by Jose Mendez
Dirty Spokes 6hr Solo #2 Recap – 5/14/09
It seems like the longer I am slated to race the more it rains! DS2 6hr took place in winder, GA. I got a call on my way there from a friend telling me to “get ready” because it rained most of the night. Oh well, Nicki and I were committed at that point.
The venue was great, many familiar faces ready to have a good time – and just another chance of rain.
We take off and all goes well. What I love about these 6hr events is that no one sprints at the start. It is fast but controlled because everyone knows you’re gonna be out there a LONG time. Unfortunately I flatted about 1hr into the race – that never helps. I nursed it slowly back to the pits and changed it out. Took off and went OK until the bottom fell out of the sky. We got rain and even lightning (though briefly) for over 2 hrs on and off. The heavy kind, the kind that flows down the trail and makes for really scary riding especially after hours of being in it and your brakes are gone. Ended up having to race with almost no brakes for the last hour or so. After all the rain I came in to the pits and had about 1hr 15mins left to get another lap in and decided to go even though the rain was still on and off and the brakes were going. I passed this one guy on my way out and heard him tell someone –as he pulled off the course – “I am done, that’s it for today” and thought to myself “oh how nice that would be”. I went, I rode, I nursed an air leak in my front tire, it rained, I slowed, and I missed the cut off to allow my last lap to count. So I spent a nasty, grueling, miserable hour and a half in the mud for the heck of it…but it was FUN! ;)
Came in 4th place so considering the mechanicals and everything else in play that day I felt good with my result. Walked down to the lake and jumped in to scrub all the mud off of me. Good times.
Aftermath picture attached. Oh and by the way, that is my brand spanking new bike!
Keep riding guys…and maybe try mountain biking!
Georgia State Championship Series #2 at Flat Rock Park – 4/19/09
After a lot of rain it managed to let off a few days before the 2nd GSC race taking place at Flat Rock Park in Columbus. I felt good coming into it so the only question mark was how was everyone else feeling. I missed GSC1 so I didn’t get to size anyone up coming into this weekend. Thankfully the race went well. Raced solid – w/o incident – for most of the race and left the field by about 1.5 minutes with 20 minutes to go. Then trying to pass in tight single track I clipped my handlebar and “kinda” crashed. I managed to stay on the bike but noticed there was something wrong. Come to find out my front brake cable got caught in a way that kept the brake engaged. I rode that for the next 20 minutes because I did not realize it and did not want to take a chance and lose the lead.
I squeaked my way past the finish lined with about a 30 second advantage. So all in all OK. Glad I got to savor a win – especially at home – during my last season as a “Sport” racer. If all goes well I will be racing expert next year, even if it’s at the back of the pack.
Thanks to all the locals who volunteered for this event – prepping and event day. I would not have happened w/o you. Plus all the screaming as we went by was always a motivator to make sure it looked like I wasn’t in pain.
Dirty Spokes 6hr Solo Recap – 3/14/09
To kick off the mtn bike racing season we had the Dirty Spokes 6hr Solo race in Farmington, GA at Heritage Park. The weather promised to make the opener much more than just dirty spokes but I showed up anyway. I joined my mountain bike partner in crime Nicki, now racing for the Sorrella Team (just shameful LOL). Weather was to be…how do I put it?...NASTY. Some rain overnight to prime the course and more by race time.
Still a decent showing of racers lined up (26 in my category). I met up with a couple of guys I usually race against and we decided to take the first two laps easy (whatever that means) and step it up once we were nice and warm/cold/wet. This is the first time I have attempted that strategy as I usually blow out of the gate trying to stay up front the whole time. So we are off on a open field parade lap and I look at the sea of riders (mass start) in front of me and tell myself “ I’m really not sure this is the right decision” to stay back. It really felt like I was last but I guess I never looked behind to see all the others still behind me.
First two laps were uneventful and my legs felt good – well, if you call wiping out a couple times on wet roots uneventful. Later one of the guys dropped back and the other had a mechanical so I went off riding on my own after that. About 4hrs in we got a hint of rain but the heavy rain never came. At this time I also started to pick off riders who obviously went out too hard and eventually blew up or didn’t have the legs. I came thru with a 5th lap time of 1:03 and the clock had exactly 1:03 left on it til the end of the race. Knowing that my lap times were getting longer as I tired there was no reason for me to go off into the woods/mud and show up at the finish line past the cut off. You get ZERO credit for the extra lap if you come in 1 second after the 6hr mark. My toes were ice, I was wet, cold and tired so I packed it in. Still felt good about what I had done even if I did not know my position in the pack. That’s the disadvantage of the mass starts (probably 150 racers this time), you are bunched in with co-eds, teams, pros etc so you just race and hope you fall into place at the end.
All in all I got 46 miles in 4:57 or racing. I went into the day hoping for a top 10.
Results were posted and I was surprised to find out I came in 3rd place. Freezing my arse off all day was worth it after all! Yea, did I mention it was COLD! Low 40’s all day in Farmington. They messed up the results for the podium presentation and gave 3rd to someone else so no podium pix for me. I did challenge the result and they saw the “light”, giving me third place, my medal and a sweet Specialized helmet prize for my trouble. Oh, and I got a 6pack of local Athens Micro-brew. They can keep the picture!
So the season had started better than I expected. Hope it stays that way but we’ll see. Finally, we got in the car and headed home, now in pouring rain…
Jose
