Mountain Bike Season Ended And I Nearly Forgot To Write About It (DINO Southwestway)

Lots of water under the bridge since my last posting and now we're halfway through cross season. I need to do a big cross update detailing the races thus far, but first I need to knock out the final race of the DINO season, at least for me. The rained out Versailles race had been rescheduled but it was for a weekend hat I was going to be on vacation. So, SWW was it for me.

All the top riders for Cat 2 Open were present and accounted for so I knew things were going to be rough. I was on the verge of having my first DINO season with no podium finish and this race was not looking too promising.

I got a decent start but was beat to the woods by the same cast of riders, including Michael, Rob, Jeff, Zach, Aaron and Brian. No major mishaps, but the leading group began to pull away. Not terribly unexpected since they are all very strong, but I was able to keep Brian in sight, along with a few glimpses of Aaron and Jeff.

New section of the course was this steep rocky and loose
downhill section. Quite fun!
Photo: Vladimir Cardenas

The course was much changed from last year.  In 2014 a large rainstorm came through the day before the race, and caused White River to rise, flooding out a good chunk of the course.  The reroutes resulted in some very solid and extended climbs.  This year's course had some climbs, including a few incredibly steep grades, but the climb were not very long. As I have said many times, climbing is my bread and butter in mountain bike races...so the lack of sustained climbing was not helping.

I did eventually catch and pass Brian, although I suspect a broken spoke had something to do with that. A few spectators suggested that Jeff was not too far ahead of me, so I went on a tear during the final half lap to A) try to catch him and B) to keep Brian from catching up. Neither happened and as it turned out, Jeff was 45 seconds ahead of me. Not a gap I would have been able to close down in the last half lap. In the end, I finished 7 overall and 6th in Cat 2 open. It was my best overall finish of the year (third top 10) but I missed out on a podium for this season.

Climbing up one of the more moderate climbs on the course.
There was a switchback right ahead of this and I was staring down Brian
at this point as I was slowly catching him on the climbs 

Good news is that several of the top Cat 2 Open riders will be moving up to Cat 1. Bad news is that they will be replaced by fast age groupers. More good news is that I learned a lot this season and will put that to good use in training for next year. And I am planning to get a new bike. With full suspension. And carbon. So beware.

Strangely, the race was not very long. An hour and fifteen minutes for me. That left me some time to hang around....and race in the fat bike wave at 12:10. Almost an hour to recover. So, I plopped myself down under the team tent and relaxed and tried to recover.

All too soon, the greatest idea I have ever had was at hand, so I toed the start line with my 40 pound Surly Pugsley Necromancer. I was surrounded by aluminum and carbon framed fatties. Yeah, this will be fun.

And it was. To a point. That is a heavy bike. Which steers like a semi loaded with concrete slabs and a flat tire. But, I made it through the race, despite screwing up a rocky section which resulted in about 4 other fatbikers crashing into me. Teach them to stay so close to my wheel.

Hitting the fun downhill on the fatbike was still fun,
although the mechanical BB7's on the Surley didn't have
the umph of the hydros on the other bike.
Photo: Vladimir Cardenas

But, I missed the podium again and got 4th. The carbon and Al bikes won out. So, I destroyed myself twice in one day, with no podiums, but some cool pics. Bike racing is great.

So to sum up the DINO season? Meh. Not quite what I had in mind. The results weren't there and even when the odds were in my favor (South Bend, Ferdinand) I couldn't quite get over the hump. But remember, there was stiff competition at the top of Cat 2 Open. And the mid season debacle at North Vernon took me down a few notches. Things won't get much easier next year, but like I said, I learned a lot during this go around and my training (and motivation) will be adjusted accordingly.

Tri State 6 Hour Versailles Race Report

Wow, that was a hell of a fun race.

Aaron and I teamed up for a men's duo team for the Tri State 6 Hour race finale at Versailles. I haven't done a 6 hour race since the DINO 6 hour two or three years ago. It did not go well. Granted I'm in better shape, and a better rider overall, than last time, but still. In the end, I think the team method is the way to go!

But the race...

Pre-race strategy suggested a podium (out to 5 in this race) was possible, and in looking at times from last year, we agreed a lap time of around an hour and five minutes (1:05) would be a good goal.  The course was run backwards from the DINO races.  We started at the Schimmerhorn shelter, went along a short access trail onto the Creekside trail and then did the entire trail system clockwise, ending with Shadow Run, and a short section of trail called Turtle Loop. The final run into the finish was along a wide grassy access road/easement, before hitting the park road and heading back into the shelter area. 

I'd only ever run the course in this direction once during the 6 hour DINO race. This direction seemed to have more climbing, although Versailles is certainly not a climbers course. Based on the 1:05 goal time, and based on results from previous years, 6 laps was very unlikely, and 5 would be the goal. Aaron has been in the midst of a massive home remodel and hasn't had much time to ride. We decided I would lead off and end the race as well on the 5th lap. 

The race site was perfect. The shelter area is in a grove of trees with plenty of shade and bathrooms nearby. Great place to set up a tent and relax when you are off the bike. When we got there we found we weren't the only ones from Team Matthews. Jim Frazier and Mike Hufhand were day of registrants. 

The base of operations during the race. Complete with a tent and a small camp fan.
And my bike being used as a clothes line.  

Nice to have team mates, but DAMN. Those two are fast. Jim is a Cat 1 racer and Mike is just plan tough (may recall I was unsuccessful in trying to chase him down at the Gravel Grovel). Our whole analysis of our podium chances just got a last minute reshuffle. 

The start was a half mile run on pavement to the start line before dropping into the trail. Things were pretty steady at the beginning and people were cool with the passes. I got away from a few groups but got stymied by traffic on a few climbs. During this time I passed Jim who had a mechanical somewhere on Grandview. I figured I would see him again, but I wasn't too concerned with trying to get a huge gap 15 minutes into the first lap. 

I caught a Bicycle Station rider and passed him on a climb, only to have him get by me on a descent. I followed this rider for most of Grandview and into Cliffside. Exiting Cliffside, I was still behind him, with another racer between us,  Both began to slow  on the climb up to Shadow Run and I called out a pass. As noted all passes had been easy and friendly. This guy was determined to stop that. I called out the pass and the guy responded that he wasn't going to slow down and that he was racing too. I shook my head and said something along the lines of this being the first 40 minutes of a 6 hour race. No need to slow down....just edge over a bit and let me by. The climb leading up to Shadow Run wasn't exactly so wide and luxurious that I could just ride past him without getting a bit of leeway.

Oh yeah, somewhere before this, Jim had caught up and passed me. So yeah.

Me.
Photo: Kent Barmgardt

I concluded my lap and came into the exchange area. Jim had already been through and Mike was gone, as were the teams ahead of us. Now is when we can have fun with numbers and the split times. I put up a 1:04.08 on lap 1 which was good enough for 6th place. Not bad, but certainly room to improve. Our Matthews colleagues had 1:03:35 (with Jim's mechanical) so they  had just over 30 seconds on us.

Aaron went roaring out, and I collapsed. I relaxed, changed into a new kit, and had some food and talked to Jim about his tire troubles. My plan was to start looking for Aaron after an hour, so around 11:05 or so. Jim came over to watch for Mike and all of the sudden there came a Matthews jersey into sight. Jim yelled that it was Mike, and a split second later I added a "Holy shit, Aaron is there too!" Aaron and Mike were right together. I had no idea the exact time for the lap, but it was clear that Aaron had found some serious speed. Turns out he had done a 1:00:08, the second fastest time for the duo men on that lap. He made up the 33 second deficit to Team Frazier/Hufhand and moved us into 4th place.

Now it was up to me to not screw this up too much. Jim got out a split second ahead of me, but I soon caught him on the single track.  Over the course of the next lap the distance between us vacillated, although I always kept him in sight. On some of the climbs on Grandview I was able to catch him and hook on to his wheel, while he would put some distance on on the descents.  I was feeling pretty good until we got to Shadow Run. the twist and turns and heavy underbrush limited my views of Jim, and just before the tight hairpin which signaled the beginning of the long fast descent I lost sight of him. Sight lines were better on the descent, but I still could not spot him and began to panic a bit. I roared into the exchange area and saw Aaron go out in pursuit. I had no idea how far ahead Jim had gotten but it was clear he had used the final descent to get away.

Time wise, I had done a 1:03:11, which was my fastest lap of the day and we were still in 4th.  One of the contending teams (actually first place) apparently dropped out during this lap due to a bad accident with their lap three rider. We had a 24 second deficit to Frazier/Hufhand. This was going to come down to the wire. I knew we were in a race for third, and barring any mechanicals, I fully expected Aaron to catch Mike, which would leave it to me to try to keep tabs on Jim on the last lap. Yay.

In the hour I had to sit and contemplate things, I began to think maybe Aaron would be able to do two laps. He was riding well, and I knew he was more capable to take on Jim than I. Just in case, I prepared a water bottle for him in case he was willing to keep riding.

Aaron
Photo: Kent Baumgardt

Almost an hour later, I'm sitting in the exchange zone with the other duo teams, anticipating the arrival of our teammates. The first place team arrived and left. They had been putting up blistering lap times and were well ahead of everyone else. All of the sudden I spotted a Matthews jersey rounding the bend. One of those moments of excitement/nervousness which hits you straight in the stomach as I realized it was Aaron. And he was alone. As he came riding down the finish chute I held up two finger and yelled if he could do another lap. He shook his head and I took off.

I wasn't very clear on the tactical situation at the time. I had seen 1st place go out, but suddenly couldn't account for 2nd. Was he still in the exchange area or had he gone out? I was so focused on team Frazier/Hufhand, I hadn't noticed. Instead of wasting time thinking about this, I turned to the business at hand....keeping the time gap on Jim. A gap whose size I did not know. I went out hard and seemed to fly through the course. I kept glancing back excepting to see a Matthews jersey closing, but there was nothing there. I had a few twinges of a cramp in my left calf, but these were held at bay.

Leaving the Cliffside trail and heading into the Shadow Run climb I passed Aaron on the side of the trail. He yelled for me to push it, and that the climb was my specialty. I did push it and still didn't see anyone behind me. At the end of the Shadow Run descent I again passed Aaron who yelled that I was in good shape and the chasers were still a few minutes back. I didn't let up and continued to push into the finish. No time for a 5th lap so that would be it for the day.

As it turns out, we got 2nd. Wow.

On the podium, er....picnic table.
Photo: Eric Lewis

So what happened there in the end? First was Aaron's fantastic second lap which he did in 1:00:53 seconds, 40 second faster than any other team in the duo group, and THE fastest 4th lap turned that day overall. In combination with this blazing lap, the 2nd place team suffered a flat tire which knocked their lap 4 time down significantly. Aaron was also able to make up time on Mike and add on an additional 3 minutes. At the end of the fourth lap, I left the exchange area with gaps of 2-3 minutes over the 3rd and 4th place teams. My final lap was my slowest, at 1:05:07. No so blazing as it had felt but I still put time into Frazier/Hufhand, while the formerly second place team beat my time by almost a minute in what I imagine was a mad dash to make up time from their flat. In the process, they passed Jim to secure 3rd place, and came in two and a half minutes after me.

So, there you have it. A great finish to a fun race. I enjoyed the team aspect, as well as the drama coming into the final two laps. It is clear that Aaron's laps kept us in the game and closed the gaps which my prior laps had created. I was glad that I was able to keep things together on the last lap and maintain the gaps which Aaron had created during the decisive lap 4. A crash or a bonk could have easily ended our chances. Besides getting on the podium we were also surprised to receive $60 checks This was a nice surprise and marked the first time I've ever been paid to ride my bike. Tri-State 6 Hour puts on a solid event and I'm looking forward to jumping into some of the races next year.....as part of a two man team.

*Top photo: Kent Baumgardt

Return to Ferd

DINO traditionally races at Versailles near the end of July but the night before the race, a nasty storm swept through the park and destroyed the race site and knocked down over 200 trees on the trails and park roads, including the park entrance.  The race was a no go and was cancelled.

But...there were still two races left, with the next being a return to Ferdinand State Forest. While I had raced there last year as part of the Southern 5 race series, DINO had not had a race since 2007. Last year's experience at Ferd had been good, with the numerous climbs catering well to my climbing abilities. Aaron Lifford and I went down the night before and prerode the course. It was slightly different from Southern 5 in that we tacked a new section of trail north of a gravel road which had served as part of the course last year. With a 9 mile lap, and the hills, Cat 2 was going to ride 1.5 laps, with the route short cutting along another section of trail around the middle of the second lap. 

Preride went well....it did reveal a nasty little climb right at the start following a creek crossing. This wasn't used last year, and on the preride Aaron and I hit it in a fast gear and quickly stalled out. Steep climb duly noted.....probably need the granny to get up that one. A few tricky creek crossings were investigated, but otherwise, it was the same course. The park staff had again done a good job trimming back the undergrowth from the trails. 

So, to the race. The regular Cat 2 heavy weights had shown up and I knew it would be a tough race. Things went off about as expected. I was able to ride the steep climb at the top, while others ran it. A DRT rider went into cyclocross mode and shouldered his bike and in the process of shoving his way through traffic, clocked BOI rider Sean Cooper (who was right next to me) in the head with his rear wheel. Sean was still riding at this point and the hit knocked him off his rhythm. Not cool. 

Anyway, I kept riding up the long initial climb and passed several riders,  I kept up a solid pace and widened a gap over several Open riders. Series leading rider Michael Scott was well off the front, as he has been for the entire year, Rob Shrum and the DRT rider were also up there. Those three riders had a huge gap, but there was another Open rider from Bloomington in 4th, I was in 5th place  but I had gotten glimpses of 4th place through the woods and knew he was within in reach. A podium was going to be difficult, but a top 5 overall was possible. 

I was riding well and still felt strong, I was heading down the east side of the course towards the Start/Finish and dropped down a steep rocky tech portion which led to a gravel road. As I rode down the road, I grabbed my water bottle for a drink and out of the corner of my right eye, I spotted a DINO trail marker sign. Shit, that was the turn for the course. Without thinking I applied the front brake (water bottle was in my right) and down I went. Hard. I got up and check myself. Collarbone was where it was supposed to be, no pain while breathing, head didn't  contact the ground. All seemed good same a bloody knee and arm. The bad thing was my saddle had been knocked askew. I got out my multi tool and fixed it all while watching my 6. No one passed me, and I took off down the trail where I had seen the sign. I glanced back and saw no one behind me. Good, No more than 2 minutes down, I can still make up the time.

I think this was from first lap as I don't see any blood running
down my leg from my crash near the end of the first lap. 

All of the sudden, I came across an orange arrow spray painted on the trail. It was pointing towards me. I hit the brakes and realized what had happened. The sign I had seen (which in the chaos of the crash I had not stopped to read) was actually for the short cut route. I had been riding the wrong way. Post race analysis showed that I had ridden half a mile off course. Time lost was four minutes and 15 seconds. I was in a rage at myself for making for such a dumb mistake, Aaron and I passed that same spot during preride and even commented how that that trail was where the short cut reconnects with the main course. Of course, in the heat of the moment I forgot that. I went on a tear and started to make up lost ground. I re-passed several riders, some asking where I had come from. 

Despite my hard push on the last half lap, I was unable to regain all the time, and ended up in 5th place in Cat 2 Open and 8th place overall. As noted, I had lost over 4 minutes due to my off course adventure. If not for this, I would have taken 4th in open and 4th overall. The off course ramble had allowed several age groupers to gain on me which hurt int he overall. Kind of a tough break, but that is racing, I was happy with my physical condition, and my climbing ability and the top 10 was good. Still, the what could have been was tough. 

So, that's Ferd in a nutshell.  One note. Attendance was definitely below normal, which was kind of expected since the venue is so far south.  However, there weren't very many other riders from the southern part of the state there.  Adventure Recreation & Gear was out in force as always, but very few folks from Evansville, including the EMBA and Dan's Comp teams were there.  Considering complaints in the past about DINO not catering to the southern portion of the state, I would think more people would show up. I think alot of people don't like Ferd, but in terms of climbing, there are few places to ride in the state that can offer that kind of elevation gain and I was hoping there would have been a better a turnout. 

Highs And Lows At Muscatatuk DINO

I'm really far behind on this blog. Lots of racing going on and lots of rain messing up the racing. But it is time for some belated race reports. This one is from Muscatatuk DINO. Weather was again a factor which rain leading up to the race weekend. Saturday was the short track race, which is quickly becoming one of my favorite events.  A larger men’s Cat 2 field meant more competition, and from the get go, things were fast. Hitting the woods I was around 3rd or 4th, but once the first two laps were done, riders started to fall away. I settled into 2nd place chasing a younger guy (like in his early 20’s or late teens young), while I had Shawn Cooper hot on my tail.  

The first 15 minutes were spent like that. Shawn tried to make a pass on my outside around minute 10 as we came through the start/finish line, but I accelerated and held him off.   We were steadily gaining on the younger rider, with maybe a 6 or 7 second gap. Each time we came to a turn he was there. Until he wasn’t. Something happened and he hit the gas and was gone.  The race was on for 2nd. Shawn was still on my wheel, and not long after the mid point, I began to feel ill.  Guess I had gone out too fast and now the stomach was not having a very good time. I pulled aside and allowed Shawn to pass. 

Holding off Sean Cooper on the short track climb.
Photo: Ultra Event Photo

4th place wasn’t in sight, and I recovered after a few minutes. As we came out of the woods and onto the main grass straight away on the second to last lap, I attacked and accelerated past Shawn. I was first back into the woods as we started the final lap, and maintained that to the finish for 2nd place.  

A fun race and a solid result but boy was I beat. I hung around with some other Matthews riders for the Cat 1/Pro short track, and then Jim Sierra, Aaron and I decided to go on a pre-ride of the XC course.  The awards for short track were scheduled at 2 pm, about an hour and a half away, and the downhill competition still had to be run.  

The preride went well….some terribly muddy sections, and a few questionable creek and seep crossings  (I didn’t know PVC piping was a trail building material). Other than managing to swallow several large chunks of mud, and getting one stuck in my eye, the pre-ride was fun. Once we finished, I rode down to the bottom of the downhill course and watched the festivities. Afterwards, I went up to the awards ceremony and found that the short track podium had been held over an hour before, while I was pre-riding. I rechecked the schedule posted at the registration table, and sure enough, it said awards were at 2 pm. I was a bit ticked off and disappointed. I had run a good race and was looking forward to actually getting on the podium in what has been a rough year for getting into the top three. 

That evening I drove over to Terre Haute  to meet my wife and some friends at a lake house for the 4th of July. It was a long drive across the state, and while the evening was fun, it was  late night and then the drive the next morning back to North Vernon was long. 

I lined up for the XC race and as soon as the gun went off, I knew I was in trouble. My legs weren't responding and I had no power.  I was last into the woods, but hoped things would fall into place. Not long into the race is a climb which I have used to good effect in past races to gain position. This time.....nothing. I was done and bonked, and the race was only 5 minutes old.  

No way was I going to DNF after last year's debacle, so I continued to push forward, while being passed by everyone and their brother. Tech skills weren't there and I manged to crash on one of the steep creek crossings, and bashed my chain ring into a few logs as I attempted to cross them. To add insult to injury, on the last lap my chain broke on a steep uphill. Maybe it was a combination of a bad shift, or the aforementioned chain bashes, but it was broken, and the ends so warped that my quick link would not work. 

So I ran, And coasted a bit. But mostly ran for the last 2 + miles of the race. Seemed a fitting ending to a rather shitty race, but as least I did not DNF.

Running it in.
Photo: Ultra Event Photo

So what happened? Who knows....maybe it was the long drives before the race, something I ate, or because I had left everything out there during short track. Whatever it was, the XC race was a rough day all around. 

Brown County State Park DINO Race Report

Another weekend, another cross country mountain bike race defined by wet and often slick conditions. This time at the Brown County State Park DINO race.

Setting the stage, we'd had a week of decent weather, although there was a significant threat of severe storms on Saturday. Although away at a wedding in northern Indiana, I monitored the weather and saw that the storms were bypassing the park for most of the day. At the end of the day a few strong storms did blow through, but word on the social medias was that the race was a go.

Early Sunday morning was gray and damp, and a constant mist fell on the drive to the park. Once there, I also found that the temperature seemed to have dropped since my 6 am wake up and dog walking. I was wandering around in shorts, a t-shirt and sandals (feet got soaking wet) while others were nice and warm in long pants and sleeves.

I got situated and went out for a pre-ride which included climbing the beast of a paved climb at the start of the course. I found the trails themselves to be in good shape. The tread was solid, and while there was some mud in corners, and in a few low places, overall it had withstood the rain very well.

So we lined up. A decent sized Open field of 16 riders, and what looked like a smaller than usual Cat 2 over all field. This changed as the time to start ticked down, and people came running from the parking area (in the end, the 40-49 age group had 35 riders....which is huge for these parts).

The start was predictably fast and two loose packs formed as we all collectively burned half of our matches on the opening paved climb. The front pack included a few guys I knew, Jeff Burnett, Brian Walsh (who decided to ride a geared bike this week), and Rob Shrum, who made a comment that he hadn't ridden much so far this year, but who destroyed me.

I got up past Aaron (who was being paced by Zach Nalley from Evansville in what looked like a repeat of the SWW race from a few years ago), and had Michael Scott from Gray Goat in there as well.

The second pack began to reel the first one in slowly but surely, and as we came to the single track, I was within throw my spare CO2 cartridge at them distance of Rob abd Brian, with Michael on my wheel, and a rider on what looked like a Vassago dropping back along the line of riders. I looked over at Michael and said that we should get in front of this guy before the trail. Michael responded with something along the lines of "Take it." So I took it, passed the guy, and dropped into the singletrack behind Rob.

Michael didn't know it, but he was about to regret being on my wheel. Why? See the reference above re: wet roots, rocks, and mud. Yeah.....the only strong point on this course for me were the climbs.
 

I'm sure I crashed on these roots....because there wasn't a root that I didn't crash on.
Photo: Beth Bragg

Anyway, back to the action. I kept Brian and Rob in sight, and almost caught them for a good chunk of North Tower Loop. However, as we started our descent down to the valley and the connection with Aynes, I began to lose time to them thanks to the slick everything, and my general suckness with descending. Michael was still behind me, and I know he is faster, and I'm sure he was not having a very good time, so I rode to the side to let him get around.

I started the Aynes Climb in great style by doing a partial crash on the finl creek crossing before the climb. Damp rocks plus muddy tires equals me not able to ride worth a damn. I didn't bite it all the way, but the bike ended up on the ground while I stood there looking rather lame. I remounted the bike and made decent time on the climb and got close to Rob and Brian, and also got intertwined with a few Cat 1 riders.

Problem one, the awesome Aynes climb ended....which led to a downhill, which led to Brian and Rob dropping me like.....I dunno, its hot? (Ugh....jokes no firing today) Anyway, the remainder of the Aynes loop was spent trying to hold off a Cat 1 rider who I passed while climbing but who now was nipping at my heels on the descent.

Once the course reconnected with the North Tower Trail I pushed hard on the climb and hooked back up with another Cat 1 just in time for the run into the feed zone.

Where I crashed while trying to toss one of my water bottles to the side of the trail.

Apparently riding one handed and hitting a slick off camber root does not work for me. Anyway, one sore knee later and I was off again. North Tower was fairly uneventful....just going back and forth with the same few Cat 1 riders....and getting passed by one freakishly fast 20-29 age group rider. I attacked the Aynes climb like an animal (turned out to be a PR time) and tried to put some time on chasers (I had spotted Aaron and Zach not too far behind me) and gain on others.

On the descent I was passed by the same Cat 1 riders, and found that Zach had broken away from Aaron and caught me. He got away on the remainder of Aynes, but I pushed hard on the climb up North Tower, got past the Cat 1 riders and was Zach's wheel as we start the one way trail back to the start. Zach was damn fast, especially on the downhills, and he began to get a gap, although the distance was manageable. But, I screwed that up by nearly losing control (I think I hit a rock or root) which caused me to go off the trail on the downslope. For a terrifying few seconds I was having a "this is the end" feeling, as I sped towards several trees. Somehow, I managed to drag the bike back on the trail, and despite a triumphant "Fuck Yeah!" (namely because I realized I wasn't about to get wrapped around a tree). But, Zach was gone and I rolled across the finish line alone.

Done with the laps and heading down towards the finish. And looking and all fast  too.
Photo: Corri Lewis

I ended up 14th out of 78 overall, which I was pleased with even though I was aiming for a top 10 finish, and 10 out of 16 in the Cat 2 Open wave. Not so excited by that one. I was hoping to be in the top 50%, especially considering the favorable course, but I just couldn't manage it.

So, there's Brown County DINO in a nutshell. Next up is a new DINO venue at Potato Creek State Park near South Bend. I rode there a few years ago and it is a fun course, although I would liken it a Town Run on a half dose of steroids. Some elevation but not much tech. The locals are going to have a field day.

Kicking Off The XC Mountain Bike Season

Geez....I'm way behind on updates. I'll blame that on a terribly fun and relaxing vacation last week.

Anyway.....the 2015 cross country campaign is off and running with two races on consecutive weekends. So dueling race reports it is.

Fort Duffield 

As noted in the last posting, I headed south to Kentucky and the Kentuckey Point Series to race at Fort Duffield in Westpoint, just outside the Louisville. The course had been described as "old school" and the most technical course in Kentucky. Rocks and log crossings

These warnings seemed ominous, especially since I'm not the most technically skilled rider (I got a 29er so I could roll over obstacles, not finesse my way over), but I really wanted to get a race in before the DINO season started. So, I managed to trick convince Aaron to go along on a Team Matthews Racing trip down for the race.

Things got off to a less than great start when it became apparent it had rain in Westpoint the night before. That, and Aaron's bike nearly fell off the bike rack while going 75 mph on I-65. Thanks Thule.

Anyway, we got to the course and found everything was damp and the humidity soaring. We did a short pre-ride and sure enough, lots of damp slippery rocks, roots (none of which went straight across the trail...they were all at these crazy angle so the rear tire was slipping all over. And then the trees...there were lots of logs some of which could be rolled, some which needed to be hopped, and still others which no doubt would have resulted in a serious injury had I not pulled a cross hop. So, after dabbing along the preride, we lined up for the start, which went straight up the main park road to the fort at the top of the hill. The climb was ridiculously steep, and while I could have gone faster, I held back due to some ambivalence about my tech skills. The first lap was full of lots of hike a bike as other riders slipped or ran out of steam on steep climbs. I got in behind the Cat 1 women's leader, but a few foul ups resulted in me moving backward in the field.

I had no idea where I was at the start of the second lap, but during a particularly rocky section near  the start, my rear tire slid on a slick rock, and the rear part of the bike slid to the right, towards the edge of the trail. I tried to save myself, but lost balance and started to fall down the hillside. There was a small tree just off the trail and I grabbed at it to stop the fall. Only it broke free at its base (IT WAS ROTTEN!) and I continued to fall before my slide ended up against another tree farther down the hill. I scrambled up, found myself mostly unhurt and tried to remount. Unfortunately, my chain had come off and was wedged between the dropout and part of the cassette. After a few minutes of cursing, I got the chain loose, and got to riding. But....the race was over. Following my inadvertent downhill, I knew I was at the back and had no chance to make up time. So, I decided to relax and treat the remainder of the ride as recreational training ride. And it was fun. My skills were much improved over the first lap, and I ended the race in one piece. As it turns out, I made the podium in my age group.

Although I suspect there were only three 30-39 years in my age group....I wouldn't know for sure since I never looked at the final results. So yeah.

Thoughts on Duffield? Cool park and the fort is a nice touch. It wasn't the hardest trail I have ever ridden, but it was the hardest I have raced. I think it would be a fun course for a more low key recreational ride (when it was dry).

DINO Winona Lake

Two weekends ago was the kick off of the 2015 DINO season and my first race in the Cat 2 Open wave. I prerode Winona the evening before and found the course in good shape, with a few slick corners. Later that night, while enjoying a pre-race meal at Applebee's (which was THE local hangout) , a first batch of rain moved in. Based on radar, it looked like the rain missed the trails. Unfortunately, early the next morning, a more significant series of storms rolled through which dumped on the trails.  But, no chance of cancellation, this is a rain or shine course due to the sandy soil. 

So, the course would be wet. A short pre-ride in the morning proved this, and also showed that glasses would be a bad idea due to fogging issues.

A few minutes after 10 am that morning the Cat 2 waves lined up for the start. Cat 2 Open was first up, and had a dozen riders, including two other from Matthews, Brian W., a regular adversary over the past few years, and a few other familiar faces.

The start was down a grassy lane, which took a hairpin turn, and then ran past the start line before heading into the woods. The pack stayed close initially, although Aaron, Jeff B. and Michael S. all got out to a strong along with a DRT rider. I had several riders behind me, but the slick conditions were keeping my speed in check. Steve H, another Matthews rider, and another racer (I think Gray Goat) were ahead of me, but took a wrong turn on the trail and I got around. Brian W. was right on my wheel (he was singlespeeding at 32-17,although Brian is so strong I don't see this as a handicap) and he had to deal with all of my technical missteps. After awhile, Brian passed me, as did a rider from Gray Goat. I kept Gray Goat in sight for most of the remaining part of the first lap, although I also got passed by a incredibly fast age grouper (the eventual overall winner).

I started the second lap alone and the course seemed to improve. Still slick, but not as bad. A little way into the first lap I spotted Brian W. in the trees ahead. I seemed to take my time in catching him, but finally got on his wheel and made my way around. Brian commented that he was having a rough time, but once past, I kept a lookout over my shoulder. I was concerned that if he suddenly had a rabbit to chase, he would bounce back and come after me before the finish. I nearly did myself in at one point on a steep uphill which had become very muddy. I hit it fast, lost momentum when my tires began to spin, began to slip, dismounted to run, THEN slipped and I and the bike went sliding down the hill straight at Brian. He stopped before I crashed into him, and allowed me to claw my way back up the muddy slope and get back on the bike. 

I kept going and got a gap on Brian which I maintained until the end and rolled across the finish alone, having never closed the gap with Gray Goat. I was 14th out of 69 overall, and 7th out of 11 in the Open class (someone DNF'd...). I was happy with the overall, especially considering the conditions. The Open class....eh. I could have caught the Gray Goat rider ahead of me if the conditions had been better, and there are a few Open riders who should probably be in the Cat 1 wave after this race. I'm expecting my wave results this year to not be podium worthy since I am going up against a tougher group of racers. My primary goal for this season is to push towards getting top ten overall placings.

Oh hey Brian, remember when I fell down that hill and nearly crashed into you? Yeah, that was fun.
Photo: Beth Bragg

The next race is Brown County State Park, what I consider to be the premier race on the schedule, although not quite my favorite. In a change of pace, the course has reverted back to the original version, which includes a full circuit of the Aynes Loop, including a nearly 300 foot climb to the top of the loop before dropping back down to North Tower for a climb back up to the finish. 

I'm hoping my usual climbing power shows up in full force. I'm also hoping that the forecasted chance of showers on Saturday does not impact the park. I'm getting tired of riding slick race courses. 

A Rainout Leads To An Invasion Of The Commonwealth of Kentucky

So the DINO Tune Up race didn't happen so I cannot entertain with a exciting race report about a race which does not count in the overall series. 

What happened? Well, rain happened. Despite a week of sunny weather, race day dawned with the threat of rain. There was lots of rain up north, but most was bypassing Town Run Trail Park. The race was at 2 pm, and the conditions seemed doable up until the noon hour when a large batch of rain moved in and dumped across the city and the course. My ride to the race was a teammate who decided he would skip this one, as did several other team members via Facebook and text messages. I held out hope that conditions might change, but at 2 pm I was still sitting on the couch, and a post from the race organizer a few minutes later confirmed that the race was cancelled. 

So no racing, and no start to the XC season. What have I been doing since then? I've been riding lots...especially in the mornings and on the weekends. I've been working on my cornering at Town Run, and rode at Brown County for a relatively easy ride (easy meaning I actually stopped to take photos and consider the lovely landscape). 

Lovely photo at the bottom of Hesitation Point. 

Another one at the top. 

Despite there being three mountain bike race series in Indiana, none of them are having any races this weekend. So, I looked south to the Kentucky Point Series, and the Duffield Derby race this Saturday in West Point, just outside of Louisville. The race takes place at the site of a Civil War fort, which for a history/Civil War nut like me, is an added bonus. 

The park seems to cater to downhill riders and some of the Youtube videos I have found are quite terrifying, especially for a XC rider who tries to leave the ground as infrequently as possible. I'm hoping the XC race route isn't like that, although there do seem to be some serious climbs.

Duffield elevation profile from last year's race. 

The race is only two laps on a 5 mile course, so it will likely be the shortest XC race I do this year. We'll see how it all shakes out.