race season has begun - for realzy - almost

headed over to the catamount outdoor cntr for some cx style mtb racin' on sunday. it'd been raining off and on in the valley for days, my legs completely shit the bed earlier in the week, so between not wanting to ride in the rain - and having legs that felt like poo -the wkly hrs were pretty low. got-out for a cpl hrs saturday, felt well rested and was ready to open up the engine for the 1st time this yr come sunday, sunday, sunday.

as i cruised out of the mad river valley, rain clouds split and rays of sun began reaching-down onto distant mtns - a streak here and there, one suddenly hitting the road and car. nice! by the time i'd registered and kitted-up, had 15mins till race start. got a monster 10min warm-up in, found a spot in the 2nd row. went on a mass open-field start, the field strung-out straight and true in less than 1k. the course was 5k on open fields w/a cpl little hills to make a move on, and about 1/2 mile of singletrack. a cpl local roadie pros broke the race apart from the gun, eventually taking 1st and 2nd (i think, never saw the results) on their cx bikes. settled into a nice rthym by the end of the 2nd lap, gave-up marking the attacks of a young Ford rider and settled into pace with a cpl other guys, fighting for 5th place. was feeling really fiesty by the middle of the 3rd lap and made a move into a downhill corner, both tires went-out, and i found myself munching grass. quickly re-mounted, and realized the chain had gotten sucked back onto itself in front, pulling and bending my rear hanger. took a deep breath and calmly extricated the chain, bent the derailluer back and was free to play catch-up within 90 secs or so. it was time to let loose, pound on the pedals! good times. by the finish i was staring at the jerseys of the guys i'd be "battling" with before the fall. don't think the race took more than an hour, was glad to get the high intensity effort in and remind myself that the most aggressive line isn't always the smartest, a lesson i need to be retaught a cpl-few times a year.

(stole this pic from the catamount homepage, every post needs a visual, right?).

this sunday is coyote hill xc, the 4th of the northeast xc race series, but the 1st in VT. from here until the end of september, there's plenty to do on wknds, glad to have the mtb racing season back in action.