French Creek was another sloppy race. Personally, I don't agree with having muddy races due to trail damage. The whole car ride there Shawn and I were debating on whether or not to race. Is it worth the parts we will have to replace (i.e. brake pads, tires and so on)? When we got there it actually looked to be in good condition considering they had about 1.5 inches of rain the night before. We registered.
At the start line all four of us (Shawn, Joel, Tom and I) had good starting positions. We were either in the first or second row. The start was designed to thin us out quick. Uphill for a long time. The blurby noise sounded and we were off. I felt like the pace was a bit slow so I jumped to the front, leading...but not for long. Kerry Werner of Shirk's was right on my wheel. He too was feeling good and the race was on. I made a tactical decision to let him lead. French Creek is his backyard and he knows the trails. For me it is easier to follow someone who is cruising than to be followed by someone who is on my wheel (if you follow me).
While on Kerry's wheel I spun my back wheel going over a waterbar. That would be the last I'd see of him. I was still having a great lap and feeling good over all the rocks and up the climbs. Right after going through the start/finish line Joel caught me. He was riding strong. I stopped for about 3-4 seconds to change out my water bottle (aka I dropped my new one) and caught back up to Joel. We were riding together up the first climb when we came upon a fresh group of beginners starting their race. We were weaving in and out of them like they were standing still (and some were). ***Sidebar*** Now I remember being a beginner and I teach mountain biking to kids (9-14) at a summer camp at White Clay Creek so I know their struggles. I ask the promoters...Why would you start them while the Expert/Elite riders are coming through on the final lap? ***End Side bar*** Most of them were pretty good about getting out of the way but there were a few that thought they were Geoff Kabush or something. These were the ones that were walking in the good line. Forcing us to pick bad lines through a rock garden or up a technical climb. It was bad. Nothing against beginners because we were all there at one point and it wasn't their fault they were starting at that time. After all, they paid to race too. It's just a shame when races are decided by who puts the most beginners at risk by passing in a bad spot.
Long story short, the team did pretty well. Tom took 12th, Shawn 9th, I was 8th, and the crazy man Joel was 4th. Here is a link to the results: http://prologsoftware.com/proracingtiming/results/r05_10_08Final.htm.
Next week (5-17) Chad is at the 75 miles of Mon-Tour. Shawn will be competing in the Union Grove road race (so he says). On the 24th the mountain team will be in full swing again. This time at the Dupont Estate in Delaware. The course isn't overy hard but just unrelenting. FatMarc is in charge and he always puts on a good race. A new secret racer will be revealed at Granogue as well!!!
Union Grove is: http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=5050
Later Suckers.
3 comments:
this was such a joy to read. even for a non-biker armenian such as myself. i thank you for this opportunity to experience secondhand what a bike race feels like.
i may just become a bikerace blog junkie.
peace out.
thanks for the pimping of granogue.
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