Finally GSC-6, the hometown race. After all this riding/training and riding around GA we finally got to race at home. It was a great feeling to wake up at 7:30am and cruise my way over to the race venue 10 minutes away from home. Won’t describe the course since you all should know it well. Besides Ft. Yargo probably the fastest course in the series.
We all knew (even the buzz online) the Start would be crucial to this race as it bottlenecks into the woods only 300 ft or so after the Start, not to mention the 180 degree turn around the Oak tree. I had my plan(s) for that turn, 1. If I got stuck on the inside I would unclip my inside foot, spin my bike around and take off again or 2. Go around the outside and slingshot w/o losing speed. All depending on how the Start actually panned out.. So my cat. is up on the road itching to line up because there are so many of us and so little space. Everyone is edging in as the time gets closer and I decide I must do something to guarantee a front row spot. Bruce (announcer) calls ten seconds on the cat ahead of us and I start counting down, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4 ...Go! I jump the field rolling down the grassy knoll, lining up just as the whistle is going off for the other category – by that time everyone’s to busy looking at the race start to say anything and I find myself smack in the middle of the Start line by myself with everyone racing up alongside me. Perfect! I was psyched! I was sooo worried about getting stuck in the back row.
Now the hard part, getting into the woods in a good spot. Bruce gives the whistle and I bolt with everyone but what happens is everyone gets up to speed and then coasts as they approach the 180 degree turn. I didn’t. I pedaled a little longer getting myself ahead of the pack, put a little brake on to make the turn and bolt again in second place to the woods. Perfect, again! I just couldn’t believe the start went so well. Thinking I am behind Kolszak, the guy leading our series, I worry about keeping his tail in sight long enough to secure my podium position. To my surprise he just takes it easy thru the woods so once I recover from the starting effort I decide I need to pass. If I am going to do well I need to use the woods to my advantage. I gear down and wait for the rock slap in the Orange Loop to come up. I step on it passing who I find out was Tim Z., another very fast guy but not the one I thought was there. Now I pick up the pace and he matches it. In the switchbacks I see there is no one else behind us for a little bit so it’s all about dropping this guy – which is not easy. I attack several times in tight sections until midway thru the course I break away slightly from him. Now he has to find his own line, not use mine...and that’s a good thing for me. I never see him again.
Now I go into “someone’s gonna catch me” mode. I start attacking everything I can to build some time between those riders I know can usually outlast me and catch me towards the end of the race. Everything goes well from there I am pleased to say...well, maybe not everything. I tried to pass a guy in the tight orange section (2nd lap) but he doesn’t tell me when to pass, he just moves over and drags me with him making me wreck. I got up, put the chain back on and on my way I go. Got to some open areas and looked back every time but couldn’t see anyone behind me (from my category) so I started to slow down slightly so I could recover from each effort instead of riding max’d out constantly. That remained the case the remainder of the race.
If I have anything I wish happened differently it would be the rock garden. I pre-rode that technical climb 3 times and made it up every time. Then on race day lap 1 I clip a root and have to dismount before even hitting the steep climb and lap 2 my hand bumps my front der. lever and drops me down to the granny gear just as I hit the right turn losing momentum dismounting again.
So I made it to the finish line for the first time in 1st place. Great feeling, weird feeling. I usually spend the next few minutes after the race trying to figure out how many people were in front of me yet this time I had nothing to do but wait for my goodie bag. I had a blast. Thanks to all who volunteered and also served as our cheering section at every other corner. It was hard to slow down when we had people screaming our names (and encouragement) what appeared to be constantly. It was so nice to have people around us and know the event was being taken care of w/o us worrying about anything but just to pedal hard. I’ve read nothing but praises online about the course and the volunteer effort – great job!
Many other locals raced and surprised themselves at how well they can ride in the woods. Hope to see more of you out there.
by Jose Mendez
Nicki had a great race too as she slowly wraps up her vacation, I mean season, on the way to EXPERT next year. Way to go Nicki!!! Paul, where were you? You obviously missed the start. See ya next year. Joseph, cool to see you again and awesome top ten finish John Spencer, You’re just fast! 2nd place! Sport next year for you. Jared (BOMB), I am scared. Did anyone see his times? He pulled a Sport-type lap time. Glad he’s a lot younger than I and not racing me. Gabe Jr., It happens in the best of families. Hey, what’s an Endo here and there anyway No really, sorry to hear that, I know you would have won your race. Glenn, I was impressed. A busy man who doesn’t get to ride much and still representing.
Dayton, top 5 finish if I recall correctly. Smokin’ Teresa, so you moving up to Expert next year to chase Nicki? Matt W., good to see you complete your goal. Next goal is winning! All roadies who raced, keep on coming out. My boys raced again and both came in 2nd place. They were excited about it but wanted more riding. Now that’s a good problem for a parent to have.
Nicki's perspective
All in all I had a good race. The heat got to me too and I felt like I just didn’t have the energy level I was hoping for. I’m sure that some of it had to do with the fact that I feel like my legs haven’t quite recovered from racing 3 weeks in a row, and some with the fact that I had not gotten enough sleep during the week and was up between 4 and 5am due to being on call (being on call during a race week always stinks!). Grandma needs her sleep! =)
Racing at home definitely has its advantages and it shows. We know the turns and terrain and your body almost my instinct knows which way to lean, what’s coming up and what to prepare for (of course, that didn’t keep me from taking a hit twice!). But it also adds additional pressure because you feel like you should do better for the exact same reasons.
For me however, it feels like my home trail is also my Achilles heal! This year, although cramps started to set in a little later in the race than last year, the end result was the same. My legs locked up at the EXACT same spot as last year. Sigh… I want to give a HUGE thank you to the two sport guys that were right behind me who helped clear my rigid carcass from the trail so that riders could get by. You have to love it when someone comes hammering by screaming “clear the trail” and you are thinking to yourself “if I could move, do you think I’d be laying here?”
Thankfully, I was able to finish the race after much pain and agony which continued once I crossed the finish line. Of course, I really wanted to hide somewhere after the embarrassment of apparently causing some folks a scare again with the pre-mature calls for an EMT.
Joseph's Take on the race
off the line i was fourth into the woods. i held this spot, staying in the big ring, through the entire wooded section and out into the short track area. i passed a guy, third now. then someone passed me. fourth again. about halfway through this lap i realized i only had half a water bottle left from my warm up. i never switched bottles!!! continuing around the lake and on new trail i thought to myself, this place looks great. i'm sorry i wasn't able to help with the new trail. i crossed the rock section boldly, as the guy behind me sort of rattled his way across it. into the woods and back to the final straightaway i dropped down to about 7th or 8th place. as i came charging through with a guy on my wheel i reached for a cold new full water bottle and only managed to slap it out of darcy's hand. the water bottle flies to the ground, screeching halt, trackstand, she picks it up and hands it to me. two riders pass by. my second trip through the uphill rock garden was better than my first, i dismounted (think cyclocross) and ran all the way to the open trail again and hopped back up to my pedals. i passed one rider here. i began hydrating every second i could and found myself on the wheel of a pro woman rider. i did my best to stay on her wheel through the end of the lap. this kept me moving faster. i pretty much followed her and traded places a couple times with the pro woman through the rest of the lap.
climbing through "my trail" as barry called it was a very humbling experience. when i reached the final straightaway all i could do was pass a 30-39 rider. no 19-29 sport guys were in the way, or i would have surely passed them. big ringing it along the way i felt the great satisfaction of racing on a great trail in my hometown. i'd been cheered on by roadies and mountain bikers, old friends of mine, and been cheered with "go columbus!!" i crossed the line in 7th. about 6 spots lower than i'd been hoping for. but i had water bottle tragedies and general inexperience riding in the 106 degree heat (i'm used to upper 70's lower 80's... come ride in boone!!!) as a weak excuse. i'm happy, though, with my finish, and very happy about the day.
Results from our local riders were numerous and stellar.
Nicki Sutherland – First, Sport Women
Teresa Bruce – Second, Sport Women
Jose Mendez – First, Sport Men, 30-39
Glenn Kalnins – Fourteenth, Sport Men, 30-39
Dayton Preston – Fourth, Sport Men, 30-39
Jared Alderson – Fifth, Beginner Men, 20-29
Joseph Grimes – Seventh, Sport Men, 20-29
John Spencer – Second, Beginner Men, 30-39
Gabe Denes, Jr – Junior Men, DNF due to a technical problem from a crash
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