Low Pressure High Speed: 7th and final XC mountain bike of DINO series

Southeastway Park DINO race is the 7th and final mountain bike race of the IN state series. It’s a new race course as our Hoosier Mountain Bike Association www.hmba.org began cutting singletrack there this year. The park itself has many uses and some of the trails are tri-use which means, hikers, bikers and horses. I did some trail recon the weekend before with a couple good friends of mine so I had a good idea of how the race would flow. I decided to not race the 6th DINO race to help let my lower back issue heal so I could finish the season with my guns blazing and without the fear of aggravating it more. The 2 weeks leading up to the race I felt rested and fast with the elasticity you want to feel in your legs prior to a race. This would be potentially my last cat 2 race ever because my if you place in the top 3 overall for cat 2 you have earned a mandatory upgrade to cat 1. Going into the race I was 3rd in the overall state point standings and the 3 of our totals were all close. Needless to say, this added a layer of pressure on my results that I needed to hold 3rd place ranking or to go for the overall win. To make the race even more awesome, Lindsay, Greg, Lauren and Matt came out to swing cowbells and cheer us on. Since Greg and Lauren raced the running event yesterday they knew the top of the big climb would be the place to watch this race unfold and they made their way to the top before the start.

As we toed the line and we knew this was going to be fast and hot as hell since it was already in the 90s. As the siren signaled us to take off we started down a narrow gravel like road that was super dusty and loose. In typical fashion a few racers who should not have tried to take the lead did and then we dropped them about a 3/4’s of a mile down the road leading to the singletrack. As we entered the woods I was in the 5th slot behind a younger guy who bobbled the first few technical sections and I knew I need to attack fast so he did not take me out. Now the race was between me and my main competitors as we hammered through the first lap. This lap as in all the races is very fast and sketchy because are nerves are firing and we are going as fast as possible until we find our rhythms. This course offered a lot of diversity since it would go to singletrack, horse trails, river trails, open fields, gravel, river trail, sand and one sizable technical climb. Before the this climb there was several moderate climbs to get us up out of the woods away from the river to begin ascending. The climb itself was littered with tree roots and ruts making the line each racer chooses very important to maintain their momentum. About half way up of the 1st of 3 times we will climb this beast I heard the cowbells getting louder which meant the summit was getting closer. By the time I got to the top, I could not get air into my lungs fast enough before descending back down the opposite side, but having my fiancé and friends up there cheering me on motivated me like no other.

Next lap the 5 of us in the lead group jostled and attacked each other on sections we thought we could gap or escape the pack. None of our attacks were successful and we continued racing in close proximity of each other. On the 3rd lap I am sure each one of us had plotted out our moves and mine was to get to the base of the climb first and drop the group on the way up. As we began climbing out of the woods several attacks took place and I countered the main one. This counter may have been my demise as we hit the gravel climb leading to the big one, my right leg ceased up completely with full on cramps. I stopped dead on the climb and watched my competitors grind up to the top. I immediately grabbed at my jersey pocket to take electrolyte pills and began chewing them. These cramps were the worst kind as they hurt like hell and you cannot move without the intensity increasing. At this point I could not even pull my leg over my top tube to get off my bike because it was locked straight and the pain was increasing. At this point the next group of racers began passing me and asking me if I was ok and all I could do was shout back was words of encouragement and asked to them and to tell my fiancé and friends at the top that I cramped out of the race. At this point all I wanted to do was get off the trail and out of the woods. A spectator came down to help me, but there was nothing he could do and I really appreciated the gesture. I was locked onto my bike somewhere between 8 and 10 minutes which seemed much longer at the time until the cramping began to subside and I was able to get off my bike and walk next to it. As I got to the top of the gravel climb I could see a large group of spectators standing near the base of the bigger climb and all that went through my head screw getting a DNF. If I had to limp my way throughout the rest of the course and finish dead effin last, so be it. I picked up my bike and began running the technical climb and as I neared the top I could hear the cowbells ringing away so got back on my steed and slowly pedaled it up the rest of the way. The remaining course was a short downhill and some singletrack which lead out to the finish line. My friends who came out to support me were standing along the orange barrier fences and I gave them high fives as I approached the finishing arch and completed my last XC race of the season! I love racing mountain bikes for all the reasons one can imagine, but mostly because if you put effort forth, it gives you so much in return.