Frequent downpours of rain also woke me several times in the night. It's the worst sound to hear when you are hoping for a dry race. The trail was slick the next morning. Lucky for us we had the later race of the day and so many spots were significantly better once our race began. I was sore from the Super D crash, but overall I felt pretty good. My fire ant bites looked much worse than my crash wounds.
We started with the Junior X riders again and, like in the Short Track, they made the start more sketchy than it needed to be. We began with the first half of the short track course, then funneled into the woods on singletrack around the lake. I did not get off the line well and was buried deep in the group of about 20 starters. The mud puddles were deeper today and they claimed a victim on our start when one of the Juniors got sideways going onto the pavement. The mud was getting dragged onto the road and made for a slick transition. He went down hard right in front of me. I had to go straight off the road into the ditch to keep from going down with him. I actually ran up onto his bike and slid with it to the ditch. That was not how I wanted to start. We both climbed back onto the road together and were the last two into the woods.
Pros and Juniors on the start line
My entire race was playing catch-up. I am not strong enough to give the top Pros a 30-second head start and then run them down. It isn't going to happen. I settled in to a good rhythm and focused on riding steady all day. I caught many of the Juniors, but was losing time to the leaders. At mile 4 I was 40 seconds behind, then that stretched out to 50 seconds by mile 7. There was lots of carnage just after the BMX track where there are numerous bridges and roots which were still very slick. I saw several riders go down and lost quite a bit of time getting held up behind the fallers. By the start of the big fire road climb I was about 2 minutes behind the lead group.
On the climb, I got hooked onto a train that was climbing faster than me. I worked hard to stay on the group and was able to hang for 4/5 of the climb. Then I blew up. And I mean blew up. I just barely got over the crest of the climb and then soft-pedaled the following ridge. I had to cruise for a good 10 minutes before I got back into "Race Mode" again. I began to catch riders again as we neared Blood Rock. I got a wake up call of sorts just before Blood Rock. It was the moment I realized 29" wheels are better. I was coasting behind two riders on a slight downhill portion of fire road. We all started the section together and none of us were pedaling. They pulled away from me, even with me in their draft. Their bikes just rolled better. I was already wondering if I was at a disadvantage after watching Carson pitch around his bike yesterday in Super D practice. Now I know for sure that they are better. I guess I should have known since I was the only 26" bike lined up for the Pro/Cat. 1 start for all age groups. Guess there's a new bike purchase coming in my future...
Even with my little wheels I was able to repass everyone that passed me during my blow-up. I got them all by the end of the Blood Rock descent and top of the next climb on Johnson's Mountain. I fell off the pace a little near the end of lap 1, but got things going before losing any positions. The first long lap finished after 20 miles, but we still had the short lap to go. It was 14 miles and included another climb back up to Blood Rock via the Jekyl & Hyde trail. I had never been up this climb and was expecting it to be steady the whole way up. It was not. The first 3 miles were very fast and rolling. You gradually gain elevation. The next mile has more climbing than descending, but is still very rolling. Jeremy Chambers caught me here and we worked together to find the course. We hit two unmarked intersections where we were not sure where to go. We picked the right way both times, but lost a good chunk of time.
Me at the bottom of the Blood Rock descent on lap 1
The final mile of the climb was brutal. It was rocky like Snake Creek Gap. I had to walk a few sections. I was really getting tired, especially in my upper body. It was like I just couldn't react to the rocks quick enough to clear them. My arms were spaghetti noodles going through Blood Rock. I just tried to hold on and not die. I was in full suffer mode on Johnson's Mountain and was ready to hit the fetal position when we reached Rattlesnake Ridge, the final trail of the loop. This race is no longer an XC race, it's a survival run. Jekyl & Hyde is too hard for a race that long. I was thinking that I must be crazy out here riding up and down mountains in the middle of Alabama. Maybe I hit my head when I fell yesterday.
An older rider passed me with 5 miles to go and gave me some encouragement to hold his wheel. He basically coached me on the rest of the race. I had to give everything I had left to stay with him. I am really glad he came by me. He pushed me further than I thought I could go. When you think the tank is empty, there is still a little bit left inside. I finished 8th out of 11 Pros with a time of 2:54:45. That's a good 50 min longer than most XC races. I was the last Pro finisher. The guys I caught all quit. I always hate that. I want to beat somebody to the end!
Brad Perley won the XC and, therefore, also won the Omnium. I wound up 2nd, 4 points off Brad. Carson had a rough day full of flats and mechanicals. He still finished though and took 2nd in his Omnium too. We have a quick video posted below.
BUMP XC Video
Here is a video from Jerry Dufour of the entire weekend. There's some good clips from each of the races. You can also see what I was talking about at the start of the Super D, when Omar Fraser held onto the tree and started with his feet already clipped in.
Dufour BUMP Highlights
It was back to the road the following Wednesday night at Race #2 of the Music City Crits Series. I had to work until 6, so I had just enough time to get to the race and get ready before we started. I like a lot of warm-up, so this would be a good test for me so see if I could warm-up in a short amount of time. I got in almost 20 minutes of riding as the races were running a few minutes behind. I stayed patient early on to ensure I was warmed-up before I start going with attacks. I followed every move that went off the front after the 15 minute mark. I wanted to get into a break so bad! I still have never made it into a break that lasted more than 2-3 laps. Tonight would be no different. Everything I went with was pulled back.
Fishing with the student and new PTA during lunch while working in Ashland City
The pack was not letting anything go tonight. Just as I thought that, Andy Reardon escaped off the front with 5 to go and we never caught him. He soloed to the win, holding off a charging group by just a few bike lengths. The final lap was again the fastest of the race. I did my best to hold the wheels into the finish and wound up taking 9th. It was another solid top-10 effort for me. I'm getting better every week. I hit 184 heart rate again today. I'm hitting 184 regularly now. We had a 26.0 mph average speed for the 40 min race. We were shortened due to the race starting late. It was an intense 40 minutes!
In years past, I have hit 192-193 heart rate in the sprints when I won or took a top 5. I think I will need to be able to hit the 190s again to be able to win these sprints. So my goal these next few weeks is to get my max heart rate closer to 190. It's going to be some tough training! My next race is in a few days at the SERC race at the Ocoee Whitewater Center in Ducktown, TN. It's one of my favorite races and favorite areas to visit. I can't wait to get in the river!
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