Folks have been wondering why I haven't been posting up. I do have stuff to share but I guess I've just been lazy. Now that I am in winter mode there is more time for me to write up my thoughts. I just did a race in Long Island Saturday, here is my recap.
Cathederal Pines Cat 1 40-49
Saturday- Went to CP with Chris Nostrand, he lives in town(Cranford), so this was really easy. This dude is so casual about racing, morning of I asked him if he is going to switch out the flat pedals on his bike, he says maybe, if I have enough time before the start...he hadn't ridden a mtb since the mtbnj picnic. We shoot the shit on the way there and talk about everything except bike stuff.
We get there, its cold and the pre-reg line is a mile long. Smoke from a garbage can fire emitting no heat manages to drift towards me for 20 minutes as I wait in line, by the time I got my # I felt like I smoked a carton of cigaretts.
Suit up, listen to race meeting talk, then head down to start area. At this point I have been at CP for about an hour, made small talk with the usual peeps, got dressed and got my number on my bike...so I'm ready to race.
The horn goes off for the mass start of like 300 people. Of all the races I do this is the biggerst cluster fuck I have ever encountered. The prologue for this involves an uphill start on a road less then a mile long into the single track. Everyone wants to get into the single track first before it gets gummed up. I've done this race 3x and I can say the only person who does not get stuck at the funnel to the single track is the first guy. There are mulitple crashes at the start and I find myself using my forearms like shields to keep riders and bikes off of me. I manage to stay upright and stay in the front 3rd of herd but still have to get off my bike to walk multiple sections in the first 10 minutes of the race.
My goal for the day is to get 8 laps in, cause all the really fast guys do 8 laps. This means I have to do 51 minute laps or less. The first lap was the most frustrating, the mass start made it tough to settle into a groove. I complete my first lap in 50 minutes then settle into a groove and really enjoy the flow that this course has to offer. By the 4th lap I have built up a 18 minutes ahead of schedule buffer. 1 Speed(Martin) is behind me during this lap and we share a comman goal of doing 8 laps, except he is on a SS. It was nice having someone to talk with as the clock ran down.
As I finished the 6th lap the clock said something like 4:47, but don't quote me. This means I had over an hour for lap 7 to make it under the 6-hour mark and get an 8th lap in. All my lap times where well under 50 minutes so I just focused on staying smooth and taking good lines so as not to flat or mechanical out.
At the finish of lap 7 the clock said 5:37...looks like we made it! Despite the fact that I felt fatigued at this point I was so happy to start this lap. The leader was to far in front of me to catch and there was no one chasing me, so this lap was on my time and I enjoyed my 8th lap victory ride. Martin and I finished out the race together, 1Speed actually had legs to sprint to the finish I on the other hand was content to soft peddle and take in the cheers as I finished in 2nd place in my age group. It was nice to share the podiums with fellow Chris's, Michaloski in 1st & Gozick in 3rd.
Thougts While Racing Music helped me get through the day. Songs in my head where Tom Ford(goin up goin down...), as well as music by the Avett Brothers and the Decemberists. I have really been digging the later two bands lately. There is so much good music out there that u never hear on conventional radio...and they wonder why no one listens to radio anymore. Maybe its because top 40 sucks and the companies that own radio stations don't know shit about music.
