A little recap of the week before the race to set the stage. Nicki Sutherland and I decided to head up to ride a few laps around the West Point Lake trail on Sunday April 11. It was only my 2nd time riding up there so I jumped at the opportunity to go. We got there around 10am and headed out for our first lap. We were about half way through the lap when I heard a POP from the rear of my bike while going over a dirt mound on the trail. The bike immediately wabbled so I knew this wasn't good. I immediately stopped and told Nicki that something broke. And I was right! The left side chain stay had broken right behind the weld. Can you spell SUCKS?
Well, since I knew this was just part of being a mountain biker, I had to suck it up and start walking. Since I had been up there recently with Blake Melton I knew my way out. I told Nicki to go ahead and ride and I would just meet her at the car. She insisted on staying with me, for a little while at least. LOL
So we had about 2 miles to walk it back to the car. It wasn't too bad as we found the nearest road pretty quick. It was also nice to have someone to talk to for the walk. So this ended our day there, and we headed back to Columbus. Once we got back to her house, we decided to get her other bike and she was going to let me ride her Santa Cruz. So we headed over to Flat Rock for a spin so I could check out her bike. She was going to let me borrow it for the race the next weekend. The ride was good except for the blister that I got from her grip shifters.
So Monday after work I bring my bike to Ride On Bikes downtown for them to look at. They said that they would call Trek and see how much the new part would cost and how long it would take them to get it in. Of course Trek was closed for the day, so the call had to wait til Tuesday.
Tuesday I call down there and they say that the part is in stock and was going to be around $300 installed. So I told them to get it shipped over night and I woul dpay the difference. They said ok and told me that it should be here by Friday and that I could pick up the bike after work.
Well low and behold I get a phone call on Thursday and it is Kyle at Ride On Bikes and my bike is READY!!! YAY So of course I run down there and get it so I can take it for a spin. I was supposed to meet Paul and some other people at Flat Rock around 6pm anyway.
So I get myself and the bike to Flat Rock right at 6pm and Paul and the gang are ready to go. So I tell to go ahead and I would try to catch up to them. I still had to swap pedals and get all of my gear on. After about 15 minutes or so I am ready to go. Everything on the bike is perfect and I have a great ride. I am so very stoked to have my bike for the race!!!
So back to the race. Saturday presented a beautiful day for a time trial. There were 74 people registered and the park looked packed with racers.
The time trial started at 5pm and went by race category with each racer blasting off in one minute increments. The course consisted of just the top 2 loops of the trail system which was around 3 miles. A time trial is just a blast as fast as you can go for one lap. There are series points on the line here too. 5 bonus points for the winner and so on down to 1 point for all of the rest. I had a feeling that Curtis was going to be here so I knew I had to do good.
I was 37th in line and was hoping for a smoothe ride with no crashes.
When in race mode I then to put all fears aside and just go for it. I know that this can and probably will get in trouble one day, butit is what has to be done to get better.
So the clock ticks down and I am off. The entrance in to the woods is a hard left turn on the loose leaves and oine straw so I had to be careful not to slip down. I slid out a little bit but nothing was lost. It usually takes a half mile or so for me to get warmed up, so I actually take it a little easy on the first stretch parallel to the railroad tracks. After that I crank it up.About halfway through the first loop I have no problems other than brushing a tree with my right shoulder. I was concerned that the ground would be too dry and slippery, but it wasn't too bad. I felt that my speed and handling was good and that I would really be able to turn it on in the 2nd section. Towards the exit of the first section I hit a root and get a little sideways and slid out to the left a little missing a large pine tree and then over correcting and rode off the trail on the right side. I don't think that I lost much time here but it sure was a little scary.
So I survived the first section and am heading out and on the 2nd section. Terry Witbeck is standing right at the exit and is trying to take a photo. So I yell yeehaw and put the pedal to the metal. I am flying and hoping that I don't make any mistakes, especially in the loose dirt and rocks. I hit the new berm and shoot off the end without loosing much speed. The hairpin turns slow me down a bit but the addrenaline is high. I fly down the revine and blast up the hill towards the finish line.
The approach to the finish line is a slight down hill and I know I am flying. So I decide that I'm NOT going to slow down and I am going to take the ditch full speed ahead. I have hit it pretty fast before, but not this fast. My plan fails misearably
and I crash big time right at the finish line in front on EVERYONE!!! I think I actually hit the up-hill side of the ditch and flew over my handlebars. The adrenaline was so high I didn't even care. Nothing was broke so I jumped up and tried to carry the bike to the top of the hill. I slipped and slid back down the hill, so I just threw the bike up and over it. LOL The whole time Dave Berger was yelling at me to not worry about it that my time was already stopped. And I didn't even hear him at all. I was just wanting to WIN.
So I did just that! I won my age group with the time of 13:32. See the resuls below and also check the full RESULTS HERE.
No comments:
Post a Comment