The Pulpit: Bedford Mtb race

This was my first Mtb race of the year. I have maybe been on the bike 15 x's this year and was in no race shape. But what the heck, I race because its fun, not to win. Plus, I love introducing others to the sport. Greg Bartocci and my son Seth participated in the race. It was a beautiful day for the race.

I'm really not that good at singletrack. The course is tight, twisty and rolling. My technical skills needs lots of work. I prefer long uphill grinds! Anyway, I wanted to hit the woods in the top 10 position. I hate getting bogged down in the field and like to try to follow faster riders and learn from them. The course starts at the bottom of a grassy field and has about a 1/3 mile climb to the woods. The horn sounded and the riders took off. The pace was not as fast as I thought it would be. I figured all would be sprinting to the woods. I got in a good cadence and found myself working bast the 12-15 riders into 2nd hitting the woods. Oh, if only I could hold it. Switchbacks, downhill, uphills, I found myself losing the wheel of the guy in front and having to let riders through. I guess I fell back to about 10th when things thinned out and hit some flatter sections.

Then there was the BIG log. There was 3 guys on my rear and the one right behind me shouting, "I'm going over." I responded, "Me too!" Then bam. Oh yeah, I went over. Endoed! That log was a little taller and steeper than I thought. I didn't pull up enough on the bars. Lost 3 places and Greg came around too. Chris Clark quickly caught up and we had about 5 riders grouped together for the first lap.

Finished the first lap 7.5 miles, and I feel strong. We hit the field and started climbing again. I knew this was a chance to get a good gap. I tapped Chris on the rear and said, "let's go." Took off and climbed hard. I hit the woods with about a minute on the NC Cricket guys. Chris was out of juice. I road the 2nd lap a little better. And then there was that big log again. EEEKk. I didn't make it again! I still had about 20 secs on the NC guys. They were much better technical riders so I hoped to gain time on the short, steep climbs. I hit them hard every chance and continued to get a gap only to be caught in the flats.

I had about 30 secs on them and hit a slight up river grade that is non-technical and straight. I pushed it as hard as I could and gained some more time. The last section before hitting the open field is tough. Lots of roots, rocks, and trees to knock me down. 2 other riders were coming in view giving me a rabbit to chase. I caught a guy just as we entered the field and attacked hard. Looking back, I didn't see the NC guys or the one I just passed trying to hang. Hit the final uphill section hard, came back out to the field and no one was with me. So I coasted into the finish, 5th place in sport 36-49. I was pleased with that. I haven't ridden much and have difficulty with the technical stuff.

Frank putting a little WD40 on his chain. For security reasons, I can not show his face!