riding the firecracker
I was talking to my friend Tracy not too long ago and she talked about how great it feels that she's riding well. Her confidence is high and she's having a blast being able to clean tricky sections.
What a great feeling that is...and that's the feeling i walked away with from the Firecracker 50 yesterday. I walked away thinking 'i can effin' ride my bike!!!'. It wasn't a *perfect* ride - i made a few mistakes and had a few troubles here and there - but I'm feel great about my ride and knowing I can *really* ride a mtn bike.
I decided to ride the hardtail as there is nothing *super* technical - some sketchy loose descents but since the course is 25miles with an estimated 5400ft of climbing - I decided to go the weight weenie route and ride my 21lb hardtail. i rode the rigid SS last year and there are a lot of "big-ring" sections on this course and some of the descents are super bumpy. It was frustrating to be spun out so much last year...so the hardtail was my goto bike on this ride.
My goal was to break 3 hours and my ride time was ~2:56....cutting it close but I did it! whew!
The team
I did the FC on a team. My buddy, Ted, has never done a mtn bike race and last year he asked me to be on a team with him for this year. Ted is a good rider - definitely faster than I am. Strong on the climbs and a good technical rider. I figured he'd have no problem on this course.
me and ted at the start of the parade
.. I love the start of this race - so many of my friends do this race and it's great so see everyone at the start.
Ted was nervous at the start - but I knew once he settled in and got past the parade he'd do fine. I rode the parade with him and got to see him high five his family. After that i told him to move up to the front of the pack and be ready to go.
Ted in the parade
I hung back and rode with the Sport Women for a bit and then saw Ariana and Carrie. ariana was doing the Sparkler and Carrie was riding with her..
Waiting...
I've never done the 2nd lap before and it's a little hard to just hang out and wait. I was trying not to stand out in the sun and trying to keep drinking so I wouldn't get dehydrated. I wasn't sure what Ted was going to come in at -i guessed a wide range a ride time of 2:20 - 2:45. i'm not quite sure what his official time (I never know what the start wave time is gonna be clocked at....) was but he rolled up to the transition @ 1:55pm.
Here's ted crossing the line
.
Up Boress Pass to Gold Mine
I started out in a group of 5 soloists on the singletrack to Boress Pass Rd. I could see the toll the first lap had taken on them. As soon as we got on the paved road i was able to pass them. And so it went...I just kept passing people. i was surprised. I passed Amy Rollibard a very fast expert racer - she was eating a gu. Knowing how strong she is and even tho she was doing it solo I expected her pass me somewhere along the course - but I never saw her again.
Actually, I felt a little bad having fresh legs and passing people that had put in a strong 1st lap - but i guess that's the beauty of being lazy and doing the race on a team. ;) A soloist (a black guy in a blue race kit ) passed me on Boress Pass road after it turned to dirt. Then a strong group of ~5 people passed me - team riders by the look of them (they were clean) and 3 of them had that calf marking of 19(i assumed sport men team) and 2 of them were in my category. They were going so strong I wasn't able to catch them. darn. I ended riding with the afore mentioned guy in a blue kit when we hit the singletrack. I stayed right on his tail that whole bit.
i was super happy that I had gears - the singletrack here is made for some big-ring cranking. Actually, Jesper (doing the race solo on a SS) said I passed him at the beginning of the singletrack as he had stopped to pee. He said he saw me for quite a while but then I pulled away as he was spun out.(he pulled a strong solo ride and ended up finishing ~1minute behind me)
Me and blue kit guy passed a few people on this section. I was feeling the flow.. :D that is until the Pinball Alley. I had been having a little trouble with my front brake and when I got into the loose descent past the trees - i realized I barely had any front brake. I tried to pump it up but ended up having to rely on my rear brake and there was some skidding going on. :(
Gold Mill Mine/Nightmare on Baldy/Sally Berber
The Gold Mill climb is ~.5 of a mile 11% grade climb. It hurts pretty good. I just put it in granny/granny and kept cranking...it was over with in 8 minutes. whew!
The nightmare on Baldy a steep, loose descent. I was super tentative on this descent, my front brake was coming back but i didn't have any confidence in it. I rode like a beginner in this section.
I finally made it down Nightmare and jumped on Sally Berber for the 2mile gravel road descent. Again - gears were nice here as I hammered in the big-ring when i could.
Little French Gulch and the Flume trail
This is the crux of the course ~1.5 miles a super steep climb full of shale and loose rocks. It's also the highest point of the course.
I popped it in granny gear. Several people littered the side of the trail at this point. Many folks cramping. I saw a guy (in a black race kit) i recognized from the short track standing on the side of the trail. I asked if he was alright and he said yes as I rode on by. After the stream crossing the afore mentioned black race kit guy(BRKG) passed me and then I saw him stop again. I guess he was starting to cramp up whenever he started climbing.
I made it to the top of French Gulch - my time was 1:44. wow! that's was ~8minutes faster than I made it last year on the SS. At the point I was super optimistic I would be able to hit my goal. But I put that out of my mind and hoped on the flume trail.
The Flume trail is ~2miles long. It's carved into the side of the mountain and it's off-camber singletrack. There is literally no place to pass unless the rider in front just stops and leans off the trail to let you squeeze by. Needless to say - many racers are not willing to do that.
There was a guy directly behind me in a Boulder Cycle Sport race kit. He had the look of a fast expert dude - thin and lean. As I entered the Flume trail I was quite sure he'd be faster than me so I let him by. whoops! turns out I was on his tail immediately and I could tell I was resting. I was in the middle ring but in my smallest cog and I was shocked that obviously able to go faster than the Boulder Cycle guy - so I stayed on his tail and while I rode I made alot of noise riding my bike so he'd either a) step it up or b) let me by. Well neither a or b happened but I saw a small opening coming up ~1mile in and I said "passing on your right" and powered passed him. Whew!
then I caught up to the next guy - he had a "M" on his calf so he was in Maverick dude category (experts that don't race NORBA races). This guy heard me coming and kindly let me by. Then I caught up to another "M" guy - this one didn't let me by but I was right on his tail...as soon as the singletrack ended I powered past him on the road.
Man - i felt really good about my riding on the Flume trail - I felt the flow, legs felt good and I felt I was riding strong.
Decsending the jeep road and lincoln meadows
Here the course opens up into a bumpy, fast jeep road. Now jeep road descents have always been a weakness of mine - but I've made improvements in the last couple of years. i think riding the rigid SS had really helped teach me to keep my momentum and stay loose on the bike.
On this descent I let it rip. I blasted pass about 4 guys at the beginning of this section. I heard someone behind but I just focused on my ride and figured if they were faster than me then they could pass.
Man - i was really flowing here - I had it in the big ring and hammered when I could, I pumped the rollers with ease, I pedaled out of the corners, I stayed light on the bars and let it roll in the rocky sections all the while hearing someone behind me but never passing. As I slowed down for a 90 degree turn finally the guy behind me (turns out it was the afore mentioned BRKG) passes me. As he passed he said 'you are riding very well. your descending is great ' What a great thing to hear.
After all that fun descending I hit a little short steep bitchy climb (it's only 5 or 6 minutes but it hurts) At the bottom of the climb I see the BRKG that had just passed me. He's standing on the side of the trail and I can see by the way he is leaning on his bike his legs are cramping up pretty good. He looks at me and say "all the work for nothing" (meaning all the fast descending and now his stopped dead in his tracks".) I ask him if he had any electrolytes and he said he forgot to pack them. I had a small baggie of 6 Hammer endurolyte tablets so I dug them out of my jersey pocket and handed them to him. I was feeling pretty good at this time and was 8 miles from the finish - so I was pretty sure I'd be good with out them.
I rode on...a few soloists were walking and I passed them. I entered the descending singletrack directly behind a girl in a tough girl kit and another guy. We all 3 stayed pretty close together on the descent and then when there was a small little uphill I powered past them. Man - I was feeling good and hammering it.
Crashing is time consuming
I entered the nasty little descent of Rich Gulch at mach 1. I know this off-camber, loose descent well and was hoping to stay loose and light on the bars. As soon as I entered it I went down hard. I'm not sure what I did - but I'm sure I did something. All the people I just passed slowed down to ask me if I was ok. I told everyone "i'm good - keep riding". But I was concerned - my pedal had tagged my left calf pretty good and I saw it cramp. It turned into the shape of a rectangle. yikes! I wondered if my race was over. I laid on the ground of a bit and then picked up my bike and myself. My calf had released and I was able to stand on it. It was sore but not cramping anymore.
I got on the bike and began descending like a beginner. I this point BRKG passed me...he goes "thanks for the electrolytes - they really helped" Then a girl in my race category passed me. I was bummed but at this point didn't want to crash again.
Rode to home
I turned up on the road to Sally Berber and passed the girl in my category that had just passed me on the descent. whew! I passed a few more people and head up Sally Berber - I middle ringed it as fast as I could up to the top passing another girl and a guy in my race category. I hit the Sally Berber descent using the big ring when I could.
I was probably a little tentative on the singletrack descent to the finish...I knew I was cutting it close to my goal time - so it was a fine balance between pushing and not riding over my ability at the time.
A fast expert girl passed me and a guy on a 29er passed but no one else. I crossed the finish line with a smile (or maybe that's a grimace) on my face.
Just a tad bit dirty from my ride. ;)
teammates
Aftermath and friends
Cat Morrison (badass ultra endurance rider extraordinaire) came up to me after the race and complimented me on my riding. she did it solo and apparently i passed her somewhere along the way. she said I looked really strong as I went by.
I felt really good about my ride. I'm thinking next year when I'm on my ti hardtail with a better fork and a little bit longer wheel base - I can do even better.
Trust me - I'm am under no illusions that my time is a "fast" time. Plenty of girls ride the course a lot faster. Pro girls do it in the 2:10s and 2:20s. Strong Experts in 2:30s up to mid 2:40s. The faster Sport girls mid 2:40s to under 3hours. But I'm making progress and hopefully each year I can get stronger and faster.
Congrats to all my friends that rode too!
Jesper finished with a great time of 5:46 and I think he said he stopped to take pictures here and there and of course he had a HUGE smile on his face when he was done. ;)
Jen rode her singlespeed and she did great. big kudos for her to doing the whole 50 on the SS.
Jessica Moon rode her new BlackSheep SS too and finished 4th - 1 second(!) behind 3rd.
Tom had an interesting ride - he had a negative split. A 3:15 first lap and then a 2:57 second lap.
Melanie of course rode a strong lap of 2:30ish and she said she was held up with all the traffic too.
Sasha had a rough day but hung tough and finished. She was happy as she said this was the 1st time ever that she didn't walk any of the descents. I know that's a huge accomplishment for her.
Cat Bywaters - the cutest girl on the planet had a good ride.
Ariana - was the only junior in her category but she beat her time from last year by 11 minutes.
Ariana on the poduim
What a great feeling that is...and that's the feeling i walked away with from the Firecracker 50 yesterday. I walked away thinking 'i can effin' ride my bike!!!'. It wasn't a *perfect* ride - i made a few mistakes and had a few troubles here and there - but I'm feel great about my ride and knowing I can *really* ride a mtn bike.
I decided to ride the hardtail as there is nothing *super* technical - some sketchy loose descents but since the course is 25miles with an estimated 5400ft of climbing - I decided to go the weight weenie route and ride my 21lb hardtail. i rode the rigid SS last year and there are a lot of "big-ring" sections on this course and some of the descents are super bumpy. It was frustrating to be spun out so much last year...so the hardtail was my goto bike on this ride.
My goal was to break 3 hours and my ride time was ~2:56....cutting it close but I did it! whew!
The team
I did the FC on a team. My buddy, Ted, has never done a mtn bike race and last year he asked me to be on a team with him for this year. Ted is a good rider - definitely faster than I am. Strong on the climbs and a good technical rider. I figured he'd have no problem on this course.
me and ted at the start of the parade
.. I love the start of this race - so many of my friends do this race and it's great so see everyone at the start.Ted was nervous at the start - but I knew once he settled in and got past the parade he'd do fine. I rode the parade with him and got to see him high five his family. After that i told him to move up to the front of the pack and be ready to go.
Ted in the parade
I hung back and rode with the Sport Women for a bit and then saw Ariana and Carrie. ariana was doing the Sparkler and Carrie was riding with her..
Waiting...
I've never done the 2nd lap before and it's a little hard to just hang out and wait. I was trying not to stand out in the sun and trying to keep drinking so I wouldn't get dehydrated. I wasn't sure what Ted was going to come in at -i guessed a wide range a ride time of 2:20 - 2:45. i'm not quite sure what his official time (I never know what the start wave time is gonna be clocked at....) was but he rolled up to the transition @ 1:55pm.
Here's ted crossing the line
.Up Boress Pass to Gold Mine
I started out in a group of 5 soloists on the singletrack to Boress Pass Rd. I could see the toll the first lap had taken on them. As soon as we got on the paved road i was able to pass them. And so it went...I just kept passing people. i was surprised. I passed Amy Rollibard a very fast expert racer - she was eating a gu. Knowing how strong she is and even tho she was doing it solo I expected her pass me somewhere along the course - but I never saw her again.
Actually, I felt a little bad having fresh legs and passing people that had put in a strong 1st lap - but i guess that's the beauty of being lazy and doing the race on a team. ;) A soloist (a black guy in a blue race kit ) passed me on Boress Pass road after it turned to dirt. Then a strong group of ~5 people passed me - team riders by the look of them (they were clean) and 3 of them had that calf marking of 19(i assumed sport men team) and 2 of them were in my category. They were going so strong I wasn't able to catch them. darn. I ended riding with the afore mentioned guy in a blue kit when we hit the singletrack. I stayed right on his tail that whole bit.
i was super happy that I had gears - the singletrack here is made for some big-ring cranking. Actually, Jesper (doing the race solo on a SS) said I passed him at the beginning of the singletrack as he had stopped to pee. He said he saw me for quite a while but then I pulled away as he was spun out.(he pulled a strong solo ride and ended up finishing ~1minute behind me)
Me and blue kit guy passed a few people on this section. I was feeling the flow.. :D that is until the Pinball Alley. I had been having a little trouble with my front brake and when I got into the loose descent past the trees - i realized I barely had any front brake. I tried to pump it up but ended up having to rely on my rear brake and there was some skidding going on. :(
Gold Mill Mine/Nightmare on Baldy/Sally Berber
The Gold Mill climb is ~.5 of a mile 11% grade climb. It hurts pretty good. I just put it in granny/granny and kept cranking...it was over with in 8 minutes. whew!
The nightmare on Baldy a steep, loose descent. I was super tentative on this descent, my front brake was coming back but i didn't have any confidence in it. I rode like a beginner in this section.
I finally made it down Nightmare and jumped on Sally Berber for the 2mile gravel road descent. Again - gears were nice here as I hammered in the big-ring when i could.
Little French Gulch and the Flume trail
This is the crux of the course ~1.5 miles a super steep climb full of shale and loose rocks. It's also the highest point of the course.
I popped it in granny gear. Several people littered the side of the trail at this point. Many folks cramping. I saw a guy (in a black race kit) i recognized from the short track standing on the side of the trail. I asked if he was alright and he said yes as I rode on by. After the stream crossing the afore mentioned black race kit guy(BRKG) passed me and then I saw him stop again. I guess he was starting to cramp up whenever he started climbing.
I made it to the top of French Gulch - my time was 1:44. wow! that's was ~8minutes faster than I made it last year on the SS. At the point I was super optimistic I would be able to hit my goal. But I put that out of my mind and hoped on the flume trail.
The Flume trail is ~2miles long. It's carved into the side of the mountain and it's off-camber singletrack. There is literally no place to pass unless the rider in front just stops and leans off the trail to let you squeeze by. Needless to say - many racers are not willing to do that.
There was a guy directly behind me in a Boulder Cycle Sport race kit. He had the look of a fast expert dude - thin and lean. As I entered the Flume trail I was quite sure he'd be faster than me so I let him by. whoops! turns out I was on his tail immediately and I could tell I was resting. I was in the middle ring but in my smallest cog and I was shocked that obviously able to go faster than the Boulder Cycle guy - so I stayed on his tail and while I rode I made alot of noise riding my bike so he'd either a) step it up or b) let me by. Well neither a or b happened but I saw a small opening coming up ~1mile in and I said "passing on your right" and powered passed him. Whew!
then I caught up to the next guy - he had a "M" on his calf so he was in Maverick dude category (experts that don't race NORBA races). This guy heard me coming and kindly let me by. Then I caught up to another "M" guy - this one didn't let me by but I was right on his tail...as soon as the singletrack ended I powered past him on the road.
Man - i felt really good about my riding on the Flume trail - I felt the flow, legs felt good and I felt I was riding strong.
Decsending the jeep road and lincoln meadows
Here the course opens up into a bumpy, fast jeep road. Now jeep road descents have always been a weakness of mine - but I've made improvements in the last couple of years. i think riding the rigid SS had really helped teach me to keep my momentum and stay loose on the bike.
On this descent I let it rip. I blasted pass about 4 guys at the beginning of this section. I heard someone behind but I just focused on my ride and figured if they were faster than me then they could pass.
Man - i was really flowing here - I had it in the big ring and hammered when I could, I pumped the rollers with ease, I pedaled out of the corners, I stayed light on the bars and let it roll in the rocky sections all the while hearing someone behind me but never passing. As I slowed down for a 90 degree turn finally the guy behind me (turns out it was the afore mentioned BRKG) passes me. As he passed he said 'you are riding very well. your descending is great ' What a great thing to hear.
After all that fun descending I hit a little short steep bitchy climb (it's only 5 or 6 minutes but it hurts) At the bottom of the climb I see the BRKG that had just passed me. He's standing on the side of the trail and I can see by the way he is leaning on his bike his legs are cramping up pretty good. He looks at me and say "all the work for nothing" (meaning all the fast descending and now his stopped dead in his tracks".) I ask him if he had any electrolytes and he said he forgot to pack them. I had a small baggie of 6 Hammer endurolyte tablets so I dug them out of my jersey pocket and handed them to him. I was feeling pretty good at this time and was 8 miles from the finish - so I was pretty sure I'd be good with out them.
I rode on...a few soloists were walking and I passed them. I entered the descending singletrack directly behind a girl in a tough girl kit and another guy. We all 3 stayed pretty close together on the descent and then when there was a small little uphill I powered past them. Man - I was feeling good and hammering it.
Crashing is time consuming
I entered the nasty little descent of Rich Gulch at mach 1. I know this off-camber, loose descent well and was hoping to stay loose and light on the bars. As soon as I entered it I went down hard. I'm not sure what I did - but I'm sure I did something. All the people I just passed slowed down to ask me if I was ok. I told everyone "i'm good - keep riding". But I was concerned - my pedal had tagged my left calf pretty good and I saw it cramp. It turned into the shape of a rectangle. yikes! I wondered if my race was over. I laid on the ground of a bit and then picked up my bike and myself. My calf had released and I was able to stand on it. It was sore but not cramping anymore.
I got on the bike and began descending like a beginner. I this point BRKG passed me...he goes "thanks for the electrolytes - they really helped" Then a girl in my race category passed me. I was bummed but at this point didn't want to crash again.
Rode to home
I turned up on the road to Sally Berber and passed the girl in my category that had just passed me on the descent. whew! I passed a few more people and head up Sally Berber - I middle ringed it as fast as I could up to the top passing another girl and a guy in my race category. I hit the Sally Berber descent using the big ring when I could.
I was probably a little tentative on the singletrack descent to the finish...I knew I was cutting it close to my goal time - so it was a fine balance between pushing and not riding over my ability at the time.
A fast expert girl passed me and a guy on a 29er passed but no one else. I crossed the finish line with a smile (or maybe that's a grimace) on my face.
Just a tad bit dirty from my ride. ;)
teammates
Aftermath and friends
Cat Morrison (badass ultra endurance rider extraordinaire) came up to me after the race and complimented me on my riding. she did it solo and apparently i passed her somewhere along the way. she said I looked really strong as I went by.
I felt really good about my ride. I'm thinking next year when I'm on my ti hardtail with a better fork and a little bit longer wheel base - I can do even better.
Trust me - I'm am under no illusions that my time is a "fast" time. Plenty of girls ride the course a lot faster. Pro girls do it in the 2:10s and 2:20s. Strong Experts in 2:30s up to mid 2:40s. The faster Sport girls mid 2:40s to under 3hours. But I'm making progress and hopefully each year I can get stronger and faster.
Congrats to all my friends that rode too!
Jesper finished with a great time of 5:46 and I think he said he stopped to take pictures here and there and of course he had a HUGE smile on his face when he was done. ;)
Jen rode her singlespeed and she did great. big kudos for her to doing the whole 50 on the SS.
Jessica Moon rode her new BlackSheep SS too and finished 4th - 1 second(!) behind 3rd.
Tom had an interesting ride - he had a negative split. A 3:15 first lap and then a 2:57 second lap.
Melanie of course rode a strong lap of 2:30ish and she said she was held up with all the traffic too.
Sasha had a rough day but hung tough and finished. She was happy as she said this was the 1st time ever that she didn't walk any of the descents. I know that's a huge accomplishment for her.
Cat Bywaters - the cutest girl on the planet had a good ride.
Ariana - was the only junior in her category but she beat her time from last year by 11 minutes.
Ariana on the poduim
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