Mt Bike Season 2009: Spring Thaw May 16-17

Race Report: Spring Thaw Mt Bike

Ashland, Oregon May 16-17, 2009

Cross Country, Cat 2 Womens 35+: 5th Place

Downhill, Cat 2 Womens 30+: 1st Place

by Elaine Bothe

No new bruises or lacerations to show for a fun, busy and difficult two days’ worth of riding! And my bike has just a layer of dirt a different color than last time.

Hot weather, forecasted 90 degrees and sunshine. Saturday’s cross country race fortunately started early, a 9:40 am start for us Cat 2s. We roll out of Lithia Park in Ashland, the scenic backdrop for the Shakespeare Festival. Immediately we are headed uphill, which was to become the theme for the day.

We meander through a lovely neighborhood. Wow, somebody conveniently left their Z8 on the driveway for us car nuts to admire. Nice! Oh, yes, back to the race. It’s a mass start, I lose track of who’s around me. Plus there are a lot of new faces, from California, Nevada and Southern Oregon. Michelle’s in there, of course, flying up the hill.

Paving turns to gravel road. Loose rocks on most of the road, a clear line forming on the left side. A wagon train of people heading upward. Passing is tricky, plan ahead since the rocks are so deep.

Then the rocky surface gives way to the dry native soil: it’s more like dense chunky sand, crumbled granite, bright white and fast. A couple of guys are on their cross bikes (apparently, I didn’t see them, they’re at the front and one of them even won his category), and one guy on a giant-wheeled unicycle! And bumpy with water grooves, washboards and giant potholes. I hit a few hard in the play of bright sun and shadows.

I’m wishing I knew the course better, I would have chosen different tires. I’m even missing my neglected cross bike at home. The trusty mud tires that served me so well in the Mudslinger are slowing me down big time on this road. I pass two joggers. “Great day for some exercise, huh!”

Up, up UP, up uuuup, up UUUPPPPP. Uhhp, upppp, uuuuuuuhhhhhp. Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhp. Well, you get the idea. I like my hills, but this is getting ridiculous.

Twenty minutes. Forty, one hour. 1:20. 1:40!!!! Hey, look, single track!! Rats, it’s up, too. Nice moist/dry dirt, grip is great. Finally my tires are useful. The joggers are catching up, it’s too steep so now I’m running also.

Aid station. Water, thanks man! Back onto the gravel/sandy road. I studied the course map the night before, a clockwise circuit on mostly Forest Service roads. 23.5 miles total.

Not as steep now, but it still feels like uphill. Hey, yay! Down! Not long. Back up. I’m getting grumpy, my legs are quite done but I keep pedaling. I’m riding by myself mostly at this point. I pick off one or two guys, and a couple of other guys pass me. No other women anywhere to be seen.

Another junction, aid station. My elevation-addled mind lost count if that was the second or third. But wait, what’s that, it looks like a chute. And a guy is pointing down it. Go that way!!

If you insist…. Holy… here it is, finally, Dowwwwnhill! After a 21.5 mile grueling slog of liver and onions (it wasn’t that bad, really), here is a 2 mile chocolatey dessert. My super-fit-hill-climbing competitors including Michelle are long gone, this isn’t enough technical fun to catch them. Oh well….

I crack a big grin as finally my front wheel is lower than the back. Shoot, it’s lower than my seat! The first bit is a token rocky bit of trail, right, hard left into a proper rock garden with delightfully appropriate tombstone-sized boulders left and right. The line is 8 inches wide and STEEEEP. I laugh, I dab a foot then two, and let loose down a flat faced rock then through some more tombstones. Yeee haww!

This is the course for tomorrow’s downhill, I knew from my map study. This will be my first downhill race ever. I take mental notes, getting more and more excited with every hairpin twist and turn. Switchbacks onto narrow bridges, a double (I roll it), then a cascading roller coaster through the trees and crazy traverses. I forgot about all the uphill part, this, is FUN.

Through another intersection, and, down! I see the FS road again… no, wait, there’s a trail paralleling it. Yay! I get to go there. More switchbacks, though this is a soft sandy trail so a little less confidence inspiring but still quite fun. Now I’m glad for my tire choice… the trail peters out and I’m back on gravel.

Then pavement, back through the same nice neighborhood and through the park to the finish. A great ride, a fun race and I get to do the best part on Sunday! 3 hours and 2 minutes after I started, I manage 5th place, just 30 seconds behind 4th. Michelle finished 36 minutes ahead of me.

But I won a bucket of Hammer Strawberry HEED in the raffle! Sweet! Thanks!

That whole evening I replayed the downhill section in my head over and over. My strategy, my line…. I brought my dirt bike armor and full face helmet and goggles along, since I had it. I will definitely wear every piece of it Sunday, including my soccer shin guards.

Not intending to crash, I’d still rather dress for one even though I know it’ll be hot.

Barely able to sleep, I get up early so I can go preview. My Hammer Nutrition and water strategy Saturday served me very well, my legs feel good today, though I’m glad I’m not duplicating the XC race or anything long. Or hilly.

The drive up was harrowing, on the same type of roads—uphill and bumpy. Turn around and park, stroll around the corner to make sure my registration is all in order.

Gear up and go preview. They have a gated chute all ready at the top, and a clock just like a time trial. “Do you hold my seat like a time trial?” I ask the volunteers, being totally clueless. Yep. I can start clipped in.

My first preview through the tricky top part is as tentative as yesterday, dabbing and checking things out at the top. I’m testing my legs, my bike and my mind. OK, I get it. I fly down the rest of the hill, studying some of the trickier sections to think about later. I intentionally started early, the free shuttle ride back up a steep 2 mile road didn’t start until 8:30 and I didn’t want to be holding up any of the MUUUCH faster riders on my putt-ing preview.

Cool. I’m down. Waiting for the shuttle I chat with the other riders. They’re impressed with my hard tail bike. Well, it’s all I have, it’s all I know, and it works for me. I won’t be setting any land speed records, I just want to have fun and survive and see how I do. All I did from yesterday was lower the air pressure in the tires and clean and lube the chain. And clean the rims and deglaze my brake pads just to be sure they are in PERFECT working order.

I think I’ll work that top section again. The shuttle wait is long, not sure if I can get more than one other full run in. Through the starting chute, the crowd is gathering at the rock garden in preparation for some action. Great, an audience.

A clean run through the rocks, no dabbing. Hey! Fun! Cheers and supportive yells, they can tell I’m not all-pro, gung-ho and adrenaline-filled, hydraulic disk brakes and fully suspended. I pull up short after the double, so I can run that section again.

Another clean run, yes! On down the hill to wait for the shuttle again. Then the long wait till my 1:37 pm start time. An early lunch, a lot of nervous trips to the port-a-pottie, some socializing in the hot sun. I strip out of the gear and watch the pros navigate the rock garden. I saw some crashes, no big deal apparently, they jumped back on and hit the double in spectacular form. I clean my brakes and rims one more time.

Finally, go time. I suit up again, one more trip to the john, almost miss my callup—oh, they’re four people ahead, one minute intervals, I’m OK. Melissa Boyd, my only competitor in our age group is staged in front of me, she says “just call out when you’re ready to pass me!” Be safe, I say. She’s wise and had the forethought to have the organizers schedule a six minute time gap after us, so no gung-ho-pro-wannabe is breathing down our back wheels.

The two younger Cat 2s fire off one by one, then Melissa. The tone of the crowd changes, uh oh… must not be too bad, they’re not delaying me… I fire off. Another clean run. Cheers, cowbells through the rocks and down the hill. Faster than my previews but still in control. I need to work tomorrow, this is fun but not worth dying for. I am catching a pedal stroke here and there, where earlier I was braking.

Pushing the edges of my comfort zone I graze the uphill side straight through the double, then the switchbacks, then I see Melissa. “I crashed” she said, are you OK? She had some good gear on, after last year when she just had her kit and regular helmet. Yep, fine.

A few more corners then a quick sprint though the finish line. There’s about a half mile of roll out trail to cool off before the shuttle. My heart is racing and I’m covered in sweat, I didn’t even know it at the time. My run was just under 7:57 minutes, clean and safe, about a minute behind the other Cat 2s and two minutes and change behind the Cat 1 women. Wow. The top pro man’s time was 4:09!

I have plenty of comfort margin to improve but for a first effort with no crashes and a smile on my face, I’m pleased with my effort. The long drive home from Ashland wasn’t so bad since I had a nice little video in my head to play over and over.

This YouTube video is from 2008, but it shows the same course. These are the pros.

Thanks again to our Sorella Forte team (good job everyone in Silverton and at PIR! Maybe I’ll join you for some paved flat fun one of these days) for all the encouragement and support, my husband Mark and our team sponsors including River City Bikes, Jeff Tedder and Hammer Nutrition and all our other sponsors; and also my personal sponsors Mountain Feed Bag by Epic Ride Research, Dustin Ranck at Icon Tattoo, Acme Moto Wear, and Life Flight Network Memberships. Thank goodness I didn’t need that.