Dust 'n' Bones

Yesterday's race was more like Mud 'n' Bones! Two hours before the scheduled start time of 3pm, the trail was in nearly perfect shape. Damp enough to be tacky, but not slick. At 2pm, however, the sky decided to dump buckets of rain for 20 minutes or so, then continued to drizzle off and on. The race was postponed till 4pm and cut short due to so much mud. Cat 2 and 3 only did one lap consisting of 8 miles, while Cat 1 did two laps.

This was my first time racing with gears and wasn't sure what to expect. Sizing up my competition at the start line, I noticed they all had racing tires - not so good for mud. I was thankful I had some bigger knobs and knew that would be a big advantage as this course mostly consisted of roots and wooden bridges with a lot of mud in between. I carefully selected my starting gear, key for gaining the holeshot, which I did. I usually can, but holding on to it is another story. The longer the race, the more strategy needed for pacing, but 8 miles is basically a sprint. My competition stayed on my heels for the first mile or so, then slowly slipped back. By the halfway point, I knew I had a good lead and decided to back off a notch. I was still riding fast, but I quit taking as many risks. I passed several single speeders and the back of the Cat 1s who had started 2 minutes ahead. I crossed the finish line ready for another lap, but the race was over.

I ended up getting 1st place overall for Cat 2 with a time of 48:15. I had over a 1 minute lead on the rest of the pack. Not trying to brag, but honestly if felt too easy. Still, the top Cat 1 lap times were around 42 minutes. I can't imagine shaving 6 minutes off that lap. It might be my last victory for a while though; I applied for a Cat 1 upgrade today!

The Time Has Come

The carbon hardtail 29er is coming soon. I'm aiming to step up my racing, and my current steel hardtail is too heavy. It might seem crazy, but 20-30 mile races are won and lost by a matter of seconds. A few extra pounds can be a significant disadvantage.

The new frame is an FR-202 sold by Flyxii. There's no telling who makes it, but most likely it's made right next to the big name-brand bikes in the exact same factory and sold for a fraction of the cost - like 1/5 of the cost. Structural quality seems on par. It might be a tad heavier, but hopefully, that can be attributed to it being over-built. The only issue I found was a little overspray in the headtube, but that can be corrected easily enough. While this bike will have multiple gears, I won't stray too far from the name of this blog. The rigid single speed will be up and running soon enough, though I have to cannibalize it temporarily.

I'm hoping to race Cat 1 soon, but I'll still be Cat 2 for the race next weekend as there's an application to advance to Cat 1 with requirements of placing twice in Cat 2. It's been a while since my last race, so it'll be good to see where I stand. I can't help but feel like I "peaked" during my last semester of college, but getting beat by riders twice my age gives me hope that there's always room for improvement.