Race: GAP Finale
Date: 10-27-2002
Place: Heritage Park, Farmington, GA
Distance: 14.65 miles
Speed: 8.2 mph
Time: 1:51
The GAP Finale was held at Heritage Park in Farmington, GA, a favorite course of many riders. There is a good mix of singletrack and doubletrack. Much to the surprise of the racers, the promoters decided to run the course backwards. Many racers enjoyed this different route. Sport and Expert riders were originally supposed to ride the Expert course, but time and wet trail conditions led to the elimination of the Expert loop for the Sport riders. The course started immediately outside the pavilion with the traditional parade lap around a big field. Riders came back under the pavilion and made a left down a steep hill that riders usually climb towards the end of the lap. The trail then took riders through a mudpit before the first singletrack climb. It continued up a long doubletrack section before dropping back down into the woods for a brief instant. The trail then began a climb up several switchbacks. Many riders had to walk one particularly steep switchback. The trail pops out in the open for about 100 yards before going back into a singletrack section covered with wet roots. A flying dirt road takes riders into the final big singletrack, through the whoop de doo, and across a creek. One more big climb faces racers as they granny gear through several rocky switchbacks. The final half mile is punctuated by a few short doubletrack climbs and a singletrack section before popping riders out onto the dirt road for a big ring effort to the pavilion.
Four Senior Sport Women lined up. Six Masters women were ready to take the line at the same time, but they decided to start the two groups separately. Senior competition included myself, series leader and all around fast lady Dayna Cotter, newcomer Mary Kellar, and Natasha, the Junior and second in the series. I've raced against Dayna and Natasha many times, but I did not remember Mary from a previous race. Someone said that we'd raced together at the Ag Center over the summer. With a BANG! we were off. Dayna took the lead, and I settled in right behind her. None of us were going very fast. There was a long race ahead, and we did not want to kill ourselves on the parade lap. With only four of us, it was not crucial to break up the pack going into the singletrack. When we turned left down the hill, I saw Dayna right in front of me. The other two riders were a ways behind us. At the bottom of the hill, Dayna had a shifting problem, and I passed her as we went up the first climb. I was breathing hard but feeling fine. About half way up the climb, she passed me, not to be seen again until the finish line. I continued plugging away up the climb. I flew down the next downhill, glad to catch my breath for a minute. The next challenge was climbing the switchbacks. I was on my Airborne since my scandium frame cracked. With my 20 inner chainring, I was able to climb everything until I hit "the wall," which is a very steep section that curved around to the left. I saw a lot of riders walking it. I hopped off, jogged up the wall, and got back on. I popped out onto the open singletrack and powered up the small climb. The next singletrack section proved to be quite tricky as it was wet, and the roots were slick. My Airborne is known for its lack of quick handling and skittishness over anything wet or semi-technical. It does better on non technical, wide singletrack. This section of the trail was a lesson in how to go slow enough not to fall over but fast enough to keep moving. I could not believe how slow I was going. With Moonpie, my scandium bike, I would be dancing through the trees. She is built for technical singletrack. Not the Airborne. Mary passed me, and I watched her fly away. I resumed looking directly in front of the path of the bike to make sure that I stayed upright. The last thing I wanted to do was fall again as I seem to have done so often this year. I emerged unscathed from the singletrack and bombed down the dirt road in my big ring. I dropped back down into my middle ring for the entrance to another singletrack section. So far, I felt really good. I hadn't breathed hard except for on the climbs (thanks in part to having to go so slowly through the wet singletrack), and my legs felt fine. I hit a steep, rooty climb in a gear that was too big and had to dismount. I passed two riders while running before I remounted. I cruised through the woods and tried not to run into any trees. I slipped on a root and reached for my brakes with one finger. They did not engage. Quickly, I remembered that I did not have disk brakes, and used two fingers to slow down to avoid smacking into a tree. The creek crossing was not as challenging when running the course backwards. I turned hard left, shifted my weight back, straightened out the bike, and breezed through the creek. The climb on the other side was a different story. Like the riders in front of me, I was forced to dismount on one of the rocky switchbacks. I remounted and cruised out onto the doubletrack. I caught a glimpse of Mary in front of me. The last hill was not as painful as I thought it would be from this direction. I cruised into the pavilion ready for my second lap.
With no parade lap after the first lap, I dropped right back down the fast doubletrack hill. Recalling the mudpit from the first lap, I swung wide to the left at the bottom of the hill and dropped into my middle ring to spin through it. Up the hill I dragged the Airborne, all 24 pounds of the boat anchor. I could feel its weight as I climbed. The Airborne lacks the light feel to my scandium bike, but what choice did I have since my other frame is broken. I reached the top of the hill and went down the other side. As I approached the switchback hill, I shifted into my granny gear and began to spin. My front wheel hit something, and I had to dismount for a fraction of a second to get over it. I got back on and began to breathe very hard. This hill took the breath out of most riders. When I reached the wall, I dismounted and jogged to the top of the steep part. I got back on and took a minute to spin my legs out and catch my breath as I rode easily to the top. The first Sport Men passed me on their third lap. I moseyed through the singletrack as I tried to stay upright. I decided to practice my cyclocross skills over the downed trees instead of killing myself trying to ride over them with the boat anchor. Cyclocross season starts in a week, so the practice will do me good. I powered down the doubletrack downhill and hit the singletrack again. I had to run up the small hill again as there was a little traffic that had stopped. The wet roots caused several crashes there during the day. The whoop de doo was not quite as fast run backwards but was still fun. I had a grin on my face most of the race because I was having fun, something I haven't been able to do in a long time during a mountain bike race. It felt great racing with no pressure. I crossed the creek and began the climb up the rocky switchbacks. I was able to stay on the bike slightly longer on this lap because of less traffic. When I reached the steepest part, I was forced to dismount and trudge up the hill. I got back on and began to spin up the doubletrack. My back showed the first signs of fatigue. I tried to stand up and stretch, but it was difficult on the climb. Several more Sport men passed me, and I looked on with envy as they were about to finish their race. I went through the pavilion into my third lap.
I love downhills; there is no other way to say it. Flying down the hill that we usually had to climb at the end of the lap was a real treat. I dropped into my middle ring, slogged through the mudpit one last time, and began to climb. My front wheel bumped something, and I got off to run a short, steep section. There were a few people standing there, and their cheers really helped propel me. I climbed back on my bike and began the ascent again. I was glad to reach the top because I knew that only two big climbs stood in the way of the finish line. Again, I dropped into my granny gear for the switchback hill. Just then, I saw Kathleen, a Master Sport racer, behind me. We both dismounted at the same time, and she passed me as we walked up the hill. I walked slightly farther this time because I was beginning to tire. We remounted at the top of the steep part, and Kathleen took off. I was content to settle back into my slower pace and pick my way through the wet singletrack section again. About half way through, I saw Mary riding gingerly. She'd flatted on something but was determined to finish the race. I passed her and came to the final doubletrack downhill. My legs were still feeling pretty good, and my back had stopped screaming in pain. I stood and stretched for a minute. I sat back down and resumed flying towards the singletrack. I slowed down and entered the woods. There was no one around this time on the rooty hill, so I dropped into my smallest gear to attempt to climb it. I made it about half way up before I spun out. I hopped off, finished running the hill, and got back on. I flew through the whoop and tried not to hit a tree in the rest of the singletrack as the boat anchor fishtailed on some of the wet roots. The final creek crossing was as easy as the first two. Once again, I hopped off before the steep switchback. I walked a little further up this time, and I saw Kathleen about a minute ahead of me. I tried to chase, but my legs were not there. I settled back into my pace, knowing that I was near the end. I rode the final small grade in my big ring and finished in second place. I felt good! I was relaxed! More importantly, I'd had fun!
I must admit that the Airborne did an admirable job during the race, even as
much as I complain about it. It had a minor overhaul (new cables, brake pads,
etc) back in July and just had a new chain and chainring put on. Not once did it
misshift. The Airborne has earned its nick name of the "Boat Anchor"
or "Babs" because it has a hard time deciding which way it wants to go
in the singletrack. It is very sketchy, especially on tight singletrack, which
is made worse when the trail is slick like it was during the race. It felt good
to finish second and ends the mountain bike season on a good note. For the first
time in a few years, I do not feel burned out and drained at the end of the
season. I still have yet to set my goals for next year, although I plan to peak
for at least 2 of the NORBA Nationals. I am waiting for USA Cycling to release
the dates and venues for the NORBA NCS series. I've upgraded to Cat. 3 on the
road and will probably try to do some of the bigger road events in Georgia like
Twilight, Roswell, and the Labor Day Classic. As soon as race schedules are
released, I will begin to finalize my training plan for 2003. Until January,
it's lots of base miles and fun rides. Oh yes, I forgot to mention....cyclocross
racing, too!