Yesterday was my first XC race of the year. First off, I am not really a racer and I don’t consider myself a full on cross country guy. I wore baggy shorts, t-shirt and a dakine session pack with my water, tubes and tools. I also ride a 150mm bike with 26” wheels that weights 30 lbs.
At the start of the race I was looking around at all the lycra wearing skinny dudes, 22lb bikes and big wheels, I felt a little out of place. I decided my strategy was just go slow with the goal of enjoying the trail.
The two expert categories went first and a minute later, it was our turn. As the racers started off up the paved road, in what I would call a sprint, I just relaxed and tried to stay with the last few people in the pack. As we climbed the paved road, I kept thinking, “I thought this was a mtn bike race?!?” After some more climbing on the road, we went on a dirt road and I kept thinking, “I thought this was a mtn bike race?!?”. Soon thereafter, I saw the singletrack! It went down for a minute then it went up...and up... and up.
Normally, I don’t really mind climbing, but I am not used to riding so close in a group like that. My instinct was just to get off the trail and let them pass. I asked a few times and they said they were okay, so I stayed with a group that was going at a perfect pace for my lack of climbing strength and endurance. As we climbed, for what seemed like an eternity, we started nearing what I was hoping was the top. I could hear the other riders breathing pretty hard and gasping for air, then I would casually say things like, “So, when does the climbing start?” and “Has the race started yet?” This just helped the atmosphere of our group.
We finally reached the top and started coming down, I stayed with the same people for a while then passed a couple and started back up the half lap. This one I tried pushing it harder and caught a few other people in my class. I was pretty even with one guy on a 29er and I told him how the 29er was just a fad and I think it will go away soon. He started laughing, his chain skipped and my super human legs, put me in front...
When it started going down I wanted to try to make up a few seconds, so I sped up and drifted around a few sketchy corners wondering if I was going to eat it. I didn't. The end was coming and I had a bit of energy left, so me and another guy were on a dead sprint up the last hill. I went from 9th to an awesome 8th place finish with 17 racers in my class.
I was pretty happy with how I did and hit my goals of the race. Enjoy it and go slow. I don't consider myself an XC racer, but that race was actually pretty fun.
I am looking forward to the next one up there in a couple of weeks with the same goals as last time.
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