Our destination for the weekend was Winona Lake, IN, just outside the city of Warsaw. The Winona Lake Trails would be hosting the first of six rounds of the D.IN.O. Mountain Bike Series, one of my targets for the year. In case you are wondering, DINO stands for Doing INdiana Off-road. The mountain bike series usually runs alongside trail run races and off-road triathlons. Those events typically take place on Saturday and then the XC mountain bike race comes Sunday. But Winona Lake is different because the mountain bike race is part of the Fat & Skinny Tire Fest the town hosts. The festival includes road touring rides, a road time trial, road race, criterium, dual slalom and BMX stunt shows in addition to the XC mountain bike race. That's a packed schedule that is crammed into Friday afternoon through Sunday. The XC race lands on Saturday morning rather than our usual Sunday slot. That meant we had to head up a day early to get in our pre-ride. The race weekend conflicted with race #5 of the SERC Series which was going to be on Sunday in Chattanooga, TN. It might have been a harder decision on which race to do if I was still leading the GSC Series. This SERC round is a GSC make-up race, but I am so far out of contention now that a make-up race is not worth picking over the start of my other target series. I'm not focusing on SERC despite leading it. I want DINO this year.
Our pre-ride plans were washed out by a rainy Friday. Instead of pre-riding, we just headed on up to Elkhart where we would be staying with Shannon's parents. One of the reasons I am doing the DINO Series this year is because we will get to see family for many of the events. We should be able to stay with Shannon's parents for two of the rounds and her cousin Sarah for at least one round. Shannon will really like being able to see them in the summer, which is usually a time when we are running all over the southeast chasing races.
I went out for a drizzly road ride on Friday afternoon to get in some bike time and loosen up the legs from the eight-hour drive. I decided to swap to new pedals this week. I have ridden Crank Brothers Eggbeaters pedals for at least 10 years. It's probably more like 12-13 years. I had sponsorship from them for one year around 2006. I have always liked the four-sided design and the mud-shedding ability which is huge if you have to get off and run on a muddy day. They are excellent for cyclocross. But over the years I have broken way too many pairs. It seems I am lucky to make a full year before the bushings and bearings fail. I have used the rebuild kits to replace the worn parts and get another six months or so out of the pedals, but it gets annoying having to rebuild them so often. I have had pedals fail on me in races and on long rides several times. My pedals started to feel loose at Winder, which is the first sign of an upcoming failure. I won a set of Xpedo pedals for winning the SERC Series last year so I decided it was time to try something new rather than buy another set of Eggbeaters. I wanted to change them before Utah, but I decided not to change something that critical right before a huge race. Most of my road ride on Friday was working on getting in and out of the new pedals. They feel way different than the Eggbeaters. You have two sides instead of four to clip into so you have to be aware of how the pedal is flipped on the start line. The clipping action is also a bit different and requires putting weight on a different part of the foot/shoe than the Eggbeater. I had some trouble with consistency at first and it worried me about the start on Saturday.
We had a cloudy, cool morning for the race. The course was slick from the rain the day before, but not really muddy. There was also the threat of thunderstorms this morning, but it looked like the first wave of riders would be able to finish their race before the rain arrived. The course was a 10-mile loop. With it being so big we could not pre-ride it all before the start. Dina and I went in and rode the first half. We probably would have ended up riding the second half and missing the start if it wasn't for a course volunteer pointing us out to the parking lot.
This guy has already had enough waiting for the races to start.
Riders lining up for the start
Expert Women getting ready to go
I was feeling good and looking for the hole shot on the start. We were scheduled for three laps on the 10-mile loop. Everything we rode was very tight singletrack with nowhere to pass. The start would be critical. I also have learned about the Feed Zone over the last two years. Sometimes the Feed Zone can be used as a race tactic. Mose Howard has taught me that. At times you are better off feeding in another place than the others just so you can make up positions. I decided to take a bottle at the very end of the zone. I also planned for Shannon to give me my EFS gel flask in the woods instead of in the open field.
I got my foot straight into the pedal on the start and was first to the first turn. We sprinted across a grassy field, then took a 180-degree left in the mud before shooting back across the field and then into the woods. I came into the 180 a bit hot and had to unclip my left foot and dab to stay upright. I still had the lead coming out of the turn, but I couldn't get my foot back into the pedal and I dropped to fourth by the time we reached the woods.
This little tabletop just after the start was fun to ride, as well as fun for the spectators to watch.
The pace was fast at first, then settled down about halfway through the lap. There was really just one spot to pass on the entire course and it was a short, double-track climb with really only one good line up it, so even passing there would be difficult. The initial few miles were rolling with some really small ups and downs, and lots of turns. There was more flat pedaling in the middle portion of the loop, but still a lot of corners. Then came a section out in a field of wildflowers that was wider, but still not a lot of room to pass unless you really pushed it. It was a really nice section with the flowers, but there was little time for looking during the race. There were no significant climbs on the course, but there were about four short climbs that took about 15 seconds to sprint over. The last section was quite tight and really no room to pass before you shot down a hill into the open field for about a 100 meter sprint to the finish line. Being first out of the woods would be crucial in the case of a sprint.
I stayed in line the first lap and held onto fourth. Everyone behind us fell off the pace so we had a lead group of four reaching the end of the first lap together. We clocked a 40:11 first lap. I wanted to move to the lead through the Feed Zone so I went left as everyone went for their bottles and I nabbed the lead. Shannon's Mom was feeding me bottles and she missed me. I don't think she was expecting me to be in the lead group. To be honest, I didn't expect to be there either. She also couldn't see me coming because of me passing the riders on the opposite side of where she was standing. I saw she wasn't looking and I tried to take the bottle from her hand, but I just missed it.
Riders on a damp course
Starting another lap
I didn't get a bottle, but I had the lead. I grabbed my gel from Shannon and sucked down a bit more than usual since I knew I would be missing calories without a bottle this lap. Then I threw down into the first section. I knew I could go faster through the turns than what we had gone the first lap. After the first section I had a gap. I really pushed hard then. One rider, Chris Bowman, came across to me. I did everything I could to drop him. I pushed every difficult turn a little bit harder than normal and sprinted every little rise. He was able to match me for the first few miles so I tried to go a little harder and it bit me. When there are this many corners you have to be smooth. I got a gap on him in a few places, but every time I got that gap I made a mistake from pushing too hard and he was right back on me. And every time I made a mistake and had to unclip I had trouble getting my foot back into the pedals. I felt like a beginner out there fumbling with my pedal. I realized near the end of lap 2 that he was going to hang with me unless he made a mistake. So, I began to think about controlling the race. I had the lead on a course that was difficult to pass on so I had the advantage. We picked up the lap time nearly two minutes on lap 2, coming through with a 38:22 and were now well ahead of third place. I was already happy with my day. I never really expected to get a podium out of today, let alone have a shot at the win on the final lap. There are some really strong riders in Indiana, as I found out last year, and I knew I would have to work really hard if I wanted to compete for the series in Elite.
Me leading Chris Bowman starting lap 3
I got my bottle starting lap 3 and began to hammer every section where it was even close to wide enough to pass. I started to feel some twinges in both quads about a mile into the lap, so I stopped putting in out-of-the-saddle attacks to keep the cramps at bay. I'm still not sure exactly what is causing the cramps this year, but missing my bottle definitely didn't help today.
Chris made a mistake about four miles into the lap and I tried to take advantage. I didn't worry about cramping one bit at that point. It was only a 7-8 second gap, but I tried to use that to wear him down. I made him earn every second of that gap back. He caught me just before we hit the wildflowers where I thought he might try to pass me. I gave all I had for that one mile section and it nearly finished off my legs, but I kept him behind me going into the final two miles. I slowed to a tolerable pace once in the tight stuff, trying to save something to be able to sprint every time the trail opened up any at all. A lapped rider held me up on the final climb and almost caused me to give up the lead, but I just held on thanks to Chris not being a jerk. He could have easily ran me right into the lapper, but he is not that kind of rider. I sprinted into the final descent and took us into the field at high speed. I wasn't sure how much sprinting my cramping legs could handle, but they were fine when it mattered. I knew this course suited me well and I was not about to give it up this close to the end. Chris had a good sprint left, but the line came too quick and I was able to hang on by a bike length to get the win! I was so happy to get a win. It was my first DINO Series win ever and an awesome way to start the series. It also felt good to have some success when the last two months have been a bit rough racing the SERC and GSC Series. We only dropped about 20 seconds on our last lap time as compared to lap 2, which is really good on a course that long.
A rider hits the finish line
Video: Sprint finish for the Elite win
Dina raced Sport Women and ended up third. Their distance was just one lap, which is way shorter than the races she has been doing in the SERC Series. Up to this point, all of her races have been survival for her because the distance has been much more than she has ever ridden. DINO has some shorter rounds where she can start to work on her speed. I thought third out of eight was a good start for her.
Video: DINO #1 race footage
The thunderstorm arrived shortly after the race ended. Dina and I were out trying to get in some more riding. We had to just hop in the car with our wet bike clothes on and go down the street to a park bathroom to find shelter enough to change our clothes. It was a monsoon for about two hours. Lots of lightning came which delayed the start of the Base and Intro classes. Scoring and results were further complicated by the rain and the fact that awards were to be in town at the bike fest tent. We had to wait about five hours to actually get our awards because of all the delays. It did give us time to walk through the tourist town of Winona Lake. They had some very interesting shops including one for ground spices, one full of nothing but soap and one selling just candy and sodas. The skies parted during awards and we did get to see one of the BMX stunt shows before starting the drive back to Elkhart. I had contemplated doing the dual slalom, but it was canceled due to the rain. Most of the course was submerged by the afternoon.
Sport Women 19-39 podium
Elite podium with Craig Baker
We went out to Goshen later in the evening to see Shannon's brother, Jake, sing in a band. More thunderstorms came in while we were there. It was still pouring when we got back to the house and in the hurry to get out of the rain, Shannon's Mom accidentally back the car into our bikes. I almost had a heart attack and so did she. Luckily, the bikes were lined up parallel to the car and they began to roll as soon as the car touched them. We squeaked by with no damage. Shannon's Mom felt so bad. She was already bummed about missing my feed in the race and now she hit our bikes. She was convinced they were broken and that I just wasn't telling her what was damaged, but all was fine. We dodged one there.
So the DINO Series has started well! Leaving the first round as the points leader is always good, but I want to be sure I don't let this one get away like the GSC Series did when I left round one in Macon as the leader. I guess all the riding at elevation in Utah did pay off upon return. There are six rounds in the DINO Series and your best four scores count for the overall. The next round is in two weeks at Brown County State Park in Nashville, IN. The race conflicts with the BUMP N' Grind SERC race in Birmingham, but it's an easy decision to go DINO after how this race went!
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