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!
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