The racing kicked off on Saturday afternoon when we all got in on the action with the CORC Rd 3.3 race. Then after a home cooked cassoulet, we watched Mark Webber get pole at the German Grand Prix, he went on to get 3rd in the race. A quick flick to SBS had us back onto the Tour de France, we watched Cadel Evans smash the time trial (and the haters) to take him to the pinnacle of his career. Then it was MotoGP in the USA, qualifying on Sunday morning and Casey Stoner started from 2nd and went on to win.
CADEL, Aussie! WEBBER, Aussie! STONER, Aussie! Good little Aussies racing in Canberra, OI! OI! OI!
Race Preparation
Not much to talk about here, I slept pretty well through the week and my diet was pretty solid and fibrous. Thought about riding everyday but didn’t actually turn visualisation’s into effort until Thursday. Felt a little sore on Friday so decided to rest easy and then race day had swung around. Poor effort I know, the lure of a frozen bike seat in the garage just wasn’t enough to get me out there on the trainer. Just a little too much of everyday life stuff getting in the way, longer warmer days aren’t too far around the corner and I’m sure this will get easier. Right?!
I recently read that if you want to get the full effects of coffee for performance enhancement in sport, you need to abstain from drinking it for at least 5 days before the event. I haven’t actually tried having a few cups before a race or hard ride and most definitely didn’t abstain from coffee during the week. I’m sure I’ll try this one day but it wasn’t to be for this one.
The Race
I rocked up with my family and bike at the ready. With a comfortable 30mins spare to sign on and to get that race plate on I went for solid warm-up just before race start. I made sure I cracked a good HR in the warm-up, an older, wiser, faster guy told me that the warm up is key to getting a good lap. Thanks Dylan you old man.
I thought that I had a pretty good idea on the track layout from studying trail maps of previous races at Stromlo-West. I was spot on for the 1st half of the circuit but the 2nd half presented trails I haven’t ridden before and ended up contributing to the most testing MTB race/ride that I’ve done so far.
The way the starter lady let us off was surreal and ended up being a perfect paradox for what was about to unfold. She was so relaxed, so at ease with her job that she pretty much let us start ourselves. She called the A graders up and said “Oh well, rightio, just go then“…I can understand not having a gun but you have to say ‘Ready, Set, Go!!!’ Come on…
The course ended up taking me over 2hrs and was about 40kms long. Normally its 90min race and maybe about 30kms. The extra distance and challenging track made it a big effort. This link is to a GPS track of a guy who also raced B grade, he finished a few minutes in front of me.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/101622778
As per usual the first lap pace was fast and I was on full throttle, and with a start straight that gave us few hundred metres of climbing I barely held on to the Top 5. But once we set into a groove, and the corners started getting tighter I managed to pull them back a little. Ended up riding the 1st 2nd and 3rd lap with two other guys but half way through the 3rd lap they left me to ride out the rest of the race by myself.
There were some awesome sections on the track, the undulating Willow Link was fast and flowing. Terminal Velocity is an intense little bit of track that is basically a top gear roller coaster dipper that is fast enough to shoot you back out on top of a rocky hill. I remember feeling my grips compressing as I was holding on over the 100s of 1 inch marbles that were trying to send you off the track. With a few nice jumps and berms down the last section you were left with a smile on the dial ready to do it all again.
The last lap was killer for me, I’d had a GU before the start and one during the 3rd lap. I think they might have helped a little but I was really feeling it. It was the first time in ages that my shoulders and arms were actually getting tired from riding. My calves hinted at cramping at one stage but I managed to spin them out a little and didn’t have to stop. Lucky I wasn’t actually racing close to anyone at that stage because it could have been the end of my race. Coming down the hill to the finish was a great feeling and I was greeted with a bunch of fellow riders all looking very pleased with themselves. I stopped, looked around and then got slapped in the face with my own 3 inch snot worm. This seemed to please the crowd for some reason and they began clapping and cheering like something shocking had just happened. I was the last finisher in B grade and with a few DNF’s behind me I ended up in 8th. There is no doubt this game is tough and everyone out there on Saturday did well to finish, or nearly finish as the case may be for some.
Another race down, and I’m looking to the next month of training for more good times on the trails.
Until next post
Ride on
Dave
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