Super D races are rad!
This weekend I entered my first super D race of the year and second super D race ever. It was held at the beautiful Sundance resort 10-15 min from our condo. The only problem was it was on my 5 year anniversary. My awesome wife thought it would be cool to have me go to the race anyway. She is such a good wife!
The reschedule for yesterday, after the massive amount of rain last week, could not have been a more perfect day for the race. Temps were nice and warm, but not too warm, the sun was out, trails were pretty tacky, and there were a lot people with some pretty nice bikes ready to head up the lift.
The race was scheduled to start at 10:30 and with the lifts starting at 10:00, it didn't leave a lot of time for the pre-ride. I got there a bit early to set my suspension, tire pressures, put on my number plate and ride around for a bit to warm up.
After riding around for a bit, I decided to catch the lift. The lift took about 22 minutes to the top and a few of us rode around waiting for the race to start. I was racing in the Cat 2 19-29 group. It was the largest group of the day with around 25 riders. It was pretty intimidating and I had no idea what to expect. The only other Super D race I had done last year and I fell somewhere in the middle of the Cat 2 group..
The course started out on a super sketchy gravelly road, then went to single track for most of the race. It was a fun track and not too technical and not difficult to ride, but it was hard to ride fast... at least for me.. I am not the best at corners and have been trying to get better, but still suck. On this course there were probably around 30 turns/switchbacks/corners, so it was a good track to practice on and it required a lot of cornering technique and sprinting out of those turns. Then the last, probably 200 yards, was an uphill sprint on a road to the finish line.
My goals for the race were to have fun, not completely blow the corners, and pretty much push it as hard as I could for the entire race and still being able to sprint up the entire last section.
So finally, the race started. Riders were being sent off at 1:00 minute intervals. While we were waiting in line, I turned to the guy behind me and asked him nicely to try not to pass me.. The clock ticked and I was off. It was a full on sprint from the top to the gravel covered road with a turn at the bottom. I kept off my brakes and put out a foot in the corner in case I lost control. I stayed on the bike, so continued with the sprint.
The top switchbacks felt a little slower than the day before while practicing, but just reminded myself that it was just another trail. The whole time, I was just having fun trying to go as fast as I could down the mountain without worrying if a hiker, a biker, or horseman was coming up the opposite direction. As I came down toward the end, I knew I had a long hard sprint and the end, so I let up a bit on the sprinting, raised my adjustable seat post and pedaled sitting down on the last two switch corners.
I hit the road and then started the sprint... In the pic below, my head was down. It pretty much stayed like that the entire time except when I would look up for a second to see how much longer the suffering would last.. it was brutal. People were yelling, hitting cowbells, and cheering, so you had to keep going.
After the sprint and race were over, I stopped, sat on my top tube and literally, could not walk. My quads were like Jello... They called out my time of 7:56 and I honestly thought I had heard wrong, I didn't know what I was hoping for, but I was expecting something around 9:00.
I sat there for about 10 minutes until I had enough strength to get off my bike and sit down. I heard the other times in my group behind me and it seemed that I had done fairly well. My wife came and greeted me and we sat down and waited for the raffle and awards.
Much to my surprise, I took first in my category and second in the category above me (there were only a few racers). I was happy with how I did whether I placed or came in last and since I couldn't really move after the race, I think I hit my goals of having fun and pushing myself.
The race ended up being a blast and I did a LOT better than I thought I would. I just got lucky and had a good race and the trails were perfect! I still don't consider myself a racer really or even that good of a mtn biker, I just like to ride and enjoy the atmosphere. The races, however, are a blast and give me an excuse to ride, get in shape, and become a better rider.
Mountain biking is fun and keep exploring..one trail at a time.
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