What's New?
Road riding really lets my brain empty and lets me reflect on time. I've dropped the truck off for Mical at the airport and decided to ride back in with a stop at The Dump. Lots has happened in the last few months and I am full of good thoughts and warm fuzzies as I face the headwind on West Saanich. Mical and I are enjoying our new life together, which includes a lot of riding, eating and relaxing. I have decided I would race XC all season, mostly Island cup, but hopefully some BC Cup stuff as well. Just Intermediate as I am a firm believer that there are just some guys that shouldn't race above their cat...and I am one of those guys!! and on top of all that I have started a new job with Trek Pro City. Thanks to Cam and Christian at Mac's for 3 plus years of work but it was just time to move on. Worked for a week and I really think I am going to like it.
So on with the races. Trek Pro City kicked off the Island Cup XC series at Hartland a few weeks ago with a wicked fun and fast old school XC track. Was pretty cold and as goofy as it sounds I was pretty nervous. I am racing Intermediate all year so I can just have some fun. Course was super fun and through lap 1, thanks to a wipe out, a chain snap, and a flat by Pendral I found myself in 3rd behind Scotty Mitchell, my future boss! I was 20ft behind him going in to Pooh Corner and thought I had something to get him.....um... nope! Nothing in my legs so I figured I could just keep him in my sights and wait for my opportunity to pass.
Great theory but Scotty was strong all the way through. He dropped his chain at the top of a climb but I had nothing in me to catch him. Riding alone I figured I could just ride steady for a 3rd place. It's hard to find pace when you ride alone. Entering the top of End Trail I felt good and was stoked on a 3rd place when I am not even a racer. Half way down End I hear a lil chain slap and as I looked over my shoulder I could see at the top the colors of an OBB jersey. FUCK! Now I have to pin it the last 15 mins to keep my place and with no pace in the legs it was a battle to say the least. I hammered Shock Treatment and came across in 3rd which I was uber stoked with. Thanks to Pro City Cycle for the well put on day and to Aaran Spencer for a wicked fun course.
Last weekend was Port Alberni XC #2 So Mical and I went up a few days early to have a mini road trip and to hang out with Ryan in Cumby. We went in Saturday to pre-ride so we stopped in to see Lee @ Ozzies Cycle's and to grab a map. After a great lil soup and samy we head out to the Candy Store to find the course. Lee had said it wasn't taped yet because in PA if the ole'boys see all that they screw with it so we were on our own with a lil photocopied map. after some unnecessary climbing we hunted out the trail head and turned in. Did a couple laps and was grinning ear to ear as they had put together an awesome track! We decided to boogy back down to Cumby to get a good nights sleep before the race.
Was some pretty good names that came out for the Expert Categories so some pretty good competition for Mical. Decided to go sleeveless just for fun, like the O Linemen that play in Green Bay when its -20, but didn't account for the waiting at the line to start...brrr! lol. Good start, which is odd because I am a timid starter. was3rd or 4th going into the DH turn and SHIT, dropped my chain. all but 3 went by me before I hooked back up and started climbing. Well I am going to have to work harder then I wanted. I ended up passing 3 or 4 by the end of the first climb and felt good so i kept pinning. Even with all the rain the course was in great shape. Got close enough to Halldor so I figured I would yell up the mountain and tell him I was coming for him. We seem to race together in the couple cross races we did and seems XC is close to the same. Was putting in time and feeling really good and looking forward to the tracks up top because the following section is so much fun! I get Halldor in my sight and then I see his glasses on the ground so I stop, pick em up and stow them in my jersey and carry on. Passed him and another guy and made my way past the tracks and down the fun stuff.
It looked like a lot of folks were having trouble with this section but it played right for me. Was techy and steep and fun. 3/4 of the way down the Viking had grabbed my wheel again, good fucking job on the descent so he sat on and we made our way through the fun swoopy section near the bottom. I felt really good still so geared up and bolted through a section to put some space between and I never saw him again. I pretty much rode solo for the rest of the race, yakking at people when I saw them. Caught up to Joele and rode off her, then a lil later with Glen as she said " I think you are in 2nd" . That made me think I couldn't be that far behind 1st so I gave it all i had to get up there. Was trying to catch Mical but I was too slow...and she was doing another whole lap on me. At the end of the day the chain drop was my demise. 2ish minutes back and I think that was the difference. The experts inspire me in that they are soo frigging fast that when I think I am good and pining it, their times make me realize that I really am not :(! I am a Sport racer and I am so OK with that. Me and Mical had a great week off before I started my new job and that is really allllll that matters to me. 
So on with the races. Trek Pro City kicked off the Island Cup XC series at Hartland a few weeks ago with a wicked fun and fast old school XC track. Was pretty cold and as goofy as it sounds I was pretty nervous. I am racing Intermediate all year so I can just have some fun. Course was super fun and through lap 1, thanks to a wipe out, a chain snap, and a flat by Pendral I found myself in 3rd behind Scotty Mitchell, my future boss! I was 20ft behind him going in to Pooh Corner and thought I had something to get him.....um... nope! Nothing in my legs so I figured I could just keep him in my sights and wait for my opportunity to pass.
Great theory but Scotty was strong all the way through. He dropped his chain at the top of a climb but I had nothing in me to catch him. Riding alone I figured I could just ride steady for a 3rd place. It's hard to find pace when you ride alone. Entering the top of End Trail I felt good and was stoked on a 3rd place when I am not even a racer. Half way down End I hear a lil chain slap and as I looked over my shoulder I could see at the top the colors of an OBB jersey. FUCK! Now I have to pin it the last 15 mins to keep my place and with no pace in the legs it was a battle to say the least. I hammered Shock Treatment and came across in 3rd which I was uber stoked with. Thanks to Pro City Cycle for the well put on day and to Aaran Spencer for a wicked fun course.
Last weekend was Port Alberni XC #2 So Mical and I went up a few days early to have a mini road trip and to hang out with Ryan in Cumby. We went in Saturday to pre-ride so we stopped in to see Lee @ Ozzies Cycle's and to grab a map. After a great lil soup and samy we head out to the Candy Store to find the course. Lee had said it wasn't taped yet because in PA if the ole'boys see all that they screw with it so we were on our own with a lil photocopied map. after some unnecessary climbing we hunted out the trail head and turned in. Did a couple laps and was grinning ear to ear as they had put together an awesome track! We decided to boogy back down to Cumby to get a good nights sleep before the race.
Was some pretty good names that came out for the Expert Categories so some pretty good competition for Mical. Decided to go sleeveless just for fun, like the O Linemen that play in Green Bay when its -20, but didn't account for the waiting at the line to start...brrr! lol. Good start, which is odd because I am a timid starter. was3rd or 4th going into the DH turn and SHIT, dropped my chain. all but 3 went by me before I hooked back up and started climbing. Well I am going to have to work harder then I wanted. I ended up passing 3 or 4 by the end of the first climb and felt good so i kept pinning. Even with all the rain the course was in great shape. Got close enough to Halldor so I figured I would yell up the mountain and tell him I was coming for him. We seem to race together in the couple cross races we did and seems XC is close to the same. Was putting in time and feeling really good and looking forward to the tracks up top because the following section is so much fun! I get Halldor in my sight and then I see his glasses on the ground so I stop, pick em up and stow them in my jersey and carry on. Passed him and another guy and made my way past the tracks and down the fun stuff.
It looked like a lot of folks were having trouble with this section but it played right for me. Was techy and steep and fun. 3/4 of the way down the Viking had grabbed my wheel again, good fucking job on the descent so he sat on and we made our way through the fun swoopy section near the bottom. I felt really good still so geared up and bolted through a section to put some space between and I never saw him again. I pretty much rode solo for the rest of the race, yakking at people when I saw them. Caught up to Joele and rode off her, then a lil later with Glen as she said " I think you are in 2nd" . That made me think I couldn't be that far behind 1st so I gave it all i had to get up there. Was trying to catch Mical but I was too slow...and she was doing another whole lap on me. At the end of the day the chain drop was my demise. 2ish minutes back and I think that was the difference. The experts inspire me in that they are soo frigging fast that when I think I am good and pining it, their times make me realize that I really am not :(! I am a Sport racer and I am so OK with that. Me and Mical had a great week off before I started my new job and that is really allllll that matters to me. 
haha - SANDBAGGER!! You're fit and fast enough to race Expert...if you're finishing Top 3 each race, chances are you'd finish fairly high up in the Expert as well... =P
ReplyDeleteGreat race reports tho, love the stories, i wanna hear about you getting passed, not all the people you pass. ;)
See ya out there! =)