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TBF Mountain Bike Race Date: 2/1/04 Conditions: chilly, rainy, foggy, muddy...what more could you want out of a mtb race? Course: 10 mile loop, rolling terrain with loads of single track - power oriented. |
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Rick Hathaway, Jenny Frayer and I left Reno at 5am so we could drive over the pass and race in, what we thought would be, some dry and warmth. Little did we know. As we made our way over the Sierras, it was still dark pre-morning, but the pit stop we made at a rest area for a call of nature hinted that the conditions might be fine for racing. I really, really enjoy riding the mountain bike course in Granite Bay. It has some decent technical elements, lots of small power climbs, and is a race that, if you choose to, can be full-throttle every second of the event. Just the way I like it. |
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We cruised over the pass and drove to our usual Auburn breakfast dive, the Edelweiss (famous for pancakes, weak coffee, and crooked wall-art). We've been there so many times that the staff is about ready to give us our own booth. When we entered the diner it was still a bit dark outside, but as we left the dawn was in full effect. Unfortunately, the skies looked about as full as our bellies felt and the smell of rain was in the air. Driving to the race venue, Rick was happily surprised to see what an excellent set-up the TBF race promotion company has for their events. Finishing banners, awards tents, solid registration area, food line...it's a good organization and their events are well run. As we unloaded the bikes from the van and began getting our dancing clothes on, it was clear that the day wasn't getting any warmer the farther we progressed through the morning. We did some pre-riding around the first section of the course to get warmed up and as we reconnoitered to the starting area, the rain began falling. It was never more than a light drizzle, but it was pretty dang constant and would seriously effect the course conditions. The race began and Hathaway would ride a hard first 20 minutes to establish decent position. However, since this was his first time on the course, he would ride the next 40 minutes fairly conservatively...getting to know the course. Again, this is a course that is actually quite tough if you're riding full-out. And the Sport riders were racing 20 miles...20 miles on ANY course is going to be tough. After his first lap, Rick felt ready to open up the canister a bit. His last 30 minutes were raced full speed and he would pass rider after rider. In the end, he would finish an outstanding 6th in a field of very strong sport riders. You see, since this is a non-NORBA event, a lot of riders ride down in category to the Sports - riders who would normally ride the Expert division. The Experts do 30 miles...and many are rightfully scared off of that distance to be raced in February. So, that only increases the satisfaction of Hathaway's performance - strong, steady, and in control. Now that he's more familiar with the course, his next race should be even faster. Jenny would start with all the women, which is a big improvement for the organization over last year's races. Last year she started with a bunch of men who...quite frankly were not all that fun to race with. But this year, the women were able to have their own trails to ride and it was very cool. Jenny didn't get a spectacular start, but she rides in to races well. Cruising along, having a good time - she was moving through the field when tragedy struck...she entered the sand pits. We've raced through this sand pit probably a dozen times in cyclocross the past 2 years. We hate it. It's long, uphill and about 6 inches deep. Jenny made it about half way up, then her bike decided it didn't like it anymore and plopped over dead. Ever have sand in your drive-train? 20 miles of sand in the drive-train...how enjoyable. But, she would continue on with her race until, of course, her next trip through the pit where she unceremoniously planted her drive-train in the sand again. Wonderful! In the end, she would be 2nd in her division, first time she hasn't won in 2 years. Good, it'll keep her hungry. Nate Sowle would win his High School division handily, never really challenged. And Paul Gossi would be victorious in his Expert-age division, as well. I believe Derek Gossi was also a winner in his division, but will have to wait for the results to be out for confirmation. All in all, it was a great day of riding for Nevada riders! Like I said, the rain began 20 minutes, or so, before the race start and didn't look to have any plans on stopping. It was light enough to not freeze your pooties, by constant enough to make the mud slick as snot by the 3rd lap. I lined up and got an instant vibe of 'who's this yahoo?' It was probably the combination of camelbak AND cyclocross bike that turned up the snoots of the top-end dirters. Oh well, I had plans for all of them. I knew that the conditions of the trails would deteriorate with the wet. I also knew that 30 miles on skinny tires with no suspension would wear down my pipe-cleaner arms. So, I reckoned the best thing to do was light up the race fast and furious to blow gaskets off anyone interested in challenging for the win. If I could get a good lead, the final lap could be taken at an easier pace and I wouldn't need to risk any crashes. From the gun, I went straight through to the front and blistered the pace like a straight dose of UV rays to a baby-white tourist's bottom. After the first 4 or 5 minutes, there was a group of 3 with me and we had separated a good distance from all others. We were heading in to a single-track section that leads you through a little glade of trees, then down across a meadow, finally punching you out on a 500 meter road section. Two of the mtb'ers passed me to enter in first and I thought this was the perfect time to view and evaluate what kind of competition would be on hand. The 3 riders were, of course, very solid on the single-track, continuing with a good piece of speed all the way until the road section. Ah...the road section - my favorite. This road section shoots you in to the only prolonged climb of the loop...a single-track climb that grinds you down and is very hard to pass riders. Since the start was so ballistic, I think the three mtb'ers thought the road section before the climb would be a good time to take a quick breather and rest up for the hill. Not a chance, brothers. A quick assessment of the riders' speed and it was full-attack for me. I must say, that is the one thing that I wish mountain bike racers would work on more - attacking. They're often times stuck in 1-speed mode...of course, that one-speed is often pretty dang fast, but still - putting in a vicious attack will often break a rival's spirit. Well, that's what I was hoping, anyway. I pushed it hard through the rest of the road section and rode the single-track climb at a stiff tempo to keep the distance to the chasers. Then, it was time for the real test. I'll admit it - I wanted to win a mtb race on a cyclocross race - ever since that hugely disappointing day at Austin last year, when I had a minute's lead in the race heading in to the final miles and snapped off my rear derailleur. Yeah, I wanted to win this race pretty bad. I was pretty confident that none of the riders could match my overall fitness and power, but I also wanted to perform well in the technical sections - win the race on power and skill. After the climb I only had about 10 seconds gap on the now 2 chasers. One had placed 1st in one of last year's TBF events, so I knew he was an excellent technical rider - this would be the test! I put as much concentration I could in to each corner, each boulder section, each sand pit...and by the end of the first lap, I had extended my lead to well over a minute! The next lap I would ride equally as hard and by the start of the 3rd lap had quite a few minutes lead. I was very happy! The day had gone according to plan and I was able to ride the last lap conservatively, risking no injury or mechanical.
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This page was last updated 04/20/2005 |
