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Having already done 3 TBF races since last year (the only
MTB race I've done other than the NVDC), I figured it was about time to
set a new challenge for myself. I had never raced my Haro 1x9 and
this course seemed the perfect opportunity to give it a try. This
race is usually very early or late in the season making it like a
cyclocross course with it's mud, sand, and fast rolling trails with short
climbs. Having fewer gears to deal with would be a big help. Riding
the Haro more has made such an improvement on my climbing skills and I
really noticed it in this race where I never had to walk a climb or spin
up in the granny ring. (I love this bike!)
I tried my best to take it easy at the start but still be one of the first
to the singletrack. It helped that this race didn't include the
highschool league which cut down the congestion a lot. From the
start, there was another woman in a white jersey who shot ahead and I was
sure judging by her pace that she'd blow up later. I figured I'd try
and stay with her anyways. Throughout the race, we were back and
forth. Any time I got stuck behind another person fumbling, she'd pass me
and anytime we rode through the mud or up a steep climb, I'd pass her.
This was becoming quite a challenge...when was she going to poop
out?? Through the whole race, I was pushing to either catch up to her or
drop her. At certain points, I'd look back and not see her then a
minute later, there she was.
Towards the end of the race, I was passed by another lady I hadn't seen
the whole time. I checked out her number and she was tagged in a
different category. Since for the moment I had succeeded in keeping
ahead of the white jersey, I targeted this new one. She didn't seem
to be working very hard for the pace she was riding. Was I just
getting lapped by a very fast sport woman?? I figured it wouldn't
hurt to chase her, but I didn't put as much effort into it like with the
white jersey. She was, afterall, in a different group.
By the time we headed into the flat section just before the finish, my
heart felt like it was going to pop and my breathing wasn't doing too well
(just coming off a bad cold). I stopped trying to keep up with the
"sport" lady and kept just fast enough to still finish in front
of the white jersey. I crossed the finish line, put my bike down,
and got off the helmet and gloves as fast as I could since they were
soaked from riding through a couple hub-deep puddles. Any minute I
should see Eryn crossing the finish and I wanted to cheer her on. This
had been the most I'd ever enjoyed a race and I was smiling a lot of the
time throughout. I had beaten my best time on that course by a few
minutes and finished in under an hour.
The lady in the white jersey shook my hand and we talked for a bit. It
turns out she wasn't in my category but she still motivated me to push
faster. Apparently, she's from Oakland and had almost joined us for
one of the earlier Cinderella_Dirt women's rides. We may see her
again.
It was time for the awards and I knew I had probably made the top three.
They called up Eryn for third place and I was in first. I had
been hoping that both of us would podium. Unfortunately, a few
minutes later we had a recount of the scoring. The "sport"
lady in front of me was mistagged and she had taken first by 19 seconds.
I didn't mind so much, but I felt bad for Eryn, who lost her place
on the podium. This wasn't the only mistagging at this race. While
I cheered on Dave and Brenton riding through to start their last lap, the
announcer had no idea who Brenton was. He was marked on the list as
a novice. Doh!
Regardless, it was a good race and the weather and conditions were perfect
(despite a few messy areas). We were all feeling pretty good after
the race so we decided to hit up Rockville on our way home. Bad
idea. By the time we got there, I was pretty tired and coordination
was lacking in a big way. I decided to take it slow and let Dave and
Eryn ride ahead over the rocks and drops. Regardless of my caution,
I still managed to take a tumble with the poison oak to pad my fall.
My foot got stuck in the pedal when I stopped and I simply tipped
over on the downhill side of the trail. A week and a half later and
I'm still paying for that. I guess it was due to balance out the
good first half of the day. In two more weeks, we'll be going to the
CCCX and I'm thinking of taking the Haro again since the course should be
similar. Hopefully the weather will cooperate for a while so I can ride
more before then. I can't wait!
Erin Ambrose
Actually, I finished 4th.
Initially, they had Erin Ambrose down as 1st and me as 3rd, but they
did a recount when they learned the 1st place winner had been counted as a
male on accident.
I wrote a race report, because I've some studying to do. I kept
names out to protect the innocent. http://www.livejournal.com/users/djmuse/168590.html
Eryn!
[Sunday TBF Race:]
Sunday morning Erin and I slept in longer than we meant to and finally
left to pick up Eryn! some time around 6am. But we had plenty of time and
made to Folsom Lake by 8AM with lots of room to pick up our packets and
warm up. When we got there we joined up with Brenton, Rich, and Loren and
we were all ready to rip up some sweet dirt, er... sand.
During my warmup I was already feeling the cramps creeping up my legs, but
at 9AM and I joined Brenton, Celia, Lauren and others at the start line
with the rest of the experts (or I think it was Heim who said, "ExSports"?).
I slipped into the back of the pack, knowing I was going to have a weak
race. But when the countdown finished and we were off, I was feeling
strong and decided to push my start and jump into the middle of the pack.
The course was different from any other time I've raced TBF. The start did
not have the winding singletrack before youhit the parking lot. It just
took you around the picnic area and straight into the meat of the course.
There were other changes as well, with an additional mud pit and added
trails here and there. It was fun, and a welcome change.
The mud wasn't nearly as bad as some races there have been but it was
still enough to soak us and repeatedly strip the lube from my chain. By
the end of the first lap I found myself sticking to the big ring just so I
would keep going. I made attempts later on to re-apply lube, stopping
twice. And at the beginning of the third lap I stopped again, but this
time to massage out a cramp in my left quad.
Brenton and I were back and forth the entire race. He'd pull away on the
climbs and I'd catch up and pass on the descents. About half way through
the third lap I passed another expert 30-39 guy and was stoked that I
wouldn't be DFL as I had been expecting.
We came around the final bend leading into the finish when I looked over
at BHam and tentatively asked him if he would like to sprint for the
finish or mosey in side by side (hoping the entire time that we would just
spin in nice and easy). He SAID we can mosey on in at a good pace. Uh huh.
We're about 30' from the finish line and I hear this sound like a BHamster
spinning and calculating the right moment for Brenton to lay it on. I look
over at him, and see him glance back at me with this evil glint in his eye
as he pulls ahead. I don't even try to keep up. He beats me there by about
a foot. Bastage! But we still had identical finish times of 2:07:32. So
there! ;)
I crossed the finish line and both legs proceeded to lock up tight. I
couldn't move for a few minutes then slowly made my way to the ground and
relaxed. A few minutes, a bowl of chili, a couple recovery drinks, and
some electrolytes later I was feeling good enough to ride again.
The results board showed me 9th of 10. Now that the results page as been
updated I'm 10 of 10. Bah! What happened there I don't know. But I know I
wasn't last.. so I'm guessing the guy I passed DNF'd or had been placed in
the wrong category. Whateva! I had 3 goals this race, 1) Have fun, 2)
Finish, 3) Don't finish last. Definitely fulfilled #1 and #2! #3? Dunno.
But who cares as long #1 is there, right? Right!
Good times!
--
David Ambrose
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Prizes for Team Wrong Way's Race Face Presents TBF MTB
Challenge #3, FOX Cup Series #1 generously donated by our friends at Race Face.
