I could ride faster to get him help.  On my way back to get help, I actually encountered the help who were already on route to the poor guy, so I didn’t feel bad when my tire started getting flat again, and I had to slow down.  By the time I’d made my way to timing van to drop out, the elite men had already started coming through to start their second lap.  

It was a huge disappointment, but I knew that even if I’d been able to put air in my tire, it’d only have gotten me a little farther, and a tube would have been nearly impossible to get in with the tight-fitting Ardent I use on the front.  

When I got home, I found that the rim tape had a puncture in it, and it had probably been there awhile.  There was sealant caked around the hole, and I’m guessing it was a problem just waiting to show itself.  Unfortunately, it cost me a fun day of racing.  On the plus side, I got to watch Karen Potter kick some butt, and I got to cheer on a lot of my friends who were racing while I caught up with some other friends.  It turned out to be a great day!  I even scored some loot from the raffle!” 

The results of the race can be found HERE.

The next race on the agenda is Root 66’s Coyote Hill Classic which will probably be the farthest drive of the season at around 4 hours away.  It’s a fun course, and it sounds like it will be well-attended by team DAS. 

The Battle at Burlingame, May 6 2012

photo by Amy Biscup

On Sunday, May 6th, a few DAS racers headed over to Burlingame, RI for the first ever Battle at Burlingame classic mountain bike race.  The Burlingame Time Trial a month or so earlier was in the same park, but the courses were entirely different.  The Battle was a ripping fast circuit that had a little bit of everything: bridges, roots, berms, wide open flats, short punchy climbs, short steep descents, and a nice ridge line full of rocks.  With it being around a five mile or so loop, the different race categories did everything from 1 lap to 6 depending on their level of expertise.  

Due to time constraints with a hectic work schedule, John Y raced the novice singlespeed category at 9am which turned out to be an impressively fast group of men.    As soon as his race ended, he was off to New Jersey for business.  There’s nothing like squeezing in a little racing where ever you possibly can:

“The Battle at Burlingame was an after thought race and ended up being the most fun I've had racing since my duathlon days. I had dropped down a class to "novice," which in this case only meant distance (10 miles), as I raced my singlespeed, and the singlespeed was an "open" class (any skill level). This race probably would have gone differently if : a)I hadn’t been hung over and b) I had ridden my singlespeed at all within the months before the race. I literally took it off the wall, put some sealant into the tires, pumped, and loaded the bike onto the car. So, I was under-geared. And hungover. 1st and 2nd place simply walked away from us (gearing) as I furiously spun my cute gear and battled for third with some guy (henceforth known as Mr. Poopie Pants. Mr Poopface Poopy Pants. Mr.Poopface Poopy Pants III esq,). Pants sucked my wheel for the first lap. I'd gap him, attack, and gain some time, then run off course (twice), and he'd latch back on. The course was fast and fun BTW. So going into lap two, I had 10 seconds or so on him. I screwed up a section of wooden bridges, and he caught up. I let him pass figuring that since I lose him on the flats, I'll just follow him and try to drag race him up the rise to the finish. Plus, I was tired of setting the pace. Well, I not only screwed up the bridges but I really screwed up a technical ridge section so bad that I lost sight of him. Already red lining, I went ludicrous speed after Poopface Pants the Stupid Head. At this point I actually started tripping on lactic acid. I actually almost caught up to the dude but I was at my limit. I came around one of the last corners which was 90 degrees into a log and stopped dead. Are you F'in kidding me? I crossed the line 15 seconds back. Poopyhead turned around to thank me for a great challenging race, that it was most fun he'd had in years. I half listened, pitying him for clearly being less endowed than I. I spent the next two days being bitter to Supidheadsmallweiner but I realized that it was all my fault, I handed him the race. I'm over it now and have forgiven myself and Poopface Poopbreath IhateyouIhateyouIhateyou.”

Something tells me that in us waiting over a week to post this write-up, John has not forgiven himself or Mr. Poopyhead.  

At 11:30, Dan and Liz A lined up for the expert and pro categories.  For a first time race that didn’t count towards any sort of points series, there was a very respectable turnout of fast racers.  The whole day was extremely well organized, and it was obvious that a lot of work had gone into the setup.  It will, undoubtedly, be a venue that will see more and more racers each year.    

After haggling all week over whether or not he would race, Dan finally decided to sign up for the Expert Men’s group, and he did well:

photo by Amy Biscup

“The Battle at Burlingame is a long race, 27.5 miles for cat1. To make up this many miles they had us do five laps. To many people it is an easy task to count up to five, however when you are at your max anaerobic threshold for 2 hours, it becomes quite daunting. To make sure I did not miss count, I put tape on my bars, every lap remove one, this is how I rolled! The first lap was the normal ‘wish I knew the course and warmed up, blow up sprint.’ I was going to try to stay on Shawn Mottram’s tail but got quickly dropped as my heart rate went through the roof. I settled in 3rd place for a while until I picked up a stick that proceeded to slightly bend my rear rotor! I stopped on the trail as my good friend John Sumner passed by. At this point I felt a little out of the game. I started up again with my breaks rubbing and squeaking feeling the drag. Then, miraculously, my pad contact let out and I had no drag! I started hammering. At some point I must have passed another guy and I caught back up to John to finish 2nd. It was a very fun course, a great amount of single track. For me the parking lot crossings were the most challenging! On the last lap I went the wrong way off the course for a few seconds. Had to turn around and ride back and watch as John was closing the gap!”

Photo By Meg Dineen McMahon

Liz A arrived at the race knowing that she would have at least one woman to race against in the Pro Women’s group.  Jena’s bike issue from the previous race (broken frame) had derailed her plans to head to Delaware for the AMBC race, so she was able to race Burlingame instead.  It was a pleasant surprise to have Karen Potter show up - she’s an unbelievably talented and hardworking ultra endurance racer.  Not only that, but Susan Lynch, the Cat 1 racer who usually beats Liz, decided to race the open category this week.  There might not have been a huge field of competition, but it was a fast and talented one:

photo by Amy Biscup

“I took off with the group and maintained contact for most of the first lap.  It seemed like the technical sections were saving me from losing site of them because that’s where I usually relax and do what I’m good at.  It was the flats and the slight ascents that were killing me.  I really don’t have any road legs yet... as I’ve whined about previously... I know that’s my weakness, so I just have to suck it up and push harder.  I had my usual mental crisis during the 2nd and 3rd laps, but somewhere during lap 4, my pity party ended and I started feeling like it was time to race.  Too bad that I’d let myself get so far behind.  On the final lap, I saw Susan below me on a section of singletrack, and I knew I could catch her if I just left all I had out there in the dirt...  that was the incentive I needed to ride recklessly.  I took off, and there was no stopping me... except there WAS stopping her...  her chain snapped on one of the short punchy ups.  I was a whole lotta ticked off because my motivation took a quick dive.  After that, the thought of her potentially catching me again kept me sprinting the last few miles to the finish.  

I finished strong, which makes me think that I could have gone harder earlier on.  Oh well, there’s lots I am learning about my racing style, and there’s lots I need to improve.  Every race is a new learning experience.  I just need to stop making the same mistakes over and over again... I’m looking forward to Weeping Willow on the 20th.” 

Lungs Open? Massasoit...

The weather on Sunday was magnanimous after last week's Cat 1 soaker.  MAGNANIMOUS!
It was sunny, cool, dry... all the things you want for a fast race in a place with a lot of roots.  The course was perfect, and even the sandy sections were packed enough that high speed could be maintained throughout.  We had a blast!  There were some good things and some bad things, but overall, lessons were learned, and we can't wait for the next race!

Here are the results...

Dan Biscup:

"Its a public service announcment!:

Yip, yip, yip, what does that mean?! So I am a fast rider… or so I thought! I have to hand it to the CAT1 field, they are ridiculously fast! I got to the race with just enough time to pedal up and down the road onetime and get in line. Needless to say my first lap was my warm-up. My race started in a pace line for the first half lap, I ultimately fell off the back expecting to “real them in” somewhere in the middle of lap2. Lap2 came and went, there was no reeling. 40+ and single speed pro peeps proceed to pass me and I was in the void, alone, franticly peddling. At some point I started singing TV commercial songs. The oddest thing was I was riding fast, so fast that I could hardly keep my bike on the trail, pushing as hard as I could! I finished 4th from the bottom, 2 DNFs and probably a guy that had a worse day then me! I will say from what I could see on the results board the whole category came in within 10 minutes of each other, I was not too far back on this long of a race. I am a mountain biker and truly enjoy riding no matter what the results are. There are lame people out there that yell stuff from way behind you (like 4 turns back) to break your concentration so you will slow down and they can catch up and pass. To me this is absolutely bad sportsmanship. If you feel that you need to yell “yip, yip, yip” for 10 minutes while you finally catch-up and pass, you are in the wrong sport."

Liz A:

"The women’s Pro/Open field has been pretty stacked this season.  There are some smoking fast veteran racers as well as some girls who have made the switch from road and cross over to mountain biking.  It’s intimidating.  Honestly though,  I’m happy to race against them.  I might be coming in at the back of the pack (ok, it’s DFL), but I’m not that far off the back.  This race was fast and furious, and right now, I just don’t have it.  I can get myself up to a pretty steady speed of fast, but that’s it.  There’s no top end that I can dig into at this point.  It’s early though.  

So, my start was really good.  I got into the woods fast, but I only held myself up there for the first mile before the rest of the girls pulled away.  Less than halfway through the first lap, I ran into Jena Greaser with a mechanical.  I found out later that her carbon fiber frame basically fell apart, but when I saw her, it reminded me that I never put any tools in my pockets.  Oops.  Glad nothing happened.  Somewhere during lap 2, Susan Lynch (Cat 1 35+) passed me.  I was hoping to hold her off longer than that, but no such luck.  She’s an animal.  A little later in lap 3, I saw her kit ahead of me and got excited, but it was one of the men who had started ahead of me.  I crashed on the final lap and bounced myself up quickly - I can’t even use that as an excuse for a poor time.  Luckily, none of the other Cat 1 women caught me, but I am willing to bet their times weren’t far behind.  

Overall, it was a really fun race, and if anything, it was just what I needed as far as training goes.  I’ve been avoiding road training (mostly due to time constraints), but it’s clearly time to get my slow butt out on the pavement once in awhile."

Tracy:

"On the start line I am thinking it will be important to get out in front right away because as soon as you hit the woods you are bombarded with single track, roots, bridges and more roots. This isn’t what actually happened but, that was my thought process anyway. At least I wasn’t last entering the woods I would say I was probably mid pack. I luckily was able to pass a few girls and was ahead of a crash that took my fellow team mate and friend out of the race  :(  Glad she didn’t get hurt; the bike is easier to repair. I am glad that I did get to pre-ride this course and found that helped me out a lot. Overall I liked the course it had some technical areas but, it was fast. Other randomness; Mountain bike courses are not really spectator friendly and that is okay, because I don’t feel so bad when I drop the F bomb. Luckily I don’t drop the F bomb to often. Okay knee pads, yes I wear them and without knee socks they are very noticeable in pictures. O well, good thing that all the kool kids wear them. Hahahah and yes I think I am still recovering from the amount of dust I inhaled during that race."

John Y:

"Frustrating result yesterday due to chain skipping on the rear and dropping off the front. Oh yeah, lost my hydration 1/2 hour in. Turns out my rear wheel was cocked in the frame (thanks to Le Velo for noticing!)and trashed front chainrings. I think I may switch back to singlespeed until the Specialized Gods smile upon me. I felt great, I loved the course, I was hanging with some good guys pushing past my comfort zone (a good thing) and not making mistakes but when your on your limit keeping up and stop dead several times, you're not catching back up. One of these days I'll put together a race more indicative of my potential."

John H:

"Race recap.... I thought this course was way more fun than hop brook; it was way more technical and fun to ride. My first lap, I rode every obstacle - less that last hill - but on my second lap, I found myself running when I had to to conserve some energy, I was fading fast. Fuelled by my disappointing finish at hop brook, I hit the weight bench harder, hit the trails harder and longer, and integrated some road rides into my weeks. I was happy with my results (not DFL) - mainly because it showed my hard work is paying off. As always, I found that just about every fellow mountain biker was really nice. All in all, I'm smiling knowing I crossed the line with nothing left and surpassed the goal I had set for this race. To the rest of the DAS team, thanks for helping me train and steering me in the proper direction."

Liz B:

"I chose the wrong time to try to pass another racer less than 2 miles in. We both went down. She was able to get up, but my handlebars were twisted and I couldn't untwist them because the brakes were stuck in the carbon. DNF. 

I'm focusing on the things I learned from the experience. It's all part of racing."

(Sidenote... for those of you out there reading this blog, this is NOT part of racing.  If someone is ready to pass, and they have initiated a polite motion to do so, you should let them pass.  This is especially true if they are faster than you, in another racing category, or you are riding really sloppy in front of them.)

Crystal:

"Let me just say, it's a really good thing pant suits are now acceptable for women to wear in corporate America...My legs look like I was thrown off a 3 story building! Even with 5 laps of the course under my belt this year, I struggled to stay upright during the race. I even managed to face plant while off my bike. I've realized my fitness is too far ahead of my technical skills at this point, as my body's race pace ≠ the speed at which I can keep my bike under control. Guess that's why most people learn to mountain bike before racing mountain bikes, but then again I've always been a little backwards!"

Rich had a spectacular race.  He found himself finishing on the podium in 2nd place.  Tracy also rocked a podium finish in 2nd!  Nice job this week!