Andrea is "game" for just about any race these days. Therefore, when a series came up Hillside we just had to go. Unfortunately we missed the first two races and the third was cancelled so race 4 will be our first. Andrea loves the Hillside course and because it is close to her parents we ride this trail more than any other.
Tonight the Experts will only be riding 1.5 laps, the same as the sport and women classes. That means that the entire race will be blazing fast and pretty much a sprint from start to finish. Rich had us do a Lehman's start, but the run was pretty short (100 m or so).
I managed to get on the bike about mid pack, but got smoked down the service road. For some reason I just could not stay on my bike at the start of the race. The first part of the race has a fair amount of roots and the hardtail was getting bounced around quit a bit. Although my HR was up where I would like it to be, the legs just seamed to lack the power needed to push hard through the twisty single track. Early on in lap one Rich tried to get some air on one of the small log climbs and got all crossed up and went down. I managed to get by him cleanly on the left side, but Eric Guse was unable to dodge the bullet. A couple of minutes later a trailing expert rider caught me and asked to pass. He was riding strong so I moved over to the right to let him by and proceeded to hit a stump that was carefully hiding on the side of the trail. I was purely amazed at how quickly I found myself on the ground. Rich Zilla, Eddie Karow, Eric Guse,and another rider made it by in my dismay. That pretty much set the tone for the remainder of the race.
Part way into the race it started to drizzle a little bit, but by the midway point the sky opened up and it began to poor. Surprisingly the trail handled the rain well and I felt it actually made it better by calming down some of the sandy sections. There were a few sections out in the open that had some puddles and were a bit greasy, but for the most part it was fine. The rain calmed down by the end of lap 1 and mostly stopped for remainder of the race.
I started to calm down but I never got into a good rhythm. I was constantly over breaking into the turns and just didn't feel like I was holding a consistent pace. I pushed hard to the end of lap 1 especially on the uphill climbs near the end. On the final section back to the start/finish line I tried to put together a little chase because I could see Rich up ahead, but I was never able to bridge the gap. I came in at around 55 minutes (my unofficial time) almost 8 minutes behind Sam Oftedahl.
I had a great time, but I am a little disappointed in my performance. Eight minutes in a race less than an hour is huge. I am hoping that the cold I have been fighting since the 24 Hours of Afton has something to do with it.
On a brighter note Andrea come in a solid 2nd place in the women's class and turned in her fasted lap yet at Hillside. Jordan took first in the beginner class and will move up to the women's class if we make it to the last race.
I would like to thank Rich Zilla, Stephanie Hendricks, Ramsey Bicycle, the city of Elk River, and all the voulentiers that make events like these happen.
Tonight the Experts will only be riding 1.5 laps, the same as the sport and women classes. That means that the entire race will be blazing fast and pretty much a sprint from start to finish. Rich had us do a Lehman's start, but the run was pretty short (100 m or so).
I managed to get on the bike about mid pack, but got smoked down the service road. For some reason I just could not stay on my bike at the start of the race. The first part of the race has a fair amount of roots and the hardtail was getting bounced around quit a bit. Although my HR was up where I would like it to be, the legs just seamed to lack the power needed to push hard through the twisty single track. Early on in lap one Rich tried to get some air on one of the small log climbs and got all crossed up and went down. I managed to get by him cleanly on the left side, but Eric Guse was unable to dodge the bullet. A couple of minutes later a trailing expert rider caught me and asked to pass. He was riding strong so I moved over to the right to let him by and proceeded to hit a stump that was carefully hiding on the side of the trail. I was purely amazed at how quickly I found myself on the ground. Rich Zilla, Eddie Karow, Eric Guse,and another rider made it by in my dismay. That pretty much set the tone for the remainder of the race.
Part way into the race it started to drizzle a little bit, but by the midway point the sky opened up and it began to poor. Surprisingly the trail handled the rain well and I felt it actually made it better by calming down some of the sandy sections. There were a few sections out in the open that had some puddles and were a bit greasy, but for the most part it was fine. The rain calmed down by the end of lap 1 and mostly stopped for remainder of the race.
I started to calm down but I never got into a good rhythm. I was constantly over breaking into the turns and just didn't feel like I was holding a consistent pace. I pushed hard to the end of lap 1 especially on the uphill climbs near the end. On the final section back to the start/finish line I tried to put together a little chase because I could see Rich up ahead, but I was never able to bridge the gap. I came in at around 55 minutes (my unofficial time) almost 8 minutes behind Sam Oftedahl.
I had a great time, but I am a little disappointed in my performance. Eight minutes in a race less than an hour is huge. I am hoping that the cold I have been fighting since the 24 Hours of Afton has something to do with it.
On a brighter note Andrea come in a solid 2nd place in the women's class and turned in her fasted lap yet at Hillside. Jordan took first in the beginner class and will move up to the women's class if we make it to the last race.
I would like to thank Rich Zilla, Stephanie Hendricks, Ramsey Bicycle, the city of Elk River, and all the voulentiers that make events like these happen.
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