Maplelag or How to crash 3 times in the last 2 miles of a race

Well I finally did it, I posted a notch in the win column.

The race started out great for me, I was in the lead going into the first section of single track, and managed to bungle it all up in the first corner loosing 2 spots. I was then passed by another rider on some fast fire trails who immidiately went into the lead.

Approaching the split where the expert/semi pro/ pro riders do the lakeside drop I had 2 riders in front of me , joel cheering me on and telling me they had 12 seconds on me. I slowly worked my way up to the rider in front of me, at about mile 3, on a fast descent with narrow path he crashed in front of me and I thought about riding over him, but decided not to. at this point we are just before the base of suicide hill, the long steep climb on the course. I hammer up the hill passing my compatriot. All goes well the rest of the lap and I am slowly catching the leader. At the feedzone I am all but 8 seconds back according to joel.

I catch the rider in front of me on suicide hill and tear past him into the single track. Everything seems to be going well for me, I have a decent lead and bam, I catch sight of the guy behind me. So I loose my cool, crash 3 seperate times, and let him get right up on me. with 1.5 miles to go it's mostly wide open trails with 1 section of single track left, i hammer as hard as I can, which no longer feels very fast, get to the feedzone, look back and I am completely alone. I zip up my jersey and score my first victory. It was truly sweet.
Turns out the guy I beat was a local rider celebrating his birthday. Happy Birthday Steve!!! He should feel satisfied in knowing that I puked my guts up 2 after the race, I gave it my all and my body rejected all substanance. That made for a painfully fun 230 mile drive home. mmmm vomit.

I once had more sympathy for Paul ... (and other thoughts by Fleck)

Poor Paul. He's told me some of the worst stories about his bad luck with mechanicals. Ken Woods was no different for him. I don't remember all the particulars. Something to the tune of dropping the chain, then sucking the chain and derailleur into the cassette. Oh, he also flatted. Bummer. What you can't see is the huge chunk bitten out of his chainstay near the BB shell. The derailleur is toast. The chain is twisted (don't see that often). And the derailleur hanger is jacked. Ow-wee. Paul arrived at the finish covered in more grease than a pit mechanic at a cross race.

Anyway, as the title of the post implies, I had more sympathy for him until he let the cat out of the bag on his plans for a new bike -- a Cervelo R3 with either DA or Chorus. Don't get me wrong -- the Croll is classy -- but the new machine will be enough to instill a healthy sense of envy in opponents and teammates alike. Paul, I think you should bring your new bike on the Hub bar ride (if we ever get it together), so we can all test ride it.

Here I am, managing a smile right after finishing Ken Woods. It was a fun race, but frustrating too. Our field was 60 or so. We let two yahoos go off the front in the first mile and somehow they managed to stay out the whole race. A good pile up in the first lap sorted things out a bit (you gotta kind of feel guilty punching it when racers are lying on the ground bleeding). Three-quarters of the way through the race I realized I was riding with a friend of an old friend -- a former Cat 2 -- Chad Christiansen. He and I worked together some, trying to motivate the leeches in our field. Our finish was a free-for-all up the hill and onto the line. I was happy with 11th (especially because I was only 3 spots behind my Cat 2 friend). It must be the longer distances of the Cat 4 races this year, but I keep getting to the line with legs that ran out of gas a few miles prior to the finish.

Gluek ... what is there to say about Gluek? I rode out to Marty, MN with USCF official Matt Anderson, arriving by 9am even though my race wasn't until 1:30. Great, I thought. I can get in a nice long warm-up, maybe even ride a full lap beforehand. Instead, I got drafted to drive the men's 1/2 wheel sag vehicle. It was exciting -- squawking on the 2-way radios with officials, helping pampered riders put their chains back on their bikes (in all fairness, maybe the chap was allergic to bike grease). Then, on lap 3 the rain hit. I was not looking forward to my race going off in the rain and 50 degree temps. The rain let up by the time we rolled out. But it was chilly and windy as all hell. I had loned my arm and knee warmers to a fellow rider, so they were almost soaking wet for my racing enjoyment. I actually rode the first lap in a PVC rain jacket and didn't break much of a sweat. On lap 2 we were rolling the tailwind sections at 30-35mph. Our field had a nasty domino-effect crash in a cross-wind section. Winds were gusting to 40+ mph. At least a dozen riders went down. I later heard one had sustained a broken collar bone and one a dislocated shoulder. I was too focused in the moment on watching the trajectory of flipping bikes to make sure I missed becoming a casualty as well. The rest of the race was one strong pull. By lap 4 my time at the front was beginning to catch up and I knew I had nothing for the sprint. I concentrated on keeping the hammer all the way down to the finish. Our pace managed to split the field before the line. I watched as Chad jumped first and went on to win his category. I held on for 8th.

If you ever find yourself in Marty (a town of only 18 residents), stop by the Pearl Lake Lodge. Burgers and fries are $5 and tap beers are $2. Unfortunately, Lienie's (coming from across the St Croix River) is considered an import, so leave your microbrew tastes at home.

This came in the mail today. Confirmation of one serious effort. Here are some stats:
32 hours
135 miles
-35 degrees(not counting windchill)
46 starters
10 finishers
6 frostbitten toes(only counting mine, there were a lot others)
1st attempt, 2nd place

Some things I learned:
Don't combine perpetuem with oreos. You'll be off the side of the trail pretty quick with it coming out the other end.
Don't wear bibs.
If you use a waterpack, make sure you blow all liquid out of the tube and back to the bag before it freezes.
Tubeless works great in -35.
Come prepared for the worst.

--joel

MAY DAY MAY DAY, Opus runs Amok

21 lap Race
20 2/3 laps completed
the road narrows
artistic rendering of my expression

This is my expression due to a rider on the ground
he's right in front of me
his body is a perfect ramp,
though his bike is not.
below is a recreation of me being superman.

Me recreating the fear of close quarter riding when your on the ground
and bikes are coming at you @30mph
luckily I didn't get hit.

I made it out relatively unscathed.
Dag was unconscious for a bit, and the rider
I launched over has to be hurting today.

I don't get why Seano seems to think crits are dangerous!