Willowdale Race Report

The answer to my last post: There sure was. 400 mountain bike racers on a warm spring morning can't be all wrong.
By now, most everyone local in the MTB racing scene heard what a turnout there was, how the course was fast, narrow and traffic plentiful. The race was pretty much everything racers want, including generous schwag being raffled(you didn't even need to buy a raffle ticket, just enter the race and you got one) and weather everyone in the entire universe thinks is a perfect day.

Smackdown Section One: ... maybe I misunderstood.

EFTA races are put on by individual promoters with EFTA sanctioning them and providing a series framework. What happens is someone who races manages to cobble together a totally non-profit EFTA race, and then thousands of us enjoy it over a period of several years, producing $1K-$5K in charitable donations each year. It is all about racing and and benefiting others. Racing welcomes people with uber-fit shark-like racing minds, recreational tourists out for a ride, and the rest of us in between. Races are a good thing to be able to access, live, breath and remember, and promoters deserve great appreciation for getting it done. Putting them on is an imperfect science and one with glorious results.

Since you looked over here, here's the race report I set out to write: Sunny, hardtail, high rollers, low seventies, dry, crowded, strong effort, consistent throughout, busted a spoke, stopped to wrap it and ate up 30 seconds or so, got back on, pressed, missed the win by 34 seconds, found my rear v brake rubbed for the last lap. That's it in a nutshell. I was ready willing and able but relegated to 4th and a taste of what might have been. Next up is the Pinnacle, a race that puts the Mountain back into Mountain Bike Racing. It has a solid climb, albeit tamed from years past, some sweet pump and the famous DH singletrack that begs you to stay off the brakes if you dare.

Smackdown Section Two: Any Expert Master/Cat 50+ in the northeast who wants to race a killer Mountain bike course head to head, be there. Let's have our own NE championship. Was that direct enough?

Oh and I rode with the GSW out of Concord last Wednesday. Ouch. Patrick Roane and crew sure do put out the wattage. Yes, I got dropped - with 2 miles to go- but still felt like something was accomplished.

There must be something happening

Willowdale has 254 pre-registrants. Who woulda thunk?

A Beautiful Day in The Neighborhood

Just got back from the Grind. The warmth of the sun and merciful cloud that came over on lap three, coupled with an air-as-refreshment sensation that only happens on certain spring and autumn days, made for an auspicious vibe.
We clicked off the starting line and Spin Arts went to the front and there they went, further and further away until I hear they sprinted for the photo finish with The Curlinator getting the job done. I, on the other hand, looked over my shoulder once during lap one just before the open field tape maze and saw Michael Goode. I rarely look over my shoulder when racing since it just invites a follower to be there, as if they materialized because you invited it into your perception, and it takes our eyes off the mission at hand: faster, faster, faster!
I broke out some mojo and chased away the demon, coming into waves and waves of traffic, which I actually enjoyed it - getting to talk up some guys that are back on the race scene between "OMG this incline out of the mud is getting longer with each lap", "wow there really is a LOT of traffic today", "this is not my beautiful race" and "ride or run?" The course defies conserving energy as each corner includes a rock, root, or angle that chases speed, You are forced to. Sprinkle in some candy coated rock gardens and shake. I maintained and didn't stink up the technical parts too badly finishing third in 1:32:06.

Root66 and EFTA had a good cross-pollenation thing happening. It should happen more often. A beautiful day in the neighborhood thanks to Doug Peckham, Family and Friends.

Oh, and Hines killed it, riding aerobic to demolish dreams. Fast guy, with Wilson ripping down a 1:25 to lead the expert field. Zoom.

Oops, killed a cyclist.

There are some things that defy logic. Apparently being drunk while driving, and running over and killing a high school student on a bike is, ahhhhh, just a mistake.

A Rochester, NH court accepted a plea bargain for a $930 fine. Glad that is settled.

Things that lack just treatment simply infuriate me. That and things like Boumediene vs Bush and the Barnes Foundation story. It is a small world in which my friend Rob ended the Boumediene's living nightmare.

Humans: a random and destined-to-be-temporary species.