Battle the Bear
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Battle the Bear - CycleMountain Biking
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Bike
Comments: Fun course and race. Originally I was going to to this more as a training-type ride so I kept the pace pretty easy. we had a big wave, I've never had so many other riders around me to start which was a little intimidating but I seeded myself toward the back & just let everyone go. It meant I was dead last in my wave when we got to the single track about 1/4 mile in, but I just chugged along at my own pace& hoped I might be able to catch some people later on. Pushed a little harder than I should've at some places on the first lap, especially when later waves caught me. It was easy for people to get around me though so not too stressful. Eventually I started catching a handful of people but non of them were in my wave which was a little frustrating since my only real goal was not to DFL. I was starting to get tired starting the 3rd lap but I got a boost when I saw a group of guys just ahead as I passed the start/finish and I knew that I wasn't totally by myself behind everyone after the XC'ers finished, and it looked like a few of them were actually struggling a bit. Finally got by a couple of people from my wave and set my sights on a guy in a Green Mtn Cycles jersey ahead who I could tell was hurting on the hills. He managed to stay 50-100 ft ahead though and I had trouble closing the gap. Got stuck behind a kind of timid descender going down the dam, but got around him and caught up to a good size group and managed to get myself on the Green Mtn guys wheel going up Mt Carbon. The group splintered a bit on the descent and I got held up behind someone just for a bit which allowed the Green Mtn guy to get back to 100 ft ahead or so. There wasn't much climbing left so I tried to push the effort a bit to get to him, but I couldn't close the gap on the flats and he ended up getting me by about 30". What would you do differently?: If I was going to race I should've done that from the beginning instead of taking it out at an easy pace and letting everyone get away. I was tired but climbing ok at the end so I might've been able to do better if I hadn't dug myself a hole before I decided to trade some distance for intensity (training wise it should've been a longer ride). That said, I've found mtn bikers tend to be more on the badass side of things and I just don't have the fitness currently to keep up with a lot of those guys. For example, I didn't beat a single guy in the 50-59 age group! I should've been better about nutrition and treated it more like a race than a training ride (for example, no camelback) if I wanted a better placing. In the end though, I just need to ride more. Post race
Warm down: Got some food and beer. I was chilly though so I didn't hang out long. What limited your ability to perform faster: Don't have the fitness at this point. Event comments: Kind if expensive, but lots of racers and fun. Last updated: 2013-05-06 12:00 AM
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2013-05-06 9:22 AM |
General Discussion-> Race Reports! |
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United States
Rocky Mtn Endurance Series
50F / 10C
Overcast
Overall Rank = /
Age Group = 30-39
Age Group Rank = 37/41
Picked up my number, got my stuff together and rode around a little bit
Not much, just some easy back and forth riding on the road.