The race started off with a mad dash accross a parking lot to see who could get onto the trail first. It can be a real pain to pass while zooming through the tress, so getting a good start can be crucial. I was able to get into the single track in 3rd and make a pass a few minutes later to get into 1st. I spent the next 2 laps in first and pretty much alone.
On the start of lap 3 I noticed I had a rider coming up fast. Turns out it was Jeff Bergen. Jeff passed me at the end of the last race to get the victory. I spent the next 1/2 lap riding like my hair was on fire (and at 96ºF, it felt that way too) trying to make some distance on Jeff...to no avail. In one of the sections of the course that has a bunch of blind turns, I went into the turn too fast and lost traction. I ended up off the trail and did my very best to mow down some saplings. Unfortunately, some of the saplings were on the large side and one of them brought me to a quick and not so graceful stop.
Jeff was only a few yards back and went blazing by. I was upright and checking my bike when he went by, so he didn't need to stop to make sure I was ok. Jeff is pretty cool, he probably would have stopped if I took a nasty spill. The bad news was the the sapling had driven my right front brake pad under my rim where it was now wedged and preventing me from riding. I yanked it out and got going again but the hit had damaged my brakes and I had NO front brakes anymore. I rely heavily on my front brake to scrub speed just as I enter sharper corners. Having no front brake made the rest of the lap difficult and scarry. I had to slow down quite a bit.
A few minutes later I managed to throw my chain. So I had to stop and fix that. Further into the last lap I went of course yet again (because I had no front brake to slow me down on a hard turn). In the end I stayed just a few seconds ahead of 3rd and 4th and took home a second place finish. With two crashes and two mechanical issues, I'm happy to even have 2nd. But to be fair, there is no chance I would have held off Jeff for the win even if I hadn't crashed. He is strong and he is also on a geared bike. Since I only have one gear, I would not have been able to hold him off on the last few long straits we would have had before the finish.
Aaron Taking the win in Expert
Ryan finishing strong
Donna taking 2nd in Expert Women
Some of the Bike Masters crew relaxing (thanks for the shade Dale)
I guess I smelled too bad for Jeff and Mark
3 comments:
Great job! SS'ers need some hills (no long, flat straights) to compete with the gearies. Jeff metered out his power just right to beat you.
Did you have a chance to draft Jeff on a flat straight? I wouldn't say you couldn't have won with no mechanicals or wrecks. You could add another 20+ rpms in a draft with periodic burst-coast.
You may want to upgrade to Expert even if you are not required.
Maskenthine looks hilly with no long straights. Unfortunately, I assume Jeff will have more experience on the course being up from that area.
Just checked the standings, my bad. I thought Jeff was the guy from SCity just ahead of you in points. Don't know how much experience he may have at Maskenthine.
I didn't get a chance to draft Jeff but it would have been fun to try. I've managed over 200rpm on a trainer for a short burst. Hard to say if I could do that without crashing on the mountain bike.
I'm looking forward to some hills on the next race. I like hills mainly because most people don't like hills and that gives me a mental advantage.
I'll bump to either SS or Expert 35+ next year. Then I can think about expert open down the line.
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