Chronicles of a Cat 3 Schlub
- Thread starter MadisonDan
- Start date
Hey hey hey. I jogged. Mostly.
H2H #2
MTBNJ's Mooch Madness
Men's Cat 2, 19+
First off, thank you to everyone who came out to our first of two H2H races this year. Next race on the H2H calendar is on Saturday June 16th at Stewart State Forest. Yes, that's right... Saturday June 16th. You can (and will) register here https://www.bikereg.com/38329 sooner rather than later, because, well, you know you're gonna go, so just do it now. For anyone who hasn't ridden there, it's fast and flowy.
Saturday I was able to head up to the Boy Scout Camp to pre-ride the course. There were only a handful of people there, so it was a pretty chill ride. I rode one loop at a very casual pace. Trails were in great shape, with three wet spots, that really weren't that bad.
Sunday morning, I rolled into the BSA camp at Allamuchy at about 7am with the rest of the team, and helped out with the set up. At about 8am Norm asked me to go double check the first bit of the Cat 1/2 loop for and missing markings, so I grabbed my helmet and shoes from the car, thru all the stuff from my pockets in the trunk and headed out. Everything looked good, the first two puddles were a little bigger than yesterday, and I doubled back to the parking lot. At this point the Endurance classes were going off, so it was 8:30, and starting to warm up a bit. I went back to the car to grab some water and put shorts on, and the trunk wouldn't open. Huh? Try the door.... Nope, locked? WTF? PANIC PANIC PANIC PANIC!!!!!!!!!! Glenn reminded me about the CarNet app for VW, so I tried that. Of course, between the spotty data service, and my password being expired, I had to call the support number. Surprisingly, they were very efficient and helpful. After a few security questions, she asked if I was near the car, which I was, so she said within 30-60 the doors would unlock, once she sent the signal. BOOM! Crisis averted. Note to any VW drivers with the automagic tailgate closing button... If you push the button, and it doesn't close, there's nothing wrong. Your key is IN the car. Do not force it closed manually. Ok, so key in pocket now, I spent some time cheering racers as they came thru, chatting with people, and hydrating/snacking a little. About 11:15 I changed to race kit for noon race.
Norm stages us on the fire road, and we're the first group. We do the parting of sea twice for endurance racers to come thru, and all 70 or so of us cheer them thru. He then calls up the top 5 from Ringwood for a front row start. I'm in the back middle. 28 of us start the race. We head up the fire road towards the single track, and I take an easy start, not wanting to go right to max HR withing the first minute. Of course, this is wrong. So I pick up the pace a little and get in front of a bunch of guys before the ST. I'm still figuring out where I need/want to be in the Cat 2 19+ pack, and there's always that thought in the back of your head about being one of the first guys into the woods, then fucking up something in spectacular fashion and jamming everyone up behind you. Well, you're either in the front, the guy who jams everyone, or you get jammed. Today's jam job is brought to you by the first puddle/rock bridge section. It wasn't a clusterfuck, but there was enough brake checking/tentativeness that I almost came to a dead stop, and the front got away more than they should have at that point. I should have known this from the pre ride. That's why you do that, right? So moving on.... We get moving again, in a smallish group of 3-5 guys, until the next puddle crossing, which isn't as bad, but still could have been better. From there we spread out a bit. I was catching up to guys on the climbs, then falling off thru the rocks and downhills. There were a few sections I misjudged and had to jump off and run, and there were others that I plowed thru while passing other racers. It sure was nice to see Jimmy up at Shilling Rock taking pics. You could see orange up ahead before you got to where he was.
I bombed the downhill sections as fast as I felt was safe on my hardtail. Was a bumpy ride for sure, but man that was fun. Once I came out down by the lake and went up into the short track course by the monument, I could hear cheering and cowbell and stuff. It wasn't until I came around to the bottom of the short track switch backs that I could see who it was. It was @moose35 taking photos and Zoe & co cheering their lungs out as each racer came thru. I gotta say, coming up those switchbacks the first lap with the mini cheering section there calling out "Go Dan!!" was pretty friggin uplifting. Definitely gave me a boost, THANK YOU! After passing them, was a short gradual climb, to the @Iggy mini excavator descent, over the two wooden bridges and up to scoring for the end of lap one of two. I grabbed a new water bottle to much heckling, and went back up the fire road for lap two.
Lap two was about 6-7 minutes slower, which is more than I thought it would be. I took it very easy up the fire road, and then picked it back up a bit on the single track. With no traffic this go around, the two puddle sections were no issue, I suffered on the climbs, and bounced around a little more on the rocks. My arms were fatigued heading into lap two, and only got worse from there. I think I caught a couple of guys from my class, and got passed by @xc62701 and a few of the leaders of the 45+ race that started behind me. Another photo from @soundz just after Shilling Rock.
As I came down to the final mud hole crossing, I went a little too far to the right side, and slid out in the puddle. Somehow, I fought the slide and actually put the bike down on the left side, so left foot completely in the water, and left grip and brake lever covered in a blob of mud. Someone passed and asked if I was ok, which I affirmed I was,and I continued on, halfheartedly at first. Just before the gravel road heading to the monument, a few more of the 45+ guys came up and I tried to stay in front of them, but I couldn't, so I let them by. Rode the short track stuff clean, then up the switchback past the cheering/cowbell section again, I looked back and saw a number plate from my race about 20-30 seconds behind, so I gave whatever I had left. @jimvreeland was by the double bridges taking pics of people "airing it out" I was only one to get the memo, which is pretty sad.
***EDIT*** Finished 14th of 28
Lap times 39:36 and 46:39
Post race, there were awards for the fast guys and gals, great food from Carmine's, and then we cleaned up. This was probably the hardest MTB race I've done in my very limited MTB racing career. My body is hurting today. I'm looking forward to the other races, and hope to build better fitness for each one. Next race is at Stewart. Come out and play bikes with the MTBNJ.com crew!
MTBNJ's Mooch Madness
Men's Cat 2, 19+
First off, thank you to everyone who came out to our first of two H2H races this year. Next race on the H2H calendar is on Saturday June 16th at Stewart State Forest. Yes, that's right... Saturday June 16th. You can (and will) register here https://www.bikereg.com/38329 sooner rather than later, because, well, you know you're gonna go, so just do it now. For anyone who hasn't ridden there, it's fast and flowy.
Saturday I was able to head up to the Boy Scout Camp to pre-ride the course. There were only a handful of people there, so it was a pretty chill ride. I rode one loop at a very casual pace. Trails were in great shape, with three wet spots, that really weren't that bad.
Sunday morning, I rolled into the BSA camp at Allamuchy at about 7am with the rest of the team, and helped out with the set up. At about 8am Norm asked me to go double check the first bit of the Cat 1/2 loop for and missing markings, so I grabbed my helmet and shoes from the car, thru all the stuff from my pockets in the trunk and headed out. Everything looked good, the first two puddles were a little bigger than yesterday, and I doubled back to the parking lot. At this point the Endurance classes were going off, so it was 8:30, and starting to warm up a bit. I went back to the car to grab some water and put shorts on, and the trunk wouldn't open. Huh? Try the door.... Nope, locked? WTF? PANIC PANIC PANIC PANIC!!!!!!!!!! Glenn reminded me about the CarNet app for VW, so I tried that. Of course, between the spotty data service, and my password being expired, I had to call the support number. Surprisingly, they were very efficient and helpful. After a few security questions, she asked if I was near the car, which I was, so she said within 30-60 the doors would unlock, once she sent the signal. BOOM! Crisis averted. Note to any VW drivers with the automagic tailgate closing button... If you push the button, and it doesn't close, there's nothing wrong. Your key is IN the car. Do not force it closed manually. Ok, so key in pocket now, I spent some time cheering racers as they came thru, chatting with people, and hydrating/snacking a little. About 11:15 I changed to race kit for noon race.
Norm stages us on the fire road, and we're the first group. We do the parting of sea twice for endurance racers to come thru, and all 70 or so of us cheer them thru. He then calls up the top 5 from Ringwood for a front row start. I'm in the back middle. 28 of us start the race. We head up the fire road towards the single track, and I take an easy start, not wanting to go right to max HR withing the first minute. Of course, this is wrong. So I pick up the pace a little and get in front of a bunch of guys before the ST. I'm still figuring out where I need/want to be in the Cat 2 19+ pack, and there's always that thought in the back of your head about being one of the first guys into the woods, then fucking up something in spectacular fashion and jamming everyone up behind you. Well, you're either in the front, the guy who jams everyone, or you get jammed. Today's jam job is brought to you by the first puddle/rock bridge section. It wasn't a clusterfuck, but there was enough brake checking/tentativeness that I almost came to a dead stop, and the front got away more than they should have at that point. I should have known this from the pre ride. That's why you do that, right? So moving on.... We get moving again, in a smallish group of 3-5 guys, until the next puddle crossing, which isn't as bad, but still could have been better. From there we spread out a bit. I was catching up to guys on the climbs, then falling off thru the rocks and downhills. There were a few sections I misjudged and had to jump off and run, and there were others that I plowed thru while passing other racers. It sure was nice to see Jimmy up at Shilling Rock taking pics. You could see orange up ahead before you got to where he was.
I bombed the downhill sections as fast as I felt was safe on my hardtail. Was a bumpy ride for sure, but man that was fun. Once I came out down by the lake and went up into the short track course by the monument, I could hear cheering and cowbell and stuff. It wasn't until I came around to the bottom of the short track switch backs that I could see who it was. It was @moose35 taking photos and Zoe & co cheering their lungs out as each racer came thru. I gotta say, coming up those switchbacks the first lap with the mini cheering section there calling out "Go Dan!!" was pretty friggin uplifting. Definitely gave me a boost, THANK YOU! After passing them, was a short gradual climb, to the @Iggy mini excavator descent, over the two wooden bridges and up to scoring for the end of lap one of two. I grabbed a new water bottle to much heckling, and went back up the fire road for lap two.
Lap two was about 6-7 minutes slower, which is more than I thought it would be. I took it very easy up the fire road, and then picked it back up a bit on the single track. With no traffic this go around, the two puddle sections were no issue, I suffered on the climbs, and bounced around a little more on the rocks. My arms were fatigued heading into lap two, and only got worse from there. I think I caught a couple of guys from my class, and got passed by @xc62701 and a few of the leaders of the 45+ race that started behind me. Another photo from @soundz just after Shilling Rock.
As I came down to the final mud hole crossing, I went a little too far to the right side, and slid out in the puddle. Somehow, I fought the slide and actually put the bike down on the left side, so left foot completely in the water, and left grip and brake lever covered in a blob of mud. Someone passed and asked if I was ok, which I affirmed I was,and I continued on, halfheartedly at first. Just before the gravel road heading to the monument, a few more of the 45+ guys came up and I tried to stay in front of them, but I couldn't, so I let them by. Rode the short track stuff clean, then up the switchback past the cheering/cowbell section again, I looked back and saw a number plate from my race about 20-30 seconds behind, so I gave whatever I had left. @jimvreeland was by the double bridges taking pics of people "airing it out" I was only one to get the memo, which is pretty sad.
***EDIT*** Finished 14th of 28
Lap times 39:36 and 46:39
Post race, there were awards for the fast guys and gals, great food from Carmine's, and then we cleaned up. This was probably the hardest MTB race I've done in my very limited MTB racing career. My body is hurting today. I'm looking forward to the other races, and hope to build better fitness for each one. Next race is at Stewart. Come out and play bikes with the MTBNJ.com crew!
Last edited:
Jeffreywoliver
Well-Known Member
Holy shit! Was Joey okay!
Jeffreywoliver
Well-Known Member
Good reads. Seems like your were last year, where I am this year as far as MTB racing goes.
Yeah, last year I did the Cat 3 races as my first "full" season of races. The fitness I had from that CX season prior was off, but still kinda there. Moving up this year to Cat 2, which in some cases doubles the race distance, plus the reshuffling of the age groups from 40-49 to 19-44 really has been an eyeopener. But hey, work hard, have fun, and push yourself beyond what you're comfortable with. Two years ago, I probably wouldn't have ridden some of these courses, let alone race them. See ya out there!
MACHO MTB Race at Stillwell Woods
Men's Cat 2, 40-49
I've wanted to do this race the past few years, but haven't been able to make the schedule work until this year. Stillwell Woods are part of the trails I grew up riding in the early 90's when I lived in Huntington. We used to pick up the Greenbelt Trail in Cold Spring Harbor, and ride south, hitting the edge of Stillwell, sometimes going as far south as Bethpage State Park. Needless to say, I haven't been there more than once or twice in the past 25 years.
Early in the week, they emailed everyone saying pretty much the race was on unless it got REALLY bad. They updated their FB page a few times, and would announce a final Go/No Go at 5:30am on Saturday morning. Needless to say, it was go.
The Cat 1 and 2 race was scheduled for 11am start, so I didn't need to get up too early, which was nice. I was able to sleep until 7:30am, which is like sleeping in for me. Out the door about 8:15 or so with an ETA a little before 10am. Had it not been raining, I'd have left earlier to get in a 1 lap pre-ride. Other than the usual bull shit traffic on the Cross Bronx, no problems getting there.
I pulled into the lot, walked a few minutes to the infield to check in and get my number and use the facilities. Saw @Rich_W in the lot and chatted for a few and then got ready.
The organizers had a very relaxed attitude about staging. It went kinda like this: "If you think you're fast, come up front, if not, move back a little" So Cat 1 and Cat 2, co-mingled, all ages, one mass start. They did cut the Cat 1 to two laps from three, so everyone was doing two laps, as conditions had deteriorated since the earlier Cat 3 race.
I staged myself kinda in the front of the middle, or maybe the back of the front? I dunno, whatever.
The whistle or whatever they used made its respective loud noise and we're off. The opening "prologue" was a lap around the big open field before heading into the ST, which was good, as it strung everyone out. There were a few tree branches that were so wet they hung down at chest level, which made it a little interesting. So as we make our way around the field, I made a few passes in the first half mile, with nobody passing me.
We head into the woods, and I'm sitting behind 3 or 4 other guys, and it's really twisty turny and a little slick with the mud. We're moving fast enough that I'm not being held up, so passing isn't necessary, yet. There were dome decent elevation changes, and some really fun sections.
On the climbs, I would close any small gaps that opened up, which encouraged me a lot, cause that's usually not the case.
In the middle of the course, there were two STEEP climbs, that were probably 50-75 yards long. One was NOT rideable in the wet, maybe if it were dry. I made up time walking faster then others walked here. Had to walk the second one as well after making it halfway before running out to room behind a hike a biker.
Towards the end of the loop, there were a few sections that are a little sandy, near the railroad tracks, then a little climb back up, along some fences to backyards and back to the open field for lap two.
Conditions were getting worse as the race went on. The rain was on and off, very heavy at times. Lap two was more or less the same as the first, with the exception of the second climb, I was able to ride the entire way with no traffic. I think with a mile or two to go, I got passed by one guy. He was moving really well, so I'm guessing he had some issues at the beginning and probably should have been up there the whole time cause he came out of nowhere, and then was gone!
Finished 13th of 40 overall in Cat 2, 6th of 15 Cat 2 40-49.
I took my time peeling the mud soaked kit off in the rain in the parking lot and getting clean clothes on, wiping down the bike enough to put inside the car so I could hit Other Half in Brooklyn on the way home.
The organizers, RaceAwesome, put on a great event. Scoring was chipped, results were posted and updated every 5-10 minutes, and they posted results AND photos on their FB page and emailed links by later Saturday evening. Wood race again.
Men's Cat 2, 40-49
I've wanted to do this race the past few years, but haven't been able to make the schedule work until this year. Stillwell Woods are part of the trails I grew up riding in the early 90's when I lived in Huntington. We used to pick up the Greenbelt Trail in Cold Spring Harbor, and ride south, hitting the edge of Stillwell, sometimes going as far south as Bethpage State Park. Needless to say, I haven't been there more than once or twice in the past 25 years.
Early in the week, they emailed everyone saying pretty much the race was on unless it got REALLY bad. They updated their FB page a few times, and would announce a final Go/No Go at 5:30am on Saturday morning. Needless to say, it was go.
The Cat 1 and 2 race was scheduled for 11am start, so I didn't need to get up too early, which was nice. I was able to sleep until 7:30am, which is like sleeping in for me. Out the door about 8:15 or so with an ETA a little before 10am. Had it not been raining, I'd have left earlier to get in a 1 lap pre-ride. Other than the usual bull shit traffic on the Cross Bronx, no problems getting there.
I pulled into the lot, walked a few minutes to the infield to check in and get my number and use the facilities. Saw @Rich_W in the lot and chatted for a few and then got ready.
The organizers had a very relaxed attitude about staging. It went kinda like this: "If you think you're fast, come up front, if not, move back a little" So Cat 1 and Cat 2, co-mingled, all ages, one mass start. They did cut the Cat 1 to two laps from three, so everyone was doing two laps, as conditions had deteriorated since the earlier Cat 3 race.
I staged myself kinda in the front of the middle, or maybe the back of the front? I dunno, whatever.
The whistle or whatever they used made its respective loud noise and we're off. The opening "prologue" was a lap around the big open field before heading into the ST, which was good, as it strung everyone out. There were a few tree branches that were so wet they hung down at chest level, which made it a little interesting. So as we make our way around the field, I made a few passes in the first half mile, with nobody passing me.
We head into the woods, and I'm sitting behind 3 or 4 other guys, and it's really twisty turny and a little slick with the mud. We're moving fast enough that I'm not being held up, so passing isn't necessary, yet. There were dome decent elevation changes, and some really fun sections.
On the climbs, I would close any small gaps that opened up, which encouraged me a lot, cause that's usually not the case.
In the middle of the course, there were two STEEP climbs, that were probably 50-75 yards long. One was NOT rideable in the wet, maybe if it were dry. I made up time walking faster then others walked here. Had to walk the second one as well after making it halfway before running out to room behind a hike a biker.
Towards the end of the loop, there were a few sections that are a little sandy, near the railroad tracks, then a little climb back up, along some fences to backyards and back to the open field for lap two.
Conditions were getting worse as the race went on. The rain was on and off, very heavy at times. Lap two was more or less the same as the first, with the exception of the second climb, I was able to ride the entire way with no traffic. I think with a mile or two to go, I got passed by one guy. He was moving really well, so I'm guessing he had some issues at the beginning and probably should have been up there the whole time cause he came out of nowhere, and then was gone!
Finished 13th of 40 overall in Cat 2, 6th of 15 Cat 2 40-49.
I took my time peeling the mud soaked kit off in the rain in the parking lot and getting clean clothes on, wiping down the bike enough to put inside the car so I could hit Other Half in Brooklyn on the way home.
The organizers, RaceAwesome, put on a great event. Scoring was chipped, results were posted and updated every 5-10 minutes, and they posted results AND photos on their FB page and emailed links by later Saturday evening. Wood race again.
Somehow I think your race was muddier than mine that day.
I'm surprised you like that course. If I recall correctly that park was pretty limited in how the race can be run, and doing what I think was the full loop, I found the trails to be rather meh. Kind of like a boring Allaire. Very sandy.
Did the race start on Jericho Turnpike?
I'm surprised you like that course. If I recall correctly that park was pretty limited in how the race can be run, and doing what I think was the full loop, I found the trails to be rather meh. Kind of like a boring Allaire. Very sandy.
Did the race start on Jericho Turnpike?
JDurk
Well-Known Member
Is this Ronnie the limo driver?
was gonna mount the GoPro, and didn't want it to block the number. The K-Edge Garmin mount w/GoPro mount underneath is awesome, until you put a number plate on.
There are sandy sections, but not too much. They said they changed it up this year, but having never raced here before, I have no idea. The two climbs were followed by similar descents.
The race started on the open field.
Strava
Pearl
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING
Then get the right stuff! You know half of the battle is looking good (you have that nailed down with the color selection)
Wut mount be dat? Stem on MTB is really short, Garmin looks oversized when mounted there... The out front combo is baller on the CX bike doe.
Pearl
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING
stole the photo from here:
https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2016/08/gopro-cycling-handlebar-seat-rail-mounts.html
your homework tonight is to put your number back on your handlebars and test fit EVERYTHING. report back with photos in 24 hours
https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2016/08/gopro-cycling-handlebar-seat-rail-mounts.html
your homework tonight is to put your number back on your handlebars and test fit EVERYTHING. report back with photos in 24 hours