Cool Race

February 18, 2001

The words of wisdom from other TWW members was that the Cool Mtn Bike Race Feb 18, 2001 would be a real mud fest and no one else was going. Nevertheless, I sent in my entry form on Monday 2/12 as required and then watched the weather reports all week. They were predicting lots of heavy rain for the weekend and I kept hoping the storm would be delayed a few days. (Truth be known, I was prepared to bail out if the storm really came as predicted). Well, my hopes came true as Friday's weather prediction for Sunday changed to scattered showers. I drove up to Auburn Saturday afternoon, checked into my motel, drove over to Auburn Bike Works to check in (remember we stopped there for trail info and a map last September), and then drove down to the little town of Cool to see about parking, trail start and finish. It didn't rain Saturday night as predicted and Sunday morning started with a slight rain with no wind.

The race was REALLY FUN!! The rain actually stopped completely while we were racing. The Michelin Wildgripper Comp S tires (1.95) worked just great and gave me the traction I needed. Thanks to all who recommended "optimal mud tires" - the Wildgrippers were the majority choice so I went with them (besides Performance was having a sale on them). However, there wasn't nearly as much mud as I expected and the mud that was there didn't seem to have much clay in it so it didn't build up much. There were several stream crossings but none to hub depth, several really muddy sections of 10 to 30 feet in length, and several large mud holes of 5 to 15 feet. The rest of the course was pretty tacky and fast. The course was ~10 miles with 1200 feet of climb; a pretty non-technical mixture of single track, double track and fireroad with lots of climbing. There were two very steep climbs of which everyone I saw walked at least part.

I came in 3rd in my class of about 8 (Beginner Women 45+). I ride a lot with the woman who won this race (Debbie Flansburg) and she is going to be on my 24 Hrs of Tahoe team. At this point she is a better climber. She dropped me on the very first hill and I never saw her again.

The race was very-well attended and very-well organized - probably 400 racers mostly locals and mostly the various Beginner categories. What was interesting was that they ran the men and women's categories together. In my case all Beginner 33-44 and Beginner 45+ men and women raced toghether. I really liked this as there were a lot of people on the course at the same time and there was a lot of passing. The beginners did one lap and the sports and experts did two laps. I was really surprised at the relatively poor aerobic condition of many of the Beginner men - many were walking ALL the hills. I shamefully admit it was really fun for me to ride while they were walking. Near the finish line was the worst of the stream crossings - there were more than a dozen lines including a jump and deep mud for about 10 feet before the stream. It all happened so fast I couldn't decide which line to take and ended up getting bogged down in the mud so I had to dismount and wade across the 4-5 feet of the stream. There were a few hundred spectators watching the carnage as many people endo-ed, made or did not make the jump, and cheering as many rode successfully including a few tandems!!

The race entry of $35 included a very nice tee-shirt and some fruit and cookies after the race. The race prizes were really great. They gave prizes to the top three in each category (no medals just useful stuff) and the worth of the prize was directly related to the size of the class. Winners of the larger classes got things like good Bell helmets, rims, a Chris King head set, and pairs of WTB tires. As 3rd in my rather small class I got a package with a Blackburn Mtn A.I.R. pump, Kool Stop brake pads, Rock n Roll chain lube, two pairs of socks, and Power bar stuff. After the prizes they had a raffle of lots of stuff. I won a package with a racing seat (don't recognize the brand), more chain lube and brake pads, IMBA calendar, a one-day mtn bike pass to the Eagle Mtn resort, and more Power bar stuff. Some of the other raffle stuff included really great stuff like a wheel set(don't know which) , an Intense frame, a full Cannondale bike (worth about $900), and a single-speed frameset (don't know the brand), etc.

So, all in all, it was one of the best races I've been to!! I had all the right clothes and equipment for a muddy race and had a wonderful time.

Susann Novalis

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