Elk River

Saturday night a tornado was spotted over the Hillside Trail in Elk River which was to be hosting the MNMBS race on Sunday.  Later that night, the race director asked anyone with a chainsaw and the ability to pull trees off the trail to show up at 5:00 a.m.  Amazingly, the trees were removed and the trail was ready to go with no delays.  Sport class started at 11:00 a.m. and consisted of two "short" laps with a total distance of 15.5 miles.  The trail has no large climbs but has enough variation to include 1,000 feet per climbing per lap.  The weather was ideal with temps in the low 80s and humidity a non issue.  The race started well with an extended prologue.  I entered the woods behind a relatively slow rider.  I tried to be patient but there were other riders on my tail so I began to press him.  Not long afterward, he must have caught a root as he launched into a full superman at 25+ mph.  He hit pretty hard but seemed to be OK.  My only thought as I continued down the trail was "so that's what it looks like!"  I ended up completing a very slow first lap at 49+ minutes.  I am glad that I did because the final lap was a killer.  I can safely say I left nothing on the trail and was very happy once it as over.  I finished in 7th place (1:31:12) out of 16 riders in the 40-44 group which is by far my best finish of the year.  I suppose I should not be surprised as last year's Elk River was one of my best rides of the year.  I love the trail as it is constantly challenging you with climbs, technical descents, and rock gardens.  There is one area in section 2 where you can take a bit of a break but the rest of the trail you are being pushed hard.  I am learning that patience is critical at the sport level as most of the riders are technically sound.  It is amazing to me how much time you lose from a single crash as there are always people on your tail.  I suppose this is the learning part of riding bikes.  We have two weeks until Buck Hill which will allow me to do two more Thursday Night Races.  I am headed to River Falls for a ride this week as we will be there the week after Buck Hill.  Life is good and I'm just trying to get faster!! 

Buck Hill and Elk River

Got out to Buck Hill on Thursday and did the recreation race plus a warm up lap.  They cahanged the course and added an extra climb on the front side near the snow tube hill.  It was kind of cool to mix it up and I wonder if this will be the route for the MNMBS race in August.  This is another one of those trails where you have to get out in front at the beginning.  Two crashes on the way up the hill really slowed things down.  Combine that with the traditional bottleneck entering the woods and it takes a while to get going.

I rode Hillside Park yesterday for the first time this year.  I rode the comp/expert loop twice and I am feeling it today.  I am going to try and get out this afternoon for a lap with the race being tomorrow.  This trail has a very long prologue which should get us stretched out before getting into section three for two laps around the park.  I am glad they have sections 1 & 2 at the end of the lap as three and four are the tougher and longer sections.  It is going to be humid with a lot of traffic.  Possible thunderstorms tonight which will cause a bit of greas I am sure.  See ya!

Racing??

Well......that was a quick two months.  I intended to comment after each race but life is moving quickly and I have had to let some activities ago........such as the blog.  To date I have participated in six races.  Four of them in the MNMBS and two at Buck Hill.  The move to Sport has been tough and I have had little success.  I have placed in the bottom 25% of each race and currently sit in 7th place for the series.  My last race at Red Wing was going well until I flatted in the quarry.  My first flat during a race.  I ended up pushing my bike the final mile.  I lost three places because of it which would have been my best finish.  A character building experience for sure.  Elk River is this Sunday so I will try to pick things up a bit.  My new goal is to get a top five finish.  My best so far this year was 8th.  Regardless, I am learning a lot about racing and have enjoyed the races.  I will try to get back with results from Elk River.  See ya!!

Here We Go 2010

First race is this Saturday at Salem Hills.  I moved up to the Sport class this year and I am looking forward to the challenge.  The race is three laps for approximately 14 miles.  It will be flat, fast, dusty, and did I mention fast?  I really have no idea what to expect as I understand these guys are MUCH faster that those in the Citizen class.  I have been turning 17 minute laps but this is without the 60+ other bikers I anticipate will be in my wave.  There is also a .4 mile prologue added to each lap.  I am shooting for 65 minutes which would put me in the middle of the pack.  See ya!

2009 Wrap-up

OK....I have put this off long enough.  I survived the 2009 season and have been preparing for 2010.  As for 2009, I took 1st four times, 2nd two times, and 3rd once in the MNSCS (now MNMBS).  I took 7th in the WORS Firecracker in Eau Claire.  Of course, this was all done at the category 3 level which is the lowest.  This year, I am participating in category 2 which is also referred to as the 'sport' category.  The races are longer and I understand they are much faster.  Last fall, I found I would have to decrease my lap times by 15% in order to be competitive.  We will soon see if the work I have put in over the winter pays off.  My goal is to place one time during the season.  This may seem like a weak goal but there are guys who have been doing this for three years and never place.  The number of riders at the sport level are 5-6 times greater than the citizen level.  I intend on making most of the MNMBS races this year and hope to get to one NMORS race later in the summer.  We will see how that goes.  No WORS races this year unless something unforseen happens.  I did not make the Cheq 40 lottery so I will miss that race as well.  Maybe next year.  I will begin posting more as my outdoor riding increases.  See ya!  

Trek Border Battle

Just got back from race #8 in the MNSCS. The Trek Border Battle is a race that is designed to be a competition between riders from Minnesota (MNSCS) and Wisconsin (WORS). The event is held at White Tail Ridge Park in River Falls, WI. The Citizen course is two laps for a total of 10 miles. There are no dramatic ascents or descents although the course begins by climbing a fire road before entering the single track. For some reason, I have found the trail to be difficult and have crashed several times in training. It is a great course, I just haven't gotten dialed in on it yet.

There was quite a bit of rain last night in River Falls so I was wary of what the course would look like. I was pleasantly surprised to see it was in pretty good shape with a few soft spots in the corners and switchbacks. There were a few areas where I took my time but my lap times were nearly the same as in practice. The race began with call ups from both the MNSCS and WORS. I took the outside edge next to another MNSCS rider in my age category. The race started clean as we began the 1/4 mile run for the first hill. I settled in around 7 or 8 and took the hill with few problems. Once we reached the top, there was a single trail section which I believe was the slipperiest of the course. There were several crashes with one rider falling off a foot bridge. I completed the first lap without incident in 30 minutes. I did notice there seemed to be an abnormal number of breakdowns and crashed but this was probably due to the rain.

I felt good on the second lap but for some reason took 31 minutes to get it all done. I may have passed a dozen riders but still did not do as well as I would have hoped. For my age group, I placed second to another Minnesotan which was good with me. I had beaten this guy the last two races but I had no chance today. The last time I saw him was at the top of the first hill and then he was gone. I believe he beat me by a minute or so. He was certainly the better rider today. As far as the Border Battle goes, I placed 6th with the top three slots occupied by Wisconsin riders. Oh well.....next year perhaps.

Buck Hill Birch Bump

I recently read an article in which the author suggested road riding as an alternative training method for mountain biking. His argument made sense as he indicated you could get the benefits of an aerobic workout without the pounding your body takes from riding single track. This week.....I believe him. My body hurts, both from the recent wrecks and the continuous riding.

I spent Saturday afternoon at Buck Hill for the pre-ride. I rode the course three times and felt very good about it once I finished. The trail has no major ascents or descents and is very, very fast. I understand the course condition was not typical as the rain had packed the sand down which led to very easy riding on the traverse sections of the course. Buck Hill is covered in trees on the back side which provided shade during a very warm and humid day. In addition, the course had no technical areas worth mentioning.

After my pre-ride, I expected I could go under 40 minutes for the two laps. Unfortunately, I underestimated the heat and humidity and crashed hard that night. I am not sure if was the heat or perhaps a cold that is going around the house. Regardless, I was a mess and did not get much sleep. For some reason, I still dragged myself out of bed and headed to the race. It was a cooler day and I was going to be miserable whether I stayed home or raced, so why stay home? I got to the race about an hour early and did my warm ups. I began to feel better quickly and began to focus on the task at hand.

As I have mentioned in past posts, I am the series leader of my age group. A benefit of this is the 'call up.' Before the race begins, the announcer calls up the top three riders in each age group. This gives the rider the advantage of a clean break and less chance of an accident. The first time I was called up like this I was a bit embarrassed and decided to stay back in the pack. I soon learned that being back in the pack is not fun. So........I now try to take advantage of the opportunity and get out front.

The beginning of the race is a slight uphill climb to the area with the ski lifts. From there we hit the only meaningful ascent which took us to the top of the ski hill. During the climb, I found myself in sixth place. Toward the end, people began to drop off and I found myself behind the 'ghost.' Way behind the 'ghost.' From there on I was racing for second. Like I said, the trail was fast and I was able to get through the first lap in just under 18 minutes. As I was climbing the beginning hill for the second time, I noticed a rider behind me who had beaten riders I have lost to in other races. With this in mind, I worked harder to get to the top of the hill and really hammered the single track. It turns out I needed all of it as he finished 13 seconds after I did.

I finished in 34:13 which was below what I expected. I placed first in my age group and 16th out of the 65 Citizen racers. All in all it was a fun ride and I had a good time. Next week we jump right into the Minnesota Wisconsin Border War. I have two training sessions there and a couple of decent wrecks. I hope to get back on Thursday and for the pre-ride on Saturday. From there, I have a month off before the last two races of the year. Looking forward to the break. See ya!