CRANKY MONKEY XC SERIES: SCHAFFER FARMS

EX2 Adventures always put on a quality MTB race…great courses…nice sized fields…free postrace food. This was the first time that Schaffer Farms was having a race in about 10 years and I was pumped for this one. My apartment is a nice 10 minute bike ride away so this was by far the easiest travel to a race in my recent memory. So, Schaffer is my backyard training grounds…I know the trails real well and I was looking for a great result.

A late start time allowed for a nice morning of a solid breakfast, coffe, and laying around. Packed the car and hopped over to the SoccerPlex to park for the race. Got kitted up in Black Metal and rolled over to the start/finish area with my girl. It was super humid so my warm up was rather light just to keep my muscles warm. The start of the race was pushed back a little due to an emergency in one of the earlier races.

Got lined up for the start a tad late and had to scrum my way up to near the front. Chatted with a few guys and settled in for the start. 2 laps of the 9 mile course was on the menu. On the horn we throttled up the gravel road…I bobbed and weaved my way up to the front and threw it into the big ring to cruise to the singletrack. On the sharp right hander onto the final stretch of road I dropped my chain…UGH! But I was able to keep it rolling and lost a bottle in the process. So I lost of few key spots dumping into the long and twisty singletrack.

Punched it hard on the open field climb to stay with the leade group. But once again…into some of the more punchy climbs, my chain kept dropping…which causes me to get off…spin it back on…and get back into line. Frustration was setting in. But this was my homecourse and I knew I had time to make up any lost places.

Came through the finish of the first lap and got a fresh bottle from my girl…she is super pro…flashed me a smile and it was onto the second lap.

I had a good reserve left in the tank from not blowing up on the first lap, so I gunned it on the open field sections and made up a ton of time…making passes…sitting in and pacing in the right places.

Second lap only saw one drop of the chain so I was felt great mentally…with 2 miles left I started feeling it in my legs…cramping. On the last punchy climb, I drilled it hard and dropped a fellow rider who was sitting in…he couldnt answer so I kept pushing to try and catch the next rider. Every time I stopped pedaling my legs would start to tighten immediatly so I had to keep grinding. Just missed out on the final pass by about 3 seconds…finished hard!

Whew! Tough effort! Got a big hug and kiss from my lady! We stood around and I chatted with a few guys from the race. Results posted and I took the 8th spot. Pleased with the result…curious to see if I didnt have a bunch of chain drops where I would have been…but that’s racing!

Made the walk back to the car…cleaned up…and was back at my apartment in 10 minutes! Sweet! Nap time!

Made the decision a few days later that this would be my final race of the XC season. I will opt out of the final race at Fountainhead. Lots of factors played in to my decision. Had a great season. Cyclocross is right around the corner. Needed a break from the time in the saddle to mentally reset my brain for cross.

Thanks for reading!

BEAR CREEK CHALLENGE XC 2010

The Bear Creek Challenge marked the final round of Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships. I was amped to race here because I had my first XC race on this mountain back in high school…back then it was called Doe Mountain. This was also a Kenda Cup Qualifier for the Shoot-Out.

Got to the venue nice and early…grey skies and a light drizzle met my girl and I there. Picked up my plate and kitted up to get my warm up started. Then it started to rain. Threw on my Metal Wind Jacket and it kept my kit nice and dry!

Felt good and ready to get the race rolling. The race was set for 2 7-mile laps of the course. Word around the start was that it was very rocky, rooty and an overall tough course. Sounded good to me! Little did I know that I was in for a beating.

Off the gun I had a good start and sat right behind in 5th place as we weaved around the base area before dumping into the first set of single track. Punchy and twisty track…with some quick decents and rooty climbs. I sat in and tried to keep my HR under control.

Road some fireroad into the next section…where I was met with rock garden after rock garden…downhil tech sections…up hill tech sections. It was crazy. I could not find a groove…kept dabbing and putting a foot down here…down there…it was frustrating. Stopped myself on a decent with my shin on a big rock and split my shin open…blood just was flowing down my leg…although it didnt hurt…at the time.

Rolled through the finish of the first lap in just over an hour for 7 miles…brutal…got a fresh bottle from my girl and some positive cheers from her family that had come out to support me.

Throughout the second lap I was gassed…bouncing off rocks and roots trying to maintain and finish the race. I was coming into the final steep grass climb and PING…chain broken! ARGH! Again! Was able to fix it in about 2 minutes and finish the race.

Got cleaned up and went over to First Aid to look at my shin. Cleaned it up…no stitches needed…sweet!

I was asked if I would race here again. I answered: Yup!

Finished 7th on the day and still waiting for overall MARC results…hoping for top 3!

Thanks for reading!