Road Apple Rally

My trophy says 1st place, but in most races it would say 3rd. Last weekend's mountain bike race down in Farmington, NM was awesome! The Road Apple Rally is the longest running annual mountain bike race, with the first one occuring in 1981. There were even some big names there like Ned Overend - the guy who started Specialized Bikes. It was a great race with a format I've never seen.

In most cross country races, Cat 3 rides about 10 miles, Cat 2 20 miles, and Cat 1 30. But, in this race, Cat 3 road 15 miles, while everyone else road 30. Having never raced 30 miles, I was a little unsure about pacing. My normal distance of 20 miles is close to a sprint. But, in this race I went with a fast endurance pace focusing on efficiency and only pushing myself on the climbs when there was a clear benefit like passing others. The other strange thing about the format was the mass start. It was a little hectic with a couple hundred people riding so close. Fortunately, the first mile or so was a paved road, then dirt, leading to single track, so I was able to pass a good number of people right off the bat.

The single track sections were fantastic with lots of whoop-di-whoops and short steep climbs and descents. Farmington is on the edge of the desert, but luckily the temperatures were nice throughout the day. About 10 minutes before the race, I realized I had left my water bottle at home. (Along with stove fuel and a warm hat - next time I'm making a checklist.) It wasn't a huge deal though. In most 20 mile races I go without water unless it's really hot as there's usually no time to drink, and it's extra weight.

With the mass start format, I had no idea what place I was in, but it turns out over halfway through the race I was right behind the guy who got first. We hit another stretch of road, and he took off since he was running a much higher gear. After that, I got stuck behind some people, and was eventually passed by another single speeder. By the end I was just under 3 minutes behind.

In this race, they divided the single speed category into age groups, which is why my trophy says 1st. Overall, I got 3rd out of 17, which I'm happy with considering I'd never ridden the course, never raced 30 miles, and didn't know what gear to run. The real kicker is that the guy who got first is 57! I can only hope to be in that kind of shape when I'm that old.