Jon was right, hours of hot trailwork and an adventure race last weekend improved the trail conditions for yesterday's Nebraska Lottery Psycowpath race. Jon's race crew did a great job with registration, course marking, and course marshals. Even a vendor (forgot the name) with great tasting hot dogs was onsite (spicy mustard and sour krout, please). The Junior/Beginner race went off well, the Sport/Expert race started about 15 minutes late. I think Jon wanted to increase the blistering heat for our race!
Between the very hot temperatures and first time inclusion into the NLP series, attendance was below normal. But with the overall positive experiences gathered by the racers, the trail maturing another year, great onsite facilities and the great tasting post-race food at the Wolf's Den in Stanton, attendance will only improve for next year's race there.
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The race was more successful than I expected for a couple reasons:
As I mentioned already, the improved trail condition and race support crew of Elkhorn Valley Cycling Club powered by Monster.
I raced well. Having blown up in the heat at Manawa, I went out slow and rarely felt any lactic acid in the legs. When I did need to push it later in the race, I still had some reserves left, though dizziness wasn't far away. Icing on the cake, I received my first 1st place medal in a Psycowpath race.
BMCC had a great turnout for the race. I really appreciate you all representing the shop and supporting the series by riding in the extreme heat at a new venue.
Muskenthine is the third new venue for Psycowpath in two years (Tranquility and Manawa). As the race traditions build up over the years at these venues, those who attended their inaugural Psycowpath events will have those bragging rights.
06 was the year of rain. 07 is turning out to be the year of extreme temperatures: The Tranquility Freeze; the Manawa and Muskenthine Melt Downs.
Finally, the onsite dogs were great but the Wolf's Den post race feed was cool no only with AC; but for friends, food, and watching Doug get intoxicated with bovine goodness!
I'll definitely be looking forward to this race next year. Lets just hope it's not quite so hot.
Another race down and a few more things learned. So here is my (not so)-short and sweet recap of the Maskethine XC MTB race.
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Pre-race day dinner. I opted for pasta instead of smothered enchiladas for dinner. This was probably a good choice. I find that I can tell during a race if I didn't eat well the day before or the morning of. It just seems a bit harder to get your body to release the energy you need during the race.
I rode up to the race with Aaron, and we arrived at 9:50. It was fun to get to hang out with Aaron on the way up and get to know him a bit better. It was also nice to be there early enough to see the beginners start and cheer them on. I got to take a few pictures of the beginners race, so I'll put a slideshow up on the BMCC blog in the near future.
At about 11:00 I started warming up, and things did not go well. I had replaced my chain, wheel set, and rear cog on Thursday and didn't get a chance to test it out, other than around my driveway. My chain was slipping badly under load causing it to jump a tooth or two on every peddle stroke when climbing. Not good. I spent the next half hour trying to adjust the chain line with no success. Finally I asked Dale if he had an 18t cog I could try to see if that was the problem. He did, and luckily, that fixed the problem. The cheap cog I was using was just not machined well and the chain was sticking on the teeth and working it's way up and then skipping and slamming down between the next set of teeth. I kept Dale's 18t cog on for the race. If he did not have it handy, I would have had to race with the 20t I had with me. That would probably have affected me a bit during the race.
After correcting the skipping issue, I was able to do a quick warm-up and stretch. I was lucky to be able to get myself mentally ready for the race after something like that. Having issues right before a race can have a huge negative affect and can end your race before it even starts. Mindset...that's a whole other discussion, but an important one.
Anyways, after lining up we started 1 minute after the Sport Open group. As always, we had a few people scream up the hill to get to the single-track first. This was definitely not the race for this approach. With so many places to pass easily, there was no advantage to hitting the single track first. Of the 6 or so people that passed me going up the hill and getting to the single track first, only 2 stayed ahead of me for more than a few minutes. Of course 2 passed me back when I pulled over to put my chain back on the tensioner (I had to do this three times throught the race... the pyramid chain tensioner is junk). I passed them right back and spent most of the rest of the race alone.
Lap 1 went well and I had hopes of pulling Doug back in after his solid start. He backed off a bit on the second half of the first lap to settle into his own rhythm (smart guy) and I was bringing him back in. But on the second lap I was heating up and didn't want to chance getting into a overheating situation, so I backed it down also and never could pull Doug back in. He made slow but steady progress at putting me further behind the rest of the race. At the end of lap 2 I was getting pretty tired but knew that I had enough strength left for the final lap. I had to stop once on lap 2 to put the chain back on again and I was slowing way down to get drinks from my water bottle. It was so bumpy that I couldn't get water in if I kept riding at race pace.
On lap three I pushed a bit harder and caught up to a few more sport open and expert folks. I gauged my energy reserves pretty good and by the last few climbs I knew I was almost spent. The only way I could have given more is if I was being chased or chasing somebody and had that adrenaline to work with. My legs were getting to the point that the bumps were keeping me from getting back into my rpm zone on the single speed, so I was riding very inefficiently. Every time I got going again I'd hit a bump, which would transfer into my backside, lift me off the seat, and steel all my momentum. I just couldn't get off the seat for the bumps anymore and it was costing me.
When I finish, I was FINISHED. Another lap would have killed me and I probably would not have completed the race. I rolled down the hill, got off my bike, and put my head under some cold running water for a few minutes to cool down.
What I did right:
Proper food intake the day before
Good night of sleep
Got to the race early so I wouldn't have to hurry to get ready
Had the proper gearing ratio determined ahead of time
Kept my starting effort under control because of the heat issues
Kept well hydrated during the race
Had fun even though I was miserably hot
What I did wrong
Changed a bunch of stuff on the bike without a test ride before the race (I swear I wont do it again Dale)
Didn't use a camel bak, I ldon't like racing with one, but this course didn't allow for easy water bottle use and I had to slow down to drink
I didn't keep track of the people in my class on the start, so I spent the whole race wondering if one of the 35+ guys got out in front on the start and was still ahead of me
Summary:
I had a great time at this race. I was truly impressed by the preparation and organization that was done to make this event go off without a hitch. The course is still developing and bumpy, but the mix of open and covered sections kept it interesting and gave us all a chance to cool off in the trees once and a while. The post race dinner in Stanton was probably the best part of the day. Great food was had by all... maybe a bit too much of said food was had by some. Oh... and I think Aaron Grady can actually unhinge his jaw. That's the only way I can explain how he managed to eat the monstrous double burger he ordered.
Thanks to everyone that participated in or helped organize this event. It made for a great weekend and great memories.
Great job Dale! You had some quality competition in the single speed class, namly one Tim W.
Here is my race report. I was tho only one in my category again, I think thats alot of the reason i want to move up next year is for more competition.
Anyway, everyone beat me up the hill, I decided to save my legs and try to pass later. I passed one guy, and that was all I had in me. I dont know if it was the heat or what, but i felt dead after the first lap. I think I went faster the week before when doug and I drove up to preride. So anyway, after the first lap I felt like my whole body from my waist up was cramping. It hurt my triceps going down hill, and my back going up hill. I hurt so much after the second lap I dont think I could have done a third if I was in the sport group.
All in all I had fun and the race was ran really well. Thanks again to all involved.
This race was scary hot. I am surprised no one had a heat stroke...especially me!
The course really came together from 1 week prior. All the rain and club work by the Norfolk guys sure paid off in improved conditions. I thought the course markings and race workers strategically placed were fantastic.
As usual the Grady clan was in full force complete with cowbells and they cheered EVERYONE on. The Gradys are a textbook example of good sportsmanship and add so much to each event.
As for my own personal race experience, the bike worked great and I rode fairly smart but way too conservate. I'll blame the hot weather as an excuse for my laziness in the saddle. I did only enough to get by and no more. My practice laps the week before were much quicker and it was hot then too. The biggest disappointment came right at the end of the race when I realized I had enough energy to do another lap. Once again I'll cop out and blame the heat.
Now after the race things really started to heat up. A bunch of us met and had a great time chowing down at a local pub called the "Wolfs Den" in Stanton. I love being a carnivore when I'm away from my vegitarian wife and as I plowed into my monster cheeseburger I felt like a lion eating a wildebeast. Aaron though looked like a lion eating an elephant as he decimated a double monster burger without uttering a single burp. In fact our whole end of the table made pigs out of our selves as we consumed massive amounts of fried meats and other unhealthy things and the brew flowed freely. Our table was more indicative of a dojo of sumo wrestlers then a bunch of dirty mountain bikers.
Yeah... eating greasy food with good company sure made the long drive and hot weather worth it in the end!
Hope everyone is having a good late summer and we will see you at the next ride or race.
Oh yes it was a great time!
i am going to start wearing my cycling gloves every time I grill out burgers and brats. By november, I will see if I can get 1x9 to eat my gloves.
Sounds like a good way to loose a few fingers RF. 1by9 might not be able to resist. Just ask Tim about 1by9's restraint when he looked away from his plate for a few seconds.
Too bad I had to head straight to work after the race sounds like you guys had a great time. Oh and Doug your the man.
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