Many members of the team were very excited for the Pro/1/2/3 race. They thought Jeremy Chambers and I could work over the field after the way I rode the previous weekend at Cross the Harpeth. I was not as confident, especially after seeing the course. It was much more open with very little technical challenge. I still tried out both bikes in warm-up. They felt about the same overall. The cross bike felt good on the power stretches, but there were areas that were very soft and the skinny tires sank into the ground. The mountain bike felt good on the descents and better in the soft stuff. I ended up choosing the mountain bike as I was more comfortable in my skills and position on it.
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Pro/1/2/3 start
photo by David Howe
We had 11 starters for the 60-minute event on Saturday. The start was fast. I was in the back on the start line and stuck in traffic through the first few turns. The group split halfway through lap 1 and I was behind the split. I spent the entire race chasing, never seeing the wheels of the front five again. I was slow to move up, but I did steadily pick my way up to 6th with about four laps to go. I was almost a minute behind 5th, but I kept chasing and started to eat away at the gap. Overall, the mountain bike was a good choice. It was slow in the soft areas, but so was my cross bike. I just got beat today. I felt out of shape when it came to those long straightaways and the long climb to the finish line.
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Hefting up the mountain bike over the snazzy MOAB barriers
photo by Tami Kuper
I was a bit annoyed at the ending though. I had cut the gap to 5th down to 30 seconds with one to go. I could see Jeremy up in front of me and could tell I was starting to really close down the gap. But the officials pulled me as I hit the line to get the bell. I have no idea why. I was in 6th, in no danger of getting lapped and we were only 53 minutes into the race. I just kept on pushing. I know 30 seconds is a big gap, but things happen. I once lost a race by crashing and damaging my bike in the final lap. I just don't feel like the officials should be deciding what gap is too big to be closed at one to go. I didn't catch Jeremy on that final lap, but I did close the gap down considerably. And I still finished my race in under 60 minutes. Grant Wilson was the winner of the day, dominating the Pro/1/2/3 race pretty much from start to finish.
After the race, I stayed to help change the course for Sunday's race. We took out a lot of the slower grass where things were soft. More corners were added to the main descent, and some technical little climbs were put in near the end of the loop. Jeremy had me test some of the sections on his cross bike. Now I know why I am getting smoked and why people say choosing a mountain bike is a bad idea. Their cross bikes are so much stiffer than mine. It was like riding a road bike on the sidewalk compared to my cross bike. I was riding in normal shoes on a bike too big for me and was still riding it faster than I can my bike. I would never choose a mountain bike again if I was on a Specialized Crux like his. But my cross bike doesn't feel as good as my mountain bike, so I think I'm making the best decision right now.
Course changes were completed just before dark and I hit the road for home. I had hoped to come down on Friday to help with course set-up and stay all weekend, but I ended up having a lot of work to do with the fundraising job. I worked Saturday morning before I came to the race, then had more work to do when I got home that night. I got stuck in traffic as soon as I got on the interstate. Between sitting on I-24 in the back-up and then detouring to avoid the actual accident scene, it took me an extra two hours to get home for what was already a 90-minute drive. That made for a late night and the morning came quick. I was back on the road before daylight to get back to Bell Buckle to help with the early races. It was super windy overnight and on Sunday morning. The wind was stretching the tape and bending the stakes in many of the sections causing the course to narrow considerably. I spent most of the pre-race time repairing the tape and moving it lower on the stakes so it wouldn't catch so much wind. I did not do the Singlespeed race at all this weekend so I could help out with the race.
Juniors on course in the morning races
Dustin Weida on his way to a fourth SS win in four attempts these past two weekends.
Rick Harmon during the Masters 45+/55+ race
This little hill caused some trouble. This guy didn't make it...
...and then gravity took over.
He came out smiling though
Rick took the Masters 55+ win
Tammy Richardson in the CX 4/5 Women
Rick cleaned this hill every lap. It was the first of two back-to-back steep inclines near the end of the lap.
David Rush took 2nd in Masters 45+
Our Pro/1/2/3 race on Sunday played out much the same way as Saturday. One rider dominated, I chased the whole time and the race was shortened. We had 10 starters today. I liked this course much better. Again, I rode both bikes before the race. They felt the same, so I went with the cross bike just to see if it made any difference. I started in the back, slowly moved up and ended up 6th. The only differences were that I was not gaining on anyone in the top 5 in the second half of this race, and I got lapped by the leader. Spencer Whittier put a beat down on all of us. The top 5 finishers were on another level. I felt like I was best of the rest. Spencer lapped me on the final lap, which came way early. I was 45 seconds behind the leader at the finish and I was done at 48 minutes even. We should have done two more laps. I just don't understand why our races are always shortened. To me, it can influence the outcome of the race, which really impacts the points series. I just don't get it. Grant had another solid day to take 2nd and Jeremy got 4th. We were solid, but didn't get the win for the team we were hoping for.
A short video of some of the Day 2 race action I filmed during the morning races is posted below. Yes, you will see video clips that look similar to some of the photos posted above. I was shooting video with one hand and taking pictures on a different camera with the other hand.
Video: MOAB CX Day 2
I stayed after again and helped clean up the course. We had a lot of help and it went by quickly. It was a great weekend of racing and a lot of fun. I have not been a part of putting on a race in a long time. It's something I enjoy so this weekend was extra fun for me. I even got to catch up with some of my teammates and other riders that I don't get to see very often these days. Special thanks go out to Mark Dement, owner of MOAB, for putting out the time and money to have this event and also taking care of my entry fees for the weekend. It is much appreciated! I can't wait to be a part of this event again in the future.