Ver-sahy, but here in Indiana we call it Ver-sales. Versailles Race

Versailles is a beautiful park with plenty of elevation change along with some really stellar trails down in southeastern Indiana. This was the site of my worst physiological breakdown ever in my 1.5 year racing career last July with full leg/body cramping. Moving beyond that, I knew this year would be different for many reasons because my training, nutrition and race experience are light years over last year. This is a largely contested race being so close to 3 other states and in my category, 74 competitors toed the line. I read a stat the other day from Bloomington Velo-news that said 80% of those in a race think they can win. Whether that is true or not, I am sure it is close because why else would you spend your hard earned cash to race laps as fast as you can while others are trying to pass you along thin strips of dirt, hanging over steep ridges? The race started out fast with a 300 yard dead straight sprint down a grass/tree hall way.

I sprinted into the woods in the 9th or 10th slot looking for my rhythm as I trailed my competitors at the front. Several minutes into the start, the trail took a sharp left turn, up and over a fire road where spectators lined both sides of the tape yelling and ringing cowbells. My front tire slid hard to right, I unhooked my left foot from the pedal to control my sideways slide, bobbled and caught myself before plowing over the fans closest to me. That cost me one spot, an adrenaline rush and pushed me farther back from my competitors. After 20 minutes of racing I needed to start attacking now because I was losing site to the lead group at the front and after 30 more minutes of pedaling my butt off, I caught the 3th and 4th place racers. By this time, my tank was on E and most of my fight had been spent trying to catch these guys, closing the deal was not feeling likely. For the remainder of the race several others attacked me, but only one succeeded and I finished 6th place overall out of a huge field. Winning or losing or sliding out in front of fans are just some of the things that make racing mountain bikes rad! That’s right, RAD!