Night ITT Craziness Photo Credit: Don
Saturday morning brought the main event of the weekend, the XC and Endurance Races. I was in the latter attempting to defend my newly aquired 3rd place in the MASS Endurance Series Standings. The race was 6hrs long. The course was slick and wet from the previous weeks rain. It would be fun. I rode my first lap near the front. I had set myself a challenge for the day, ride in the big ring as long as possible. I was good for my first three laps. On my first lap I really started hurting. That's when my endurance arch nemesis (one Mr. Groves) passed me for the last time. We had been dueling back and forth somewhere in the top 10 since the beginning of the race. My fourth lap was the beginning of my near physical implosion. It was getting hot and my legs were burning. It would be my last sub-hour lap of the day (53 min I think). Lap 5 was the true implosion. Lap time 1:10. Not good. I had set out two other goals for myself during the race: complete the same amount of laps as last year in a shorter time (8 laps in 7:01 last year), and not get lapped. Niether of those would happen. VisitPA.com super-fast endurance guy Rob Lichtenwalner caught me, like clockwork, on lap 5. Oh well. 2nd place VisitPA.com guy Mike Hebe caught me on the transition between lap 5 and 6 while I was taking on some much needed sustinance. The 3rd place Skinny Chicken caught me later in lap 6. Sad day. Luckily my luck turned a little after poping some Endurolytes. My last two lap times dropped, a 1:08 then a 1:06. Still not what I needed to bring back Mr. Groves (who is my only real threat in the series standings). In the end, 10th place in the Open Men, 17th overall with 7 laps in just under 7 hrs. I continued my tradition of walking straight off the dock into the lake, but that was slightly unsatisfying as the lake was luke-warm. If my calculations are correct though, I did defend my place in the series.
And now Sunday, the final day, brought some shorter (much shorter) racing. At 9:00 the entire field of racers took off for the mass start hill climb, an even I won last year in my Sport A division. I got a crappy start and had to pick my way through many people before I reached the guy in front. We must have been moving because I passed a few of the Expert A guys before reaching the leader. I immediately made my attack, and he countered gapping me a little. Caught him again and attacked. Same result. Caught him just before the line and attacked again, with the same result. 2nd place. Acceptable. Passing some of my Expert riding friends, great. The last event of the weekend was the Short track. I figured that if I could win this or at least get top 3 I would do pretty well in the GC for the weekend. Again a crappy start, 3rd row, forced me to work my way through the field. Eventually I had the leaders in my sites and started reeling them in, there was a little climb that I could make up a lot of time on as the race wore on. I caught them with 6min to go, and immediately blew by them onto the gravel road. I was going to win this race at all costs. The exit from the gravel road was a tricky tight right hander around a tree. There was one line. Somewhere between overtaking the leaders and that right hander my rear brake died. I went to grab it to scrub some speed for the corner and nothing happenned. I went full gas into the corner and hit the ground hard. Lead gone. I uttered a few choice words and got up and started running to remount my bike. They were still within catching distance. Same corner next lap, same thing happenned. The rider behind me passed me. I had one lap left. There was no longer any chance of winning, or even getting top 3. I rode the last lap to conserve my 4th place. I ripped a pair of shorts. I am now sporting some scratches on my right arm, many scratches on my right shin and a huge road rash on my right hip. The latter still hurts, but with the help of copious amounts of neosporin is beginning to heal. Now to the matter of my rear brake. Sunday night I ordered a pair of these babies to replace my brakes made by a company I shall not name. I have never been happy with these brakes and have experienced multiple hose coupling failures on top of a general lack of good performance. I am done with them. First paycheck from work... mostly gone. The brakes will be here Thursday, just in time for Windham NMBS next weekend.
I'm pretty sure I ended up 4th in the GC because of my STXC mishaps. Oh and my new computer arrived. It's mighty shiny.... and my hip hurts. Sitting down sucks...
Saturday morning brought the main event of the weekend, the XC and Endurance Races. I was in the latter attempting to defend my newly aquired 3rd place in the MASS Endurance Series Standings. The race was 6hrs long. The course was slick and wet from the previous weeks rain. It would be fun. I rode my first lap near the front. I had set myself a challenge for the day, ride in the big ring as long as possible. I was good for my first three laps. On my first lap I really started hurting. That's when my endurance arch nemesis (one Mr. Groves) passed me for the last time. We had been dueling back and forth somewhere in the top 10 since the beginning of the race. My fourth lap was the beginning of my near physical implosion. It was getting hot and my legs were burning. It would be my last sub-hour lap of the day (53 min I think). Lap 5 was the true implosion. Lap time 1:10. Not good. I had set out two other goals for myself during the race: complete the same amount of laps as last year in a shorter time (8 laps in 7:01 last year), and not get lapped. Niether of those would happen. VisitPA.com super-fast endurance guy Rob Lichtenwalner caught me, like clockwork, on lap 5. Oh well. 2nd place VisitPA.com guy Mike Hebe caught me on the transition between lap 5 and 6 while I was taking on some much needed sustinance. The 3rd place Skinny Chicken caught me later in lap 6. Sad day. Luckily my luck turned a little after poping some Endurolytes. My last two lap times dropped, a 1:08 then a 1:06. Still not what I needed to bring back Mr. Groves (who is my only real threat in the series standings). In the end, 10th place in the Open Men, 17th overall with 7 laps in just under 7 hrs. I continued my tradition of walking straight off the dock into the lake, but that was slightly unsatisfying as the lake was luke-warm. If my calculations are correct though, I did defend my place in the series.
And now Sunday, the final day, brought some shorter (much shorter) racing. At 9:00 the entire field of racers took off for the mass start hill climb, an even I won last year in my Sport A division. I got a crappy start and had to pick my way through many people before I reached the guy in front. We must have been moving because I passed a few of the Expert A guys before reaching the leader. I immediately made my attack, and he countered gapping me a little. Caught him again and attacked. Same result. Caught him just before the line and attacked again, with the same result. 2nd place. Acceptable. Passing some of my Expert riding friends, great. The last event of the weekend was the Short track. I figured that if I could win this or at least get top 3 I would do pretty well in the GC for the weekend. Again a crappy start, 3rd row, forced me to work my way through the field. Eventually I had the leaders in my sites and started reeling them in, there was a little climb that I could make up a lot of time on as the race wore on. I caught them with 6min to go, and immediately blew by them onto the gravel road. I was going to win this race at all costs. The exit from the gravel road was a tricky tight right hander around a tree. There was one line. Somewhere between overtaking the leaders and that right hander my rear brake died. I went to grab it to scrub some speed for the corner and nothing happenned. I went full gas into the corner and hit the ground hard. Lead gone. I uttered a few choice words and got up and started running to remount my bike. They were still within catching distance. Same corner next lap, same thing happenned. The rider behind me passed me. I had one lap left. There was no longer any chance of winning, or even getting top 3. I rode the last lap to conserve my 4th place. I ripped a pair of shorts. I am now sporting some scratches on my right arm, many scratches on my right shin and a huge road rash on my right hip. The latter still hurts, but with the help of copious amounts of neosporin is beginning to heal. Now to the matter of my rear brake. Sunday night I ordered a pair of these babies to replace my brakes made by a company I shall not name. I have never been happy with these brakes and have experienced multiple hose coupling failures on top of a general lack of good performance. I am done with them. First paycheck from work... mostly gone. The brakes will be here Thursday, just in time for Windham NMBS next weekend.
I'm pretty sure I ended up 4th in the GC because of my STXC mishaps. Oh and my new computer arrived. It's mighty shiny.... and my hip hurts. Sitting down sucks...
3 comments:
long live sram . . . welcome to the fold. nice blog...
:-P
yep...you'll love the brakes..gottem on my Fly...my razberry lasted for 2+ months...ebjoy..:)
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