Man those doods are giant next to me. Anyway...
Yesterday was the H2H Box Baum race up in Port Jervis and it was a hoot. If you've seen any of my posts, I've been trying to get up there regularly as it's just a really fun place to ride. This course was advertised as the more flowy portion of the trails. It kinda is, but the rocks are not any less forgiving. The course was a blast. TIGHT rocky single track, followed by an enduro downhill with jumps and drops, then a climb back up top to finish in some TIGHT piney singletrack.
My race went off with 5 of us, and my goal was to not lead the race. I wanted to settle in behind someone and ride their pace until they slowed or I saw an opportunity. Hopefully this lasted for a lap or two. So we left the start and the plan worked liked I hoped, I settled in behind Jake, and the three others right on my wheel. 1/3 of the way through the first lap we opened up a slight gap on the two racers behind. The 5th racer was out of sight off the back. So now it was the 4 of us. A little later Jake started slowing a bit and the other two got back to us. So I was thinking I needed to go to see who could pick up the pace with me. Jake admitted later that he had gone too hard in the opening miles of the race. The next trail was the painted aprons trail which has the jumps and drops in it. I knew it from previous rides there, and absolutely ripped it. I hit the next climb and got to the piney singletrack and it worked. No one was near me. I had maybe 20-30 seconds on the chasers. I was just hoping at this point to ride steady and see if anyone would come back.
Second lap was all lap traffic from the Cat 2 race that went off behind us. So that kept it interesting winding through those riders, but I didn't see anyone from my group. I told myself to ride steady and clean and not to go too deep, just in case someone came back to challenge. It was also getting very hot so dehydration and cramping could be a factor. I finished lap 2 riding well, but in no mans land. Lap 3 was the same game. Pass some more cat 2 guys and keep on the gas and don't go deep. I got a little too comfy at one point as I ended up on the ground, flopping on my side. The dirt was getting dry and loose and I ate it on an uphill corner on the roots. I jumped back up and got on and it woke me up again. Get on the gas. Down the jumps, up to the pines, where I had a mini heart attack - since I almost ran over the head of a rattlesnake! I saw it last second and steered to the left to avoid hitting it. Its head coiled back and started rattling. I yelled back to warn anyone that was coming next and just drilled it to the finish. I finished in 2:05 for the win! It was a good solid effort and amazing that I actually got a Cat 1 win this season!
I had a couple of good finishes this year, but this takes the cake - especially as it's the last mtb race of the season for me. This was race #10 and I'll call it good for now. I may do a few more races. Iron Cross is definitely happening, and I may do some local CX as it's just fun, but that's probably it until 2023. Then I'll have to look at what I'd like to do for next season. I usually like the long races, but it's hard on the family to be away traveling all the time. I'll probably stick closer and do more H2H but I have a soft spot for the long races. Time will tell.