2009 Peak Sports Mudslinger Race Report
May 3, 2009
Cat 2 Women 35+ 5th Place
by Elaine Bothe
I knew I was in trouble when all the Cat 2 women charged up the 2.5 mile gravel road climb off the starting line and a lot of unfamiliar faces – or, backs of heads, is really the view I had -- bunched together in a nice tight knobby-wheeled peloton, barking out orders like in a road race. Known hill climbers Michelle and Eileen, my dueling nemeses from prior races, held their own in the pack. Uh-oh!
I held onto the back of the pack for dear life along with Sorella teammate Sage and my real sister and mountain biking buddy Julia and her Poplollie teammate Candy, though they did a better job of pacing themselves at the start and didn’t get wrapped up in the quick pace.
The climb got steeper, and I bungled a shift and my chain popped off. Stop, fix, jump back on. The peloton rounded a corner, and I lost contact with the lead few. I picked a few riders off, and Michelle must have lost the front pack, too… she and I are back and forth, together again.
I see Sage up ahead. I chase Michelle past Sage, Sage yells out encouragement. “Go! Go!” Team orders. So I went.
Michelle gaps me as the hill continues. Finally, the course turns onto singletrack and more uphill, a long sloggy mess of a climb. A slow procession of people, men from earlier starting waves, women, all of us in a somber march pushing our bikes up the hill.
Then more gravel road climb. This must be some weird vortex of a forest, all climb and no downhill. The procession of people spread out on the gravel road and it turned off onto single track again.
This, finally, was the downhill part. A delicious descent, a sliding, winding, slippery snake of a trail flew through the forest. I go for it, my front tire finding traction I have no idea where. My back tire sliding left and right, I think how happy I was getting practice in the snow last week. This isn’t much different, except for the brown color and the temperature.
This is fun. I’m passing a lot of people, yard sales as far as the eye can see, all the way down the hill. Eileen is off her bike on the left. Michelle, a little further, down on the right. Maybe they’re racing each other. I thread the needle, willing my bike through the empty spaces in between everyone.
Down, down over drainage ruts, bunny hopping the little ones and rolling through the big ones. This is the strangest mud I’ve ever seen, it’s about 4 inches deep, and sticky and slippery at the same time.
Then the uphill starts again, we’re going for another lap. The crowd thins out and I’m pretty much all by myself, plugging along. I hear heavy breathing and tires behind me, a group of five or six riders. Including Eileen. Up she goes, I struggle to hang on. Oh well, pace myself to finish or fade.
More downhill single track. Eileen crashes again. Now I’m in a pack of people, some crashing, some not. Eileen is managing an impressive cyclocross remount, but I’m moving pretty good and I get past her again. A bold pass on my part (this is a race, after all!), and she was obviously frustrated with the mud. I feel her pain, but was happy to be in front of her.
Uphill again. More breathing coming up behind, this time, just one rider. Yup, Eileen. She has a big ol’ fire lit under her! She is hammering up the hill, I don’t have the legs and she’s not looking back.
By myself again, back and forth with a couple of guys, stopping to clean out balled up mud and pine needles from my front derailleur and brakes -- maybe this is why people use rotors! It actually came in handy slowing me down a bit on a really steep muddy downhill section.
At about this point, it’s not a race any more, just a ride, making sure I finish safely and in one piece. Two and a half hours turned to three, (yay! The turn off to the finish!) then three and a half. Three crashes in the last hour. I probably should have added a little more Hammer Perpetuum to my flasks, my arms are toast and the downhills aren’t as fun now that I’m tired.
Another mile climb and I’m done. The scenery is great, and I got a great hill workout. Sage finishes not too far behind, and the photographers are enthralled with our once-pretty matching kits, now completely mud splattered. Now I have a “mud race” jersey, it’ll never be the same!
My sister Julia missed a turn and went for an extra training loop, but finished in (mostly) good spirits. What a trooper! Good job. Michelle managed to get past me again at some point, and finished second. Eileen came in fourth. I managed a sixth place finish and Sage, seventh. Not my best placed finish, but up against some pretty talented road racers, not injured and with some information on where I need to improve, I’m happy.
Again, many, many thanks to the promoters and race sponsors for putting on a well organized and fun race; my hubby Mark for all his love and support (who also racked up his own hardware racing motorcycles on the same day: 2 thirds and a 2nd place finish!), Sage Fuller and my other Sorella Forte teammates, and my friends and family. Also, thanks go to my sponsors Jeff Tedder and his Hammer Nutrition products that really kept me (and Mark) going, Christa at Epic Rider Research and my trusty Mountain Feed Bag, Acme Moto Wear, Dustin at Icon Tattoo, Lifeflight Membership Services, and River City Bicycles and all our other team sponsors. Thanks, all, for helping me play in the dirt.
Photos courtesy of Oregon Velo.
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