Arrived in Ipswich with my last 3 rides being Cinco de MTB 11 days ago, hill repeats last Sunday and a recon of the course this past Wednesday. I also have been battling some kind of combo platter of sinus infection / chest cold.
So, my expectations were moderate-to-low at best.
My mood was bolstered by a text from Brian McInnis,
Good advice, except that I arrived with very little time to warm up: I managed only a quick out-and-back a quarter mile into the woods. I did drill it good on the hilly bits so my legs felt pretty good and was able to hack up a few good loogies along the way, clearing my lungs a bit.Line up as close to the front as you can. It will help in a big field. get a good warmup and pin it in at the start and settle in. Don't go easy at the start and think you will pick people off. It's going to turn into a bottle neck!
Got to the start grid and it was well populated but saw Eli Levine (Hup) and John Plump (Bikeway Source) there and boldly asked, "Is there any room at the Inn?" They shuffle sideways enough to get me into a 2nd row spot. I did not look behind me for the reactions from the dudes I usurped.
As usual, a long wait in the grid made me think even my meager warmup might have been for naught but after 15 minutes or so, BOOM, we were on our way.
I clipped in well and started pounding the pedals, shifting up as we went down the double track. I was able to get ahead of Eli and John right away and then started picking off others before taking the right-hander that led into the woods - in 7th place!
Seemed like the whole field stayed together for a while, single file, until about mile 2 when the front 2-3 guys started to pull away. I felt great, not all out-of-breath like I usually do after the hole shot (even with my diminished lung capacity) so I started to drill it past the laggarts until I found myself in 2nd place.
I sat on the leader's wheel all the way past mile 4 when I touched my front brake on one of the very dusty corners and went down on my side. 3 or 4 guys went by me as I sorted myself out.
The rest of lap 1 and halfway through lap 2, I found myself either alone or passing slowpokes from other fields and was cruising along solidly when out of nowhere this freight train of 3 Riverside Racing guys blows by me like I'm standing still, along one of the double track sections. Off they went, out of sight.
I still felt like I was in the top 10, was still riding strong and in control. There were a lot of very slow novices and others that I had to ride behind a bit before I could politely request a little passing room.
I knew this gave an advantage to those in my field riding ahead but I hate hearing about people racing MTB like assholes, yelling at slower riders, etc and made sure when I got my chance, I thanked them and offered encouragement.
As lap 2 ended, I found myself getting passed by yet another Riverside Racing dude, who had some kind of odd chain drop on one of his RD's jockey gears - he pulled over and tugged on his chain to fix it. I passed him but shortly, he passed me back again.
He had this problem two more times as lap 2 became lap 3 and I quietly hoped it might prove his undoing but after the 3rd occurrence, he rode out of sight of me. And so, for the rest of the race, I was in a sort of limbo riding hard out of fear of someone behind me finding a second wind and slipping by slower riders in ones and twos - falling again one more time, with no penalty.
Well, except for the feeling that both my quads were on the ragged edge of cramping. I had plenty of water and drank as much as I could but had to watch it on the climbs. I began to worry I might lost more places in the last half of the 3rd and final lap.
And so, any time I heard the buzz of a freewheel behind me, I pushed a little harder, risking having my legs seize. I rolled into the finish in 10th place (in a field of 25), tired and sore but not shattered. Very happy with this result, my best ever in Sport 50+ and finishing ahead of both Eli and John, who always beat me.
