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My 3rd weekend of mountain bike racing in 3 weeks was another in the DINO race series. We love Versailles State Park and made a weekend of the race - it was great that many friends were able to join us and we made some new friends whilst we were there.
I just realized that I don't have any pictures from the weekend so this will be a boring text only write-up.
Lap 1
After two weeks of racing leading up to this, I was feeling more confident on my mountain bike and I have ridden the trails before. The race starts with a long dash on grass and then heads up hill on single track - I was determined to make a good start and use my advantage of climbing speed early in the race. This worked out for me, hitting the trail in 4th wheel, the front 3 riders quickly separated from me but I was opening up a real gap behind which I held for nearly all of the first lap despite being aware of riders in the woods behind me getting closer in the twisty technical sections that I always struggle with. I was just starting to feel confident when a momentary lapse in concentration had me hit a tree with my right shoulder and I was on the ground with the bike on top of me. I really had made a gap, it was some time before the next rider came past me as I tried to unclip from my pedals and find my glasses in the undergrowth!
Lap 2
I chased hard keeping the one rider who had passed me in sight as we grabbed fresh bottles, started the 2nd lap and climbed again. I closed the gap down but couldn't pass so I took a bit of recovery - this is when I discovered I picked up the wrong bottle and had only water, not energy drink. After the climb I lost ground and let another two riders pass me, then Denny, a team-mate from The Bicycle Station caught up to me and I let him pass but was determined to stick on his wheel. Denny is an awesome trail rider and I found myself carrying speed through turns as I followed his lines. We caught the group of 3 riders who had passed me since the race start just as we hit another rough, steep climb. Denny went for the pass and I followed him, we really put the pressure on and sticking to his lines I was able to carry the same speed all the way to the end of the lap, pushing hard to try and open up an advantage over the 3 riders we now had behind us. The lap ends with a split on a gravel road - left to start the last lap, right to the finish - as I hit the gravel I lost the front end of the bike & went down hard on my left side. This time it really hurt and knocked the wind out of me for a moment. Two of the three riders came though as I ran & jumped back on the bike (cyclocross coming to good use!). Still a bit winded, hurting from the wreck I dumped my bottle but failed to grab the replacement as we started the climb on lap 3.
Lap 3
No water, I downed my energy gel which stuck to the roof of my mouth like glue. I was able to catch up to the two riders ahead of me on the climb but Denny was long gone. I managed to pass both the other riders before the top of the climb but knew that in the technical section which followed I stood no chance of closing on Denny so I had consolidation on my mind when I wrecked for a 3rd time - lost the front wheel on a root and hit my left side hard again. By this time, the lack of water and repeated bashing had taken it's toll on my body and I was starting to feel really weak. Two riders caught up to me & I let them passing, thinking that if I could stick with them I may be able to recover ground on the last climb section & hold position to the finish. When the climb came, instead of picking up places, there was nothing left and I lost ground - I really did have to consolidate then, I could hear riders behind me in the woods, surely they would catch & pass me as well before the finish. I found some strength and picked up the pace just enough to stay out of sight finishing the race in just over 2 hours.
As the Adrenalin subsided I realized just how much my arm & leg were hurting - my left glove was full of blood from a large gash in my arm caused by the gravel fall at the end of Lap 2. After some painful scrubbing in the bathrooms to get the dirt out of it, one of my fellow racers who's a nurse patched me up with butterflies & a large dressing. Bruised, bloodied and aching I headed back to the campground to pack up the trailer & head home.
This was definitely the most competitive I'd raced, and yet the most frustrating as well - following faster riders makes me painfully aware of how much trail skill I lack.
Things to do better next time:
Don't pick up the wrong water bottle
Carry a spare bottle in case the hand-off goes wrong
Don't fall off my bike
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