The Start of the Season
Time 7AM Sunday Feb. 26, 2006
Aaargg! Time to get up. After a quick shower and breakfast of eggs, cereal, fruit and coffee I double checked my gear bag and loaded up the Subaru for another race day. It seemed like I had just done this, but it has been months. The drive down was fast with little traffic. I even kept my speed down on the dirt road after last year's very stern warning from the DNR sheriff----who goes 25MPH??? Arriving at the venue with plenty of time before my 11:30 start I got a nice close parking spot. A few minutes later the BRI boys parked along side me. The team van was like clown car with six or so racers pouring out along with plenty of gear, bikes and beer.
After registering I kitted-up and headed out with BRI and Dave from the team for a warm-up. The course looked really fun and was in great condition. After switching out clothes and adjusting shock and tire pressure I headed to the start. At the whistle we quickly headed out of the parking area and up the dirt road climb which helped string racers out just enough that getting into the singletrack was orderly and event free. This first section is really fun as we descended down cornering off of berm, followed by berm, followed by berm. Good times! After a short, steep climb we hit a new section of whoops. AT this point my legs were not coming around. I told myself just to maintain and was lucky to be able to. It hurt. As I climbed the fresh cut trail I got stuck behind a slower rider. Pretty soon a good train was formed and no place to pass. Finally I saw just enough room, got around and was now feeling really much better. By the time I hit the mid lap feed station I could see a group of five that had gapped me earlier in the race. Over the next couple miles I worked hard to bring them back. I had never been on any of these trails so in my heist to close the gap and had a few 'less than ideal' lines, but it was all good and nearing the end of the first of three laps I was back to this group and happy with my effort. However, my poor lines would soon come to bite me.
The last section of the loop is a very rooty section giving you little feel for your bike, but it did seem to me that rear end felt a bit soft. At the time I figured I just didn't have right air pressure in my rear shock for this terrain. I dropped down the start finish soon could tell that I was getting a flat. I quickly headed over to my car and grabbed the floor pump to add pressure for the next lap. But as I pumped I could hear air leaking and soon found a small hole in the sidewall. It seems that my Stans (a tire sealant) had dried up over the winter. I didn't have a tube so my day was over!
Aaargg! Time to get up. After a quick shower and breakfast of eggs, cereal, fruit and coffee I double checked my gear bag and loaded up the Subaru for another race day. It seemed like I had just done this, but it has been months. The drive down was fast with little traffic. I even kept my speed down on the dirt road after last year's very stern warning from the DNR sheriff----who goes 25MPH??? Arriving at the venue with plenty of time before my 11:30 start I got a nice close parking spot. A few minutes later the BRI boys parked along side me. The team van was like clown car with six or so racers pouring out along with plenty of gear, bikes and beer.
After registering I kitted-up and headed out with BRI and Dave from the team for a warm-up. The course looked really fun and was in great condition. After switching out clothes and adjusting shock and tire pressure I headed to the start. At the whistle we quickly headed out of the parking area and up the dirt road climb which helped string racers out just enough that getting into the singletrack was orderly and event free. This first section is really fun as we descended down cornering off of berm, followed by berm, followed by berm. Good times! After a short, steep climb we hit a new section of whoops. AT this point my legs were not coming around. I told myself just to maintain and was lucky to be able to. It hurt. As I climbed the fresh cut trail I got stuck behind a slower rider. Pretty soon a good train was formed and no place to pass. Finally I saw just enough room, got around and was now feeling really much better. By the time I hit the mid lap feed station I could see a group of five that had gapped me earlier in the race. Over the next couple miles I worked hard to bring them back. I had never been on any of these trails so in my heist to close the gap and had a few 'less than ideal' lines, but it was all good and nearing the end of the first of three laps I was back to this group and happy with my effort. However, my poor lines would soon come to bite me.
The last section of the loop is a very rooty section giving you little feel for your bike, but it did seem to me that rear end felt a bit soft. At the time I figured I just didn't have right air pressure in my rear shock for this terrain. I dropped down the start finish soon could tell that I was getting a flat. I quickly headed over to my car and grabbed the floor pump to add pressure for the next lap. But as I pumped I could hear air leaking and soon found a small hole in the sidewall. It seems that my Stans (a tire sealant) had dried up over the winter. I didn't have a tube so my day was over!
posted by SGK at 9:43 AM
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