Sunday, August 13, 2006

DELUGE!

VeloRochester in full affect (image from Skinnyski.com)


Sorry for the lack updates, but quite frankly writing about training isn't very exciting...
After today, I have something to write about. Around 1pm the elite race started up the ski hill at Welch Village. The highlights of the Welch course include "the Wall," a killer hill that shoots right up a black diamond run, and "the Metric Drop," which is a technical little section near the end of each lap.
When we left the cities it was pouring, and we were hoping that we had left that weather behind...for 3.5 laps we did=) The first half lap (long prologue if you will) was actually a reasonable pace. I was glad because I had to make an emergency bathroom visit about 15 minutes before the start and I wasn't sure what a sizzling start would do to me. As we headed up the main long climb the second time, Sam O attacked because we were kind of just crawling along...as Phil Liggett would have said, "the group has no impetus right now." I was the only one who wanted to follow Sam, and we quickly gapped the field. Sam did the Ore To Shore in Michigan yesterday and still had plenty of mustard left in his legs. At one point, Sam said "man, there must be something in my water bottles today!" Entering the 2nd lap, Sam asked me to go first in the single track. I did and turned it on...the single track there is tight but it flows well, yummy. (image from Skinnyski)
I am pretty sure it was in the single track where I increased my gap each lap. Anyway, nothing exciting happened until the top of the long climb on my last lap...a deluge!
(2 Pics from Skinniski.com)


It was no longer than a minute before the single track became a stream and the open sections became bogs. The hills were mostly unclimbable and the down hills were more like luge runs that were taken with locked wheels. I had about 2 minutes on Sam, so I just went as hard as I could. I crossed the finish line with the muddy win.
I won't write anymore, but here are the after affects.

All you can do is laugh

Sam and I got muddy

The Fuel took it well

Ben's Fuel didn't fair as well...he won the dirtiest bike contest because of the mud stalactites.
One other sad thing of note...I was flying through the air on a training run last week and I came down a little, well, not perfectly straight. My front tire rolled out and the the shifter swung around cracking the 9.9's top tube=(
Lesson learned: No more "sweet jumps" on the 9.9. A replacement is on the way...I will leave it at that.

Next up is Spirit Mountain followed by 24 hours of Afton.

-b

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

What, the pictures I took weren't good enough? Just kidding, the ones from skinniski.com are much better. Great job on an excellent race yesterday, sweetie!!!

Eric O. said...

October 6-8 is open for a stay at that lodge I was talking about.Let me know if that will work out.

Anonymous said...

I can't believe nobody else came with us after I went. I was expecting Fisher to come flying by me when I got close to the top like he usually does .I did'nt feel like I went that hard.I just wanted to pick up the pace.Either everyone was burnt out,did'nt feel like racing or I was just having a great day,which I did'nt think would happen because I was so tired before the race that I had to take a nap in my truck.Great job out there & you did gain all your time in the singletrack.

Brendan said...

James,
Hope you had fun in Vegas. Fisher and I are headed out there in a month and a half for Interbike.
Fisher took one look at the rain an called er a day just before the last lap. I think he was riding about with the guys in the rain pictures. He did a 12 hour last weekend and got dangerously dehydrated, so he is still recovering a bit.

Eric,
Where is the lodge? I don't have any plans and that sounds really fun! How many people can fit in the lodge?

Sam,
You went hard but you didn't go super hard up the hill. When you gassed it on the singletrack right away, everyone just disappeared. You were riding really smooth... all the time on the mtbk is paying off=)

Eric O. said...

Its in Hayward on big round lake
The gift certificate says for 4 people but I'll call tonight and see if the condo can fit more than that. www.timber-trail-lodge.com
We can get our hands on some musky equiupment too form some guys at work.I wana catch a big one.

Nick said...

That mud looks like fun! Congrats to Ben, I must admit I've never seen mudsicles quite like that before.