Cat 2 Men, 18 Miles
By: Brad Walker
First as always
I want to thank Flying Dog Brewery and a huge thanks to Bike Dr of Frederick as
Brian, Dan, and everyone else is always very helpful, friendly, and of course
helping me be the lightest racer I can be without putting me in an unsafe
situation as I have been known to break everything that I touch when it comes
to mountain biking! Next thanks to the group of locals that help to put on the
races down in Virginia. It was my first time riding so far from home and the
venue and hospitality didn’t disappoint. So I decided to do this race as a tune
up race to get headed in the right direction to peaking before the Maryland
State Championships at Greenbrier State Park on April 21st which is
my most important race this year. So I make the trip into the heart of Virginia
and find myself in Maidens at what looked like a Boy Scout camp type of place
that had a 9mile loop that they use for an 18 hour endurance race from what the
locals were telling me. Mountain biking is a lot like life in general, you
learn from your mistakes and try to do things different the next time in an
effort to have a better outcome. Last weekend I made the critical mistake of
not hydrating correctly and I paid for it dearly. Another thing that I did last
race that I wanted to do differently was the type of cadence I was using.
Instead of using a lower cadence and using more muscle to power the bike I
wanted to use a higher cadence and use more cardio to power the bike. I could
get into the reasoning such as fast/slow twitch muscle fibers but no one wants
to read that crap and I don’t want to write about it. I’ve pointed out before
that racing is more than riding a bike, for the majority of us non gifted
athletes including myself, I need a plan and I try to stick to it and modify as
needed. Like the saying goes “everyone has plan until they get punched in the
mouth”. So hydration and a faster cadence is the plan today. The race director
calls the cat 2 racers to the start line and my heart rate is gradually
increasing in response to the adrenaline coursing through my veins. Before I
know it the bell goes off and I’m sprinting down a gravel road for 50 yards
before the right hand turn into single track. Having a little experience
racing, I know that getting the hole shot is extremely important as it can
sometimes dictate the rest of the race as passing in tight single track is
difficult. I get the hole shot and three of us are already building a good lead
on the chasers. I hold the pace and tire of the two riders and we hit double
track down hill and my choice of a fully rigid frame keeps me from keeping the
pace as I have to be a little more careful with my line. The 9 mile loop goes
by in a flash and I’m sitting comfortably in 3rd. I’m feeling pretty
good and hydrating more than I can remember and the warmer temperatures have me
sweating and I love every second of it. I’m using a faster cadence and my
cardio is taking most of the brunt and my legs are feeling good so I keep the
pace I’m on as I can’t see the leader or second place. Around mile 11 I get
bridged and passed and keep close enough to stay in sight and I feel like I
push it and catch up but I don’t want to burn myself out to early with plenty
of time left. Mile 14 comes up quick and another racer in a different class
bridges and I let him pass in an effort to get pulled for a little bit and make
a late surge. It’s always nice to get pulled instead of trying to pace
yourself. I have found that I can go faster and be more efficient following a
slightly faster rider than riding alone. So I let this guy pull and within 2
miles of the finish I tell’em I gotta go and my plan for a higher cadence pays
off as I have the energy and muscle left to drop down in a much higher gear and
crush it for the last two miles. I catch the guy who had my precious podium
spot and finish the race in 3rd. Nice when a plan comes together and
I have a nice glass and water bottle to show for my efforts. Till next time…
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