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Gatorade MTB IV, Sta. Teresa - CycleOther


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El Consejo,
Venezuela
Precipitation
Total Time = 2h 32m 14s
Overall Rank = /
Age Group = Expert Master A
Age Group Rank = 24/32
Bike
  • 2h 32m 14s
  • 33 kms
  • 13.01 km/hr
Comments:

It was cloudy but hot right before the start. I set myself up toward the back of the pack as I've got nothing to fight for in Expert category; it's practically a race against myself, the course and the other BOP'ers. I would like, however, to finish closer to the top 50% of this cat. in the near future though I'm not sure if I'll be "in town" for next year's races.

As soon as the gun went off, I settled into a comfortable pace (around 170 bpm's). About 8 mins into the race, the hard climbs begin. My goal was to stay on the bike and climb them all (except for the hike-a-bike section).

Into the first climb, there was hardly any traffic, so I got into a climbing position, found a nice line and focused on getting to the top without having to bail. Last week, my HR had gotten up to 184 bpms here, but this time it reached 191 bpms. Gotta love what adrenaline could do.

I passed a few riders, those that started too fast, and settled into pace. Because of traffic, I had to walk one of the climbs I had cleared in training. Then we reached the hike-a-bike, and I felt fine. Those Saturday trekking outings have helped.

As soon as we began the first part of the downhill, I felt a spoke break. Because my MTB rims have such few spokes, my wheel goes untrue really bad and the rims touch the brake pads when this happens. I felt like quitting, but figured that I'd ride it out anyways. I was in this race for fun and to finish. I cannot believe the number of bike issues I've had in races in recent years!

Once on the downhill, I passed a couple of other riders. Muscle memory is a wonderful thing; my handling skills were OK considering how little I've ridden on dirt this year.

As we exited the singletrack, I got passed by one guy on the flat section. I completed lap 1 in 1:08:14, which was great since my fastest lap in training had been 1:25!

I figured a 1:10-1:15 second lap would be a good goal for me. However, as I rode the flat section prior to the climbs, it began to rain hard.

I caught up to the guy that had passed me a few minutes earlier, and we began the climbs together. We were pretty even until his wheel skidded. I stayed on, climbing really slow, trying to negotiate some traction.

Because it had gotten so muddy and slippery, some of the stuff we had ridden earlier had now become walking sections. We were joined by another guy, and all three of us kept bumping into each other, slipping, getting on and off our bikes, walking/running, etc. It was chaos, but we loved it. The climbs took us forever.

Once the downhill began, I managed to get away from these guys. Until we reached the longest series of downhills. The bikes got so muddy that we had to stop repeteadly to clear the dirt from between the wheels, brakes and fork/frame or just bounce the bike up and down so that it was rideable again.

Some of the steeper stuff was so unrideable that it was better to run down with your bike than to attempt to ride it. That's when that one guy got away again. I started running behind him and remembered that I've been unable to run for 2 months because of a groin injury and now was no time to mess it all up again. So I walked as fast as I could.

Toward the single track, it became somewhat rideable again, so I tried to make up time on this guy. Unfortunately, all the mud made it impossible for my front gear to move up from middle chainring to the big one. I passed about a handful of riders with mechanical issues too.

Suddenly, by stroke of luck or my idea to ride hard through puddles to wash away the drying mud, my big chainring finally engaged. I pedaled hard, hoping to catch that same guy whom I had been racing since the end of the first lap. I did manage to catch him, but apparently he was having some sort of mechanical issue too.

I crossed the finish line about 45 minutes from first place, muddied from head to toe, with my bike making all sorts of clunky sounds, but happier than a kid at a candy store.
What would you do differently?:

I had a good ride. Not sure I'd do anything strategically different.

Nutrition was on track too. I had Gatorade at all aid stations (3 per lap), 2 salt tablets and a Powergel at 45min and another at 1:20 + water every 10 minutes. Managed to keep cramps at bay.
Post race
What limited your ability to perform faster:

I may naturally be better off riding in Sport Category instead of Expert, but I love the challenge of fighting to avoid being last + the guys in this cat are all really good bike handlers, which is not the case in Sport category, where many accidents take place. Also, experts usually cover twice the distance as sports, so that makes it more interesting too.

I'd rather be a happy BOP expert than a not so joyful MOP/FOP sport.

Event comments:

Last race of this circuit for the year. Now on to the FunRaceBike two-day stage MTB race in Sept. and the 12hr MTB race (solo) in October.


Profile Album


Last updated: 2008-08-09 12:00 AM
Biking
02:32:14 | 33 kms | 13.01 km/hr
Age Group: 24/32
Overall: 32/
Performance: Good
Wind: None
Course: Hard climbs, fast singletrack.
Road:   Cadence:
Turns: Cornering: Good
Gear changes: Bad Hills: Good
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race?
Evaluation
Course challenge
Organized?
Events on-time?
Lots of volunteers?
Plenty of drinks?
Post race activities:
Race evaluation [1-5]

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2008-08-11 5:08 PM

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Subject: Gatorade MTB IV, Sta. Teresa


2008-08-11 7:12 PM
in reply to: #1595562

Subject: ...
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2008-08-14 12:48 PM
in reply to: #1595562

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Subject: RE: Gatorade MTB IV, Sta. Teresa
Nice Job Felix! Great report details
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