Visiting Our Neighbors To The South: Wild at Waverly Race Report

Another late race report….

So last weekend I headed south for a change of pace in order to participate in a race in the Kentucky Point Series. The DINO series was at Winona this week, but as I have mentioned before, I’m not a huge fan of that trail. So off to Louisville and the Wild at Waverly race I went.

No race recon could be done, so I went into Sunday with only a GPS profile and a few grainy You Tube videos (along with some race reports from past years…thanks to Bentcrank). The course seemed pretty hilly, although there were some faster sections. Of primary concern was the start which went up a longish paved climb and a steep climb called “Montana.” What was concerning about the latter was how it appeared on topo maps. Not so much switchbacky, as straight up the hill. Very fall line looking.

I arrived at Waverly Park with plenty of time for a warm up. The KPS is a more informal series than DINO. Check in was easy, but no electronic timing. I had suspected a mass start based upon the listing of start times and this was confirmed as everyone was lining up. The start was on the expected paved climb. Right from the start we would be into the thick of things, although I thought the climb would work to my advantage and thin out the pack before the drop in to the trail. The Cat 1 riders went off first, which still left a large number of Cat 2’s.

The start was fast and I got out near the front. One rider, a guy wearing pants, a flannel shirt, and a riding an all mountain bike with several inches of travel (he shall be called “Enduro” from here on) absolutely took off and was way off the front of the rest of us. I was more concerned about my immediate situation and about halfway up the climb (about 140feet over .4 of a miles) I looked back and saw….that most of the field was still there.

The start climb is steeper than it appears.

Huh. Well, so much for the climb thinning people out. Apparently Kentuckians can climb. But more concerning was how this would play out for the trail drop it. See, the hill crested, and while I heard in past years the drop in was at the top, this year, the field would enter the trail at a different point, which required a bit of descent from the crest of the initial hill. Of course, everyone surged, and as we came up on the narrow drop it set in between a fallen tree and a bunch of brush (which is followed by a hard left turn) I got nervous. I braked and one or two guys jumped ahead, but in an instant I was on the trail.

So while being pre-occupied with identifying and preparing myself for the climbs, I forgot to check out the GPS profile for the descents. Well, not long after you get onto the trail you charge into a descent down to the park entrance. This was rough. I was sliding all over and generally was a huge mess. I think one guy who was on my wheel crashed when I braked too hard on a turn. My apologies for that. After sort of surviving, came a big trail climb, called Montana. I could tell it was going to be steep. And it was.

This climb was basically a fall line climb which went straight up. Everyone was still crowded together and there was much slow progress and riders stopping in the trail. I clicked to my small ring and felt like I could make it, when the rider in front of me, already going very slowly bobbled and I bumped into his rear wheel.

Before I could dismount, I lost my balance on the steep hill and fell to the right….right into a rider who was trying to run through the weeds. My right grip went into his rear spokes, and we both had to stop. After a brief second to get disentangled, and some….urgent comments, we were back to riding, albeit slowly. Which hurt when the final coup de gras for the climb was a very tight switchback (yeah, now they decide to switchback it) which with no speed was hard to clear. More dismounting and running (I was in good company on this) and I did a cross remount and was back at it.

I had no idea where I was in the field and was hurting. Luckily the course from here was flowy with lots of smaller climbs and descents. I passed a few riders, and may have been passed by one or two.  Around this time I started to exchange positions with two riders, one in a Dan’s Comp jersey and another in a red Venture (something) jersey. Coming into the start/finish I think I was ahead of Venture, but behind Dan’s Comp. I grabbed my gel and choked it down and soon caught on Dan’s Comp’s wheel. He was taking an easier pace, which was fine, as I didn’t see anyone behind us.

But, just before we got to the spot where we had dropped in at the start, we were caught by Papa John’s, a Cat 1 woman whose name I don’t know but she was fast (I think she was at the DINO Tune at Town Run). Once she passed us, Dan’s Comp picked up the pace which allowed us to catch up with long lost Enduro. Yeah, he had been riding ahead of us the entire time. Not too shabby.

With fresh memories from my first time through upcoming nasty descent I let Enduro go first, and he blew through that section. However, as we approached Montana, he let me go in front. I fell in behind Dan’s Comp and starting to small ring it to the top.

Ok, full disclaimer here. I’m not sure where Venture/Red Jersey was during all this. I think he was still behind me and passed myself and Dan’s Comp not long after Papa John’s picked us off. But can’t be sure. Anyway….

Venture was now ahead of us, as was Papa John’s and our speed was dropping. Enduro let loose a yell/roar and popped around on the right and went charging up ahead of us, with most of his upper body positioned past his handlebars thanks to the steep angle of the climb. Not long after I attempted to get out of the saddle and my rear tire slipped. Time to hike again. Following the tight switchback, Venture, Dan’s Comp, and Enduro were all in sight, with Papa John’s off in the distance. There is a reason she was Cat 1 and we didn’t see her again.

So, now to focus on finishing this race. I was third in a train behind Venture and Dan’s Comp. Not sure where Enduro had gone at this point but he was making the most of the downhill sections. We kept up a good pace although I had a few slip ups on minor tech sections. Blame that on fatigue.

Heading into the southern loops of the course, Venture hit the gas for an attack and started to open a gap. Soon he was up by a few seconds, and then we began to lose sight of him around corners. Dan’s Comp was keeping a solid pace, but we were losing ground. Add to that I spied Enduro through the trees ahead which gave me a last wind to try to catch them. I passed Dan’s Comp and picked up the pace.

I pushed it on the climbs and quickly gained on Enduro.  Additionally, I spotted Venture through the trees and could tell I was making progress there as well.  On one climb I passed Enduro and he commented to watch out for him on the downhill section. We were close to the end, and as we came up to the last downhill, I looked back to see where he was. If he was on my wheel, I would let him by. He wasn’t on my wheel so I went charging down the descent.

Sure enough, I heard him behind me. I yelled back to pass on my left, I shifted over, and he went zipping past and I got in behind. It was a hell of a pass and I told him so as he went by.  Problem was, there was a turn at the base of descent and Enduro hit it a bit fast. His back tire washed out and he laid the bike down and into a tree. Somehow he rolled to one side and I don’t think he hit the tree. I slowed, but he said he was ok and to keep going. I continued on, and although I saw Venture I could not catch him before breaking out of the trees and hitting the finish.

The finish line. While I saw a few people with cameras, I have
yet to find any sets of photos from the race. Thus, I am stuck with
my own photos for this post.

Overall, it was a great race and the Kentucky Point Series puts on a good event. As I was crossing, I was told I was 12^th overall (out of 44) for Cat 2 and I ended up 3rd in my age group as well. Not too shabby for my first “for keeps” Cat 2 cross country race.

Oh, and this guy was racing in Cat 3. Pretty cool.

 

 

Next up is Brown County DINO in one weeks. After Waverly, I’m feeling in good shape for BCSP, considering the amount of climbing that was done.

Also, the trails at Waverly are a blast to ride and should definitely be given some consideration if you happen to be in that area.

Time for tech talk. The bike performed well. The seat post slid slightly, but like the DRT race two weeks before, not enough for me to notice. One quirk with my bike was on full display. The Alma has very short chain stays, which makes the wheelbase fairly short. On the Montana climb, I noticed that the front wheel kept popping up due to the grade. I don’t think negatively impacted me, but it was something to watch for and made me think twice anytime I tried to get out of the saddle.

DRT Brown County Time Trial Report

As you may have noticed from my prior postings, I joined the DRT Racing team this year. In the past DRT has done a series of three or four races, but in recent years has focused on one time trial event at Brown County. After missing last year’s event, I figured it would be a good idea to get out and show the flag at the sponsor’s event.

First, the weather was magnificent. Sunny with highs in the seventies. The trees are in the process of coming out and the trails were dry. All was right with the mountain bike world.

Now about the race. This is a time trial, which starts from Hesitation Point, and uses almost every inch of trail down to the North Tower lot. For those who like to follow along visually, here is a map of the trails at BCSP.

So the race starts by going down Hesitation Point, then counterclockwise up Aynes, then up the short side of Aynes to Green Valley, then you take a right on North Tower, take it back down to a valley, then counter clockwise around North Tower, to the NT connector, a left on Pine Loop to the NT parking lot, and then back up a short section of the NT connector to the Upper North Tower parking area.

Whew. Total mileage for me per my GPS was 15.8 miles. Not a huge ride, but most definitely a tough one.

Anyway, registration was a bit low until just before the cut off on Friday, but in the end Cat 2 had about 20 riders, which about a third of that in 30-39 range.

Digressing a bit, you may recall some issues I had with my seat post at DINO race last week. Acting on a few suggestions, I picked up some carbon grease from BGI’s shop at the Bike Hub in downtown Indianapolis (they gave me a small packet for free!) and decided to give it a shot. Turns out it worked. A few commute rides, and a mostly likely too hard ride at Southwestway Park on Saturday showed no slippage. Problem solved.

Anyway, we kicked things off at 1:30. I was paired with the sole 19-29er. Things got off to a less than glorious start when I nearly crashed 20 seconds in, in full view of everyone. The trail just below the start had been modified (or eroded?) since I had last ridden it and now had a sort of small drop off, which I was unprepared for. Luckily I kept things together and continued onward.

Now, I have made it clear it that I am weak on the descents. I kept this in mind, but had planned to hit the climbs as hard as possible in order to maintain a gap, or make a pass. And the 19-29er just drilled the descent and disappeared but I was more concerned with riders coming up from behind. Sure enough, not halfway through the descent, I spotted a flash of red on a switch back right above me. It was Bryan D., a rider from the wave behind me.

Well, at least I’m consistent with the slow descents.

Careening through one of the rocky sections on
Hesitation Point with a smile on my face.
Photo: Rob Cowell

Luckily I was near the bottom of the trail and once on the flat section I upped my effort and then attacked the climb out of the valley and up towards the junction with Aynes Loop. I seemed to get a gap on Bryan and then continued to push up the backside of the Aynes climb. Disclosure: I had never ridden the Aynes loop in this direction. It was tough, but I managed to keep a decent pace although I every once in a while spotted flash of red behind me.

The potential of a chaser kept the pace high and I felt like I was on the verge of control on the descent from Aynes (meaning I nearly crashed several times). Once in the valley, I made sure to drink and pushed hard for the climb up the short side of Aynes to the Green Valley trail head. This is a relatively short climb (just over a hundred feet of elevation gain) but there are some tricky spots with roots and rocks. Pushing hard I didn’t see anyone behind me when I reached the Green Valley.

And…another descent. Thinking about the chasing riders, I really launched myself at this one, more so than on Aynes. I’ve ridden Green Valley more than HP and Aynes and have more confidence with the sweeping, bermed descent from this trail head. Near the bottom of the descent there are a few short bumps in the trail, which only serve to act as ramps for getting some air. Air is not something I normally like. The rubber should stay in contact with the ground since bad things can happen between launch and landing. But the speed was too great and I was getting some great air over these humps. And I was landing safely too. So that was nice.

Green Valley was a bit of climbing and a bit of descent. My pace stayed high, although I finally got a look at who was behind me thanks to the large loops that are characteristic of the trail and provide you a look across the small valleys to see trail you had been riding on a few minutes prior. There I spotted not one, but two riders in pursuit. One was wearing a Bicycle Outfitters of Indy kit and he had just overtaken the rider in red I think I had glimpsed earlier. I had an idea of who this rider was and tried to keep a gap by powering up the hills. Somewhere in here I passed a Cat 1 single speeder who was putting in a strong performance. But not long after this, the BOI rider caught me. Turns out he was the rider I was expecting and this race confirmed how fast he actually is.

I stayed within a few seconds of BOI for the remainder of Green Valley and down on to the short side of North Tower. On the initial climbs up North Tower I thought I could close the gap but he pulled ahead and I lost him.

Now, a fun fact about North Tower is that we rode it counter clockwise. I had never done this before. All the times I had been to BCSP, and all the DINO races, I always did NT clockwise. Part of me was surprised by the amount of climbing, while the other, more logical part kept noting that of course there was climbing, since the clockwise route always seemed to be downhill.

Couldn't help but get some air on this stretch of the
North Tower Connector Trail.
Photo: Rob Cowell

Arriving at the junction of North Tower and the connector trail back to the parking lot, I hit the afterburner. I still could not see anyone behind me, save for a few brief glimpses on switchbacks or curves. I raced through the connector, took a left onto Pine Loop, down to the north parking lot, and then back up the North Tower Connector for the .5 uphill sprint to the end.

Apparently the ride was rough on everyone, since the finishing area was littered with racers who had just collapsed on the grass or who were standing in a mute daze.  I joined them, but was quickly revived (mostly) by the spread of food available including hot dogs and Doritos.

Waiting for the awards. In this picture is Paul Gilson. Not pictured, the Doritos
and hot dogs. Photo: E. Fujawa

Results were not immediately posted, but I was thinking I had done well in the age group and overall. However, there was still almost 45 minutes until the results would be finalized, and my car was several miles, and a couple hundred feet of climbing away, up at the Hesitation Point parking lot.  

Those hot dogs and chips were probably not a good idea. But, I trudged, albeit very slowly, back to the car and changed before heading back to the finish line. As it turns out, I did have a decent race. I managed 3^rd in the 30-30 Cat 2 age group, and 6^th for Cat 2 overall with a time of 1:18:03.

Podium pic! With plaid shorts!

Not too shabby and it could not have been a better day for a ride. Got some neat stuff in the awards bag too. Thanks to DRT Consulting and Don Galligher for putting on a great event, Hopefully the weather will be just as nice next year.

No races again until May 18. There is a DINO race in Warsaw as well as a Kentucky Point Series race at Waverly Park in Louisville that week. I don’t like Warsaw’s course, and Waverly sounds like a fun ride with plenty of hills (and the requisite, evil descents). But, I think it could come down to the weather. If it is raining in Louisville, I will go to Winona. Otherwise, Waverly it is.

Lastly, I nearly forgot a post race report on the bike. It performed admirably. As for the seat post, after Sunday’s race there was a bit of slippage (lots of roots and rocks out there) but it wasn’t enough for me to notice while riding and it didn’t impact my performance.