Pat's Peak XC MTB Race 2013

With gallons of rain getting dumped on New England and the threat of a very muddy race course, many racers chose to stay home on Sunday June 9th rather than destroy their bikes with grit and grime. The only DAS racer to drive up to Henniker NH for the MTB Festival at Pat's Peak was myself (Liz A), and while I enjoyed the heck out of that course, I think many people made a good decision to stay out of the woods.

I decided to ride part of the course before the start to see what I had ahead of me.  I think I made it about 1.5 miles before I cut out of the woods and back down the mountain.  In that short distance, I'd already coated my drivetrain in gunk, washed out in a mudpit onto my side, and gotten off to walk through unrideable muddy climb sections.  Knowing that I'd be doing enough of that come race time, I thought it best to cut my losses.  My biggest concern was the descent because I knew how technical it was and how wet it could be on the driest day.

courtesy of Pat's Peak 

The only other pro/open racer was Hattie Freye (super fast and wicked good tech rider from Maine), and the Cat 1 women had a whopping total of 3 racers.  I took the hole shot, and Hattie and I set out for our 3 laps racing within sight of one another for a couple of miles.  I was a complete mess on that first lap - walking sections that I could have easily been riding, but I managed to pull ahead with all of the climbing.  I threw that all away when I got to the downhill.  I was walking way too many sections that I should have been riding, and with less than a mile to go to the start/finish area, Hattie had caught and gone by me.  Our friendly exchange included me telling her to go ahead by me and her telling me she was sure I'd pass her back on the climbs.  Mentally, I was completely enraged at myself for undoing all of the work I'd done on that first lap.

Over the next two laps, I not only regained the lead, but I pushed myself hard enough to gain 4 and a half minutes over Hattie.  It all came down to getting out of my own head and just riding my damn bike. The downhill was just as awesome as I remembered it being and not nearly as difficult as I was making it out to be...  I just had to put a little bit of trust in my bike (cautious trust... it was slippery out there).  It was a well-earned win.  It feels good knowing that my fitness has improved enough to be able to gain back lost time and then some.  I'm looking forward to the next few races!

Domnarski Farm XC MTB Race 2013

photo by M. Domnarski - Cat 1 and 2 staging

Better late than never with this team update.

Sunday June 2 was a hot day for racing, but that didn't stop the DAS ladies from lining up for what is almost always a very muddy race at Domnarski Farm.  The course starts on race promoter Matt Domnarski's family farm and winds its way into local forest areas on rocky fire-roads and through sections of singletrack that inevitably include water crossings on narrow wobbly bridges.  This is the sort of course that requires handling skills, climbing agility, and the opportunity to pre-ride it a couple of days before the race so that you know where the deep parts of the puddles are.  If you aren't careful, you could go for a swim in any number of mud-holes mid-race.

The beginner (cat 3) racers enjoyed an abbreviated race loop that avoided some of the more technical sections of the course and cut out about 5 miles while the sport and expert/elite racers (cat 2 and 1 respectively) raced on a 10 mile course - cat 2 doing 1 lap and cat 1 doing 2.  Both Tracy and Liz lined up to do 2 laps on the 10 mile course.   Knowing that it was going to be a hot day, everyone was talking about going out easy to avoid overheating.

Here's how the race went for Tracy:

So glad I decided to race!

I have been having second thoughts about racing and honestly sometimes getting on the bike is often a chore. Of course after I am on the bike I am having fun, but getting there has been more difficult this season. I certainly have not been training like I was last year, when I would schedule everything; my entire season was planned out. Don’t get me wrong, I have still been training and riding; I am just not as methodical about it. Anyway, I'm so glad I raced Domnarski’s farm; I really enjoy this course. It has a lot of climbing, plenty of mud, some technical areas, and some power sections. Each lap has over 1200 feet of climbing and doing 2 laps yeah, that’s a workout. 

photo by M. Domnarski

Considering the humid weather I decided not to wear my knee brace, this being the first time riding my mtb without it, I was a little bit nervous. The knee brace tends to slide down my leg in the warm weather and I did not want to chance throwing it in the woods to be lost forever. I took precautions however, I kinisiotaped the heck out my knee and wore my trusty old knee pads. This actually felt pretty good, oh yeah, mental block overcome.

At the start I lined up with the rest of the Cat 1 women in the back as usual; I need to work on my positioning. This course starts right off climbing and climbing and more climbing... then we hit some atv/jeep trails where it is hammer time. In the middle of these trails however, are some very large and deep mud puddles, some of these puddles could swallow a bike and a rider. I fortunately did not get submerged in muddy water like some but got just wet enough to cool off. Then I think we headed into the woods for some technicalish (that’s not a real word, but you know what I mean) single track. Then you guessed it - more climbing, I believe we are at 5 mile by now. After this climb a bit more single track and on to climb up the power lines, here we are out in the sun but, we get a nice breeze. After the power lines it is the bridge of reasonable absurdity and then the hill where the tree of death is, since I am technically inept I walk these areas. Then we are home free with jeep/atv roads and descents. I think my chronological order of the course is correct, but I could be wrong. Anyhow, it is a great course and I am glad I raced; I felt good & had fun.

Liz's take on the race:

I lined up with only two other women, but that meant nothing as far as competition goes because both of those women are fast and skilled racers:  Joanne Grogan and Ellen Noble.  Knowing that Ellen had won the Winding Trails race earlier in the season against a bunch of fast gals, I figured that if I could keep her in my sight, I'd be doing well.  At the start, I ended up in 3rd position, and Ellen was gradually pulling away from Joanne and I, so as soon as we hit double track, I made a pass (accidentally poking poor Joanne with my bar end - sorry!) and took off after Ellen.  I kept her in site through the climb, and on towards the start of singletrack.  That's where I lost site of her - either due to the nature of the trail or due to the my taking it easy in the heat. 

The first lap went by uneventfully.  I came through for the second lap knowing that I was only about a minute down from Ellen, and set off after her on a mission to catch up.  As I came to "halfway hill," I noticed another rider just ahead on the climb and quickly recognized Ellen's pink socks.  I was immediately pumped and had to mentally check myself because I didn't want my excitement to cause me to do something stupid.  Well, as luck would have it, I was hammering the tiny section of singletrack that precedes the heinous power-line climb when I slammed my rear wheel into a log or something near it and burped half of the air out of my rear tire.  I didn't realize I'd lost air until I'd completed the climb (I'm pretty sure it was leaking air all the way up), and then I had to make the decision whether I should stop and air up or keep going and hope for the best.  At this point, I'd gained some serious ground and I was right on Ellen's tail.  Here's the dilemma: I had my CO2 pump in the bag under my saddle.  Getting that out would have been a debacle in itself never mind getting air into my tire without getting flustered.  So I did what any silly fool would do, and I rode that wiggly tire for the remaining few miles.  I managed to keep up with Ellen, and I was actually ready to pass her a couple of times, but I was nervous about that tire, so on some of the more burly descents, I kindly told her to take the lead.  

photo by M. Domnarski - Sprint Finish

It's tough to say what would have happened if I'd put air in that tire, but what did happen is this:  I was right on her rear wheel through the final descent.  As we came into the finishing stretch, we both sprinted to the finish, and I was left in her dust on my squishy tire finishing one second behind her.  It was an awesome finish - fun and friendly competition on a fun and challenging course!  

Tracy ended up taking 4th in women's cat 1 35+, and Liz crossed the line in 2nd place for the Pro/Cat 1 Open Women.  Here're the official results.

Wrath of the Boneyard 2013

Since I'm the only DAS racer who raced this weekend, I think I'm allowed to take the easy route and just post a link to my personal blog so you can get an in depth idea of what the race course was like.

In summary, it was me against a number of 35+ Cat 1 women with them doing 4 laps and me doing 5.  I managed to stay ahead of them for the four and complete my fifth about about the same pace that I'd been going the whole time.  Based on how my legs felt on that last lap, I would have expected that lap to be about 10 minutes slower.  It was a tough race - just under three hours of super rugged and uber slippery terrain.

Something I didn't mention in my blog...  I've been working with a chia seed based home-made energy gel.  I am having trouble finding the right delivery system.  I tried a squeeze bottle made for gels, and the seeds just wouldn't slide through, so I ended up removing the cap and racing with an open bottle in my jersey pocket.  As one can imagine, in a muddy race this is probably not the most sanitary option.  Somehow, it did not spill in my pocket, and I had plenty of calories to keep me moving.  If anyone can think of a better dispensary system, feel free to let me know.
-Liz A

Team DAS Does Battle at Burlingame

EFTA’s Battle at Burlingame is the first race in the NECS (New England Championship Series), and was sponsored by NBX.  Located in Charlestown, RI at Burlingame State Park Campground, the course offered extremely fast and buffed out singletrack with two key technical sections, loose sandy corners, and a couple short but steep rocky descents that were just enough to keep racers in check of their speed. Those who weren’t careful were destined to kiss the ground.  

The morning was chilly, but by the time our crew was racing at 11:30 it was comfortable enough to race in a t-shirt and shorts.  From the starting line, the groups lined up by category from elite to singlespeed and on to the rest of the expert racers by age groups.  The start on a portion of pavement just off to the side of where we would go through on consecutive laps; this worked well because it avoided sending us immediately into trees at the start.  

Starting line - Elite Women - courtesy of John Robertson

It seems that even with some minor crashes, everyone had a fantastic time, and all were able to push themselves beyond their comfort zones to new levels of achievement.  Racing in the expert women’s category, here is Tracy’s race experience:

Tracy aka T-rock - rockin' the 29er - by John Robertson

“Battle of Burlingame was more like blunder at Burlingame for me. This being my first 27.5 mtb ride, never mind race, in a few years made me wonder if I could even finish. I felt like I was rested up for this race; however, my head just wasn’t in it. I have been having a difficult time this year being mentally prepared for most races, and this one was by far the worst. I never felt like I got in the racing zone or found a flow. I made many, many, stupid mistakes including going off course and crashing. 

“The course was mostly single track with some wide open areas, as well as sections of bridges and a technical ridge. I find single track and of course technical areas difficult - especially when faster riders are coming up behind me. I found myself to be a blundering idiot losing any skill I had and would often slow down riding through the brush or stop completely to let them by. Fortunately or not, Bo has so graciously volunteered to ride behind me to let me get use to this on training days. Hmmmm not so sure this would be a good idea. I wouldn’t want to get too irritated and scream at him, especially since I lack direction and he is faster than me. 

“Anyway, we raced 5 laps that have meshed together into one big confusion in my mind. I only remember some small highlights like vomiting in my mouth, trying to jump over a rather large log and biting the dust, and that stupid dirt hill that I couldn’t make up. Really that dirt hill shouldn’t have been that difficult. 

“Overall it was a good day; I got to race my bike with a bunch of wicked cool peeps. I also have to say that all the faster riders passing me were great; they were very appreciative and encouraging. You have got to love mountain biking!!!”

Steve-O - smooth riding - by John R.

Steve O represented in the open singlespeed category alongside a mixed lot of racers with all different combinations of gearing that allowed them to either suffer the entire 27.5 miles with a tough gear setup or spin like mad with an ‘easier’ setup, and whatever gearing they had to begin with was what they had the entire race.  Here’s Steve’s recap:

“The Battle at Burlingame is a fun, FAST course... it's got several long wide-open flat sections that wind in and out of the campsites at Burlingame State Park. RV campsites are not very techy, generally speaking. The climbs are not long nor steep either, since this venue is almost at the beach. And the terrain that links it all together is very flowy. To break things up, they are almost forced to throw in a few sharp 90-degree corners right at the bottom of some fast-rolling downhill sections.

Ah, but then, you've got the interesting bits: The Bridges, and The Ridges. The Bridges (aka “"The Bridges of Burlingame" that actually have their own Strava segment) are a series of AMC-built plank bridges crossing a swampy area of the park. The bridges are slippery-when-wet, but we had a lovely dry day. The bridges are also diabolical, dry or wet. Transitions from one to the next are rocky, bony, rooty, and seem designed specifically to trip up a mountain bike. And then we've got The Ridges. Really the only classic New England-style tech section on the whole 5.5-mile loop, The Ridges climb, well, up a ridge of course. The trail is always going either up or down and always going around a sharp corner at the same time, and the terrain features rocks right where you'd otherwise like to put your wheel.

“This race course is a good one for gears. Mostly because you can go really fast on those flat sections if you've got some gears. However, with my geared bike down for frame repairs, I brought a knife to a gunfight: a borrowed Specialized Rockhopper SS rigid running my preferred light gear, a 32-20. Kind of useless in the fast sections, but what I love about this gear is that I can ride out pretty much anything, and once those painful laps 4 and 5 come around, it's luxurious to be able to pedal up those inclines, as slight as they may be.

“I briefly debated registering in SS Open versus running the SS alongside the geared bikes in Expert Masters. I was thinking it didn't really matter all that much; I'd be bringing a certain disadvantage into either class. SS Open got the nod. I was a bit surprised that they lined us up right behind the Pro Women. That meant all the Expert classes would be running right behind us and filtering through us during the race. And that's how it turned out. I got to say hello to a whole bunch of riding buddies as they passed me at various points during the race. The first three laps were fast and furious, keeping other SS competitors in sight most of the time. In typical fashion, laps 4 and 5 were a cramping, painful death-march. Once the quads cramped up and checked out, I found all sorts of new muscle groups to pedal with. By the end I think I was using just my toes. That's the beauty of Single Speed... your body is your gearing.

“I can't complain about my result: 2:20:39 was a full four minutes faster than last year running a geared bike, although the course was wetter last year too. I am pretty happy with 6th out of 13 starters, one tick ahead of dead midpack. Reviewing results, I had a nice chat with Finn Maguire who took 2nd, who pointed out to me that the 7-minute gap from first (Shawn Mottram) to second was bigger than the gap between the next FIVE places. So I finished fifth in the second group, or something like that. Hey, I'm happy.”

Add caption

John Y was one of those guys who raced up alongside of Steve in that crazy class of singlespeeders (not to be confused with what Liz A refers to in her comments as having class).  His first race back in awhile, he decided to make it count by rocking the 26 inch wheels and going with one speed for the 27.5 miles:

“Well, the race went (fortunately) as I had intended as a good long training day and (unfortunately) as I expected results wise...I made a mid-week decision to break out of my comfort zone and move up to the expert class which would have been hard enough for me but I decided to go singlespeed. I had a good time except for the death march of a last lap but I achieved my goal of riding as hard as I could and finishing. I did come in last (there were 2 DNF) by 14 minutes to the 11th place guy. While I wasn't surprised to come in last I was surprised at how much slower I was than the rest of the group as a whole. I have a decision to make, I'd like to keep racing in the expert class as I like the longer races but clearly I'm not at all competitive. I'll take it race by race and just keep working hard at it.”

 Lining up with a small group of elite women, Liz A got to do a 6th lap to make for a total of 33 miles.  She was back and forth about racing her singlespeed for this race, but was glad to have chosen gears. 

Liz - CHEESE! - by John Robertson

Here’s her story:

“While I am tempted to cut and paste the play by play of the race from my personal blog, I will avoid taking the easy way out this week and attempt to replay the race with an alternative spin...

“Lining up with the elite women, I was delighted to see that in addition to Karen P. (the only other elite woman besides myself to prereg), Kate L. and Sue L. had both shown up. Sure, it’s fun to know that you’re guaranteed a podium when only two or three women show up to the start, but that pretty much defeats the purpose of racing besides the aspect of beating previous PRs and pushing yourself past your own limits; racing is much more exciting when you have a bunch of really good competition.  Coming off of last week’s SSAP, I hadn’t really gotten to ride much during the week because I’m in the thick of finals, but I felt good knowing that my legs had felt strong the previous weekend. 

“I arrived to Burlingame with plenty of time to set up and warm up, and I joined Mr. Loize and Mr. Beaupre for a leisurely lap around the course.  It was almost entirely as I had remembered it from last year - a freakin’ speed-racer bonanza with berms and a couple of slow-ya-down tech sections.  After attempting to line up without my race number, I still managed to arrive at the start line with plenty of time to spare.  Knowing that the race started off with a funnel into a drainage ditch full of rocks resembling crocodile teeth, the elite ladies kept the start respectable by easing our way through there and on up to the first big log before actually starting to race one another.  That’s the cool thing about racing with classy gals - we don’t feel the need to pummel one another in the first 30 seconds of the race.  I hear some of the men’s categories were not as classy... however, they had many more racers than us; it’s probably easier to have class when your group is small.

“I raced a solid race, and I definitely picked up speed on my last two laps. Hoping to finish in under three hours, I was questionable about whether or not I’d do it at the halfway point because I was finishing my laps in just under 30 minutes.  However, laps 5 and 6 were an all out effort, and that reflected in a finishing time of 2:54 for 33 miles.  I’ve definitely improved over last year: I finished 12 minutes faster, felt really strong the entire three hours, and finished in second place despite a crash and some seriously sloppy moments out there.   I’m truly looking forward to being able to get out an train on a more regular basis now that school is coming to a close.”

The team will be racing next weekend at one race or another... some at the Boneyard and some at the Weeping Willow.  See you somewhere.  

SSAP 2013 aka Singlespeed-A-Palooza; aka The Social Gala of the 2013 Season

aka Singlespeed-A-Palooza; aka The Social Gala of the 2013 Season

Nothing but singlespeeds

With an eclectic group of racers from some of our favorite local teams (Expo Wheelman, NBX, and Bikeman), DAS racers Donnie D and Liz A headed out Saturday afternoon to Montgomery, NY for a 9 am start at Dark Horse Cycles' Singlespeed-A-Palooza.  Jesse, Melissa, and Alby were perfect accomplices for this road trip, and the entire experience was a gut-busting good time.  

This being Donnie's first race in awhile, he was excited to be back at it.  Here's how the race went for him:  

"As I shaved my face to make some chops I pondered the last time I raced singlespeed, The best I could come up with was Sea Otter around 04’. This time however it would be the first time riding a 29er and the first time riding my new Kona Unit.  Since I was not going to break any records I chose to race it stock right out of the box. I built her up on Friday, threw on some King Cages, a Topeak bag with essentials and called it good. I also thought it was a long time since I loaded up into a car with fellow racers and drove more than a couple hours to camp. 

The line for the beer

"My goal was to not come in last and hang on to my friend Oliver’s wheel as long as possible. On the trip over there were some similarities to previous mentioned trips but this time things were different as well.  For starters I’m way less serious about racing now so my mind was not filled with things like tire choice, tire pressure, sleep, the start, etc. I did however focus on staying hydrated, so I popped open another first for me, a Heady Topper Double IPA from VT. 

"We arrived at the host shop, Dark Horse Cycles, and set up camp on the property. My set up was easy, Thermarest and bag under the stars. I knew that nutrition and hydration was the only way I was going to survive this race, so I immediately started eating and drinking water as soon as I woke. 

"The beginning of the race was typical - complete with a pile up which I narrowly avoided. I was careful not to blow up and settled in on the climb.  Oliver made quick work of the field and moved to the front. Myself I stayed back to keep an eye on the competition. As the race developed I was most impressed with the trail system, fast flowing well designed, perfect for a singlespeed. 

"By mile 10 I was getting used to the bike and the 29 inch wheels.  I was most impressed with the traction I was getting in the corners. The bike was smooth over the tech sections and ran flawlessly. By mile 15 at the water feed I thought for a second about skipping it but came to my senses.  I dumped my half full bottles and grabbed one full one with Heed. I watched with no reaction 6 or so riders go by. I chugged 2 beers and off I went. Total down time 2 minutes. Back in the saddle and 10 miles to go my legs definitely started to feel the work that had been done. 

"I settled in again and ticked off the miles; with no computer and no idea when or where the end was, I took my last GU and hoped for the best. It turned out it was not far, and it was over. Yup just like that it was over. Post race beers, food and good times were had by all. Overall I had a great time with some cool peeps. Oliver came in first and I came in several positions after him. See you at the next race where I’ll be the one letting you pass and chugging beers."

Alby King of Bikeman with our group cooler

Here is Liz's account of the race (taken word for word from her blog, so if you've already read that, skip ahead):

"The race started out on a dirt road which was ideal because if you know anything about singlespeeds, you'll know that one gear means it takes awhile to create a decent gap in a crowd of over one-hundred. The open women started with the open men, and the sport men, fat bikes, and sport women were staggered at two minute intervals behind us.  When the start was called, it was a mad scrabble of clipping in and furiously spinning because much of the first section of road was a descent.  As the dust began to clear and the lead group of men started to pull away, I could see that the road was changing to an incline; I could also see one of the other women that I was up against.  As the incline leveled off, we were all going pretty steady, and it wasn't until the next incline that I decided to try to make a move past her.  I'd intended to go all out in the beginning so I could put some distance and some humans between myself and the other girls before we hit the woods; this seemed to work because I never saw another woman racing during the entire 24 miles.  I didn't know it until I saw her come through, but Melissa was just a couple minutes behind me and was trying to chase me down the entire way as she was catching glimpses of me throughout the race.  

NBX's Melissa and Expo Wheelmen's Jesse

"During most of the race, I was riding with one guy who seemed to be pretty well matched to my pace (after a good chunk of the race, we finally introduced ourselves), and it wasn't until I started popping on a couple of climbs towards the middle-end that I really encouraged him to just go on past me.  I still managed to keep him in sight the rest of the way and somehow got my mojo back after only a few tough little climbs.  Having no idea where I stood the entire race, it was tough to know what I should be doing or where I should be putting out effort.  I never bothered to throw a GPS on the bike, and I've never ridden there before. Also, I don't wear a heart-rate monitor, so my only measure of capacity was the way my legs felt on hard efforts and the time it took for me to recover after one of those efforts. Aside from the fact that I just kept telling myself to go harder, I had no way of knowing where I stood except that I was keeping a good enough pace for people to tell me, "I think you're the first woman rider."  Every time I heard that, I was like, "Cool, but where are they!?" It's tough not knowing!  Fortunately, I did a good job of whispering sweet nothings into my own ears during the race; that's the benefit of being your own coach - you can bring your coach with you during your race, and they won't leave your side (and if they do, there are ways to push the demons out and bring the coach back).  I told myself that I had it in my legs to go hard, and when I felt like my legs were done, I told myself to eat a GU and GO HARDER!  It worked.  In the last section of downhill, one of the open men (who had gotten held up with a flat tire at some point in the race) came up behind me and told me that we were almost done.  I think he said something like, "this is the last section... let it roll and have fun."  And so I did!  I rolled through the timing tent in just under two hours which is probably the fastest I've ever finished a 20+ mile race. 

First ever podium beer buzz 

Why does this picture matter?  Because this is what your pocket might look like after a race-full of mechanicals.

"As it turns out, I was the first woman, and Melissa finished less than two minutes behind me as the second woman.  We were stoked to be on the podium together, and Dark Horse Cycles hooked us up with some hefty prizes - cash, limited edition budweisers, and really unique trophies.  A lot of our buddies did well too.  Alby King finished in eighth (men's open), Donnie D in 15th (men's sport NJ and first race in a long time), and Jesse finished the race after having 3 flats, a bottle-cage debacle, and two beers to take the edge off.  Our friendOliver finished first in his category (sport men NJ)." 

Winding Trails 2013 - Tracy represents!

Racing Winding trails without my team mates but never feeling alone

Tracy:

"I of course missed my DAS team mates; however, when you mountain bike race it doesn’t matter what team your jersey says; we are all one big team. Big is right! The woman’s fields are ever-growing which is awesome. When I compared how many combined category woman raced this year as to last year there were 20 more racers. This is fantastic; every year the woman’s fields are growing. Soon we will be catching up with the men's fields. 

My race didn’t start until 1:30pm which was nice since I didn’t have to rush around to get to the race venue early. It was also a bit chilly out, so waiting until it warmed up a bit was okay by me. I got to the race at the start of the Cat 2 women’s race, and I got to cheer on some of my friends I haven’t seen in a while. I cheered and chatted for a while then I figured I better start getting ready and warming up for my race. 

During my warm up my brakes where squeaking which was annoying. I possibly got something on the brake pads while cleaning my bike. Also I dropped my chain, I haven’t dropped my chain since my last race, but I never adjusted it. Not wanting to mess with anything right before a race I figured I would just stay in the big ring. This should not be a problem since there wasn’t a lot of climbing at this venue, and this proved to be true. Two lessons learned here: (1) no more cleaning the bike and (2) things just do not go away on their own (make the adjustments long before the race). 

Now for the race recap: Lap 1, I felt like I was going to die. Lap 2, I may not die but it hurts bad. Lap 3, settling in a bit. Lap 4, don’t care just going to enjoy my last lap. Overall the race was great. It wasn’t very technical, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t hard."


Great job Tracy!  Thanks for representing DAS in Farmington, CT at the second root 66 race of the season.  The next race of the 66 series is the Wrath of the Boneyard in Meriden, CT, but that race coincides with an EFTA race up in Ipswich, MA.  We may have some racers at both races.  In addition, EFTA has it's Battle of Burlingame race coming up on May 5th, and many of the DAS racers are planning to attend.  As of right now, the forecast looks great; see you out there!

DAS Ladies Represent at Hop Brook Dam

Middlebury, CT - April 7, 2013

It was a chilly morning as we arrived at the park, and constant wind gusts left everyone in a bit worried about over-dressing vs under-dressing for the race.  Unlike a casual mountain bike ride, during a race, it's not really the best idea to be stopping in the middle of the trail to pull off a layer of clothing.  Not to mention, most of us race with the bare minimum of gear, so there'd be no place to put those layers.  Sure, some pros can remove a jacket, fold it, and put it in their pocket while racing uphill past you, but none of us DAS ladies have become versed in the art of circus stunts.  I think we all eventually went with short sleeves.  With the amount of climbing per lap, it was probably a good idea; we were generating some serious heat in those climbs.  

Left to right... Liz A, Tracy, and Liz B. Pre-Race

So, here's how the day went for Liz, Tracy, and Liz...

Liz Bove:

I think I went into the race with the right mindset: This is going to be a long race, so don't go out too hard, pace yourself.
Then we started. I didn't feel like I was pushing too hard. I saw that I was the 6th woman going into the first section of single track, but I felt strong. I didn't think I was pushing too hard. I passed a few riders and made the mistake of thinking 'hey I'm doing better than I expected. Maybe I can do well today and not just hope to finish.' Silly me. That course was a beat down and I realized too late that I did not have the endurance to stay at the pace I was riding or with the women I was competing against.

The first two laps went well. Most of the third lap I still felt strong. Then, as I crossed the road to the final section of that lap, I felt it. I was fading. Fast. Cathy passed me on the pavement and offered words of encouragement. Not far behind her was Vicki, who caught me early into the 4th lap. She was soon out of sight. Next was Haley. Now this was probably the funniest (read: embarrassing) moment. I can only imagine how I looked to her as I was spinning with empty legs up a gravel climb, going so slowly that I simply fell over sideways due to lack of inertia! That's right. I tipped over. I didn't crash. I didn't miscalculate a tech section. Nope. I. Tipped. Over.
From that point on I was praying for it to end. The granniest of granny gears allowed me to limp my way through the final lap. That was the worst bonk I've ever experienced.
So, after being mad at myself for a day, I've decided to think about the positives:

I was able to ride the entire course. That horrible climb? I actually made it up that on my third lap! I didn't do it any other lap, but that was a big deal for me.
I also rode 21 miles. I've only ever ridden more than 20 miles on a mountain bike once before this race. It wasn't pretty for the last 5 miles, but I did it.
I finished 5th out of 9. That was much better than I expected for my first CAT 1 race.
And most importantly--With the start of race season, I'm reminded that mountain bikers are freaking awesome people. Every woman I raced with was super friendly and generous with their words of encouragement.

Tracy:

Last year, Hop Brook was my first ever MTB race, and looking back to that day my goal was the same. Keep the bike upright. Mission pretty much accomplished; I may have stumbled a little but did not have to pull myself off the ground, or better yet, no one else had to pick me up off the ground. Well, as usual my start was awful; I think I started up the single track hill about 3rd from the back. I then made a stupid mistake going over the first log obstacle which cost me some time and then the field was gone. I proceeded to push along but, started to feel pretty defeated early on in the first lap, questioning if I was going to be able to finish. I also dropped my chain during the first lap which only made me feel more defeated. At this point I possibly may have dropped the F bomb!!! Ok I did drop the F bomb. Somewhere during my first lap, yes my first lap, several of the men’s pro racers passed me. I continued on to my second lap feeling like I cannot quit that is just so wrong. My third and forth lap were a blur of feeling ok I can do this and feeling like oh no another climb am I going to have to walk up this. Well I did not have to walk up any of the climbs, well... except for the one steep one which I have never made up anyway. Overall it was a great day with great people; I truly love the camaraderie in mountain bike racing. Everyone is so encouraging and friendly. I am also pretty psyched that I did not give in to the little demon in my head telling me to quit, and as a bonus I didn’t puke. Can’t wait to do it again.

Liz Allen:

Going into this race, I felt pretty good.  I knew I was up against some really talented competition, but I also knew that I'd been working pretty hard training indoors all winter, so I wouldn't be at my worst.  Compared to cyclocross season, where I was lucky if I had time to ride once or twice during the week in between race weekends, I was in great shape.  What I've noticed between the KOB TT and Hop Brook is that my legs are strong and fantastic when I need to keep a strong steady pace going...  However, when it comes time to put out a hard effort, follow someone faster, or move out of my comfort zone, I just can't seem to do anything about it.  That's what happened on Sunday.  

I rode a good steady pace the whole time, pedaled over almost everything smoothly, and somehow felt okay on lap 4.  However, when it came down to my time and the times of my competitors, it's obvious that I have a lot of work to do.  My time this year was 3 minutes slower than last year, and there were two Cat 1 women with faster times than me.  So, my fourth place finish in the open category is really more like 6th.  It's hard to not be disappointed with myself, but looking towards the future, I have some road riding and hills planned.  I'm looking forward to some more challenges this season.  At the next race, I may even race in the men's open singlespeed category.  Watch out, boys.  

Here're the results...

Next on the race schedule is the Fat Tire Classic at Winding Trails on April, 21.  This is a fun venue for first-time racers because the course is generally forgiving, and there aren't many steep or long climbs or descents.  It's also a great place to bring the kids because there are park facilities.  See you there!

The 2013 King of Burlingame Time Trial

The 2013 MTB race season is officially underway.  Sunday, March 25th was opening weekend, and Burlingame State Park in RI was filled with early season racers eager to get out on some snow-free trails.  It's been a rough winter here in New England.  

Here's how the day went for some of our racers...

Tracy:

Racing all starts in the preparation right? So I planned to do it right for the KOB TT. I decided it would be a good idea to go to the time trial after having several days of riding on tired legs. Then, just to make sure I was in top form, I drank a few beers the night before. Well this plan did not go so well; lesson learned- next time I will drink more beer. Just kidding!! I plan to do it the correct way next time, especially since it will be a 20 mile race, YIKES- hope I am ready for that. Well, just as anticipated my legs had no power and hurt the entire time trial. Even though my legs and lungs were screaming I had a blast, it was just great to be back at it. I was not impressed or disappointed in my time; I just know I have a lot of work to do. Looking forward to a great racing season with a bunch of great people

Steve:
Considering all the snow and slop that Mother Nature has dished out this March, there was really nothing to complain about.  We got in some good pre-rides in the week beforehand, and the course was in very reasonable shape on race day.  I can point to two significant changes for me this year:  I'm running front suspension for the first time in three seasons, and I have been neglecting my core workouts.  I've only got 3-4 rides on the new fork, a Rockshox SID RCT3, but I've got it dialed-in pretty well, and I am really enjoying the improved handling. The scenery doesn't go all blurry like it used to, and I can actually steer and brake at speed.  Another factor was the course itself. Relatively dry, but distinctly wetter than last year, which created some traction issues in the rooty and rocky "ledges" tech section. I rode it out clean last year; this year, not so much.  The rest of the course was more or less the same as last year; a couple of new bridges to speed up the wet, rocky tech sections near the end, with some newly downed trees to slow down other sections.  Race day felt much colder this year, and I blame the cold air on the sharp pains in my lungs.  So why was I four minutes slower than last year?  Maybe a minute to the wet roots, another minute to the lungs, and two minutes to my lower back, which blew up early and screamed at me the whole rest of the race. Props to the race organizers for introducing a state-of-the-art timing system, and a big thanks to all the volunteers that make the day run smoothly.  KOBTT remains one of the best events on the race calendar!  

Matt's race started off well and went that way for a glorious five minutes. The sound of metal hitting rock quickly crushed both his dreams of finishing the race and his rotor. 

Liz Bove came out with a strong start to the season finishing fifth for the expert women and improving her last year's time.  Meanwhile, Liz Allen improved her time over last year by a small amount and finished in third place for the expert women.  

The next race that many DAS racers are planning to attend is Root 66's Hopbrook Dam.  See you there! 

Sneak Peek at the New Jerseys

The artwork has been perfected and finalized. Don't forget to #shoplocal - especially at DAS!

2013 Announcements

Hey everyone,

Let me first start out by apologizing for not keeping up on this blog during the cyclocross season.  I (Liz A) was pulling a heavy workload at school and not doing a very good job balancing my commitments. I aim to improve.

Happy 2013.  We've got some changes coming for our racers.  In an effort to simplify things, the team is going uber casual this year - at least for the MTB portion.  The details are here, but basically, there're no rules and no real commitments.  If you want to race in a DAS jersey, you just need sign up under the DAS name at the race and actually finish the race.  For your effort, you will earn yourself a $10 store credit.  If you do 10 races, you've earned yourself $100 and will likely get a high five or two.  As for the 'cross season, we haven't exactly figured out the game plan, but it's likely going to be much like last year.

DAS Beaver Cross back in December was a huge success.  You can read more about that on my personal blog.  Next year it will be back and hopefully just as amazing.

JERSEY'S:  We're working on a new jersey design and hope to have it ready within the next two weeks.  If you're interested in ordering one or two for the start of the MTB season, you should let me know.  I'll post a formal message with the pricing when it's time to order, but it's something to think about.  These jerseys will be super snazzy, so you might want to order five.  We are not changing the shorts.  In an effort to keep things simple, you can just wear black shorts - fyi, they will go really well with this season's super snazzy jerseys.

I think that's about it.  If you think you're going to be racing a bit this season, and you want a racer bio posted here, email me at ebrooklyna@gmail.com so I can let you know what I need from you.

Hodges Dam - Hot Damn

August 5th's race in Oxford, MA brought drier weather than last year's monsoon and flooded trails, but this time, it was the heat that was brutal.  The temps were in the 90s and humid.

John Y ditching the camelbak for a bottle

This race had a great showing of DAS racers; Dan, Liz A, John H, and John Y all raced.  Liz's daughter, Skyler came out to race the first timer's race, and Liz B (and boys) and Tracy were there to cheer everyone on.  The race course was only about 30 minutes or so from DAS headquarters in Danielson, CT.

Skyler raced at 9:30 and it was a long challenging course for her at 6 miles.  She was still on the course when the Cat 1 / Pro racers started to come through.  She pulled off to the side and cheered people on, including her Mom and buddy Dan.  Luckily, she had a very patient helper along with her the entire way around.  She managed to finish after a long time out there, and hasn't completely sworn off riding her bike.

Dan and Liz went off at 11:30, and the heat was Sauna worthy - even with the wind gusts that were fortunate enough to blast through the area.  Dan finished in 6th and Liz in 3rd, and both did 4 laps on the 6 mile course.

John and John set out at 2pm for their 3 laps.  John H finished in 5th for Cat 2 19-29 and John Y in 12th for 30-39.  In the final lap of their race, a thunder storm moved in.  This made the course more of a challenge, but it sure felt good after the heat all day.

The next race in the series is at Millstone Quarry (the very same venue of Dan's 12 hour race).  With it being a 4+ hour drive, there probably won't be many DAS racers in attendance.  However, the NH 100 is also coming up, and Dan and Liz A will be representing in the 100 mile category.  Meanwhile, Matt will be racing solo singlespeed next weekend at 24 Hours of Great Glenn...  if you happen to be there, cheer that guy on!!

12 Hours of Millstone... in the rain.

While Liz and John raced "local" in CT, Dan went up to Millstone Quarry to race in a two man team for 12 hours.  As luck would have it, it rained there as well.  He joined forces with Bikeman racer (and DAS friend) Kevin Ryan.  They guys managed to hold steady in second for the entire day and finished with a total of 14 laps.

Yeah its cool. My oldest son said “so you rode for 12 hours just for that?” I said “yup”

Playing in the rain at Winsted Woods

On July 29th, Liz A and John Y headed out to Winsted, CT with a forecast for showers looming on the horizon.  Liz's race was at 11:30, and the course was touted as being in great shape despite the fact that Winsted had gotten the unofficial award the day before for getting the most rain in the entire state.  While it didn't look good, the course was in really great shape.  Throughout the Cat 1/Pro race, the rain started to come down.  This didn't bode well for their final laps, nor did it make for a very easy course for the Cat 2 racers like John.

Liz's race took off fast as usual with her lined up against Crystal Anthony (MA) and Jane Pearson (NY/CT).  The girls went back and forth in position over the course of the very technical first mile or so.  Eventually, Crystal and Jane got ahead of Liz on the first lap.
I had my usual crummy first lap.  My legs were taking awhile to wake up, but anytime there was anything technical, I was hammering past everyone.  The course suited me well.  After letting the girls get ahead on the first lap, I started reeling them back in on the second lap.  I saw Jane up ahead and told her we needed to try to catch up to Crystal.  Eventually, I made a pass on a technical climb and took off.  Jane told me that Crystal wasn't far ahead.  I basically went as hard as I could, while feeling surprisingly well, for the last two laps.  I think if I'd had the 5th lap, I might have caught up.  I finished less than a minute behind her, and that's the closest I've come all season.  My tech skills finally got to prove their worth.  

John's race turned into a muddy mess.  The rain that started during the Cat 1 race left the course sloppy with little traction on the climbs. Despite the challenge, John finished strong in 8th place for the Cat 2 40-49.  He's been making improvements all season and is really starting to enjoy mountain bike racing.

DAS races at the Wrath of the Boneyard

The MTB season is coming to an end quickly, and cyclocross is lurking on the edge of everyone's mind - everyone that gives a crap about bike racing anyhow.  In the meantime, there are still a few races left on the Root 66 Race Series and a few on the EFTA series.  

The Wrath of the Boneyard was July 28th, and it seemed to have a small turnout this year.  The temperatures weren't quite as bad as the year before, but the course has had the reputation for being a little rough.  It's likely that people just didn't want to deal with the threat of flat tires and taco-ed wheels.  DAS only had 2 representatives at this one - Dan and Liz A.  

Dan raced in men's Cat 1 30-39 and finished with a podium in 3rd.  Here's his take:
Slow and steady wins the ra.. well comes in 3rd. Wrath of the boneyard is known to be ridiculously rocky and it fulfilled its promise. I saw more flat tires than I ever saw, more DNFs than any race. For the last 3 weeks I have been heavily traveling for work, only riding my bike on race day so I really did not have any expectations. I meant to take off slow out of the gate but sprinted with the front of the pack and stayed in 2nd for most of the first lap. Then the lack of training and riding hit me and I rolled it back to last place. As the TV theme songs cranked up in my head I got into a good groove and kept plugging away, everyone in a while showing signs of speed and skill. In the end I finished 3rd out of 7 moving up to 3rd overall in the points series, super awesome! Millstone Grind 12 hour, Winsted woods then N100 here we come!

Liz finished in 1st for Pro/Open, but did not have any competitors in her category.  Essentially, her competition was the rest of the Cat 1 women.  She found herself battling it out with Susan Lynch for most of the race, and Susan had more power on the climbs.  Liz finished a little over a minute behind Sue, but both women finished at least 18 minutes ahead of the rest of the pack.  

Windham, Arcadia, and Keene: Racing the World, Time Trialing, and Biking for some Bovine

It's been a few weeks, and if you feel the need, your complaints may be filed with that slacker of a blog handler Liz A.  She's been too busy riding her bike to get this stuff together.  Enough is enough... here's what team DAS has been up to:

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...

Liz's blog

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....