Tis the Season for Racin!

I have posted since I raced down in Texas, which I still think was a very cool experience and really had me stoked to get into the racing season this year, so here are a couple updates since then. Since Texas I have volunteered at a few races and raced at a few. With the MASS (Mid Atlantic Super Series) starting back in March and the mountain bike season picking up in general I have been pretty much non-stop every weekend. First was the MACDC (Mid-Atlantic Cycling Development Camp) which as always was fun and a decent amount of work. I helped Zach with this last year and end up being a worker/participant which keeps me busy the entire weekend. I was able to get a good 7 hour day in with some great people on Saturday which completely crushed me but enjoyed every minute of it.

          The next weekend was the Tuscarora Mountain Bike Endurance Race which was another one of Zach Races. This was another non stop weekend starting with Friday being us hauling over everything to the venue, setting up camp, then working on marking the course and setting up the venue until it got dark. Saturday consisted of waking up in the middle of the morning listening to a heck of a lightning storm and heavy rains, then getting up and setting the rest of the venue up in the rain, then helping with the organized pre-ride which also raised money for a local mountain biker who was fighting cancer, then finally sitting down for dinner. Then Sunday was the event itself, which is always a long exhaustive day. First was waking up before the sun even crests to start setting up registration for the racers, then running registration until the race starts, then helping out with racer timing, then cleaning up the venue, packing everything up, and finally heading back home as the sun is going down and getting there just in time to go pass out! (Yes I know there are a lot of run on sentences)



Bella Looking out at the Rain

         The next weekend was actually a free weekend and I can’t even remember what I did but I am pretty sure I wasn’t sitting around doing nothing. I think that’s the weekend that Fairhill XC was cancelled. After that was the Marysville MASS Team Relay Race which was a blast as always. We were able to bring just about everyone out from the Fast Forward Racing Team and race with two teams. I had a lot of fun at this event and it always ends with me being tired, sore and satisfied with the day.

 Fast Forward Chicken Farmers!

         The weekend of April 14th and 15th was Zach’s Michaux Trail cup which was another weekend of non-stop madness from start to finish. I have said it once before and will say it again, a racer will never realize the amount of time and effort goes into putting on an event without actually spending some time helping out at one!

 

         

          The 29th was Greenbrier Challenge MTB race which normally draws pretty good talent being part of the MARC series and Maryland State Championship. I had a pretty good day at Greenbrier. I didn’t start off as strong as I would have liked but I was able to find my groove pretty quickly and started to feel like I was racing pretty strong. I was able to finish strong and pass a couple people at the section of the trail and was hoping for a decent finishing place. In the end though finished 11th in my category (though I can be 100% sure that accurate because they originally posted me as 8th place then posted final results with me at 11th place but didn’t post any times to verify my placing…so I’ll take it as it is I guess).

 

         

        Then finally was this past weekend where we went out to Delaware to race at the Iron Hill Challenge. I had a lot of fun with this course last year, the course is fast and has a lot of fun rollers including the ‘Mega Dip’. This year was different for me though, the ground was wet and the course was muddy and this created a challenge for me. I normally love riding in the mud, the dirtier I get the happier I normally am (I was a little disappointed I didn’t get to ride at Tuscarora because of this). These trail conditions where a lot different from what I normally expect though creating some difficulty. The race went off, I started into the single track in the middle of the pack, went to pass a few racers, got around them, and when I hit the little bridge crossing my tires slide out from under me like I was trying to ride on ice. So I picked my bike off the middle of the bridge and had 6-8 riders pass me while cursing at me. The race went down hill from there. I was shell shocked (nerves rattled from the crash) so I wasn’t riding well, then my tires where packing up with mud and I couldn’t corner worth sh*t. Then when I tried to go up one of the climbs I realized I lost half my gearing because of a bent derailleur hanger. My morale at this point in the race was pretty low and I really wasn’t having any fun. I kept reminding myself that even though I don’t like the race or the condition doesn’t mean it’s not a bad race it’s just not something I am either experienced in or just not a strength for me. I had to keep reminding myself that this was a learning experience and to take it for was it was. I pushed through the remainder of the race and finished a lousy 18th place out of 28. So onto the next race this coming weekend at On the Rocks @ French Creek which hopefully I will do better at.

          The start of this mountain bike season has been an interesting one to say the least. I have so many things going on at the same time its hard to keep a healthy and happy balance. Its great being a homeowner but its stressful, the projects are never done and I get stressed when I realize this. I am also busy with work trying to cover two different buildings at the same time so I have double the workload/responsibility. Then I am trying to find time to ride my bike and train which has been difficult this year. I feel that I am not getting the needed time on the bike and not making the improvements that I need to in order to do better. All these things combined make life a little bit of a struggle but that how life is supposed to be, right? We have to work hard for things in life and appreciate the things that we are able to accomplish because of it. I just need to keep my head high and keep on keeping on and I think I will be able to continue to succeed in my endeavors.

Peace!