8/7/2011
Oxford, MA
Cat 1 Men 30-39 (4 Laps)
11:30 am down pouring
Place: 2nd at 2:13:50 (5 min off leader)
I felt pretty good coming into this race. It was my 2nd ride after my 100 miler last weekend so I wasn't sure how my legs would respond. It turns out they still worked but had to readjust to the redline type racing of 2hr xc's.
I felt good off the start in the top three into the first turn but I knew it was going to take a while for my legs to wind up and to get into the flow. It took until lap 2 to really get some steam going although by the last 1/3 of lap 4 I had run out of water and had no goo packs so I bonked. No excuse for this, just poor planning.
The crowd in the parking lot was looking for shelter wherever they could; in the back of pickup trucks and suv's; under canopies; and in the woods. I heard several people say they weren't going to warm up since they didn't want to be wet for a minute longer than needed.
Heavy, heavy rain soaked the trails and created foot plus deep puddles through the trail. As the day went on the corners became slicker and deeper. My Racing ralph tires were not ideal for this and I slid off the trail more than once. My Nobby nics would have been a better choice but I was too lazy to remount them tubeless. A dedicated mud wheel set is on the wish list now.
As only my 3rd or 4th Expert race I knew there would be stiff competition. I am always hoping to place #1 but realistically wished to land in the top 5. There are some very fast guys in the class and I struggled to keep up after the hole shot.
All things considered the Bicycle Alley sponsored race had a good turnout. A bunch of die hard riders live in Central Mass and it showed. We have a fantastic trail system in many of the abutting towns and we ride rain or shine.
Several of my riding buddies were racing including John Beaupre, fresh off raising $6000 for the Pan Mass challenge, took 1st in the Cat 2 single speed class riding his trick Superfly, Matt Chandler took 3rd in the Cat 2, and last but not least fellow Bikeman.com teammate and surefire podium finisher Steve Witkus took 2nd in his class on his Karate Monkey Single speed. His lovely wife Marcia also provided the picture for this article. Thanks Marcia!
Smoked brake pads, water in the frame, and internally routed shifter cables in need of adjustment are a few of the side effects of racing in the rain and mud. I curse the additional maintenance and costs - but to be honest I like racing in the mud... although more so with mud tires. In fact I like racing no matter what the conditions. Just put me on the bike and say go.
Numbers -
Distance: 22.5
Time: 2:14
Average heart rate: 181
Max heart rate: 191
Elevation gain/loss: 133/132
Avg moving speed: 10.1
Place: 2nd at 2:13:50 (5 min off leader)
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