Return on the Jedi, Merlin, Oregon, June 27-28, 2009
by Elaine Bothe
A truly epic weekend in the hills west of Grant's Pass. This is essentially a mountain bike stage race, with a short track race, a 9 mile Super D race (which is mostly downhill but with some climbing to keep the hardcore downhill bikes from winning) and a 24 mile cross country race on Sunday.
Sage and I drive down together Friday night to camp. She reserved a tent spot for us both at the Indian Mary Campground along the Rogue River. A gorgeous setting, with showers and flush toilets and electricity. Not bad for “roughing it,” we thought. This would be a really fun place to bring a bunch of friends and family for a party weekend. Which one large group of people did, for a wedding on Saturday. Loud talking, laughing, music, fistfights and all kinds of fun.
I had earplugs, so I got some sleep but on Saturday morning we pack up our tents, cancel our second night reservation and move uphill to the race venue. Instant calm, quiet and beauty greet us as we pull into the campsite. No running water, no electricity, no worries. Sounds like a good tradeoff to us.
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Jedi Short Track, June 27, 2009, Cat 2 Womens 35-44, 1st place! Oh yes, I forgot we are at about 3500 or 4000 feet elevation. I go for my signature start and nothing happens. Eileen gets the hole shot. Sage and I chase her through traffic, picking off guys left and right. By the third lap my engine is finally working and I’m gaining on Eileen. I plan my attack for the uphill (on her own turf, ha ha) before we head onto the single track, where I know I can build a lead down the rough bumpy stretch. My plan works and I take the win. Eileen got 2nd, Sage, 3rd.
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Jedi Super D, June 27, 2009, Cat 2 Womens 35-44, 1st place! Eileen, Sage and I hang out after the short track, chatting and having fun. Eileen’s not up for the Super D, but Sage and I are amped up about the whole thing. We did pass up the chance to preview it, we figure we’ll get plenty of riding in over the weekend.
After an hourlong 15-passenger van ride up to the top of a mountain on a dusty bumpy scary off-camber heavily rutted “road,” we get out and admire the 360 degree view. We absorb as much as we could, since we won’t be noticing much scenery until we cross the finish line back at camp. It’s a LeMans start, this is cool! We lay our bikes down on the gravel and climb back up 50 yards or so.
“Go!” Cycling shoes don’t make the best runners, so we all gingerly highstep it to our bikes and jump on. I get a good cyclocross mount going and I chase the lead pack of guys down the hill. One guy biffs it, and I barely avoid running over him or his bike. I’m flying, and so are the guys, faster than me. I’m following their dust cloud, which is just fine since now I have a clear path and plenty of space.
7 miles of gravel road, rocks and fast red clay firelane, including some climbing. Ooh, my legs are feeling the short track race but it’s a nice break for my forearms. Then hard left onto the Jedi trail, a swoopy 2-ish mile segment of fast rollers and open switchbacks. I fly through the trees, just like the stormtroopers in that Star Wars movie! 42 minutes after my start, I arrive at camp in one piece, exhilarated and breathless. What fun. I take the win in our age group and 14th overall out of 42, including the pro guys! Sage isn’t far behind, age group 2nd, and 19th overall. Way to go!
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Jedi XC, June 28, 2009, Cat 2 Womens 35-44, 2nd Place. Michelle, who I have yet to beat, shows up this morning for the cross country race. Rats, I think to myself, another hill climber I need to fight. Rats, thinks Eileen to herself, there goes my chance for a win. Rats, says Sage, there goes my chance for a podium. Anything can happen, I say! The crowd is thin today, just keep racing. At the start, we’re all chatting and wishing each other the best.
Off we go, all the Cat 2s, men, women, in a big cloud of dust. Michelle gets ahead a bit and Eileen and I are side by side, working traffic together. We all know there’s a seven mile climb to start this race out. Michelle poops out a bit (I think it’s the elevation, like what happened to me at the ST start the day before!) and I attack to get ahead of Eileen. Unexpectedly the race turns onto a bit of singletrack, I thought the climb was all on the gravel road. I’m ahead of Eileen, there’s a few guys in between us and more guys ahead I want to pass to gain as much traffic in between myself and Eileen. “On your left!” I say, over and over, passing guys, then hearing a couple other “on your lefts” behind me, a guy, another guy, then Eileen’s voice so I know she’s working it as hard as me. Yeah, I know it’s early in the race but gaps are good, anything can happen.
The singletrack is just a short side loop which pops back onto the gravel road. This is where the climb really starts, I figure, and I get into a rhythm. A couple of guys pass me, then I hear more tires, and it’s Eileen. She passes me of course, and yells “Come on, let’s go. Stay on my wheel. You can do it!” She wants to drag my sorry self up the hill!! How cool is this! She wants us both to beat Michelle! What fun! I manage to hang on for about a mile or so, then I drop off, telling Eileen to go for it. I figure I’ll see her on the downhill or the single track ahead eventually.
I get back into my solo rhythm physically and mentally. Another couple three miles go by and I hear more tires. “Tell me you heard that big ol’ crash.” It’s Michelle. She had herself an incident on the singletrack near the start, gathered herself bleeding from both arms and caught up. We socialize for a minute, then off she goes up the hill. I try to hang on, but can’t for long. On upward by myself for another two or three steep miles.
Ahh, singletrack. Yay!! I welcome the change and head off down the hill. I catch up to Michelle, she’s really slowing me down, she knows it. She dismounts over a fallen and chopped up log, giving me enough space to get by. Yes! “Thanks!” I take off to build another gap. But this section is hard. I expect to see Eileen someplace, but it’s hard for all of us. Some tricky rocky stair step-ups, slippery big roots and four creek crossings. I plunge through all of them except for one I knew was deep and I couldn’t see the bottom. I walk through that one, it’s up over my knees. During the last slippery steep uphill, I walked, just mentally relaxing myself and knowing this would be hard for Michelle and Eileen. Eventually the trail turns onto one that looks familiar, it’s the short track course but it’s going by a lot slower than yesterday!
Then it’s back through camp, up the gravel road a bit then along a beautiful valley meadow (I snuck a peek at the scenery) and a two mile climb just to make it fun. No Eileen in front. Maybe she took a wrong turn. And, more importantly, no Michelle. This climb is steep, I stand to give my screaming quads a break. I food up and drink to prepare for the last section, the downhill and the Jedi trail where I want to ride hard and gain more time on Michelle.
Left onto the gravel road that was part of the climb on the Super D. Tire noises behind me. “I’m baaaaack!” Michelle laughs as she goes by, and, so do I. “Good job!” I say, knowing this would happen but surprised it took so long. She gets a good gap as we finish the climb. But I’m right back on her wheel shortly after the downhill starts again. We’re railing, it’s too risky to pass but she knows I’m there. Side by side we negotiate the hard left onto the Jedi trail, the last 2 mile stretch back to camp. “You go ahead,” Michelle politely gives it to me. “And what chainring should I be in, the big?” “No, the middle,” I say, as I take off.
I’m faster on the Jedi trail today than I was in the Super D. I keep hearing wheels behind me, waiting for Michelle but it was just a couple of the pros. They’re good, so I don’t need to stop or hardly even slow to let them pass, they get around cleanly with just a little extra room. Finally, the last little downhill, I sneak a peek behind me to see how close Michelle was. Nowhere to be seen. Oh good, because we have a long half mile or so on the paved road before the finish and by this point I wasn’t going to be out-sprinting anybody. Eileen is already done, 3.5 minutes ahead of me for the win, I got second a minute ahead of Michelle. Sage got fourth. What a fun race!
Many many thanks to Sage, whose enthusiasm was contagious enough to encourage me to want to go to the Jedi races, and also Eileen and Michelle for our fabulous friendly and respectful rivalry. This is what makes racing so much fun and the race reports more interesting. Also thanks to my team Sorella Forte and all our sponsors, especially Jeff Tedder and Hammer Nutrition and River City Bicycles for their great support and assistance. Special thanks to my personal sponsors Acme Moto Wear, Icon Tattoo, Mt Feedbags from Epic Ride Research, Lifeflight Memberships and a huge thank-you and shout out to Corey Cartwright of Seven Corners Cycles.
And saving the best for last, love and thanks to my Number 1 fan and supporter, my hubby Mark.
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