New Albany Crit - The NAC

Well, I guess I had enough fun last weekend at the Burning Quad that I found myself signed up for another crit race over the weekend. This was was in New Albany and the layout was different than what I have done before. With out the hill, I was not sure how the pace would go. The other issue was that we had a ton of rain on Saturday night and there was a chance for rain on Sunday. Thankfully I pre-registered and also had a passenger to share the ride down with me. If it was not for those two things, I probably would have just stayed home. I am nervous enough about crashing in a crit race and didn't need to add to the issue with all the rain.

It was not raining when we left and had a little hope that maybe it would miss us and everything would stay dry. They were working on clearing and drying the course when we got there, but shorty after the canopy was set up, the rain decided to come down and it was coming down pretty hard for a little bit. This held up the start since they didn't get the start/finish set up as quickly. I was fine with that since the rain let up and looked like it might have been done for a while. The second race was cheap enough and like a fool, I signed up for two races again. I secretly figured that if the weather got too bad, I would just do the first race and be done with it.

I took some warm up laps and tried to find all the spots to keep an eye out for and where the slick spots might be. I didn't feel like I warmed up as good as I needed to and hoped it was enough. Soon enough thee race started and we were off. There was some accelerations on a couple straights that I tried to not get too excited about. When I was tapping the brakes at the end of the straight anyway. I had the same plan to try and stay as protected as I could for most of the race. There was a good head wind on a few sections and figured to try and use as little energy as possible. This worked out pretty well for most of the race. I felt like I was riding a smart race. I was getting worried about where I was in the pack and made a move forward in some corners. I ended up a little farther than I wanted and in 3rd place, but the rain was starting to come down again and as we rolled past the start/finish they said 2 laps to go. They were cutting the race short for the rain and I believe some lightning was in the area.

Right as the guy in the front pulled off, the guy in second made a jump. It looked like a good jump and one that was going to stick. I was a second late in making my decision, but tried to jump on his wheel. I was gaining some ground, but the right hand corner in the middle was tricky and I was not ready when I got there. I ended up taking the corner way wide as I was worried about sliding out and was going too fast for where I was. I thought for sure that I was going to wipe out. Some how I held on and got back on the gas, but this let too big of a gap open up and I could not make the connection. At this point my heart rate was out the roof from almost wrecking and trying to bridge the gap. My legs lost power and I sat up and waited for the pack. As they came by, I jumped in the middle and tried to minimize my losses. I held my own and made a good effort at the end, but could only manage to finish in 9th place. Not bad for another pack finish, but not where I could have been.

I feel like I made the right decision, but it was just a little late. I could have just stayed where I was and hoped to sprint for second, but I would have been in the front of the pack and not where I would have wanted to be hard telling where I would have ended up. Even though I am not happy with the result, I am happy with the thought. Can't win if you don't take any risks.

Blowing myself up in the cat 5 race was not good for my chances in the 4/5 race. I didn't even want to get on the line the way my legs felt but I already paid and you just never know. The pace at the start was pretty fast. There were some good accelerations out of the corners. I was feeling pretty good for the first few laps but then the legs started to go. I just could not keep up with the surges and eventually fell off. It was way quicker than last week and I was not too happy about it. I did see a rider up ahead of me and I tried to catch up to him. After a few laps of not gaining ground I decided to pull the plug. 

I could have stayed out there but I would have just been in the way when the pack came around. I had nothing left to prove for the day. I think I need to keep it to one race for a while. The thing I need to decide is if I want to do the Cat 5 race or the 4/5 race where it is safer, but also faster. I think the crit season is winding down, so I have till next year to figure that out.

Even though I didn't fair too well in the 4/5 race I will say that my teammates looked really good. They did a lot of work up front and made a good move late in the race, but it didn't hold up. I hope to get my legs in a little better shape to help them out better next time. It is just hard to believe the I am doing some crit races and actually looking forward to some more. I just don't want to turn into a full time roadie. I know I am still a mountain biker at heart, it just depends on timing and conflicts as to what I can do more often. This year just turns out to be road riding.

Burning Quad

Sorry I have been slacking around here. Time has been tight and I am trying to do more riding in that free time than typing. This was my second year to head down to the Burning Quad. Last year was my first ever crit race after saying that I would never do one. Well, needless to say I had enough fun that I headed back again this year. I was hoping that I was a little smarter and in a little better shape this year and had high hopes to do a lot better. Last year I jumped on front for the Cat 5 race too long and ended up getting dropped from the pack. I spend a lot of energy trying to catch up for awhile and eventually slowing down to a smarter speed. I also raced the 4/5 race and didn't do too bad for a little while, but the first race had my legs worn out and I got dropped from that race too. So, it was not a far stretch to think that I could do better this year.

Before the race I was not that hyped up about it and I was not sure why. We got the pit set up and got everything ready before heading out for a few warm up laps. That is one of the things I like the most about having the first race is the course is open before the race and I can get a good feel of the corners and what things to watch out for all while warming up. Soon enough I found myself at the starting line waiting for the race to start. And we were off. I settled in near the front half and find a good place in the pack to hang out. Just as the race started, I thought it might have ended. The second corner that is a 180 degree corner, the guy right in front of me grabbed some front brake and washed out the front wheel. Down he went and some how I made it around him. It sounded like there was several caught up in the crash or at least held up. I was thinking it would be a good time to pick the speed up ad see if the few guys up front could pull away. The guy in the lead was not thinking that way and we went slow enough that everyone hopped back on.

That was probably the right thing to do. I would not have had the legs to do what was needed to really make a difference anyway. From here on out it seemed to be fairly tame. Some corners were taken way too slow, but I didn't let it get me to jump on the front. The climb out of the boat ramp was a lot slower than I remembered from last year too. This was a very good thing and I felt like the legs were feeling really strong. I stayed smart and didn't use any extra energy for the remainder of the race. I was feeling pretty good and started to think I might have a go for a podium spot. Being smart and the fact that I could make almost any move that I needed to in the pack around the 180 corner and in the parking garage section. As long as everyone kept taking the corners that slow, getting where I wanted to be was not too difficult.

But, then came the last lap. For some reason the climb up from the boat ramp had my legs hurting more and my heart rate was way too high. Maybe it was just getting pumped up about the finish. This had my legs not feeling as strong and with the heart rate elevated, it did't leave a lot of room for more power. I held on to my placing, but could not make the moves that I wanted in the parking garage. As I took the last right hand corner on to the last straight, there was a guy on the inside. He pushed me farther out around the corner than I had planned and this kept me from getting on the gas as quickly as I wanted to. I made my jump and gave it all I had, but came up about a foot short of the guy in front of me.

I felt good about my race, but, a little disappointed about not being any stronger at the end. I really felt like I did what I needed to allow me to get up closer to the front at the end. Oh well, I really can't complain since the goal was to do better than last year. I rode a lot smarter and finished with the pack. Not much to complain about there. Now the second race might have be a different story. I was worried since I drained my legs at the end of the Cat 5 race. I was talked in to racing two races last year and did was not that bad, but I didn't finish with the pack. That made a big difference in how I felt this year.

I didn't expect to hold on very long, but since I paid already I figured I might as well line up. I was thinking that I might only make it 2 laps when we came by the start finish line for the first lap and the bell rang for a preem. Somehow I managed to hang on to the back and after that lap, the pace slowed down. I did manage to hang on for 20 minutes or so before the boat ramp was too much for my legs and out the back I was. I still rode pretty well, but no match for the pack. They eventually did catch me and lapped me with about 2 laps to go.

Overall I am very happy with how I raced. I finished 8th in the Cat 5 race and placed 23rd in the 4/5 race. It was a lot of fun and I stayed upright. That is the main thing that I worry about with crit racing. If I keep racing it is only a matter of time before I hit the pavement. I can only hope that it is not too bad. I will say that this was another race that 40lb Sledge Hammer put on a good race. Be it road or mtb, it is always a good time and run smoothly. I suggest that you give them a chance and head out to a race. I know I plan on being at the next one if I can make it.

Southern 5 Ferdinand race

Sorry this is so late. I actually thought I had posted something already. That is what I get for thinking. Ferdinand is my closest trail and one that I have rode since the beginning of my mtb life. I should have had a huge advantage, but to be honest I had not been there all year and not sure when I was last there. Even so, it seems that my years of riding there did help me over the people that had never been there, but not sure that was enough. I have been getting miles in, but where I am not as strong as I want would be climbing and how long it takes for me to warm up. This trail is not good for either of these issues.

I wanted to get out and see how well I was climbing the week before the race, but the rain and some other commitments kept that from happening. I had a good idea of what I was in for and none of it was what I would call painless. The intermediate race was to do 2 laps. I normally don't do two laps. Most of the time it is one lap or one and a part of another one. I knew the second lap was going to be painful for a lot of people. I was just hoping that my miles would pay off for the second lap and maybe I could catch some racers. 

The start was different than anything I had seen before. The section to come in for the lap was too, but I am not complaining about skipping the section where you cross the creek and climb the washed out section of trail. However I would have been upset if I did make it out the week before since my plan was to do some trail work on that climb when I was there. It still needs to get fixed and I probably will do that some day, but most regulars just go across the dam and climb from there. The race was starting real close to the first climb. I was happy to see they chose to take the fire lane around and not the steep climb. Either would have worked, but with my slow warm up, the big climb would have not done me so well. 

I took off as easy as I could with out going too slow. I knew it was going to be a long day and as humid as it was when we started would not be helping the situation. As the climb was going up, I sat on the guys wheel in front of me. He was going a little slower than I thought I should be, but I was not sure if the adrenalin was running high. The racer behind me made the pass on the climb and I figured what the heck and went with him. We cruised up the rest of the climb and made our way down the trail I was hurting, but not as bad as I thought I would and held the wheel in front of me. We were rolling good, but as we climbed Foxey the pace was slower than it had been. I was not worried about it when climbing, but when it didn't pick up at the top, I made the pass and bombed down the fire lane section. This is where the trail knowledge helped me as I knew I should be able to let it rip in this section. I just hoped nothing washed out too much to give me any surprises.

The first guy I passed near the start had caught back up and passed me somewhere near the Fire Tower trail. I stayed with him for the rest of that section and tried to draft as much as I could on the road section. I was not feeling too bad and wanted to stay with him. He offered to let me by, but I knew I was not ready to be in front. I tried to share my knowledge with him as much as I could for the sections that I knew could be an issue. He was fast and I felt it was the right thing to do. The other benefit was that I didn't want him to go down in front of me and take me out too.

I stayed close for the rest of the first lap. As we climbed up to the camp ground where the start was, this was a section of trail that was just put in for this race. I rode it once that morning and knew it was steep, but didn't think it was that bad. I did climb it with out a problem, but it would have done me a lot better if I would have dropped down in to the small ring up front. Powering up the climb in too big of a gear took a toll on my legs. This let the rider in front of me pull away on the first climb up to the singletrack. I was hoping to recover along the top and catch him again, but it didn't happen. The rest of the loop I tried to recover as much as I could, but still keep moving at a good pace.

Once I was out on fire lane 7 and farther, I was wearing down badly. I was trying to not slow down too much and found myself looking over my shoulder a lot. I thought I heard someone behind me several times, but I did't see anyone. That place is good for making you hear the ghost bikers behind you. Every time I ride out there I think I hear someone behind me. I pushed it hard and kept my fingers crossed. Late in the loop before I rode down past the house, there was a rider in front of me. It gave me a little more energy and I could catch and pass him. I let loose on the last down hill and hammered to the finish. I don't know if that other guy was even in my class, but I at least felt better that I passed him.

My results don't seem like I really had that great of a race, but I am very happy with how I rode. I was much stronger than I had been and way better than I thought I would be. I just was not fast as I needed to be. The group of racers that did show up were fast and I was not that far off the pace. I needed to improve about 12 minutes to be up with the leader. That is not too bad for most of the races and even more so for a trail this hard. So, maybe there is hope yet.

This was just my 3rd ride in the woods for the year. I really need to get out there more, but I can see that all the rode miles are helping too. With the schedule getting a little less full, I need to find a way to work in both types of riding in to the week. I also know a few things that would really help me improve but I just need to actually work on it. The year is going by fast, so I hope to get there before it is too late.

I want to thank 40 lb Sledgehammer productions for putting on the Southern Five race series. It is great to see the racing scene building again. I just hope it continues to grow and not get too over saturated and hurt each other for attendance. I don't know if the Dino race at Logansport kept too many people from attending this race, but I am sure the the Louisville Triple crown kept several Kentucky racers from attending. It would be great if at least those two race series would work together and build a bigger and better race series than what the Dino series is. Or even better yet, work with Brian to make all three series benefit. There is a catch 22 to the race thing. There are a lot of people that won't come out and race when the turn outs are down, but if they don't come out the turn outs will be down. Kind of the chicken or the egg thing.

It would be great to get some races that I don't have to drive all weekend to go race and get the kind of turn outs and competition that the Tennessee series pulls in. I know the potential is there. Maybe some day it will be like it used to be. Come on out and join in on the fun.