Gypsy Moth is two weeks ago now. Today was the Black & Blue, but I'm just getting around to catching up on an entry for G.M. tonight.
Again this year, the SRCR club was able to use the very nice property at Whelen Engineering for parking and the start. When I pulled the bike out of the trailer, I noticed my first mechanical problem of the day....no e-start. This was a surprise as my last ride a week earlier there was no indication of any problem. I was hoping that this was perhaps due to the cold weather: the bike was outside in 30-degree weather overnight. Unfortunately this was not the case and the e-start was out all day. In the end, I'd guess that this cost me 2-3 minutes on the day. I realized that I'd gotten used to not worrying so much about stalling and just relighting the bike with my thumb. Lesson learned.
We left out the back of parking to do the "Airport Section" first. And that's when I noticed my second mechanical problem of the day. I had almost no rear brake action. Before the start check, I tried to adjust the pedal to get a little more leverage and pressure. Over the course of the first section, I got a little more brake action. I guessed that there was probably some water in the line and it froze, blocking the flow of the fluid.
Out on the trail, we got out of the start check and the terrain was the typical for the Airport Section: rocky, technical, fun. Ed tipped over just a few corners in and I got past him and put my head down. This section is on the side of steep hill and it requires constant attention. A couple miles in is the now-infamous porno-hill: a 30-foot rock face preceded by a few choice centerfolds tacked to trees. I remembered the good line from last year and passed a couple guys here that were stuck on the face. The rest of the first loop was a really good mix of technical stuff with good resets to keep your brain and body in the game.
About halfway through the morning loop I think my brain fell out of my helmet. I've never made so many time-keeping errors in an enduro since the first couple that I ever did. On the day I had two burned check-ins, one late check in, and lots of stupid lines taken. Not sure what's up with my brain. At Palmyra I kept missing turns. I need to sharpen up the mental side of my game. It seems like my trail speed is slowly coming up each race, but my brain is lagging behind.
About halfway through the first loop my forks started to leak....badly. I'd just gotten them back from Gilles with new seals. I feared the worst, that maybe there were internal issues causing new seals to leak. The left leg leaked so bad that oil got all over the brake rotor, giving me about half the normal breaking power.
At the end of the race there was a very sneaky check on the dirt road transferring to the last A/B section. It wasn't 100% of a legal check, the crew did not have the signs facing the rider - in fact they only had one sign (that I saw) and the crew was hiding off to the side of the road - not that that part's against the rules.
I had a pretty good pace going in the last section until one hill got the best of me. I made it 3/4 of the way up, a very steep, rocky hill then slid backwards until I got tossed from the bike and landed with my left hip on a pretty good rock. I just laid there for a couple minutes as two guys I'd been competing against all day rode by. I got up and struggled to the end a couple miles away.
So, my riding was generally pretty good, but I ruined it with too many stupid mistakes.
Had to miss the following week's Jack Frost enduro, went to a NEASC visit in Leominster, MA.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Funduro: Palmyra, NY. September 26, 2010
The Wayne County club sanctioned the Newark Enduro with NETRA again this year and then later decided not to hold the event. Another local group stepped up to host the event (Arcadia BarkBusters), but at the time of their request, they were not a bonafide NETRA club. A lot of controversy, politicking, mudslinging, and complaining followed. In the end, through a process no one seems to fully understand, the club was granted the sanction. I'll admit that I'm one of the ones who feels that the NY enduros are a pretty big burden for the NETRA guys. In fact, I did a little math and this drive is 3x longer than the average NETRA ride. Couple that with the fact that my two previous trips to Newark were met with bad weather, axle grease conditions, poor arrowing, course cutters, and 8-hour drives home in the rain and it's fair to say I was not looking forward to this ride.
Ed volunteered to haul his camper out to Palmyra, so we had a place to stay right at the start area...a real luxury with an 8:00 AM keytime. The start area was Hogback Hill MX track, a really nice facility. Tech and registration were taken care of on Saturday night. Not too long after dinner and it was already time to hit the sack.
On the start we did one lap of the MX track. Even though I've got zero MX experience, it was a ton of fun. Soft enduro suspension meant that rolling the jumps was the wise thing to do. The 300 took a pretty easy holeshot off the line and then I backed off and let the other guys take the lead around the track...I probably wasn't going to be the fastest guy on my line anyway.
The whole first half of the ride as at 18mph which meant we were able to zero a few of the sections in the morning. Lots of wet grass from the overnight dew so you had to ride somewhat cautiously in the grass tracks and fields.
It seemed like only half of the sections in the morning were timed. This seems to be a theme with the NY enduros. Lots of really fun riding: short & steep climbs, off camber, with twisty single-track mixed in.
We were on row 2, which didn't give much of a chance for some of the fresh-cut stuff to get burned in. On the established trails there were tons of little intersections. The WNYOA guys don't seem to have the same approach to pre-turn arrows as NETRA. I felt like I was riding just a little tentative for the first loop because you were constantly trying to pick up the trail.
I think by the time we got back to the official gas, I was one minute up on Ed, but he would have me on E-points if we ended up tying because he was a little behind me and closer to the 30-second mark at the morning emergency check.
The speed average was 21mph for the second half of the ride and after gas I felt like I could wick it up a little more and be more aggressive. This seemed to work for a little while, but not long. The first section after gas was the same as the first section of the day. I was following Ed, and then Jim S. on his big BMW. Jim and I came around a tight, off-camber corner and saw Ed with his bike pointed straight up in the air, off the right side of the trail, with the bike still running and tangled in vines. Ed got out and got going and was OK time-wise because the section did not have a check. Come to think of it, there wasn't a check in either......and that was after gas. NETRA rules require a known control after gas but in this cases there was none.
After thinking about it, I think my ground speed was quicker than my mental speed in the subsequent sections. By that I mean that I think my pace was pretty good but I've never missed so many turns in an enduro before. I should have been looking up to pick up the arrows in order to ride well but I just didn't. A little later I averted disaster when the bike came to a quick halt after picking up some fence wire in the rear wheel. Luckily I was able to get it unstuck pretty easily and get on my way without losing too much time.
By now, Jim and Ed were well out in front and I was getting frustrated. Kept missing corners, including the one that was a turn into the grass track pictured here. I could see Jim and Ed on the other side of the field and tried like hell to reel them in. Probably pushed as hard as I ever have in an enduro in order to make time. So hard that I ended up boiling my rear brake fluid.....and I never do that. So whatever time I gained in the grass track was given back as we got back into the tight single-track climbs and descents.
After two more sections I felt like I was getting my rhythm back just as we were coming into the second loop's gas available. Near the end of this transfer section I saw Jim and Ed and Ed's bike on its side spewing a huge steam cloud. You could tell pretty easily that the bike was done for the day. He was trying to replace the coolant with the Gatorade from his camelback but that just created an impressive Old Faithful effect out of the radiator.
Jim and I moved on to the gas available and let some club workers know about Ed. He eventually ended up getting a van ride back to the start. He was on a tear and having a good day...probably 2-3 minutes up on me at that point.
In the end, my results were what they usually are for a rhythm-type enduro...poor. Even if you were to take out 3-4 minutes for missed turns, my competition in B-vet was still well in front of me.
In comparison to the Newark Enduros of the past, this one was much, much improved. Arrowing and ribboning were very good (except for the lack of NETRA-style pre-turns). Course-cutters were penalized for their cheating by a couple well placed checks. The start area and MX track were nice touches. This enduro takes place in beautiful country. I'm just really, really glad it didn't rain. It would have made for a much less enjoyable day.
It will be interesting to see if the ABB club sanctions this ride in 2011. It was well run this year, but it's just so damn far away.
Ed volunteered to haul his camper out to Palmyra, so we had a place to stay right at the start area...a real luxury with an 8:00 AM keytime. The start area was Hogback Hill MX track, a really nice facility. Tech and registration were taken care of on Saturday night. Not too long after dinner and it was already time to hit the sack.
On the start we did one lap of the MX track. Even though I've got zero MX experience, it was a ton of fun. Soft enduro suspension meant that rolling the jumps was the wise thing to do. The 300 took a pretty easy holeshot off the line and then I backed off and let the other guys take the lead around the track...I probably wasn't going to be the fastest guy on my line anyway.
The whole first half of the ride as at 18mph which meant we were able to zero a few of the sections in the morning. Lots of wet grass from the overnight dew so you had to ride somewhat cautiously in the grass tracks and fields.
It seemed like only half of the sections in the morning were timed. This seems to be a theme with the NY enduros. Lots of really fun riding: short & steep climbs, off camber, with twisty single-track mixed in.
We were on row 2, which didn't give much of a chance for some of the fresh-cut stuff to get burned in. On the established trails there were tons of little intersections. The WNYOA guys don't seem to have the same approach to pre-turn arrows as NETRA. I felt like I was riding just a little tentative for the first loop because you were constantly trying to pick up the trail.
I think by the time we got back to the official gas, I was one minute up on Ed, but he would have me on E-points if we ended up tying because he was a little behind me and closer to the 30-second mark at the morning emergency check.
The speed average was 21mph for the second half of the ride and after gas I felt like I could wick it up a little more and be more aggressive. This seemed to work for a little while, but not long. The first section after gas was the same as the first section of the day. I was following Ed, and then Jim S. on his big BMW. Jim and I came around a tight, off-camber corner and saw Ed with his bike pointed straight up in the air, off the right side of the trail, with the bike still running and tangled in vines. Ed got out and got going and was OK time-wise because the section did not have a check. Come to think of it, there wasn't a check in either......and that was after gas. NETRA rules require a known control after gas but in this cases there was none.
After thinking about it, I think my ground speed was quicker than my mental speed in the subsequent sections. By that I mean that I think my pace was pretty good but I've never missed so many turns in an enduro before. I should have been looking up to pick up the arrows in order to ride well but I just didn't. A little later I averted disaster when the bike came to a quick halt after picking up some fence wire in the rear wheel. Luckily I was able to get it unstuck pretty easily and get on my way without losing too much time.
By now, Jim and Ed were well out in front and I was getting frustrated. Kept missing corners, including the one that was a turn into the grass track pictured here. I could see Jim and Ed on the other side of the field and tried like hell to reel them in. Probably pushed as hard as I ever have in an enduro in order to make time. So hard that I ended up boiling my rear brake fluid.....and I never do that. So whatever time I gained in the grass track was given back as we got back into the tight single-track climbs and descents.
After two more sections I felt like I was getting my rhythm back just as we were coming into the second loop's gas available. Near the end of this transfer section I saw Jim and Ed and Ed's bike on its side spewing a huge steam cloud. You could tell pretty easily that the bike was done for the day. He was trying to replace the coolant with the Gatorade from his camelback but that just created an impressive Old Faithful effect out of the radiator.
Jim and I moved on to the gas available and let some club workers know about Ed. He eventually ended up getting a van ride back to the start. He was on a tear and having a good day...probably 2-3 minutes up on me at that point.
In the end, my results were what they usually are for a rhythm-type enduro...poor. Even if you were to take out 3-4 minutes for missed turns, my competition in B-vet was still well in front of me.
In comparison to the Newark Enduros of the past, this one was much, much improved. Arrowing and ribboning were very good (except for the lack of NETRA-style pre-turns). Course-cutters were penalized for their cheating by a couple well placed checks. The start area and MX track were nice touches. This enduro takes place in beautiful country. I'm just really, really glad it didn't rain. It would have made for a much less enjoyable day.
It will be interesting to see if the ABB club sanctions this ride in 2011. It was well run this year, but it's just so damn far away.
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