Lake Sonoma Race Report
Saturday was technically my first "real" race as an expert/cat 1. I raced the solo 8 hour race at boggs as an expert, but it didn't really matter what category I registered as, I still had to go in circles as fast as I could for ~8 hours. Saturday was different. By doing well enough last year, I treated myself to the upgrade and earned bonus laps at several races this year (Lake Sonoma, Tamarancho, Skyline, and the HMC). Life has been hectic, and I've barely been riding, but Katie kicked me out of the house so I could treat myself to a day with bikes, beers and friends; sort of an early birthday present. .My alarm went off Saturday morning and I struggled to get out of bed, gather my things, and load up the car. But once I was on the road, the lack of responsibilities tugging at me every which way was calming. I turned the radio up and enjoyed the nice drive up 101. I showed up about an hour early and there were maybe only 20 cars in the lot. I got my bike ready and laid everything out I'd need for the day. People started to arrive, and I greeted Paule and Tom Taylor from Roaring Mouse, as well as their carpool buddy Cisco Moran.
After catching up with them, I road around a little, trying to convince myself the 4th lap woudn't be too bad, and to just go have a good time. This was one of the few times prior to a race where I had no strategy, didn't care about results, and just wanted to enjoy myself out on the trails. About 75 people lined up, none of who seemed anxious, and with a 5-4-3-2-1 GO!, the Pros and SSers were off; sort of a mildly chaotic, "Oh, is that us? Excuse me, can I get up to the front?" A minute or so later (with a count down from 5 to GO! that took only about 2 seconds) I took off with the other 15 or so experts, and I think I hit the top of the paved climb in 2nd to last. No big deal though. I had to bleed my front brake the night before and other than the 10 minutes warming up, I hadn't had a chance to really feel 100% confident I'd done the job right. Oh well, they seemed to be fine.
As soon as we hit the first downhill, it was clearly evident that I've been riding my mountain bike, but haven't actually been mountain biking. My little SF loop and the headlands have helped me maintain my fitness, but not my technical skills. I struggled most of the first lap, and was quickly passed by the lead sport guys. No worries, I was holding on to Hans Kelner's wheels (Sycip), and I've always felt he is a solid rider. I passed him about half way through, then caught Paule who was on his SS. As we came through the start/finish, I was pleasantly surprised as the lap was shorter than I expected. I kept the pace easy knowing I'd blow up if I tried to actually race the entire 2 hours.
The 2nd lap was pretty uneventful, more comfortable on my bike, but starting to get a little tired. Paule grunted by my on the climb to the S/F never to be seen again. On the 3rd lap, I could feel myself fading. About half way through, I rolled up on a younger guy with a flat and decided I could use a rest. Turns out he was racing expert and crushing it, but didn't know how to use the CO2 cartridge someone had lent him. We got it figured out as more sport folks passed us. Back on the bike, and the kid took off like a rocket. By this point, my chain sounded like garbage, and I needed to get some lube on it or I was calling it a day. I started up the little fire road climb to the parking lot, and the top 2 pros (Brian Atell from Marin and Jason Moeshler from WTB) lapped me sprinting to their finish, flying by as if I were standing still. As I crested the hill, I asked spectators for lube. No luck. At this point, I wasn't going to win any trophies or medals, and decided just to roll over to my car, lube up my chain, and go back out for my last lap. At this point, about half of the racers already had a cold beer open and had finished their first burger.
Okay, lap 4, here we go... I'd stuck to my rule of avoiding my little ring for the first three laps. But I had promised myself that since I'm doing the extra lap, I could treat myself to the granny ring only on the last lap. And I used it plenty. As I started the last lap, I could see Hans behind me about 30 seconds to a minute, but since the beginners and sport folks had finished for the day and the course was empty. We passed two straggling sport racers, but other than that, we were on our own. I was able to ride almost everything and never really bonked. But it was definitely a slower lap.
I rolled in alone, had a hamburger and a couple Coronas with friends and called it a day. The weather was perfect, zero traffic both ways for the drive, and course was challenging enough to feel a sense of accomplishment, but moderate enough not to break my spirit. All in all, a good morning of bike riding.
Matt
11/13 expert men 2:09ish
After catching up with them, I road around a little, trying to convince myself the 4th lap woudn't be too bad, and to just go have a good time. This was one of the few times prior to a race where I had no strategy, didn't care about results, and just wanted to enjoy myself out on the trails. About 75 people lined up, none of who seemed anxious, and with a 5-4-3-2-1 GO!, the Pros and SSers were off; sort of a mildly chaotic, "Oh, is that us? Excuse me, can I get up to the front?" A minute or so later (with a count down from 5 to GO! that took only about 2 seconds) I took off with the other 15 or so experts, and I think I hit the top of the paved climb in 2nd to last. No big deal though. I had to bleed my front brake the night before and other than the 10 minutes warming up, I hadn't had a chance to really feel 100% confident I'd done the job right. Oh well, they seemed to be fine.
As soon as we hit the first downhill, it was clearly evident that I've been riding my mountain bike, but haven't actually been mountain biking. My little SF loop and the headlands have helped me maintain my fitness, but not my technical skills. I struggled most of the first lap, and was quickly passed by the lead sport guys. No worries, I was holding on to Hans Kelner's wheels (Sycip), and I've always felt he is a solid rider. I passed him about half way through, then caught Paule who was on his SS. As we came through the start/finish, I was pleasantly surprised as the lap was shorter than I expected. I kept the pace easy knowing I'd blow up if I tried to actually race the entire 2 hours.
The 2nd lap was pretty uneventful, more comfortable on my bike, but starting to get a little tired. Paule grunted by my on the climb to the S/F never to be seen again. On the 3rd lap, I could feel myself fading. About half way through, I rolled up on a younger guy with a flat and decided I could use a rest. Turns out he was racing expert and crushing it, but didn't know how to use the CO2 cartridge someone had lent him. We got it figured out as more sport folks passed us. Back on the bike, and the kid took off like a rocket. By this point, my chain sounded like garbage, and I needed to get some lube on it or I was calling it a day. I started up the little fire road climb to the parking lot, and the top 2 pros (Brian Atell from Marin and Jason Moeshler from WTB) lapped me sprinting to their finish, flying by as if I were standing still. As I crested the hill, I asked spectators for lube. No luck. At this point, I wasn't going to win any trophies or medals, and decided just to roll over to my car, lube up my chain, and go back out for my last lap. At this point, about half of the racers already had a cold beer open and had finished their first burger.
Okay, lap 4, here we go... I'd stuck to my rule of avoiding my little ring for the first three laps. But I had promised myself that since I'm doing the extra lap, I could treat myself to the granny ring only on the last lap. And I used it plenty. As I started the last lap, I could see Hans behind me about 30 seconds to a minute, but since the beginners and sport folks had finished for the day and the course was empty. We passed two straggling sport racers, but other than that, we were on our own. I was able to ride almost everything and never really bonked. But it was definitely a slower lap.
I rolled in alone, had a hamburger and a couple Coronas with friends and called it a day. The weather was perfect, zero traffic both ways for the drive, and course was challenging enough to feel a sense of accomplishment, but moderate enough not to break my spirit. All in all, a good morning of bike riding.
Matt
11/13 expert men 2:09ish
posted by McWalters @ 5/15/2010
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home