That was the theme of this weekend's race at Arkabutla Lake. While the trail system was decent, it wasn't a very fun race course. After pre-riding it last week, I almost didn't want to go to the race. But, I figured I should support the inaugural event and didn't have anything else to do. So I went.
The trail consisted of lots of roots. Lots and lots of big roots with no smooth line to be found. The few places where you could get some decent speed weren't worth the effort due to poorly placed sharp turns and switchbacks. For these reasons, I felt like I couldn't give it my all. When it comes to racing, cornering hard and maintaining momentum is my bread and butter; that lets me ride faster than riders with more power. This course, however, was 24 miles of short sprints and hard braking. Not much fun.
The good news is that the North Mississippi Trail Alliance - our new chapter of IMBA - has recently been approved to build up to 28 miles of trail on the other side of the lake. So, future races have a lot of potential.
During the race, I held second place until halfway through the last lap. On the first lap, I kept up with the guy in first pretty well but soon started falling behind. The guy in third was on my tail the entire time and was clearly a better rider. Had he passed me sooner, he probably could've kept up with first, but I guess he was content finishing second.
I partially blame the hardtail, as the top two guys were both on full suspensions. The roots sapped a lot of my energy, and it was difficult to keep the rear end planted in the bumpy turns. (puns intended, sort of). I've only had my new bike a few months, but I'm thinking of trading it for a full suspension. Not that it'll be faster overall, just more fun.
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