Another Beautiful Weekend and the 1st Race of the Year

Saturday Kelly and I finished painting our dining room, and stairway. Glad to have that done, as painting is not one my favorite activities. Unfortunately I don’t have the patience required to paint and make it look really good, but I do think it turned out pretty nice. That afternoon we headed over to Waterfall Glenn for a bike ride. Kelly was riding her new Bianchi Volpe, and really liked it. She had a Lemond Buenos Aires that really didn’t fit here, so we sold that and picked up the Volpe. It is amazing how much more comfortable she looks on it, and being a cross/touring bike the wider tires make for a super comfortable ride. That evening we had some friends over for a barbecue, and sat out by the fire pit enjoying the nice weather.

Yesterday was my first race of the season, and I am still feeling the effects today. Kelly, Bernie and I headed out to Rock Cut State Park near Rockford, IL for the “Do The Rock” Mountain Bike race. I had never ridden these trails, but was pleasantly surprised with the trail system. The course consisted of some fast doubletrack, tight flowing singletrack, and a few road sections. There were also several tall log crossings that made some of the sections a little more technical. I took part in the two lap event that was approximately 20 miles in length. It was an awesome day for a race, but I am definitely not acclimated to the heat yet. Temps were in the low 80’s with plenty of sun, and by the middle of the 2nd lap I was really feeling the effects.

My race started out okay. I got a mid pack start, and had some work to do to move up through the field. Throughout most of the first lap I was able to pick off several other riders, but towards the end of the first lap I could tell I was starting to suffer. At this point I was riding by myself without anyone else around me. As I started the 2nd lap I picked up one rider, and we settled into a pretty good groove of working together. I was faster on the climbs, and he was faster on the descents, so it worked out pretty well. Halfway through the 2nd lap my lower back was really hurting, and I was trying to stand up on the descents and stretch, but there was really no opportunity for major relief. With about two miles to go, there was a long drag of a climb up to the last asphalt section, and as I got to this section my engine was blown. Between the heat and my back I didn’t have anything left, and I was dropped by my fellow racer. With no one in sight behind me I limped in to the finish.

As the first mountain bike race of the season, there were some good and bad points to the race:

The Good
1. I felt a lot more comfortable on the technical portions of the course compared to last year. I was able to clear obstacles that I would have dismounted and ran over in the past.
2. I felt strong for half of the race, especially on the climbs

The Bad
1. My lower back was in some serious pain towards the end of the race.
2. I need to be faster in the turns. I am scrubbing way too much speed in these sections.
3. I felt strong for only half of the race.