I’m beat. This past weekend was a
big one in terms of racing, and the weather made it even more
entertaining with plenty of sloppy conditions. The DINO series visited
Muscatatuck County Park in North Vernon, Indiana. Muscatatauck only has about
6.5 miles of trail, but the trail packs a punch and is a lot of fun. In
addition to the cross country event on Sunday, there was also a shot track race
and a downhill race on Saturday, both being the state championships in each of
those areas. I planned to race all three events, which makes this a three tier
race report
DINO Short Track Race
While other cities have established
short track series, Indianapolis is not that lucky. My only mtb short track experience
was a few informal races done last year at Town Run. The course at Muscatatuck is
about .4 miles long, and uses long grassy and rooty lanes which skirt the edge
of the woods, before taking a tight hairpin turn into a part of the actual
mountain bike trail. There is a short climb, another portion on the
grass/roots, and then more single track before the longest grass lane heading
to the finish. I decided to swap out the
Reba for my White Brothers Rock Solid carbon fork, thinking it would work in the short track style of racing.
The Cat 3 wave was the first race,
and in addition to all ages riding together, we were joined by the Clydesdales,
Women Cat 3, and juniors. It was quite a crowd and I immediately made it my
goal to be the first to the hairpin single track. There were a few guys in Cat
3 who I know are faster than me, and I wanted to make sure they were behind me
when we hit the trail. I also did not want to get stuck in the starting chaos,
or in what I figured would be a passing nightmare.
The horn sounded and I jumped off
fairly quickly, but was second to the single track. An older Cat 3 (older being
40-49er) beat me to the punch. However, as soon as we came out of the
singletrack I jumped around him and sprinted down the grass lane to take the
lead. I pushed myself to keep the lead, and heard that second and third place
were just a few second behind me, based on the PA announcements.
I maintained my gap, attacked on
the short climb and the straightway, and kept track of 2nd and 3rd
from the PA announcements. The gap between us continued to grow and I eventually
took the win by 30 seconds. It was exciting and a nice way to start the
weekend.  |
| I got a medal for the win! Neat! |
DINO Downhill
I brought my full suspension bike
with the intention of racing the downhill race. Following the short track, I took a practice run on the
Cat 3 course.
Holy crap.
I quickly realized I need to stick
to cross country. The downhill run started on the normal cross country trail,
but then veered off into a very steep and rocky descent. If you survived this you
then came to a series of rock drops. I made it down the initial steep descent
but realized the course would not be a fun one. The final section with the rock
drops sealed the deal. The Youtube videos I had seen of this course did not do it justice.
I decided I would save my collarbone for the XC race and
in the interest of myself preservation I would spectate. I think the knowledge
that I had already had a successful day riding in the short track made this
decision that much easier. So, I hefted my bike (jeez the FS is heavy) up to
the parking lot and rode back to the start line. I loaded up the car, went to McDonalds,
got the largest diet coke they had and a cheeseburger and then went back to
watch the downhill runs.
After the first few riders I knew
I had made a wise decision. The Cat 1 riders went flying through the tech
sections, although there were a few wrecks. Lots of people walked the rough
sections, but a few who tried to ride paid the price. A Midwest Devo rider (who
I think won the Cat 1 short track) crashed on the final drop section and the
cracking sound that came from his bike was terrible. He pulled the bike out of
the way of the next riders, but he sat at the bottom of the course in a kind of
dazed state for several minutes.
A junior rider, whose entire
family was racing, came down through the drops and lost it near the end. His
head actually hit a tree and he crashed in a heap screaming. I, and everyone around me, was expecting the
worst, namely a spinal or head injury, but it turned out he was screaming about
his knee. His parents pulled him off the course and he eventually was walking
around fairly well.
DINO Cross Country Race
The main event of the weekend was
Sunday’s cross country race. The Cat 3 riders
would do two laps on the approximately 6 mile loop, which included some newly
built trail which had not been ready for racing at last year’s race.
The big question on race day, and
all week, was what the weather situation would be. Indiana was stuck in a
summer pattern with a threat of thunderstorms each day. This intensified over
the week as a low pressure system dropped from Canada and increased these
shower chances. Saturday was mostly ok. The trails I saw were fairly solid
although some parts of the new trial I prerode had some muddy spots. Overall it
was pretty good. However, after the awards ceremony for short track and
downhill a very heavy storm came in and dumped on the park. I’d say at least an
inch of rain fell. Overnight the park seemed to escape
much additional rain and the race would still be a go. After arriving I scoped out the Cat 1 and 2
bikes. They seemed muddy, but riders were also saying that the trails were
improving.
At the start I pushed to get to
the trial first to avoid the inevitable wrecks. Instead I was the third one in
and things went downhill from there. The upper trail was pretty solid, but I immediately
began to slide out on some slick corners. I don’t have a per se mud tire (since
I never ride in the mud) so I kept the
Maxxis Aspen on the back. Even with low tire pressure, I was sliding everywhere
which allowed 1st and 2nd to get a small gap on me.
 |
| Can't tell if I am having fun at this point. Photo: William L. Snyder |
The trail cuts under the park’s
road and rides through a creek, which is followed by a short technical climb
which was very muddy last year. This year was no different. I ran it, slipping
the whole way, with the leaders just ahead of me. Once back on the bike the
course rode onto some new trial which I had ridden the day before. All of the
sudden, my rear wheel went out from under me in a muddy patch and I fell on my
right side. I was fine, save for a few cuts, but just as I was about to
remount, I spotted my water bottle sitting in the bushes just off the trail.
For a second, I paused and considered whether I should just go, or scramble
after it. The nearest racers were still on the muddy climb, and recalling the
Logansport race last year I ran and grabbed it.
The rest of the new trail was
very muddy, but mostly rideable. I could still see the leaders through the
trees, but I wasn’t sure the conditions would allow me to catch up.
Unfortunately, about 2/3 of the way through the first lap, the rain started.
The trails and roots, already muddy and wet, became more so and things started
to get tough. I passed several 19-29ers, but I had lost sight of the leaders in
my group.
Around this time I was passed by
the 40-49 leader. I have to say I was bummed. At French Lick, no one from the
other waves had physically passed me on the course. I rationalized that the
conditions were to blame. The good thing was, after riding alone for most of
the first lap, I used this rider as a carrot and matched his speed. I stuck
with him to the end of the lap and well into the second. Unfortunately, I lost him in the new trail
after the creek crossing. The trail, which had been marginal on the first lap,
was terrible with the rain and race traffic. Numerous ravine crossing had
turned into momentum killing muddy messes which required scrambling. Several
large mud pits on flat sections also ground me to a stop. Conditions continued
to deteriorate as the lap continued. About half way through the second lap my
rear derailleur began to have issues. Not surprising considering it was encased
in muck, but it was skipping and ghost shifting all over the place. To add
insult, my rear BB7 began to stick in the locked position. I was at the point
that I just wanted to survive and finish this thing. I was caught by the second
place 40-49er at this time, although there was no sign of anyone from my age
group chasing.
 |
| Happy for the 3rd place, but caked in mud. Apparently someone over my right shoulder did not appreciate being included in this shot. |
In the end, I rolled through in
1:22, good for third place in the 30-39 division. Considering the adverse
conditions, I felt satisfied with my result, and thought the weekend as a whole
went very well. My only disappointment was seeing the overall results. I was 17th,
but not only had I been passed by the two 40-49ers, other members of that wave,
and even the 50+ wave had beat me due to the staggered start times. Plus, I was
7 minutes behind the 30-39 first and second. I think I would have to at least partially attribute this to the conditions
and mechanical issues, especially since the second place racer only beat me by
a minute at French Lick. But who knows.
Now its time to overhaul the bike
and prep for this weekend’s race at Brown County. Of course, the rain has
continued so whether that race will happen is up in the air.
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