| | Sorry I haven't written lately, not much in the way of biking to share. I'm not sure the last two days qualify either, but at least I was on a bike. Just busy lately, and maybe a little lazy.
Yesterday I went out to my local trail to get in an hour or so. Hadn't ridden all week and wanted to wake up the legs. Race day the next day and all. It was hot, even at 10:00am it was well into the 80s, but I thought it would also be a good idea to ride in that for a short time, to get used to the heavy air. I was having a nice little ride, feeling strong and enjoying the bike. I heard a faint noise, then I felt the rear tire go soft (I hate that sound!) It went soft pretty quickly. It didn't go all the way flat, so I thought I would just co2 it and get back to the truck. That worked...... for a little while! I walked the last 1/3 of a mile. I got in about 40 minutes, including the walk. Went back home and put Stan's in the back tire, it was pretty much dry.
Today I headed over to the site of the race, Fisher Farms in Davidson, NC, for the US Kenda Cup East race, sponsored by Specialized. The course was in great condition. Much better than the week before when I pre-rode it. The singlespeeders lined up to go off at 10:38am. It was pretty hot, but I like it that way-I was stoked. But then I saw former national cross country singlespeed and age group champ (on his SS), as well as NUE singlespeed champ, DJ Birch. If you haven't heard about him, he's fast!! On a singlespeed there are very few that can match him. Even though I felt good today, I don't ride for a living. He does.
But, then it occurred to me, he had raced 50 miles at the marathon yesterday! Yessss!! I might stand half a chance. All of us singlespeeders chatted it up at the start line, joking like only singlespeeders do. During that time I also was able to figure out that no one else was running a gear as tall as me. When the start lady said "GO" I put that big gear to work and got a little bit of a gap on DJ, and a big gap on everyone else. A few miles later DJ got around me on a false flat. I held on for a little while, and then t him go, just a little.
He stayed a few turns in front of me for a while, and I was liking that. It was setting up just like my last race. I following a pro rider, and not letting him get away. Making him think about me back there. Making him question himself. It was SO much fun! He was a little faster than me in the singletrack, we were real close on the hills, and having the bigger gear I could make time on him in the fields. I didn't know if his racing yesterday would take enough out of him that I could beat him or not, but I was glad that it was a possibility.
Close to the half way mark, with DJ only about 10 seconds in front of me we went through a cool section of singletrack. A fast series of downhill turns with a 3 foot drop off at the bottom-just the kind of stuff my Titus is made for. I launched off the drop, and came down a little crooked. The front wheel landed I heard that sound. The sound of the tire rolling off the rim and air escaping. I REALLY HATE THAT SOUND! Especially in a big race when I'm chasing down a professional rider. Of course, this could have avoided if I would have 1) put more air in the tire, or 2) redone the Stan's in the front when I did the rear, I'm sure the front one is dry to.
I learned two things this weekend. First I learned that if I'm going to try to race at a high level I need to pay attention to the little details. And, just as importantly, I have figured out a race strategy that worked for me. Go hard off the start, back off just a little, and outlast the competition....
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| | Posted 6/21/2009 5:17 PM - 15 Views - 0 eProps - 2 comments
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