Race Report—USA Cycling MTB National Championships

July 16, 2009
78º+ F, little wind, dusty, high UV factor
DNF

Southwest Airlines is great with bikes. Only $50 each way in a bike box. Some airlines won't take them or charge upwards of $100 or more.

A couple of days prior to my departure, I called around for shuttle costs to Winter Park. One company told me it was $60 each way. After they found out I had a bike, the price doubled. According to them, my bike takes up so much space that it bumps a paying passenger off the shuttle. I told them I was going to rent a car instead.

When I got to the rental counter, the clerk sold me on upgrading to a Prius. I was curious about the car and paid the $15 extra per day. I folded the rear seats down and my bike box fit with room to spare. It had plenty of pickup, even at 12,000 ft. I even averaged 48 MPG at 80 MPH.

I arrived two days before the race and pre-rode the course that day. It was awful, going from sea level to 9,000+ in five hours. I couldn't get my heart rate up, I was out of breath and a had massive headache. I didn't ride the next day and worked on my bike. I replaced my chain and installed Nokon shift cables. Did all the things you're not supposed to do the day before an event. Even had a few beers.



This is the toughest race course I've been on all year, worthy of our national championships. At the start, we immediatly start climbing, gaining 160 feet in the first quarter mile. I even passed a couple of walkers. One of them in a Reno Wheelmen kit. Doesn't that guy live at altitude? With 15 miles to go, I'm completely maxed out. At least I'm able to get my heart rate up to almost sea level rates.



The course is lots of rocky single track through the forest, connected by fire roads. Within the first mile, I passed someone on the side of the road, puking his guts out. Then riders from the next start group pass me. They started two minutes behind me. And they're older than me. This is not going to be a good day.

I managed to climb the rocky singletrack without difficulty, but slowly. I decided to run a smaller, lighter rear tire in case of rain. It works well on buff trails, but doesn't have enough volume to soak up the chatter. I could have used the larger tire, as the smaller one almost came to a complete stop when encountering rocks while climbing.

The downhills were an adventure. Fine dust, decomposed granite, rocks, ruts and braking bumps, conspired to take me down at every turn. There's even one section that's rideable, but faster to run down. Roll 100 feet, drop 50. A crowd was lined up there waiting for carnage, but I denied them their candy.

During the rocky singletrack climb, I developed a small leak. Every time I aired up, it went down again within a mile. I had a tube, but didn't use it. I finished the first lap in 1:15, not bad if I didn't have to stop so many times. Repeating the climb at the start was harsh, I almost started zig zagging across the road, making my own switchbacks.



Finally, midway on the last lap, I ran out of CO2 and called it a day. I turned around and back tracked to the finish. I only passed 5 riders.

Next time, I'll get out of my weight weenie tire mode and run a larger volume tire that can soak up more of the bumps. If necessary, put the tube in, and carry a pump for backup. Even if you're out of the race, at least you don't have to walk back.