Bikes For Bovines Battle Royale; The Hunted

Racing this year has been good but sporadic at best.
The season opener of the Root 66 race series, Hopbrook Dam, started well but came to a sputtering halt due to poor choices in equipment and strategy.
The next couple of races went well, so well that a race report would really be kinda boring.

Missing a few races due to family obligations had left me at almost two months without strapping a number to my bike.

BUT! Bikes For Bovines, the first race I ever won as a CAT1, was upon us.  I had my eyes crossed and my teas dotted; I was racing!

The start list was stacked and strong, I knew Tyler Monroe and Steve Witkus would be there and contenders, but I hadn't realized Mr. Consistency, Andy Chambers, had signed up too until he sauntered up to the line in his usual nonchalant manner.

After the usual confusion of which category I'm racing (yes, it's a singlespeed, no I'm not racing singlespeed) we line up and wait for Chris' whistle.

The start is a long slightly descending dirt road, my best hope was to jump on someone's wheel and spin like crazy.

Chris gives his speech, counts us down and sends us off.
Holeshot!...for a brief moment until Steve takes the lead with Tyler on his wheel.
Okay these are good wheels to follow.

We get to a slight incline and tighten things up.
The three of us are getting a bit of a gap despite swapping a little paint.
After I grabbed the lead a couple times on the climbs, Tyler gets to the front on some more of the twisty, technical stuff.

Holy Shit can that man drive a bike!

It's not too long before he drives it away...leaving me with Steve on my wheel like a hungry wolf.

I'm able to build a small gap on the climbs and surprisingly the descents but Steve reels me back in on the start loop and fireroad stuff.  Through the woods I see Andy with Steve Arsenault closely on his tail.

Steve W keeps gaining and gaining on me until we get to the steepest climb of the course.  Again I get a gap, only to have it erased on the first section of the course.

Andy is gaining on us.

The third lap goes to a dark place.  Clumsy and weak, questioning what I'm doing.  I feel the Steve's catch is imminent.   I'm going through a mini stages of grief.  I want to quit.

At the top of the steepest climb things start to turn around, at least with my attitude.  I get my gap again.

On the lower sections of the last lap, I'm seeing Andy, but not Steve...because Steve has reeled me in even earlier and is right behind me.

I'm trying to gap him on the climbs but he is tenacious.  In the twisty stuff that Tyler used to get away from me I catch teammate Tina Severson from the Pro Women class.  She's ready to give me the easypass but her lines are so sick there's no reason;  I couldn't ride that section any faster on my best day!

I get to the steepest climb, Steve is closer than he's been on any lap; this is it, he'll catch me or I'll stay away.  What little I have left I pour into the pedals, at the first switch back he hasn't lost any ground.  Second switch back, no difference.  But as things start to get more gradual and twisty, I'm loosing sight of him.

No matter, until I'm right under the finish banner I keep my head down and the pedals spinning as fast as I can finishing second :24 back of Tyler.  Steve rolled in :39 later with Andy back only another :41.

Now that's racing!

Winsted Woods / CT State Champs 2012

Let's get right to it shall we...

The whistle blows and we're off.  After missing the call up I lined up behind Rob Carmen counting on him getting off the line quick.

He didn't disappoint.
Crossing the field I'm in the top five, rounding the corner into the woods I'm in second wheel.

Going up the first double track climb I'm feeling pretty go.  I'm right on the Expo Wheelman rider's wheel who is leading.  I move to the rough line of the double track to pass.  Seeing as it is double track and I'm taking the less than ideal line I do not call my pass.  The dude chops my line.

Really?  Your racing Cat 1 MOUNTAIN BIKE and you're chopping people's lines?

He chopped my line bad enough for me to put a foot down, but I maintain my position.

Keep trying to get around him, even calling my pass, but he's shutting me down.  At this point it's not intentional on his part; I just can't get around him between his trail blocking dabs.  I should have backed off to get a better view of the trail and where he was going


In the melee I must have struck a rock as my rear tire is going soft.  I try to ignore it and hope it's my imagination but at the bottom of the first rocky descent it is flat.  I stop, watch everyone pass me and hit it with CO2.


I'm watching sealant bubble out of the rim bead.  That can't be good.

Despair...


The game plan was to go for it, if my stoopid light rear tire failed me, drop out.  I've got to get back to the finish line to do that so I might as well race until it goes flat again.
It doesn't feel like racing anymore as it is the first lap and I'm all alone in the woods.  All alone but not in the good way.  Things are feeling sluggish.
But I don't really have anything better to do today so might as well press on.


What's this?
It's the back of my field.
I'm gaining on them, and by some miracle my tire is holding air.
I pull back about 3 guys on the first lap.

Lap 2 I get the line chopper and some of the 30-39 year olds.

The course is holding up well and there are only a couple of spots I have to run.

Lap 3 pull back some more guys in my group.  Mike Rowell has flatted out and is without CO2.  I offer him my second cartridge but he tells me to just go.

I pull back a few more.

Lap 4 the rain has started again.  Things are now getting soupy.  Very much like last year.  Mike has hiked up the course a bit as I pass him on the sideline he yells "he's just up ahead".

Who is?

At this point I'm not exactly sure where I stand, but as I get to the farmer's field before the final descent I see an Expo jersey up ahead.  Could that be the leader?  Could I be catching him?

Ah no, that's a woman.

Rats!

Final descent.  cross the line and there's nobody there?

Josh Wilcox, winner of the Cat1 SS is there, but I don't see anyone from my class.  It's raining so maybe they ran for cover?  Finally, Dave Diviney comes up to me and tells me "I think you are second, I think I won".  A quick peak over Jill's shoulder confirms this.

Instead of quitting I got 2nd place.

After going for a 2 hour training ride before the race Craig pulls off 3rd on his trail bike.

my nose always looks really big at Winsted Woods.


Was the gamble worth it?  Did the light, fast rolling tire pay off in the end or did it cost me?  Strava says it took 59 seconds to fix my flat, David beat me by 41 seconds.  Senseless speculation as who knows what would have happened if I was duking it out at the front instead of chasing from the back.

Anyways, great way to spend a rainy Sunday.






Props to Neal for winning the Pro race/CT Champs and James for 4th overall/bronze in the CT champs.  Great job guys!!

Wrath of the Boneyard's Coming

Fabian's investing the sweat equity to make this year's Boneyard more awesome awesomeness.  Puttin' the "Bone" back into Boneyard.

Don't worry though we left plenty of Bonyard "character" for you

I only hope our Kid's course isn't too AWESOME!