MMBA #2 Report

Clifford Park Assault

2nd/9 Expert Vet
7th Overall

I hate to have to say this, but this race was un-fun. My experience began the day before when I pre-rode the course on Saturday in the rain. It had rained steadily earlier (not to mention the weeks worth of wet Maine has experienced anyway) and the ground was saturated. The course is the most technical on the circuit complete with granite slabs, roots, and your standard short/steep climbs. It is difficult to ride in the best conditions. The wet brought it to a new low. The pre-ride went OK, but there were so many obstacles and areas to be aware of, it was impossible to remember to have an advantage on race-day. So I concentrated on getting in some practice and scoping out the best start-line position.
I accept the fact that I don’t ride off-road often enough to improve my bike handling. Thus, my approach to race day was to suck it up and ride. I hoped to have a good start, make time in the open sections, not have a mechanical failure and stay upright. 2 out of 4 ain’t bad! I lined up in the 2nd row but behind a pro and on the side I wanted. I was comfortably in the top-10 heading into the woods and settled in line as we began to traverse the tenuous territory. People were having troubles right away. Big Al went to pedal and came up with nothing, guys were unable to ride smoothly and would have to dab causing minor pile-ups everywhere. The biggest problem is there are sections of the course that are rideable only under slow and concentrated conditions. These are not race conditions!
A notable aspect to this race was the fact that many of us stayed together so there was constant pressure behind you to stay on the gas. Because people’s technical ability varied so much, you would lose people in one section, but gain them back again later. In sum, I settled in and decided to race the course and not worry too much about whom was where. Knowing Al was having issues, I didn’t have to worry about the points. However, the race was never smooth for me. If there was a bad line, it took it. The worst was on the first lap when I decided to go through a huge puddle, hoping it was just standing water on firm ground. You would think I learned my lesson when I buried my bike in the ROOT 66 race. NO! the puddle was total slop and I came to a dead stop and fell in! Classic! I may have been outside of the top-10 after the first lap. I would do well on the first half of the course, but would fade in the second where I thought I would make up ground on the flats. No dice. Skip Brown and Ryan Rumsey passed me in the second half of the course on the 3rd lap as I was napping. I tried to match their pace but they faded into the distance. I caught Ryan in the first half again, but he checked out again in the second half to come in ahead of me.
I hoped to bring good confidence and fitness coming off Mt. Snow. But I think this course could care less who you are and where you’ve been. It just gives you a beating. I crashed at least a few times, but survived the onslaught overall. I’m grateful for the finish! The winner in my class is a pro from CT who also finished first overall (not bad for a guy who had a brain tumor removed in 2001, truly inspirational).
Finally, the biggest reason it was un-fun was because Babs and the boys stayed home due to the conditions. So my crew was Pam again instead. She does do a good job in the mud!
Next up is the Fitchburg Longsjo Classic Stage Race.