It seems as if the rain will not let up. It feels like we have had a rain shower every day in the month of June. From drizzles to wicked thunder storms that knocked out power all over and had people going for a week without it. Yet the Stony Marathon was approaching and the forecast called for more rain come race day. When I woke up on race day and looked out the living room window all I saw was wet ground. It was 6:00 am, 4 hours until Robert would give the, "Have a good ride guys. About 10 seconds until you go."
I packed up the car and headed over to pick up Austin. He was going to play a huge support role for us along with my parents. This was going to be a long race and we needed bodies at the tent to pass bottles and help out racers if they had to pull in on the laps. We got there with about 1.5 hours until the start. We set up camp next to Team Fraser and Team Sandbag flanked us from the south side. We were in good company and they had experienced support crews so it was a good relief to know we would have all kind of help.
Enduro, Hollywood, Ice Man, Endoboy, Captain Terror and I were the team roster for the day. It was a NORBA race so we would be hunting for points. Best 5 finishes would go toward our team total for the season. We knew the course was not going to be kind due to all the recent rain. A 10 mile loop that had some good climbing, winding single track and some open two track to flex your road legs a little. Mike, Gerry and Brian were there to race the Sport category that would have them out there doing circles for 40 miles. Heather would be going up against her rivals for 50 miles in the Expert/Elite Women's Class. Jeff and I were looking down the barrel of a 60 mile race in less than favorable conditions. We all seemed pretty much at ease but we all knew that mud and rain can break a bike at any time.
Close to start time we all lined up in our respected classes. All levels of riders would be going off top to bottom at 10:00 in 2 minute intervals. Jeff took a spot in the front row with his normal pack. I lined up in the second row right behind him next to a racer I know from RBS. I knew him and I would be pacing together so it was a good place to be. I looked over my shoulder before the start to see if I could see any of the team in the river of racers behind me but had no luck. All of a sudden it was go time.
The pace was quicker than what I expected for the start of a 60 mile race. I hung to the back of the pack making sure not to get dropped. I could see Jeff and he looked like he was where he wanted to be. Jason, from RBS, and I rode most of the first loop together with two other guys in our class. Upon finishing our first loop I noticed Jeff was maybe 15-20 seconds ahead of me. At first I thought something was wrong but as I lapped and looked at my time I knew something was wrong. I was pacing out way over my head. I needed to slow down if I was going to survive. The course was bad . Standing water on the two track, muddy corners in the single track and the section they added to reroute a really bad area.....was 6 inches of tire spinning mud for about 100 meters. But things could be worse. It could have been snowing and in the 30's like it was just over 2 months ago for the first race of the season. Maybe I shouldn't complain.
The second lap I had put some space between Jason and I and came across a mix of racers here and there but it seemed a lot of riders were scattered. No groups forming pace lines on the flats like I expected. Near the end of lap 2 I really didn't have anyone around me.
Lap three was a little more eventful. I stated to pass a couple riders but I got passed from behind by some of the 40+ Experts. Man were they moving. Thought it was crazy how fast they were moving...kind of like they were time trialing. that train was moving to fast so I kept my own pace and finished lap three.
On the start of lap four I was feeling well still and mentally alert. The bottle hand off's went smooth and I was getting a second wind. The mud didn't seem to be getting any better but the scattered rain had finally stopped. The open two track was starting to take it's toll on me. From being so wet your tires just sank as you rolled along. There was no easy section to rest on the entire 10 mile loop. As I came across the end of lap 4 I notice Mike was at the back of the tent. he looked okay so I thought it was either a bike issue or he was just refueling. Ends up I was wrong. Mike had made it 30 miles but had to throw in the towel. He had bad cramps in his legs and didn't want to push it any more. After the race I found out this was happening a lot, even to the upper class riders.
Lap 5 I started to catch Beginners and had to do some fancy passing in the single track. I was also starting to notice that a lot of the guys who went out fast in the beginning were starting to blow up. I was finally passing more Expert riders altho I had no idea what class most of them were in. As I came around to finish lap 5 Brian was there cheering me on as well as Gerry and the support crew. The encouragement was nice to hear even if it made me throw a bottle at Brian for his smart @ss comments : )
Lap six....I had no idea what place I was in but was happy the Elite racers didn't lap me. The sun was out and it was starting to get humid. No worries, only 10 miles to go and the bike was still shifting well. I forgot to mention I was racing a new hartail but more on that later. 10 miles, that's all. Well it was a hard ten miles. The single track was starting to take a toll on me and I could feel my pace dropping. My arms were tired and I just wanted to be back on the two track to rest them. As I came closer to the last big climb about a mile from the finish I stared up that hill and told myself this was the last time I had to climb it today. I geared down and made it up no problem. I could not see any riders in front of me and I had no threats from the back. I picked the pace up but did not push it to hard. I hadn't had any signs of cramping and I didn't want to encourage any.
My time was 4:35:15 and to my surprise I took 5th out of 13 in my class. My second podium finish in a row in Expert. I was pumped. I guess more guys from our class blew up than I thought. My lap times weren't as consistent as normal for me but I didn't have any major spikes showing. Jeff pulled a solid time of 4:23:43 and finished 3rd in our class. A solid ride and he walked away happy with hos performance.
Heather finished 15 seconds behind a podium spot with a time of 4:28:18, 6th out of 11 in her class. I didn't get a chance to talk to her much after but she seemed pretty up beat altho I know that 15 seconds will haunt her all season. Gerry said he went out to fast. Word is he basically collapsed at the finish line, fell over without even unclipping. I think he did it all for show tho. He likes to play the crowd. He did his 4 loops in 3:33:47 and took a top 10 in his class. That brings us to Brian, the man who was worried he may not finish. Well he made it the entire 40 miles and I'll point out he got Gerry by 5 minutes with the time of 3:28:35. That got him 4th in his class but I know he walked away with sme confidence. I think this performance is what Brian needed to get going this season.
All in all I am glad we had no bike issues, crashes or serious injuries. It was a rough day. I think the 78 miles I did at the 6 hours of Addison was easier than this race and that was 90% single track. I am proud of the whole team and all the others who attempted this race. So we scored some solid points for the team race series and brought home two more Expert level medals so Team Signoutfitters.com was announced over the loud speaker twice. Great job to everyone and good luck to those going to Boyne for the Marathon on July 12th.
Keep you glasses clean and your derailluer shifting.
Aryn
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Friday, June 13, 2008
The I in T.E.A.M.
When I arrived Saturday morning at Brighton I realized there was an I in TEAM....that I was me. As far as I knew I was the only one there from the team for the first day of a two day Stage Race. Everyone knows I am not a sprinter but the 3 race, 2 day format for double series points sounded like fun. So after registration I wondered how I was going to pull off respectable times in a 6.5 mile Time Trial and an approx. 20 min Short Track race.
The events were suppose to start at noon. Close to 11:00 I called my wife to talk to my son and see how his baseball game went. It was the only one of the season I had missed. As I was talking to my wife again I saw one of our team jerseys on the other side of the parking lot. It was Dawn! Awesome!!! So Dawn and I set up camp around my van and went to work.
The TT was rough. Dawn had missed a trail marker and had issues with a broken pedal. She still pulled of a 4th place out of 9 racers but cold have had an easy 3rd if it weren't for the mishaps. What was funny is that tailwind had accidentally gave her a Men's Elite number so she went off in the middle of the Men's Elite Class. They even had her results listed under Men's Elite. I also had 9 racers in my class and somehow squeaked out of the TT in 4th place, much to my surprise. What I liked most about it was I got to go off by myself from the starting line instead of being paired up with another rider. It helped with my concentration right from the start. Torn Shirt wasn't as hard as I remembered it being but then again I was really focused and only tapped one tree. Not bad considering how tight that course was.
After the TT I had plans to go pre ride Murray Lake for Sunday's race but I got a little to comfortable in my chair. Dawn and I spent the afternoon hanging out with Team Sandbag and just shooting the breeze. It was hot so we stayed cool and conserved energy. Neither one of us had raced a Short Track Type race so we didn't know what to expect. Well the time came to warm up so we did some laps of the course. The start was crazy, they lined up the entire Expert and Elite Class, men and women, and let us all go off at once. Talk about a mass start! What a fun race tho. 8 laps around this grass course and it felt more like a road crit race. Drafting was important as well as riding with a pack if you could. Dawn pulled off another 4th in her class and so did I. I would go into more detail but this is going to be long enough as it is. So Saturday's races were over and Dawn and I were happy with how we finished despite the heat and a few mishaps.
Sunday morning as I was driving out to the race I was feeling really good about sitting in 4th place for the weekend so far. However, I knew Sunday was the XC and they allow racers to just do the XC so most likely there'd be people racing on fresh legs. Altho I don't agree much with this rule there was nothing I could do about it. For some reason I still felt like I had an edge. Heather, Kathy and Joey showed up just after I did and Jeff wasn't far behind them. Brian was on his way but Gerry wasn't going to make it because Amy had sprained her ankle the day before.
During the first 5 minutes of my warm up I felt that edge I had going away. Man were my legs tired from Saturday but I needed to wake them up. My parents were coming to the race and bringing my son Ashton so he could do the kids race later in the afternoon. Well they got there just before my start time and seeing Ashton put me in a great mood. He gets so excited about racing and he wore off on me. Jeff and I went out first for the team....man does this class start out fast. Sunday we had 14 guys in our class and 7 of them were on fresh legs. Jeff rode a solid race against his top rivals. For the first 3 laps he kept himself in the top 5. After the third lap going thru the exchange he dug in for a pass and overtook the class leader. He thought Nate would hold his rear tire so Jeff kept the rpms high for a couple miles and dropped him. I don't want to say he cruised to a victory but he was never challenged after that. Me, I started off into the single track 12th out of 14. But I kept my pace under control and picked off riders one by one. I passed a larger number of riders than I am used to in Expert but I know some of those guys were from classes in front of me. By the time I crossed the finish line I had clawed my way up to 5th place in my class. I was very pleased with that result and I rode fast enough to hold onto my 4th place in the overall standings.
Onto Hollywood. She busted out of the gates to pace herself with Karey and Erin. After the first lap she realized she couldn't hold that pace so she backed off the throttle a bit. She rode strong tho and fought thru the entire 30 mile course taking 3rd out of the 8 riders in her class. Unfortunately Dawn could not make Sunday's XC.
Next up, Manager McCabe. I say manager because the week prior to the race he was promoted from Senior Design Engineer to Engineering Manager within our company. Congrats Brian!!! Despite all the extra hours at work and lack of training time Brain still showed his team colors and came to race. His Sport 35-39 Class is always very competitive so I give him a lot of credit for coming out to race even tho his season started late. His laps times and finishing position weren't as impressive as last year but he still had a great time and I for one was happy just to see him out there. Racing without Brian around is like watching Top Gun without Iceman in it.
Well Jeff decided he needed to punish himself more so he signed up for Expert/Elite single speed. What's another 22.5 miles of racing after just completing 30 miles in Sarah Desert heat like conditions? At no surprise to me at all Jeff was able to finish top 5 in single speed and bring home another medal. When I was at the award ceremony for Expert/Elite to get my medal, they called for Jeff's 1st place in the geared XC. I told them he was out there racing in the Single Speed division. You should have seen the look on their faces. They asked if I wanted to get his medal for him. I said, "No, you'll be calling his name again during the Single Speed award ceremony."
Today was also going to be Joey's first big kid race. As soon as Heather got done with her nearly 3 hour race, she grabbed some grub and headed over to the starting line with Joey. His race was going to be one lap, 7.5 miles, in the searing heat. Well our Joey made us proud and never gave up. He rode to a fourth place in the Beginner Men's 11 and under category finishing his lap in 1:40:00. What a trooper! Great job on your first big kid race Joey!
Last, my son Ashton. He was excited to be wearing te new team jersey. Unfortunately due to my course laps being longer than expected I did not make it back in time to see him race. My parents said it was a heck of a kid's race tho. He had to do two laps of his course and they incorporated a downhill to the beach area and then he had to turn around and climb back up. He was so happy his race that we wouldn't get him to stop riding afterwards.
So in closing Team Signoutfitters.com had a breakthrough weekend bringing home a total of 4 Expert/Elite Class medals and 5 top 5 finishes in Expert/Elite. We only got 4 medals because they only award medals to the top 3 in the overall standing for the entire Stage Race weekend. I was still happy with my 4th place in the overall but found out I was only 45 seconds out of 3rd place.
Next up, June 28th......the Stony Marathon.
(sorry this write up is a little more lame than normal but there was a lot to cover and I didn't want to make it to long)
Keep you head up and tires down.
Aryn
The events were suppose to start at noon. Close to 11:00 I called my wife to talk to my son and see how his baseball game went. It was the only one of the season I had missed. As I was talking to my wife again I saw one of our team jerseys on the other side of the parking lot. It was Dawn! Awesome!!! So Dawn and I set up camp around my van and went to work.
The TT was rough. Dawn had missed a trail marker and had issues with a broken pedal. She still pulled of a 4th place out of 9 racers but cold have had an easy 3rd if it weren't for the mishaps. What was funny is that tailwind had accidentally gave her a Men's Elite number so she went off in the middle of the Men's Elite Class. They even had her results listed under Men's Elite. I also had 9 racers in my class and somehow squeaked out of the TT in 4th place, much to my surprise. What I liked most about it was I got to go off by myself from the starting line instead of being paired up with another rider. It helped with my concentration right from the start. Torn Shirt wasn't as hard as I remembered it being but then again I was really focused and only tapped one tree. Not bad considering how tight that course was.
After the TT I had plans to go pre ride Murray Lake for Sunday's race but I got a little to comfortable in my chair. Dawn and I spent the afternoon hanging out with Team Sandbag and just shooting the breeze. It was hot so we stayed cool and conserved energy. Neither one of us had raced a Short Track Type race so we didn't know what to expect. Well the time came to warm up so we did some laps of the course. The start was crazy, they lined up the entire Expert and Elite Class, men and women, and let us all go off at once. Talk about a mass start! What a fun race tho. 8 laps around this grass course and it felt more like a road crit race. Drafting was important as well as riding with a pack if you could. Dawn pulled off another 4th in her class and so did I. I would go into more detail but this is going to be long enough as it is. So Saturday's races were over and Dawn and I were happy with how we finished despite the heat and a few mishaps.
Sunday morning as I was driving out to the race I was feeling really good about sitting in 4th place for the weekend so far. However, I knew Sunday was the XC and they allow racers to just do the XC so most likely there'd be people racing on fresh legs. Altho I don't agree much with this rule there was nothing I could do about it. For some reason I still felt like I had an edge. Heather, Kathy and Joey showed up just after I did and Jeff wasn't far behind them. Brian was on his way but Gerry wasn't going to make it because Amy had sprained her ankle the day before.
During the first 5 minutes of my warm up I felt that edge I had going away. Man were my legs tired from Saturday but I needed to wake them up. My parents were coming to the race and bringing my son Ashton so he could do the kids race later in the afternoon. Well they got there just before my start time and seeing Ashton put me in a great mood. He gets so excited about racing and he wore off on me. Jeff and I went out first for the team....man does this class start out fast. Sunday we had 14 guys in our class and 7 of them were on fresh legs. Jeff rode a solid race against his top rivals. For the first 3 laps he kept himself in the top 5. After the third lap going thru the exchange he dug in for a pass and overtook the class leader. He thought Nate would hold his rear tire so Jeff kept the rpms high for a couple miles and dropped him. I don't want to say he cruised to a victory but he was never challenged after that. Me, I started off into the single track 12th out of 14. But I kept my pace under control and picked off riders one by one. I passed a larger number of riders than I am used to in Expert but I know some of those guys were from classes in front of me. By the time I crossed the finish line I had clawed my way up to 5th place in my class. I was very pleased with that result and I rode fast enough to hold onto my 4th place in the overall standings.
Onto Hollywood. She busted out of the gates to pace herself with Karey and Erin. After the first lap she realized she couldn't hold that pace so she backed off the throttle a bit. She rode strong tho and fought thru the entire 30 mile course taking 3rd out of the 8 riders in her class. Unfortunately Dawn could not make Sunday's XC.
Next up, Manager McCabe. I say manager because the week prior to the race he was promoted from Senior Design Engineer to Engineering Manager within our company. Congrats Brian!!! Despite all the extra hours at work and lack of training time Brain still showed his team colors and came to race. His Sport 35-39 Class is always very competitive so I give him a lot of credit for coming out to race even tho his season started late. His laps times and finishing position weren't as impressive as last year but he still had a great time and I for one was happy just to see him out there. Racing without Brian around is like watching Top Gun without Iceman in it.
Well Jeff decided he needed to punish himself more so he signed up for Expert/Elite single speed. What's another 22.5 miles of racing after just completing 30 miles in Sarah Desert heat like conditions? At no surprise to me at all Jeff was able to finish top 5 in single speed and bring home another medal. When I was at the award ceremony for Expert/Elite to get my medal, they called for Jeff's 1st place in the geared XC. I told them he was out there racing in the Single Speed division. You should have seen the look on their faces. They asked if I wanted to get his medal for him. I said, "No, you'll be calling his name again during the Single Speed award ceremony."
Today was also going to be Joey's first big kid race. As soon as Heather got done with her nearly 3 hour race, she grabbed some grub and headed over to the starting line with Joey. His race was going to be one lap, 7.5 miles, in the searing heat. Well our Joey made us proud and never gave up. He rode to a fourth place in the Beginner Men's 11 and under category finishing his lap in 1:40:00. What a trooper! Great job on your first big kid race Joey!
Last, my son Ashton. He was excited to be wearing te new team jersey. Unfortunately due to my course laps being longer than expected I did not make it back in time to see him race. My parents said it was a heck of a kid's race tho. He had to do two laps of his course and they incorporated a downhill to the beach area and then he had to turn around and climb back up. He was so happy his race that we wouldn't get him to stop riding afterwards.
So in closing Team Signoutfitters.com had a breakthrough weekend bringing home a total of 4 Expert/Elite Class medals and 5 top 5 finishes in Expert/Elite. We only got 4 medals because they only award medals to the top 3 in the overall standing for the entire Stage Race weekend. I was still happy with my 4th place in the overall but found out I was only 45 seconds out of 3rd place.
Next up, June 28th......the Stony Marathon.
(sorry this write up is a little more lame than normal but there was a lot to cover and I didn't want to make it to long)
Keep you head up and tires down.
Aryn
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)