DINO Muscatatuck Race Report (or how a new bike needs more than a day of shakedown time)

Ah, my first race report. I started doing DINO (Do INdiana Outdoors) races last year and enjoyed the competition. This year I am trying to compete in the full series of at least five races. I race Cat 3, so I am by no means a competitive racer. But the races are fun and provide good training goals. This year I have done the tune up race at Town Run in Indianapolis, and the series races in Warsaw and Brown County. My results have been fairly mid pack with top half age group finishes. My goal is to finish in the top 25% in one race this year.

 I will start by saying that I really like the trails at Muscatatuck. My in-laws live in North Vernon so I ride it a few times a year.  In preparation for Sunday’s race, I had gone down to NV to pre-ride the approximately 12 mile course as there had been some new trail added since last time I was there that I heard might be used during the race. The course was very dry and dusty, but I was able to clear all technical sections and felt very good. I paid special attention to part of the trail which goes through a creek and under a bridge, and then comes out on a technical and rocky ascent up a short hill. This has given me problems in the past, but during the pre-ride I cleared that section multiple times. 

But nothing goes as planned. One unexpected turn of events was the severe thunderstorm that plopped itself on top of NV in the wee hours of Sunday morning. Four weeks with no rain and all of the sudden an inch and a half of rain hits the race course. Such is life, and the race was still a go.

My wife and I arrived at Muscatatuck at around 11:30 for my noon start in the Cat 3 30-39 wave, leaving time for a bit of a warm up. I eavesdropped on a few Cat 1 and 2 riders commenting on the conditions and noted most had a decent amount of mud on themselves and their bikes. One rider passed along that the technical section just after the bridge was quite muddy. 

I lined up in the first row of the 30-39 wave and was already sweating profusely. The temperature was in the upper 90s for the race and any attempts to stay cool were futile. I had planned to ride all my races with only water bottles. However, because Muscatatuck is a trail system with relatively few quiet sections, I felt a Camelback would ensure easier drinking. 

The Muscatatuk course starts in a grassy area next to the main shelter and of the first quarter mile rides rolling ground on the edge of the woods before dropping into the single track. The 30-39ers got off to a clean start and I was roughly in the middle of the 15 or so racers when we reached the trail. This section of trail was generally a descent to an armored seep/creek crossing, which claimed a rider four racers ahead. This required a dismount due to the resulting traffic jam, but I was back to riding soon without losing any position. A gradual climb followed which allowed me to gain a slight gap on the riders on my wheel. 

Unfortunately, the aforementioned bridge section lay ahead. I hit the drop to the creek under the bridge alone and found several inches of water. Not a big deal, but as I popped up on the other side I found the technical and rocky uphill covered in slick mud. Several riders ahead of me were already off their bikes and struggling through deep mud and slick rocks, while I saw a few with flat tires. Riding this section was a no go. I hopped off and dragged my already tired self to the top of the ascent (the best heckle during this section as some kid screaming “What do you think this is, cyclocross?!?”) and then mounted back up although it took several minutes to get my cleats clear of mud. Soon after I got rolling someone back at the bridge began screaming and cussing in obvious anger. Not sure what happened, but I’m guessing either a flat or some mechanical issue which ended someone’s day. 

Following the bridge is an uphill section with several somewhat tight switchbacks. Alone I would be fine, however, the field was still somewhat clumped so there were a few traffic jams on this section as well. Once past this, the course heads to the south side of the park and into more rolling terrain, with numerous short down and up sections. Exhausting yes, insurmountable no. I was still quite tired from my early effort, although as the first lap came to an end I did start to recover. In addition to my fatigue, I was fighting with my rear derailleur all day. While the front was shifting fine, I was having ghost shifts and incomplete shifts all day from the X-7 rear. Apparently I didn’t give enough shakedown time to the bike after I reinstalled all the components.

        About to start the second lap. Have to remember to zip up my jersey next time. 

       Photo credit: Jim Vonderahe

The second lap was ridden mostly alone. Although I started lap last in a group of three, I wish I had made a move to pass the other two riders. I had gained something of a second wind and had the power to get around them as we came into the wide open start area. Instead, I sat behind them at a low speed and let them set the pace. I ended up passing one of them later, but the other used the second lap chaos at the bridge to get a large gap.

Overall, my second lap was faster, more confident, and with less riders versus rider action as the field had spread out. I was following a 40-49er for a good chunk of the lap, and although I would get on his wheel on the climbs, he would then pull away on the descents. In the end, I came in 20th place overall, and 5th in my age group, my best finish in a DINO race outside of the Tune Up. Although soaked to the bone in sweat, I hydrated well and did not suffer any ill effects from the heat.

  Showing my angry/determined face coming into the finish. 

    Photo credit: Jim Vonderahe

I did learn/confirm a few things: First, climbing is a strength. Not only here, but also at Brown County, I made great gains on other riders during climbing sections. However, the second thing that was confirmed at the Tuck was that I am too conservative on descents. Other riders fly down the hills while I tend to ride the brakes too much, and while perhaps safer, I lose time and places. Maybe a different tire (I use Maxxis Ignitors front and rear) on the rear would help limit potential slide outs or perhaps more practice would help remedy this. Either way, I was satisfied with the race. The next round is at Versailles State Park in late July. However, I will be returning from a week’s vacation the day before the race so I may skip this and focus on the last two races in the series.