First off let me say, that was pretty flippen fun. Well,
only doing two laps (5’s) did not really put the hurting on you for long enough
to be miserable.
I really did not know what to expect coming into the race
other than it was something new and I was excited about it. I had the 1st
day of school nervousness on the start line. I haven’t had that kind of feeling
for quite some time. You always have a little apprehension before races but not
the kind that you can feel in your legs. I really don’t know how else to
describe it.
I looked around on the start and noticed this aint a Cat 3
(beginner) MTB race! There were a bunch of guys there; big…small… hairy legs…
shaved legs….23lb motobecanes…. 16lb Tarmacs with carbon Roval wheelsets.. Quite
the eclectic group..
Once we started I motored on up to the front. I did not know
how this was going to play out, but I did now I did not want to go down, that’s
for sure. I have seen the bike handling skills of some of these guys in cross
season and I don’t want to be behind them on any corner. Through the entire
race I don’t think I was any further than 5-6 back.
First lap of the circuit was pretty uneventful, pretty much
a warm-up lap. The profile on their website is pretty deceiving, from the looks
of it, there were three climbs in the circuit, but the first two “hills” came
and went all while I was looking around every corner for the hills. There was a
good climb right before the start finish, but that is the only one I would consider
a climb.
 |
| Here they come! |
Second lap the pace did not pick up very much and I kept waiting for the action to begin. Turn after turn, same pace, and same story. We hit one section that on the profile was the middle “climb”, but I would say more of a gradual slope. I could tell everyone was content in just staying together as a group and see who could climb up to the finish first. So I thought that prospect sounded rather boring and wanted to spice things up so I attacked and created a decent gap. This is about the time my MTB legs failed me a little. They are great for short intervals, the attack went beautifully but once the engine is up, keeping it there for the amount of time necessary to make it stick was a different story.
 |
| Delaying the inevitable.. At least there were only a select few left!! |
After the race Darrell and I went up to watch the Cat 4s
race. Hung out with the KCBC dudes and watched from the top of the climb. I am
wanting to cat up as soon as I can and wanted to see how the boys were going.
Uhhhh, fast.. I am game for it, but there were some folks who looked miserable
out there doming up that climb on laps 4 and 5. I can’t even imagine the Pro 1/2’s
doing it 14 times. Honestly that would
be tiring even at cursing speed, let along race pace.
All in all, I am doing more of these things for sure!
Other report over at TWIN SIX if your interested.
Other report over at TWIN SIX if your interested.
