Story by Tom Merrill.
Drove to Massasoit
in a rain storm, and it rained until the 2nd lap. I hadn't
done a real trail ride in 2 months and it showed. As I picked
up my number, the course director said, "You're going
to see puddles where you never seen them before." I
dressed too warmly and took too long getting ready so I
had a only 2 min warm up.
Sport & Expert Veterans grouped together
at the start. I just followed the lead riders into the trailhead,
3rd.
"Your starting too fast"
Wet, rooty, and muddy through curvy single
track. The lack of warm up and the new setup on the MTB
(SID back from RockShox, new tires) showed up quickly as
the field passed in less than 1/4 mile. Thought of Rob's
racing technique, "Stay upright."
Only good point, in wet, muddy roots, being
passed in tight quarters and being bumped didn't bother
me.
The rest of the race was painful fun, except
for lower back pain. I just tried to keep up a race pace
and get back into trail riding. The 2nd lap was the most
fun, the legs were tired from the soft conditions, but my
trail technique was much better. Started to get the feel
for descending while the tires slid an inch or two in the
muddy softpack, but the 8 inch trees kept me honest and
my speed down. "Staying Upright" also involves
NOT hitting trees at speed.
Bottom Line, tied my best finish in Novice
with a 6th place in the 35+ Sport class. However, I also
had my worst finish ever in racing--running or riding--last
in 35+ sport category, and next to last in Sport overall.
I passed 2 guys in the first lap, I'm glad only 1 bagged
it after the 1st lap, else I would have been dead last in
all categories.
THE RACE WAS WORTH IT. With the snow gone,
just need to start doing cruise / tempo intervals off road.
Tom
Bring on the 2nd Start Enduro
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