Mt Bike Season 2009: Echo Red-to-Red, Feb. 22

Race Report: Echo Red-to-Red Mountain Bike Race,

Echo, Oregon, Feb. 22, 2009

Women's Category 2 (Sport) 35+, 3^rd Place

by Elaine Bothe

I spend all the week before alternating between race preparations and being sick with a cold. It's my first mountain bike cross country (XC) race ever.

By Thurs and Friday, I feel much better, with plenty of energy. The sinus yucky-ness dissipated, and I decide 1) if my teeth didn’t hurt on Saturday, I’d race; 2) I’d still have a cold on Monday if I didn’t race and 3) I’d still be tired on Monday if I raced without a cold.

So I go for it.

Tire choice played the important role of the day. For the car! On I-84 through the gorge, just to make it through the snow, ice, overturned cars and trucks in ditches on the way to the race! Happily I’d been too lazy in spite of Portland’s nice weather to change the studless snow tires off my car.

Tiny Echo, Oregon was a gracious host to us 175 or so racers that showed up in the miserable weather, but by the 11:00 start time, the rain let up. Warming up was difficult, so was choosing the layers to wear and how much food and water to take. Plus they pushed the start back 30 minutes…

We finally cluster for the mass start. Teammate Sage and I shiver together, trying to figure out who we’re racing against in our Category 2 35+ group. We both have blue tickets on our backs, but we couldn’t figure out the rhyme or reason since everyone—the pros, the jrs, and everyone in between were all mixed in together.

Once moving, our knobby-clad peloton during the neutral and noisy roll-out along the paved road. Racing really starts after we turn onto a dirt road. Sage and I ride together on the roll-out, wishing each other the best. Mayhem ensues on the dirt road as everyone jockeys for position, and I lose contact with Sage.

We all fly downhill, then make a fast 90 degree turn and funnel onto the single track. Muddy and rocky, that first section is tricky. A lot of riders bail in the mud. I pass a lot of people, and finally the train of riders head up the hill.

The race sorts itself out as people find their rhythm, and finally I look around. Gorgeous open rolling Eastern Oregon hills, sagebrush, even the sun is poking through. Racers snaking uphill switchbacks as far as I could see. Most of the trail is compacted sand with a thin layer of mud on top, and sticky mud, not too deep, in the gullies. Bermed switchback descents remind me of ski runs. Some wood bridges, lots of rocks – sections alternate between sharp rocks and round ones – I just go for it. A lot of really bumpy and long traverses, it’s scary to take my hands off the bars to even reach for the camelback valve!

I’m cranking away, holding my own, really happy I made it out. The course is a blast, I’m feeling pretty good. Pass the feed station. A long fun super rocky descent (the pointy kind), hairpin turn to the right. I nail the set up, all ready for a good drive out of the corner but my rear tire isn’t biting the way I thought it should… oh, rats, flat.

And no level place for miles. So I set up on the side of the hill to get to work. I have tools and a spare tube, a pinch flat on one of the rocks. I have tubeless wheels on order… lotta good it’s doing me now! I move as fast as I can, with cold hands, and I’m cooling off. I hear a shout from the trail, it’s Sage! Yay! Go girl! I have this flat handled.

Off she goes, then eventually so do I. My repair holds air, yay. Just barely a mile of the single track left, then hammer up the dirt road (remember that hill?) then down the paved road back into town. I maintain a steady strong effort, but I’m tired now. A woman flys past me, she has a white tag on her back. I don’t care, I’m going to stay on her wheel. I do, for a little bit then I can’t hold the sprint.

Sage meets me at the finish line. You got 2nd,! she said. Cool! I replied, so you got the first! Right on! Go Team! We go clean up, and I check the board one last time to make sure. There, wedged in between Sage’s and my blue tickets is that white one. Even with a flat, I lost second place by just four seconds.

I’m proud of Sage for taking the win, and of myself for a podium spot in my first XC mt bike race. Thanks to the race organizers and the city of Echo for a fun time and great race. And thanks to the cool guy who owns the land, it’s all private property. I can’t wait to ride out there again.

A big thank you to our team, Sorella Forte and all their sponsors, especially River City Bicycles, for all the support and my personal sponsors: my husband Mark, Mountain FeedBag by Epic Rider Research, Acme Moto Wear, Inc, Icon Tattoo in Portland, Miriam Hough, LifeFlight Network Memberships, and Corey and his crew at Seven Corners Cycles. Thanks, I couldn’t do it without any of you.