Bare Bones - Part Deux

Sunday, November 19, 2006
The second installment of the Bare Bones Mountain Cross series took place in somewhat cooler temperatures & a nice little headwind through the field. We had a smaller group of riders this week, although 2 newbies raced.
Once again I was the only female...Oh well...What are you gonna do?
Anywho...my main goal this race was to have clean runs each lap and maintain a steady pace. If I knocked time off, that would be a bonus.

We arrived to find out the bridge at the 3rd water crossing had been washed away due to the heavy rain that pounded us earlier in the week. A few of the racers got together to examine the crossing & determined there was no way to negotiate the crossing w/out getting completely soaked. It was at least 3' deep with no way to ride up the other side of the bank. We proceeded to gang up on Wendy & Dick and proposed an alternative route which was about the same distance but would keep the riders somewhat drier.

The race started & my teammates took off. Ron was leading the first pack of riders which included my husband and it turns out I led the second group of riders out to the first stream crossing. I had a decent first lap..only had one minor bobble through the woods when I threw my chain at the log crossing. I cleared the 2nd creek crossing but got totally soaked in the process. Lap 2 was stronger than the first but I again had chain issues. This time I experienced some sort of weird chain suck when shifting from my big ring to my middle This happened just before the 2nd water crossing so I lost all momentum coming across the water. Fortunately I cleared the creek before stepping off my pedals. The 3rd lap was clean for the most part. I think the 2nd stream had it out for me. As I rode through it, my foot came off the pedal but I had enough speed to roll up on the bank and recover my cadence. Lap 4 was a clean run and I had a good line through the stream so there were no problems. Teammates Ron & WArren greeted me as I made the turn for the finish.

Final results: I took off 3 minutes from my previous week's time! Just about every racer turned faster times this week than last. I think knowing the course really benefitted the riders. Teammate Ron Glowczysnki took the overall series title.

Thanks to Roanoke County Parks & Rec & Dick Howard for putting on such a fun-filled, low key event!

Bare Bones #1 Race Report

Bare Bones #1 - Greenhill Park, Salem, VA
November 12, 2006

Today was the first of 2 installments of the Bare Bones Mountain Cross series. Bare bones is just like it sounds, no frills, no thrills, no classes, no prizes. Just come on out & have some fun. The course description read 200’ of climbing per lap w/ 3 water crossings each lap.

200’ can’t be that bad….I was more intimidated by the thought of water crossings given the fact that it rained cats and dogs the night prior to the race and temps were not expected to get out of the 40’s.

15 of us lined up for the start….and yes, once again…I was the only girl!!! I wasn’t too worried about it though seeing as how I’m in “off season mode” and only riding once per week. I did not have high expectations except to just go out for a fun, Sunday ride.

The course was laid out nicely. The first part takes you on a 2 –way fireroad which eventually crosses a small creek, then dumps into a large field. This is where the 200’ climb started. The climb seemed to never end and by 4 laps, the riders would be well spaced out. At the top of the climb, riders drop down into some fun, tight singletrack. After finessing our way through some tight turns, we enter back into the field and start a fast descent. Then the riders cross the 2nd of the creeks. This one was deeper & more challenging than the first. Riders needed to pick a good line to stay somewhat dry. After the creek, it’s over a small wooden bridge to another open, grassy area. Riders could hammer through this section because it was relatively flat and smooth. A quick right turn took us across the last water section, then back past the timers to start all over again.

The pack seemed really tentative at the start. No one wanted to jump out in the lead until fellow teammate Ron Glowczynski finally made a move. Nobody jumped on his wheel once he took off. Maybe the pack was conserving for the climbs. All the riders spread out quickly once we started climbing. For the first lap I stayed on the wheel of two fellas on cyclocross bikes. They were strong climbers but the pace was manageable. After the climb we dumped into some singletrack for a bit. Once through the singletrack it was back into the field where we faced what seemed like a 25 mph headwind. I tucked in behind one of the cyclocross dudes to draft a little. I also shared my usual “motivational” speech with him…It consists of “come on now..you don’t want to be passed by a girl!” It seemed to do the trick until we got to the steepest part of the descent. It was a bit tricky for the skinnier tire bikes so I went around him to the right and continued on. He would catch me though as we started climbing again.

I was pretty happy with how I rode. I held a very consistent pace each time I climbed and negotiated the water crossings fairly well. Along the course you could see the other riders finishing or starting their laps. I had fun encouraging fellow team mates & folks I’ve ridden with as I saw them zipping along. On laps 3 & 4 I had a little bit of trouble on the second water crossing. I picked bad lines and ended up wetter than anticipated. By the end of the race, I could not feel my feet! Overall I think I finished 13th. El Toreo teammate Ron Glowczynski took first & my hubby took 4th (on a singlespeed, thank you very much) Great job guys!

All in all, it was a blast! Thanks to Dick Howard & Roanoke County Parks & Recreation for hosting such a fun event! See ya’ll next weekend!

Ramblings about nothing

Been slacking in the blogging department. Not sure what I'm posting here..just update on stuff.

Went to Florida the 2nd week of October to visit my dad & his new bride..(yea he got married again at age 81...pretty cool huh?) Weather was hot. mid 90's by the midpoint of the week. Ate a lot of seafood, drank a lot, rode a little, had a great time. Celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary.Time sure does fly!

Haven't been on the bike much. Maybe once or twice a week Definitely still riding with the "boyz" on Thursdays...although this past Thursday was cut short b/c a couple of light issues..(not enough run time, so we cut our portion of the ride short so they could get back safely)

The break is nice..we'll start training for next race season soon enough. We've been doing stuff around the house, taking the spoiled pooch for hikes, and relaxing a bit. We've also started back at the gym to get the weights going.

Been having neck issues...(shooting pains, etc. but getting that worked on and so far so good)

Also helped hubby w/ getting pictures taken at trail intersections at Carvins Cove for a sign project he is working on. Hopefully we'll get some trail signs out there soon so folks don't get lost. He's put a ton of time and effort into this project. It needed to be done for a long time and he's definitely a good one to have working on it. Speaking of the Cove, IMBA has been doing work out there w/ some re-routes on a couple trails. Haven't ridden much of them but heard they are pretty good.

Went to the dedication ceremony of the Lick Run Greenway. It connects downtown Roanoke out to Valley View Mall. Very pretty greenway w/ some great views of the Mill Mountain Star & Wachovia building as you come back from the mall on the trail.

Got 2 more races coming up in November. They are mountain cross races, very low key..in fact, I'm not really training for them. I'm just gonna go out & ride & have fun. Check it out on the Roanoke Cycling Organization web site....It's the Bare Bones Mountain Cross Series.

I guess that's my update for now. I'll try not to be such a slacker w/ the blogs.
Peace Out.