Race the World, another race in the Root 66 Series, took place on Sunday July 1st following a weekend of World Cup racing that had DAS racers walking up and down the side of Windham mountain all weekend watching some of the biggest talent in the world. In addition to the World Cup Cross-Country event, the Down Hill races were also happening, and the town had what seemed like endless festivities planned for racers and non-racers alike. The weekend was a blast. DAS was represented by Tracy, Liz A, and John Y.
Tracy finished in 8th and only about a minute behind 6th and 7th. It’s her first year racing mountain bikes, and she’s hanging with the fast kids in Cat 1. Here’s what she had to say:
“Really liked the course it had lots of bridges and cool single track sections. I felt like the course was just technical enough to be challenging yet doable. Well most of it anyway, there was a few sections that I wasn’t comfortable doing, but overall it was a great course. I do wish the laps were a bit longer to hold off being lapped so soon by the Pro and Cat 1 men. I tended to stop or slow down to let them by if I was going into a tech section. I also felt that I was constantly looking over my shoulder to see if anyone was coming. I think this took some time off my laps, but what can you do, but learn from it. Had a great race anyway, I felt good, pushed when I could, scared myself a little with some of the descents and tech sections good fun. I was able to keep rubber side down so it was a good day.”
Liz A finished 3rd in the pro/open category. Coming off a 12-hour race the weekend before, she was still catching up on rest going into the race. The details can be found on her blog, so check it out when you are done here...
John Y came into Windham ready to ride hard. The men’s Cat 2 40-49 was stacked with 37 racers, all of whom appear to have finished the race. John finished strong despite an emergency pit stop. Here’s his “quickie” report:
“I think the concept of this race is very fun-getting to race on the exact course that some of the best XC racers in the world race on. I went into the race very excited to have this opportunity. We (my family) and I decided we'd make a long weekend of camping out of it and despite a few minor setbacks (forgetting the camp stove, the replacement campstove working once and then quitting, leaving a new blanket on the roof and driving off because my cat loving wife (we have 5 adopted strays) saw a cat and needed to pet it) we had a great time. My son particularly enjoyed the trials and motocross demonstrations. The course made me a bit nervous, I am not a good descender and there were two hairy descents including one with a net at the bottom in case you missed the turn. I was *so* excited to hear about that...but after a pre-ride and 3-4 practice descents I felt better about the course. Race morning a few things went wrong...the stove died (no coffee...no coffeee?....NO COFFEEE???????), the restaurant we stopped had had slooooowwwww service, I messed up my start time and had no time to warm up or relieve myself. Dumbass. I think that's what Rich G called me. SO...off we go. First lap was a traffic nightmare. Up pressure up up pressure up up up pressure we are riding up a mountain and the pressure in my bladder is increasing...now I'm not proud. Or particularly classy. Before I became a back of the pack MTBer I was a front of the pack duathlete...I've pissed myself instead of blowing a top 10 or 20 position. I can piss on a bike. I'll piss on my bike tonight. Now that I've guaranteed no one will ever let me borrow a bike....Fortunately for my wife and child, while I am uncouth, I am thoughtful...there were no showers and there was no way to clean my kit so I pulled over and watched the few people I passed as they passed me back. I am not having fun. I'm working hard, it's freakin hot, singlespeeders are passing me and dismounting and my wrist, forearms and jaw (from silent screams of terror) are already getting tight. Then, race day magic happened. Traffic cleared up as I hit a no mans land like I frequently do leaving me alone to "do my thing". After a short period I realized I was having f...ffff....fffuuuu....ffffuuuuunnnnn. My last two laps I actually cleaned the two techy downhills (still silently screamed through the last one) and then sprinted to catch the guy in front of me(I was gaining but ran out of room). Finished the race and literally stepped off my bike and had to sit. I drained myself. While I didn't do particularly well it was definitely a season high point...I climbed well, I didn't die on a descent and I left everything on the course. I also realized two things...1)I need help with my tech skills and I will spend the rest of the summer working on them. 2)When I remember that MTB is fun and not my job...I have fun racing.
The weekend following Windham was a break from Root 66 Racing. Although EFTA had a race going on, all of the DAS racers chose to take a break, and for some, that meant a 100 mile round-trip road ride to the beach with the local cycling club (http://www.qvvelo.com/). According to those who went, the ride was a success and the weather was perfect (as well as hot). That also happened to be the weekend of the Cross-Country Nationals event held in Idaho.
Tuesday, July 9th was the first Time Trial in a series of 4 races at the Arcadia Management Area in RI. The course is titled as the 666 time trial. Originally, it was about 6.66 miles of pure evil, but with some added bridges that have smoothed out a long stretch of technical terrain, the organizers have added an additional 3-4 minutes worth of trail to up the challenge. If you are into technical riding and like to be challenged, this course if for you. If you despise rocks, then you might want to stay far, far way.
Wearing the DAS colors for the first Tuesday was Liz A and Tracy, and for the first time racing in green a special guest appearance from Steve-O. There was also a special guest appearance by Mountain-Biker-Elvis. The time trial works like this: racers line up in order from what is suspected to be slowest to fastest, and they are sent off into the woods at 30 second intervals. Everyone races towards the fastest time they can manage out on the course. Due to the changes in the course from last year, there was no specific time to beat, so racers were out to set the standards.
Steve gave us a great write-up of what this sort of crazy time trial entails:
"The 'Arcadia Mt. Bike TT Series' (better known as the 666TT) is now in its second year. The opening round of the five-race series was held on Tuesday July 10th, a hot and humid day - summertime in New England! The course itself was quite dry overall due to lack of rain. This year's route uses all of last year's course, but the promoters have created a custom extension to lengthen it a bit. And, the wettest sections have several hundred feet of new bridges that really simplify life. Not everyone thinks that's a good thing, but count me among those who don't mind staying up out of the muck. In a couple spots the bridges look like the Yellow Brick Road snaking off into the distance. These changes mean that we can't compare our times directly with last year, but that won't stop me from doing some math when the results are in.
Anticipating 40-45 minutes at wide-open-throttle on a hot July day, nutrition and hydration are very important to me during the day leading up to race time. I've got to say I have no complaints in this area. I was ready to rock.
From the start line, the course progresses into a bony technical area, uphill, with two stream crossings. I hear rumors that the fast guys ride this out but it's cyclocross for me. And I can't run. More of a pathetic limping jog with nowhere to get back on the bike for 50 yards or so. From here the course remains bony and rooty but features fast, fun twists and turns. Then we emerge onto fire-road and head up to the new section, which is newly raked virgin trail. The future boniness is apparent below surface but a thick layer of soft spongy forest floor remains at present. It's a Cadillac ride, low and slow, and it sucks life out of your legs. It does not last too long, and we're back out to fireroad heading down to rejoin the singletrack of last year's course. Rock gardens galore! I don't see much scenery; my vision is so blurred by my rigid bike at speed that I can't focus on much at all for the rest of the ride. Progressing down the "The 95 Trail" the course emerges onto a connector that blazes relatively smoothly downhill (just watch those sudden logs) to join the "Arcadia Trail". This trail used to be a mudpit until the aforementioned bridges were developed. More tech, more rock gardens, and less mud... but watch out if those bridges ever become damp! Final leg, we turn uphill and climb a shallow steady grade, finishing the course with a short section of bony and fast downhill and out onto fireroad, screaming downhill at 30mph to the finish line!
I posted a time of 41:26, good for fifth place. Coincidentally, I was fifth off the line, passing all four rabbits in front of me and getting passed near the very end by only one racer, Josh Kryzek (who started tenth and therefore passed NINE riders, pulling back over 2:30 on me). My times tended to average roughly around 38 last year, leading to the conclusion that the new course is probably about 3 or 4 minutes longer than last year's course.
I can't complain. Like I should, I left it all out there on the course. There really aren't any sections that I think I should have done better. That's what comes with several pre-rides in the days and weeks prior to the event. Yeah... I treat this like a real race, despite the fact that it's totally casual. Hey, our numbers are written in magic marker on paper plates."
Unfortunately, this race had its casualties. Within the first mile, a racer from another team was walking back to the start with what was later determined to be a broken bone, and a couple of miles later, our own DAS racer Tracy was taken out with a broken wrist. Despite the pain and (unknown at the time) break, Tracy seemed to be in great spirits after the race. The NBX guys had helped her to get out of the woods and hooked her up with ice right away. Steve-O and Liz both finished in the top 10, and they are hoping to improve their times the following week.
This past weekend, July 15th, Dan, Liz A, and John Y headed up to Keene NH for the Bikes for Bovine race. Dan and Liz both brought some family members up to race this week. Dan’s son Caden raced the entire course in the first-timer category along with Liz’s boyfriend Mike. The rest of the kids did the kid’s race. The location was Stonewall Farm, and it was the perfect family venue. There was a play area, a cold stream, an ice cream stand (homemade ice cream), and a bounce-house. Although the temperatures were in the 90s, everyone seemed to have a good time.
Dan Biscup:
“Last year the Bikes for Bovines course was “all climbing fire road all the time”. This year they had a new course so I had to see what all the buzz was about. It turns out the buzz is the sound of how fast your heart has to pump to circulate blood enough so you don’t die on this “feels like” 100% climb course! Even though I pre-rode the course, I was totally unprepared for the grueling climbs and heat under race pace. On my 3rd lap I thought there was NO way I would be able to make some of the climbs on the 4th lap, however on my 4th lap I started to feel better and actually started to pick up some speed. I finished 4th, ahead of a DNF and the series leader (obviously having a mechanical issue) but I’ll take it, 3 min behind 3rd. The best part of my day was that my 10 year-old son did the first timers race. He finished 6th out of 7 in his age group, I am so very proud of him!”
John Y:
“I had a great weekend and a great race at Stonewall Farm. I finally put everything together to finish solid mid-pack (not impressive to most but very good for me). With reflection on my disappointing season thus far I identified lack of preparation, lack of technical skill and lack of confidence as my three biggest limiters. So, I prepared thoroughly including a pre-ride, went back to basics on my last few mountain bike rides (lack of fast mountain bike rides doesn't help) and really tried to feel good about my preparation. I had my traditional poor start (I can't sprint...I max out and watch my frenemies ride away from me) but I had solid gains, rode smooth (for me), stayed off the brakes much more than I would have a month ago passing 11 people by the end of the race. I had one slight mechanical of a dropped chain and I faded in the last 10-15 minutes. I felt even better after about my performance hearing and reading about how tough the course was. Between this race and Windham I have again found my passion for mountain biking and most importantly, I HAD FUN.”
Liz A:
“I went into this race having absolutely no idea what the course looked like. I checked out the first 1/2 mile and the last 1/2 mile, but as for what was really there, I was blind rat. I knew that the course was entirely different from what it had previously been, and it sounded like it was going to be fun. It was touted as having 80% singletrack or something like that... wow! So, on the first lap, I really had no clue... I went out with the intention of staying with who I assumed would be the leader, but having forgotten to bring my GU and scrounging up one in my car, I felt less than prepared and my legs felt like lead weights. Not only that, but after overheating after the time trial on Tuesday, I was nervous about having that happen again. It seems counterproductive to vomit when you get dehydrated, but I guess the body knows what it needs. Anyhow, I was cautious on the first lap. Going into the second, I still wasn’t so sure how the race would end for me (my psychic abilities weren’t working), so I decided I might as well use my one and only GU and see if a little bit of energy might help the next 4 laps. It helped. I gradually felt better, and over the final 3 laps, I felt my legs come back. Mike told me that it looked like I started gaining on the leaders on the last laps as they started to fade and I finally started to feel good. It wasn’t enough though. I ended up finishing my (now usual) 10 minutes behind the leader, Crystal Anthony, and only 2 minutes behind 2nd, Kate Northcott. The course was awesome... fun, fun fun... it was the sort of singletrack that I’ve been hoping for all season. HUGE Kudos to Stonewall Farm for giving us something really enjoyable to race!”
Next up? Another go at the 666 Time Trial and The Wrath of the Boneyard....
