Fun, fast and technical. I had never done Moody Park, although I thought I had raced there years back but would have remembered the infamous "gravity cavity". Jeff, Thom and I rolled out at 12:30 for our warm-up lap after arriving to the venue a bit on the late side. Did a casual spin around the 4+ mile single track getting familiar with a few mud-holes and tricky spots. We reached the end of our warm-up and were cutting it close to the start time of 1:00, when we arrived at the S/F line got stuck in the way back behind 20 or so other senior II experts...Seemed like a bunch of racers came out for this one.
The race started and I tried to muscle my way up to Jeff and Thom but got held back three or four riders off Jeff's wheel. Forced to practice patience and pick smart lines through the mud and rocks and look for opportunities to pass for half a lap. Now up to Jeff's back wheel looking to hang with the brother but Jeffy proved to be faster on the slick as snot winding downhill and slipped out'a sight. Didn't realize till an hour and a half later that Jeff was riding with a bone-deep gash in his pinky finger and bleeding like a stuck pig.
I held my position for the remaining 3 laps and had fun rocketing up the gravity cavity. Thanks to Roz and Mike Deak for cheering me on while climbing the sandy slopes and to Jen Whittingham in the grassy field atop the final climb of each lap. Always good to hear some friendly shouts of encouragement.
The entire race I thought about Thom pushing his one-geared IF Deluxe and how truly efficient he must have been riding because I only saw that dude on the start line. I attempted to ride my third lap in 34-18 exclusively but found my thumb on the shifter when the going got tough. I am intrigued with the thought of an SS and a new challenge but know how much it will kick my ass at first.
Got home pretty late after the kind medical staff at the Claremont NH emergency room sewed up Whit's finger...which proved a better location to receive a few stitches then the other mountain bike racer who we witnessed slowly limping out of the ER after taking a shot to the mid section.
In all a great way to spend a sunny Sunday afternoon in New England despite an 11th place finish but there was a strong field of racer types out there. I did a few things right and a few things wrong, basically got schooled but in a good way.
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3 comments:
Yeah...sounds like you had a solid race. You would rock on a ss. Don't forget it would be a few lbs lighter and can be easier to climb if you keep momentum. You get direct power transfer with each pedal stroke and there is less stuff on the bike to break. Get two freewheels to choose from and you are all set. I am running 34-20 (have on hand 18,19,22)
up next: Dalton or ?
pat's peak 6 hour I think. More bang for the buck!
taking about 6 hour races...how'd 6 hours of Power go?
6HOP was fun, but I felt tired. will writeup later tonight.
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