8/29 STL Dirt Crits #8, 2cd.

 Seemed like sort of a best of the rest race without the Big Shark Geezer Trio in attendance, but turned out to be a pretty fast race by any standard. A little bit of rain tacked up the track nicely since I was dialing in the new bike there on Tuesday and even though the heat index was still 100, it felt much less imposing than the 110 on Tuesday. It was a smaller field and I was lined up early to be on the front row. Good start and into the woods behind Bowen. Everything was moving really slowly, similar to last week but last week I was in damage control mode the whole race so it was a bit more frantic. I remember the really good hockey games where everything just slows down so much feels like a video game your good at. I think all the time I've spent on the mtb in the last few months and the new bike have helped dramatically. 

After the StL start we settled in and I was able to recover on Bowens wheel for a bit. I want to say there was a group of about 10 of us that separated. Bowen pulled off after the first lap and I was happy to have clean line of sight and get warmed up. After a lap or two on the front James jumped hard and I covered. Lots of power was drained. He pulled off and I was back in the front. Maybe midway through the race we were down to a group of 5, but I didn't ever really look back.  I think Bowen might have taken another half a lap as well as Devon, but otherwise I was either 1 or 2 wheel the whole race. 

With 3 to go I was expecting fireworks but instead of leading it out remained patient and stayed on the front setting a consistent pace and not burning too many matches out of the corners. No moves were made. With 2 to go we were down to 4 of us and I did more of the same. I was really expecting a strong surge of a few guys but it never came. On the last lap I went all in to prevent anyone from coming around me, riding on the rivet. When we hit the last grass opening on the backside I made the move and shut Bowen down and was able to hold it all the way through the wide section before the drop in. We came on a lapped rider on the short hill before the finishing straight who went left before going back to the right to let us pass and it got a little dicey. Shock locked, out of the saddle spring from there on. Bowen came around me and clipped my bar hard but we both stayed up. Last lap was the fastest of the race by almost 10 seconds.  Same finishing time but he got me by a bike length.

43:43 was the fastest time for the CCW races on the new course this year. I thought for sure it was a slower race and was happy to have some validation that I can hang at the front of one of these. The new bike is just sick. At race pace, the 47 degree head angle floats far less than at lower speeds and I don't think there could be a better bike for me. Really happy to be mountain bike racing again!!! 

8/22 STL Dirt Crits #7, 6th place.

 Weather was perfect; dry and cool. Easy on the lungs. Big race. Aside from Brody, I can't think of anyone who has won one of these recently that wasn't there and knew warming up it was going to be a flamethrower of a race. The track was hard and super fast. I made the major mistake of lining up late and ended up in the second row, which was a major mistake. The guy in front of me couldn't clip in and I hit the woods somewhere 15-20 back. John Rines was behind me but was far more assertive passing and moved up quicky. I tried not to overact and slowly moved up to 8th or 9th. There was quite a bit of carnage going on and at one point Tom and I were hauling the mail through the straight and he went sideways were it dropped back in to the right. Fortunately, I made it around him, not over him and moved on. For the middle section of the race I was in no man's land but keeping roughly the same distance to the lead group. With maybe 4 to go James and Ian must have had a mishap and I passed James and latched onto Ian. We went back and forth for the last 3 laps and when we came though on what I thought was the bell lap I heard "OK A racers, you can do one more lap" which I took as we were doing an extra lap, not the last lap. Ian jumped me in the grass on the far end of the course and I was content ride his wheel and feeling good. When we hit the start finish straight I  sat on his wheel in what I thought was going to be the last lap, no effort to sprint and relatively relaxes, only to pass through the start finish and realize it was over. Rookie mistake. A little bummed I missed out on fighting for the last podium spot, but it's my fault! Great race, happy with what I was able to do. 

8/11 UFD Indian Camp Creek, 5th

 Big field with a lot of fast dudes. Didn't know what to expect since this was a super power heavy course with little climbing and after pre-riding it didn't feel like it suited me all that much. I was feeling pretty relaxed and rested, which was odd given the field, and my game plan to be in the front-ish going into the woods which were super tight and nowhere to pass until the first field section. I got a good jump so kept going and led it out, knowing I'd lose spots in the field and could set the pace without anyone coming around me. 

 I think I was sitting in 7th after the field and was not really able to respond the way I needed to. I maintained contact with Devon, Jimmy, Harre and Brody going into lap 2. Harre went down and Devon and I moved up staying in contact with Brody and Jimmy. 

By lap 3 Tom caught us and I wasn't able to hang with him after a wash out before the field on the back of the course. I couldn't catch him but he was dangling in front of me. Don't remember exactly.

Coming through into the last lap I passed Brody, could not see Harre behind me and had Jimmy and Tom within 10 seconds or so. I caught Devon before the start/finish and then he stopped for a bottle and I passed. Going into the first field section Jimmy was about 5 seconds in front of me with Tom another 5 ahead. I assumed Jimmy was bogging down but he had crashed and Tom passed him. They pulled away in the field and gapped me quickly. Exiting the field I couldn't see Harre, Brody or Devon. Pretty uneventful until the stretch between the field in the back and road crossing to the bottom when I came up on a Grenada rider who refused to let me pass. This went on for some time until I went from asking nicely to telling him to move. In retrospect and after seeing the lap times, this made a pretty big difference. Fortunately, I never was caught by Brody or Harre but lost a lot of time waiting. 

Overall I was super happy with the way I raced. There's no way I could have won that and Jimmy and Tom defintely out powered me, which I would have expected. Happy to be able to hold off Harre and Brody. 

Overall, I believe that maybe second to one of the Landahl races in 2008, this was the biggest MO mtb race I've been to, which is awesome. So many (fast!!) kids and a really well done event. Great to be a part of it!

8/4 UFD Thrill at Matson Hill, DNF.

 Originally planned I wasn't going to race thinking that taking nearly a full rest week with two nights of partying at Phish on Tues and Wed wasn't the best idea but after doing a few laps there couldn't resist. It was going to be a hard, hot race and I thought it suited me. 

Took Mon-Wed completely off and did a little too much partying. Felt pretty good and rode a few hours on Thurs after work and then another easy hour on Friday. Sat morning I did another few hours with a few efforts and then the tired hit me and I was couch locked all afternoon watching the Olympic Road Race. Sun morning was still pretty tired but got a good warm up in and was psyched there were some fast dudes there. 

Not sure how I feel about the downhill start but I took the hole shot and my plan was to try to hit the top of the climb first so I wouldn't get gapped on the downhill. I had things pretty strung out right away but it wasn't until near the top of the climb that any gaps opened up and then Jimmy, Tom and Will latched on for the downhill. Things were far different at race pace and when we took the drop at the bottom I was amazed and  how fast we went over it. Could have been bad news.

After the descent I realized I had lost my nutrition bottle, which was somewhat of a problem, but I had a bottle with water and extra gels so wasn't too worried. 

On the climb up to the lot I was able to gap both Tom and Jimmy and will was gone. I think I probably had 5-10 seconds on them which I lost on the descent. The three of us were riding the bottoms/tech sections more or less together when I nailed something with my rear wheel sometime around the bottom. Immediately I thought I had broken my rim but it was just a big burp which I tried to keep riding thinking I might be able to get to the start finish and use a pump which would save me time. The tire kept losing pressure and I was forced to stop and try to CO2 it. First time using this since I bought the MTB and it blew a rubber seal or something and all the air came out at once. Tried to ride a bit more and the tire came unseated. Jog/walked to the finish, tried to reseat to see if I could catch a few people but no such luck. Game over. 

7/21 UFD Show Me State Games @ Rock Bridge, 2cd Overall (1st age group - that's the way they scored it)

Another good race. Took it pretty easy all week since I wasn't feeling recovered from the race in the heat on Sunday and skipped my big workout and Dirt Crits. Definitley felt a little flat or tired, not sure which. I'm guessing just tired from a stressful week and a long hr plus warm up because I wanted to pre-ride the course.  I'm glad I did becuase I remembered 0% from the last time I raced there in 07. Far more technical and challenging than I was expecting, which I liked.

Bob was talking about letting following Josh around for a lap but I had zero fucks to be given to that idea and had a great start and was first in the woods. Overcooked a few things here and there but mainly kept it together. The young kid with long hair that reminded me of a 90's hair band came around me about 5 mins in, which was fine by me. He got a little gap on one of the downhills but I was able to recover, probably moreso since I was able to ride his wheel through the flats, which were a blast. He dabbed after the creek and I went around him.

I was riding a good pace up the climb which was apparently hard enough to drop everyone but Marc, which I didn't realize until we hit the gravel road. We had a pretty gone line of sight through the big field and couldn't see anyone chasing, which I was super suprised by. 

I think Marc passed me on the climb to the start finish and put a pretty good gap into me right away. I had no idea who he was our what to expect and just kept pushing. I bogged down a little on lap two but lap one was so fast we had a pretty good cushion. Lap 1 was 35:18. Nutrition was good, legs were pretty good and I was riding well. I didn't see anyone at all on lap 2 which was my slowest at 37:01. 

Lap 3 was more of the same but I was able to push pretty hard and motivated to finish strong, which I did. Lap 3 was 36:53.

Really happy with the way I raced and the result. What a fantastic course. Definitely worth the trip. Planning on trying to get a big workout in this week and some long mountain bike rides next weekend and taking a rest week after that. Seems like a lot of racing in a short period of time and need a little reset. 

7/15 UFD St. Joe, Cat 1, 1st!!! $500

 

After pre-riding the weekend before and seeing the humidity and heat in the forecast I knew it was going to be a long, hot race, which it was. I saw the names of some of the heavy hitters pre-registered and set goals, with landing a step on the podium being the most lofty. I'm almost 48 years old, I train about a third the volume that I used to and, while I love racing and training, enjoy the racing/life balance that I have now, which is basically training to be competitive at local masters races. 

I did a huge workout on Wednesday night and basically avoided any intensity and too much heat exposure leading up to the race. I felt a little flat but knew if I could maintain contact on the first big climb without blowing up it was going to be more of a race of attrition than a drag race. I was mostly right, but it turned out to be back and forth up until midway through the 3rd lap which was some fun and fast racing with nearly everyone making mistakes and suffering from the 102 heat index.

I was the first into the woods and was totally surprised that I wasn't just leading the group out on the pavement and only to be jumped going into the woods. I dialed it back a little before the start of the climb and paced myself which Brody, Aaron, Eli and Bourisaw came around me. This is about what I was expecting and my goal was to stay in contact with Bourisaw and Aaron. Surprisingly, we had a gap on everyone else already. At some point in the first section I went around Bourisaw and was riding 4th wheel. Again, we opened up a gap on him immediately. I got gapped on the downhill by the youngsters but was able to get back onto Elis wheel through the bottoms. He went down in front of me and I made it around him, or more accurately, by running over his bike. 

Both Brody and Aaron started to bog down a little after the last climb up to the pavement and passed Aaron who was undergeared on the SS. Once we hit the double track Brody either hesitated or was recovering and I went around him. I thought I had heard that there was cash for the fastest lap and was really surprised he let it happen, pretty much uncontested. 

I came through the start finish in the lead and noticed all the bottles from my hand up table were on the ground. I stopped, grabbed a bottle and put another on the table for the next lap. Brody and Aaron were already exiting the field by the time I got back on, but I chased and somehow caught them before we hit the dirt again.  Not too long after Aaron let me pass and I was riding Brody's wheel. He was bogging down to the point I thought he might be waiting for Eli to catch up so I said fuck it and went for it. Pretty much no response. I had daylight almost immediately. That was about 2 miles into lap 2. The rest of the lap was pretty uneventful and I was feeling good and pressing on. 

Coming through the start finish after lap two the tape had blown my bottles off the table again, which I failed to notice until I was exiting the field and had to stop, run across the field to grab one and get back on. Aaron passed me but again I caught up to him before the singletrack. I was gassed. At some point in the next mile or so he let me pass and shortly after that I hit a tree hard with my left shoulder, went down and he took over again. Not sure how long after that I caught him, maybe mile 3 or so, but I passed and ended up putting 3 minutes into him the rest of the race. 

I don't think I've ever celebrated winning a race like that before and it was uncontrollable joy. Why it means so much to me I'm not sure, but I'm super impressed that I can do what I'm doing at this age and there's no doubt this was a hard mans race, which are always more enjoyable to me. 

6/30 UFD Klaus Park, Cat 1, 4th

 My last XC race was in 2010, 14 years ago. The 4 rides I've done in the last week are the only rides I've done in over 10 years. I had some confidence after the dirt crit on Thursday but seriously questioned if I had two hours of race pace fitness. 

I pre-rode a lap easy. The course was really great without anything too technical but had a lot of places that knowing the course would allow you to maintain flow, which I definitely didn't at all.

My plan was to go all out again and fight for it, assuming I would either detonate a little over an hour in or just get smoked. 

I got a great jump on the start and think I could have fought a little harder for the hole shot but knew the two youngsters would be better off and was able to jump into the woods in 3rd. I almost completely went over the front end about 30 seconds into the race, which would have been bad given the speed, and then slid out on a root on the first lap, but aside from that I rode an exceptionally clean race, which is amazing to me.

I blew up on the first gravel climb and lost two spots, one to a guy in cutoff shorts on a SS and one to Devon. I don't know what I was thinking, probably not much because I was totally gassed, but I never once considered that Arnzen was in our race. I also never realized that someone dangling 10-15 seconds in front of me (that I never caught) was someone I was racing because given the nature of the course you were lapping and seeing a lot of people. Total rookie mistake!!!  TK jumped me right before the woods, which turned out to be a huge mistake as well as he had his son and his teammate ahead of us and Tim was content to do tail whips and catch his breath while they rode away. I made a mistake on a root and Bob went around me but as soon as we hit the field I jumped them both and went for it. There was almost immediate separation. 

By the end of lap two I had Devon in front of me and caught and passed him at the start of lap 3. I genuinely thought I was defending 3rd place for the rest of the race and was eyeing Eli, remember that he crashed and I put time into him at the dirt crits a few days before. 

The rest of the race was fairly uneventful. Did well with nutrition and the legs never really said no until 3/4 the way through the last lap. By lap 4 I was hitting the lines and using a lot less power which made a huge difference. 

I came across the line 3 mins behind Brady, a minute behind Eli and 14 seconds behind Arnzen. I was completely floored by my performance and to say I was super happy would be a total understatement.