I signed up for the wrong race. Well, actually I did the race I thought I should do, but perhaps I should have opted for the shorter version. I rode the Open class, a 24 mile affair loaded with the local studs and studettes. Earlier in the day they had a 12 mile version for beginners and older folks -- this time I didn't classify as an "older" rider as I'm not yet 40. This race was a benefit for the Medicine Bow Nordic Association and had no NORBA affiliation, which probably accounts for the exceptional organization and quick posting of results.
They ran us up the "Aspen Loop" trail, snaked us around up top for a while and then sent us done the "Pole Creek Trail" to the base of the old ski area, at which point we started up the Aspen loop again. Each loop probably included 400 feet of climbing. (Look here for a Trail Map of Happy Jack). Each lap was 6 miles and we did it four times. And like usual, I started out too fast and blew-up midway through, but recovered by the end. It was not a very technical couses as courses go, and hence it was a lot of fun. I didn't clean the steepest part of the uphill the first time (the crowd phenomenon), I did the second time, I fell over on the third lap, and I walked it on the fourth lap. On the second lap I tossed my spare tube to a flat victim and fell over in the process. Sometime during that acrobatic dismount I must have kicked my front derailleur 'cause it didn't work well the rest of the race. It kept clunking into my big chainring and I actually chipped some of the teeth.
Despite the nontechnical nature of this course, it was still intimidating for me. Some of the looping ski trails up on top (midway through a lap) have some very fast sections. I'm riding along thinking I'm really pushing the edge when some guy comes blowing by me on the inside. As he passes me he is suddenly confronted by a tree stump which he calmly bunnyhops. As this maneuver slightly alters his line, he's confronted with a large rock which he also calmly bunnyhops, after which he disappears around the bend. I just don't have the skill/nerve for such moves. Hence, my feeling that I was largely overmatched in this race.
The winner, one of the local experts, came in almost 30 minutes in front of me -- it took me 2 hours and 12 minutes. That put me in 20th position out of 38 riders, which I was pleased with. If you halve my time for a 12 mile race (1:06), I would have gotten fourth in the earlier race. I might have even won as I probably rode the first two laps significantly faster then I did the last two. Oh well, it's not as if I enter these things for the money or the glory...
