BULLDOG ROMP - 2016
The last time I made it out for Bulldog was 2013 when it was the state champ race. I had broken my hand in May and just got back on the bike. I raced my last Cat 3 race and won by a disgusting 15 minutes. I didn't have a license so thank god I wasn't awarded the Cat 3 State Championship.
FAST FORWARD, 2016, 1:00PM Cat 1 start.
REWIND
8:30AM Morning of the race, yogurt, granola honey and almond butter mix, the new morning standard. Add a banana, 2 cups of coffee and some water. Still feeling like I haven't rehydrated from Mexico yet but doing my best to
try to get it into me. Watch S3E3 of Peaky Blinder
9:27AM Get text from
@rsinger814 asking if I could pick up a few quarts of oil for him. Car decided to evacuate it's 4 day old oil. NO PROBLEM.
9:42AM Out the door a few minutes earlier then I planned. Wanted to get a lap in so I could see the course since Wednesday was a total failure on all fronts.
10:12AM Pull into NAPA on 153? grab 4 quarts of 5w30, get to counter and ask if there is a bathroom. The second I got out of my car I had to pee.
10:12:14AM Peed in toilet, not in pants. Success.
10:18AM Pay for oil.
10:34AM Arrive at venue, hit the head, see some faces, chat, get number, get dressed.
10:54AM Jump on course for a lap at low speed. I'm already pretty warm, trying to keep fluids in.
11:35AM Catch Ryan walking into the lot in street clothes. Pretty early to be done
and changed I thought. aaaaannnnddd turns out someone put down too many watts and toasted his cassette....
12:12PM Find Matt E, chat for a few.
1:00PM GO!
I lined up front row,
@jShort rips with Enver wheel guy off the front. I grab a wheel. Matt E gets infront of me before the woods and bobbles on the second rock feature. I pass and make an effort towards the front two.
180+ BPM.
Hard start. Right, so that's what racing feel like.
Very soon start catching the back end of the SS race. I pass one guy no issue. Catch another in a Bulldog kit, ask to go by and he plays that "GO" game. You know, where they hold their line center trail and expect you to sprint by through a tree or some BS.
FINALLY find a responsible chance, pass and go. Matt Follows. We come up on the horses. Ohhh boy is that shitty, but it's life. THEY have the right of way. I come almost to a complete stop, Bulldog jerk RIPS around me, Matt comes around also much slower and I'm left slow pedaling in the back.
1:12PM I pick the left line with the better exit through the sharp rocks and cut my front. It's pouring air but has the intermittent sound of trying to seal.
1:15PM we turn right onto the fire road and I pull off to shoot some CO2. A few guys pass including Perry. It takes about 1:30 to pull out my co2, screw it on, shoot it, shake a little and get going again. I figure the race is over now and settle that I'll have to just get back in to get my work out in. Things feel
horrible. My whole body hurts and I wanna just stop.
Nope, back in. Lap 1 even with a stop average HR 181 Max HR 189. Been a few weeks since I've seen any number
even close to that.
Front is holding air and I have a resonable 2nd lap. No issues, make some passes and get Perry back behind me, not really sure who is ahead. I see Brett Baumann who's racing SS and make an effort to pass him. I close at the grass before the S/F and pass before the woods.
Make some ground and don't recall much of anyone in front of me but.
BUUUURRRRRPPPPPPP
I think it was a burp. A couple miles into the last lap. It was a pretty sudden loss of pressure. I ride that low tire for a couple minutes and decide it too low. I shoot the rest of that first c02 which was enough to keep the rim off the ground. I started riding pretty conservatively really trying not to ruin that I9 wheel I love so much. It would have been responsible to shoot my second CO2 but something in my head said don't waste the time, just ride.
It wouldn't have changed my finish at all.
I never pass Brett again but I catch a dude who I assumed was SS by the '2' on his leg. I'm
REALLY hurting at this point. If my heart hits 176 my right hamstring would start to cramp, but even worse it felt like my brains were melting out of my ears. The gear in my camel back was restricting water flow through the hose which is a problem I've had before. NEED TO REMEMBER TO FIX THAT FOR NEXT RACE. I'd been eating but just wasn't fully hydrated for the start.
REALIZE '2' GUY IS SHIFTING AND HAS A CASSETTE!
Pass before the big last climb. Have to run the top, stay in front of him, CX mount and rip the DH with my squishy rear tire. I fight the cramps to TT the grass opening up a decent gap.
2:33PM Finish
Only Matt E and Jeremy,
Me: "who got 3rd?"
Matt E: "Looks like you!"
RAD! but, dying. overheated, dehydrated, stomach twisting in cramps.
'2' not SS guy was neither SS nor 19-39, they thought he was his brother who was SS. O well, nice carrot to chase at the end.
Chill, then podium. Jeremy put about 2:30 into me so maybe if I didn't have any tire woes I
might have seen him cross the finish when I hit the grass. Enve wheel guy blew up a chain or something and it sounded like Matt and Jeremy both had some amount of tire and horse woe themselves.
Jeremy is sandwiched between the KÜDÜ Collective boys! (by place, not an actual sandwich because of the actual layout of the podium BUT YOU GET WHAT I MEAN, RIGHT?!)
Had a turkey burger at the diner then drove home. My stomach didn't settle down until 7 and I drank 4 liters of water to make that happen.
Next up, Lewmo. Maybe even the last MTB of the year. I'd say short season, but I
did do a stage race. lol.
