In there were a couple of epic rides, however. One was the 50-mile endurance ride that benefited Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Nevada County. We ended up raising about $8,000 and got to ride Pioneer trail and the South Yuba trail almost in their entirety. The next ride was a 40+ miler on the North Yuba Trail, leading to Downieville and eventually up most of 3rd divide, only to turn around and head back...beautiful epic ride for sure.
Then, there was this past weekend in Ashland for one awesome Super-D. 12 miles of speed on a fast fun course. It started Friday afternoon...after setting up camp, my wife drove me to the top of the mountain for a practice run. It was a bit chilly and I heard reports that it was snowing at the top the day before. Armed with my helmet cam, I started onto the course. The first section of fireroad was really fast with some water bars built in just to keep you on your toes. After a hard left, the trail went into a straight wide singletrack that was a bit loose and rocky at times. Then, after a hard right, things got a little more twisty. A small rock drop between a couple of trees dumped you into the start of the major uphill of the race...a half mile (or so) of consistent hard climbing. I suppose if you shoved it in the granny gear, it would be much more friendly, but at a fast pace it was painful! On top of that, the next section was rolling and still required you to be on the gas. Then on to another fast twisty fireroad that dumped you onto "Catwalk"...a really windy singletrack with a lot of jumps and switchbacks. The latter part of the trail reminded me a lot of 3rd divide in D-ville. After that, more singetrack lead you to BTI, which was downright scary the first time down. It consisted of bermed corners and switchbacks with water bars (shaped into doubles) all the way down. Add to that a ton of braking bumps and you have the perfect end to a not-to technical, very fun, very pedally super-D.
That night, Chris T. and I went over the video. My race date had changed to Saturday, so one run was probably the best I could squeeze in. The video helped, but nothing can do that course justice like riding it....several times. I headed down to bike shop to pick up my packet and start time at 10:30, and they told me that my packet was at the top of the mountain ...for another 30 minutes only! Oh, Crap! We hopped back in the car and I did my best impression of Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the way up. Made it with a couple minutes to spare. Then, down the hill again to get my race gear from the campsite, then back up to the start. My wife is a very patient woman, for sure. I got ready for my start at 1:29.
I guess it is here where I note that I have only ever done one other super-d...the state champs last year. And, this was, well, a bit different. My heart-rate jumped to 130 on the line (wasn't sure if I should have worn the thing at that point) and I was off, sprinting down the first fireroad. Before going any further, I need to mention that I now know why they make bikes with 5 or more inches of travel. My Blur LTc with my 150mm fox fork was SO comfy at speed. My 2.4 Mutano Raptors (btw, if you are looking for a great D-ville tire, look no further) were ready to take on more than I could dish out...the first hard left made me realize that. I scrubbed way too much speed. After getting going again, it was pure fun, hard right and punching it. Then the climb...I locked out the fork and flipped my rear shock to pro-pedal, off I went. 180, 181, 182...my heart-rate was way up there and my legs were burning, but I saw the person just up the trail that started before me by a minute...the chase was on. I tried to stand, but my legs, lungs, and heart let me know that that would not be tolerated, so back down I went. I passed my minute-man about 100 yards before the top.
At the top my legs felt really heavy, but I pushed on through the next rolling section determined to keep my minute-man behind me. In the process, I caught my 2-minute-man, so i was gaining confidence. "Keep it smooth" I kept saying to myself. The next section of fireroad was amazing and fast...I was spun out the entire time which was good. Then on to catwalk...the trail that I felt so inept on the day before. I tried to keep it smooth and roll through all of the corners fast, but I know I lost time there. Still, it was a blast, being the most like 3rd divide of all of the trails.
My one major mistake on the whole course came at the beginning of BTI. The trail was open and fairly straight and I think I was doing close to 35 or so when I shot straight onto a single track uphill. I realized after about 50 yards that I was on the wrong trail!! There were no markings anywhere, but the main trail was below me...so straight down the hill I went. Crap!!! The rest of BTI was much smoother than the day before and I even jumped several of the small doubles. The finish was rather anticlimactic, and I knew I was around 39 minutes with my time. The winning times from last year were around 38 minutes, so I had prepared myself mentally for not taking home the gold. The winning time in the class younger than me was 37 flat! Wow. I learned later that I had beat second place by about 10 seconds. I am so lucky. I also learned that the times were about a minute slower this year due to a different finish. Cool. I can live with that. : )
Weir won the whole thing and Jason Moeschler got second a mere 1 second behind. Kudos to those guys. To top off the whole weekend. I got to do a group ride with about 25 people including Jason, Mark, and Adam Craig. Matt Wittler showed us some amazing trails just North of Ashland...the final one being a roller coaster of single-track that I am still smiling from. Thanks Matt!
A great weekend. Now, on to Downieville!
Cheers,
Chuck
No comments:
Post a Comment