MMBA #4 Bradbury State Park

5th/12 Expert Vet I
15th overall

I’ve been procrastinating a little in re-capping this race. Partly due to the fact I went to the Cape right after the race and just returned last night. And partly because I haven’t wanted to. This was my poorest outing of the year and I think it was due to a variety of reasons. But I’m not going to go there because they all sound like excuses for a lack-luster finish. So, I’ll do my best to just summarize the day.
The weather was terrific, sunny and warm. I knew we’d be in the woods most of the day anyway, so heat wasn’t going to be an issue. However, the race was billed as a 1 lap 30-miler and without the rest of Team Wheels to support me, I was on my own in terms of fluids. Hydration was going to be integral, so as much as I hate to use it, I wore the Camelback again. I also had a full water bottle in the cage and had PowerGels in the pocket. I figured I was set.
I foolishly missed the riders meeting prior to the start as I was still warming up. My previous post addresses the stupidity in that and how I recommend anyone attend these if they’re called for. The race format was unique already in that it was an “enduro,” meaning “longish.” To augment the uniqueness, it included a “LeMans” start where we rested our bikes 100 yards away and at the word “Go!” we ran and mounted them and were off. The first section was a FAST open trail with some drops and roots and stuff to chatter your teeth and knock water bottles out of the cages. Yea, I lost my bottle in the first 1000 yards. How close is the first feed zone? I was comfortable in the top-15 bat worst. Then we hit the new singletrack. The organizers had to create new trails in order to get the 30 miles. Now this stuff was fun to ride, the problem was there were a bunch of guys with huge adrenalin rushes not getting enough oxygen to their bodies going as fast as they could though this stuff and it made for some uncomfortable times. I just could not get any kind of a rhythm going and several riders passed me over the course of the first few miles. The terrain was rolling, so I was not maxing out my heart rate, just maxing out my riding ability. I finally settled into no-man’s-land and just rode my pace. I guess I zoned out too, as I took a wrong turn exiting singletrack and headed up the wrong trail. I went by a sign with a “W” on it (riders’ meeting?), but just kept going thinking it was a code for “Water” or “You’re Wicked fast!” I noticed the ground didn’t have many tracks on it, and it dawned on me I was going the “Wrong Way!” so I turned around, losing at least 45 seconds.
I came up on Jamie Tyler and Adam LaRochelle and after spouting an expletive-laced explanation of why I was now behind them instead of ahead of them, I settled in and rode with them. Adam let me get in the middle and we just cruised. Eventually I moved on hoping to recapture the place I was in before I took my detour. It was a long, lonely quest. I kept seeing white signs with numbers on them (riders’ meeting?), but they did not correspond with my Garmin. To make matters worse, if they were mileage markers, they were WAY less than what I was reading. More bad news to fill my mind.
I crossed the road to the section that had the climbing and felt fine, hoping to make some time. My only issue at that point was I was over-hydrated and had to take a leak, so… I did. But enough about that. I climbed strong and plotted out how to conserve energy and make it to the finish fast. At mile 19.5 my Garmin lost satellite communication, so I no longer knew just how much further I had to go. I finally reeled in the last guy I passed before I went off course which made me happy and I just kept plugging away. The trail descended back towards the start-finish area and then headed back up some very unrideable terrain. At one point I thought I heard someone say only a couple miles to go, but that didn’t go with my approximation of where I was and how long I had been riding. Now I was distracted and confused, and tired. I endoed twice and was passed by some guy who gave a “Whoop!” as he went by on a descent, what a jackass! Now I was pissed and I wasn’t about to let him get away so I stayed with him when we cruised through the campground. He then proceeded to take a shortcut instead of going through the ribbons. Nice, must be how he caught up to me in the first place. Then, incredulously, we’re crossing the finish line! I couldn’t believe it! I was expecting more. Soon after, I learned the race was shortened due to land-agreements. It was only like 26 miles (rider meeting once again!). I was really bummed because I had stuff left in the tank to go the distance.
To add to my disappointment, my finish was the worst of the season. Granted, there were pros in the field, but I expected to place higher in my age group. However, things happened, and it wasn’t meant to be. I hope to use the experience as a learning one and will be ready to race hard next time out. You can bet I’ll be at any riders’ meeting, front row!
Next up is the Mt. Washington Hillclimb.