I just need 1 point....really, just 1!
Caravanned to the Mountaineer and Squawkercross UCI races in Gunnison and Durango Colorado this weekend with JT, Natasha, Amy, Nick and Joachim. Long drives and a super hairy pass, along with some great racing and good people, is what was on tap for the weekend.
The first day was on the Western State College of Colorado campus. Upon arriving, entering the parking lot was more like a Saturday race in Eugene than a UCI race in Colorado. No offense to the Eugene races, but you know what I mean. These races were a bit out of the way and whereas the fields were fast, they weren’t as deep as they could have been. Was this a perfect scenario for me to score some UCI points? Unfortunately no. Oh well. The course was actually pretty cool and challenging as it snaked its way around the campus grounds. Fast, off camber, twisty grass made up all but 100 yards of the course. The rest of the mix was 2 short and 1 long stretch of pavement. Upon pre-riding I came to the barrier section and noticed that they were pretty short. Bunny hop? Why not, I thought. So, I did. Easy cheesy. Now I know some of you can bunny hop well, but I can’t…and a double barrier? Forget about it. These guys were short though and spread out perfectly. Every warm up lap I hopped them, but I never felt confident enough to do it in the race. Oh well, it’s a start. Maybe next time I’ll give it a shot. The field was deep enough that I’d have to have a good race to score a 10th or better for some UCI points. Almost! I didn’t have the start I could have and played catch up for the remainder of the hour. I also went down on the first lap just as I was about to make contact with a good group who ended up racing for 6th. The course was challenging and other than the fall on lap one, I felt good about how I raced. I was able to bridge up to people and ultimately drop them, as well as attack when needed. The legs were there, but in the early laps the luck (or skill) wasn’t. The altitude didn’t seem to bother me at all, even though we were at nearly 8000 ft and I got 14th place, pretty close to 13th. Cash money! $49. So pro!
Sunday’s race was in Durango on the Ft. Lewis campus. The course was pretty similar to Saturday, held on the campus and primarily on grass. Off camber sections, some tight corners, along with some longer power sections and a tricky 3 turn down up, down, up barrier made for a technical course. Again, the field wasn’t big, but it was plenty fast. Especially with Wells, Kabush and Parbo taking the start. Again, if I had a good race I may have been able to get a point or two, and again, my start foiled my plans. First off, 3D racing guy, when everyone gets off their bikes for the tricky running section, why are you trying to ride it in the middle of everyone? That was only one thing that messed up my start. The other was….going down again on a little left hander off camber around a tree….right smack into another tree! No harm done, but I was dead last after that and at the end of lap one. Boo. After that I just took aim at the guys off in the distance, picking them off, one by one. I was good enough in the technical sections and really strong on the power sections. Finally, my legs are coming around!!!! Too bad I couldn’t get to the next group up the road. They raced it out for 9th and the final UCI points on the day. I think if I would have hooked up with someone else riding strong on the straights, we could have got them. Unfortunately the guys I hooked up with were good in the corners, but I would have to do the majority of the harder work. A good battle formed with a guy for the last few laps. I would power away and let up a bit hoping he could help, but again, I was left to do the work. Over the barrier for the final time, just as I was getting ready to attack, he dropped his chain. With him gone I took off after the only guy I thought I could still catch. Tad Elliott a member of the U23 national team had been just in front for the last few laps. In the end I fell about 20 yards short and coasted in for 13th place. I’ll take it. I wasn’t too far off of a point this time and the legs were feeling good again. Hopefully this carries through the final month of the season. Everyone else in our caravan scored points this weekend with Amy Dombroski getting the W both days. Good times had by all.
The first day was on the Western State College of Colorado campus. Upon arriving, entering the parking lot was more like a Saturday race in Eugene than a UCI race in Colorado. No offense to the Eugene races, but you know what I mean. These races were a bit out of the way and whereas the fields were fast, they weren’t as deep as they could have been. Was this a perfect scenario for me to score some UCI points? Unfortunately no. Oh well. The course was actually pretty cool and challenging as it snaked its way around the campus grounds. Fast, off camber, twisty grass made up all but 100 yards of the course. The rest of the mix was 2 short and 1 long stretch of pavement. Upon pre-riding I came to the barrier section and noticed that they were pretty short. Bunny hop? Why not, I thought. So, I did. Easy cheesy. Now I know some of you can bunny hop well, but I can’t…and a double barrier? Forget about it. These guys were short though and spread out perfectly. Every warm up lap I hopped them, but I never felt confident enough to do it in the race. Oh well, it’s a start. Maybe next time I’ll give it a shot. The field was deep enough that I’d have to have a good race to score a 10th or better for some UCI points. Almost! I didn’t have the start I could have and played catch up for the remainder of the hour. I also went down on the first lap just as I was about to make contact with a good group who ended up racing for 6th. The course was challenging and other than the fall on lap one, I felt good about how I raced. I was able to bridge up to people and ultimately drop them, as well as attack when needed. The legs were there, but in the early laps the luck (or skill) wasn’t. The altitude didn’t seem to bother me at all, even though we were at nearly 8000 ft and I got 14th place, pretty close to 13th. Cash money! $49. So pro!
Sunday’s race was in Durango on the Ft. Lewis campus. The course was pretty similar to Saturday, held on the campus and primarily on grass. Off camber sections, some tight corners, along with some longer power sections and a tricky 3 turn down up, down, up barrier made for a technical course. Again, the field wasn’t big, but it was plenty fast. Especially with Wells, Kabush and Parbo taking the start. Again, if I had a good race I may have been able to get a point or two, and again, my start foiled my plans. First off, 3D racing guy, when everyone gets off their bikes for the tricky running section, why are you trying to ride it in the middle of everyone? That was only one thing that messed up my start. The other was….going down again on a little left hander off camber around a tree….right smack into another tree! No harm done, but I was dead last after that and at the end of lap one. Boo. After that I just took aim at the guys off in the distance, picking them off, one by one. I was good enough in the technical sections and really strong on the power sections. Finally, my legs are coming around!!!! Too bad I couldn’t get to the next group up the road. They raced it out for 9th and the final UCI points on the day. I think if I would have hooked up with someone else riding strong on the straights, we could have got them. Unfortunately the guys I hooked up with were good in the corners, but I would have to do the majority of the harder work. A good battle formed with a guy for the last few laps. I would power away and let up a bit hoping he could help, but again, I was left to do the work. Over the barrier for the final time, just as I was getting ready to attack, he dropped his chain. With him gone I took off after the only guy I thought I could still catch. Tad Elliott a member of the U23 national team had been just in front for the last few laps. In the end I fell about 20 yards short and coasted in for 13th place. I’ll take it. I wasn’t too far off of a point this time and the legs were feeling good again. Hopefully this carries through the final month of the season. Everyone else in our caravan scored points this weekend with Amy Dombroski getting the W both days. Good times had by all.
