Race #4 Lake Bryan or Fall MudFest 2001.
Three days prior to race day the deluge began. For 3 days and 3 nights the rain cometh from the sky and on the final day God said "let there be sun" and there was and it was good. I was not feeling all that well. I went out for sushi on Thursday night and think I got some bad stuff. Dropped my truck off at the shop on Friday and went home. I wasn't feeling "bad" just a little extra tried. Saturday, whoa Nellie, I'm not even going into that. Let's just say it was bad. I only left the apartment once and that was to pick up my truck (I was hoping they would say it would be ready until Monday so I would have a real excuse not to race.) Sunday morning I was felling a little better so with my red bull and pepto I was on my way.
When I got to the site I went around looking for some friends who had raced earlier in the day. All the one's who actually raced said not to race, it was really bad and they had quite a few broken parts to back up their statements. I decided since I was not felling all the great that I would just "ride" and not "race."
The course winds around some of Bryan/Collage Stations finest piney woods. The trail winds it's way across the lake leave and though the "bottoms' area behind the leave. We started in a large open files that resemble a hog waller. After a few hundred yards of open but twisty sliding the course went up a clay embankment onto the leave. The embankment was only about 10 feet up but the course was so muddy you didn't even get a chance to climb it because you had to jump off and run through the worst part of the mud and the bottom. At the top I jumped back on the bike and started pushing. The trail is now on top of the leave and is cover in pea gravel. Good? Not! The pea gravel covers clay and at this point it's kind of like riding on wet carpet that covers Jell-O. This stuff doesn't really stick to your tires but it does bog you down like you have flat tires. At the end of this part you drop to the backside of the leave go through a series of switchbacks and into the forest of potholes. Interesting irony number 1: The trail is exact opposite of what you would think. The open, sun, wind weather exposed sections are sloppy and dangerous and covered single trace is tacky and fast.
The pothole section is twisty with a bunch of quick uppie downie water filled creek crossings. The weak got culled out quickly here. I kept running into people because they were unprepared for the up's. I got hit from behind I don't even know how many times, plus someone ran into my hand, stepped on it and ran it over( he would not have been able to make it up the climb without my hands assistance and he thanked me as he blazed down the trail. Once I finally cleared this section my stomach was begging to bloat a little so I undid my camelbak strap and started felling better and I started gaining some positions back. The people who were a round me really looked bonked out from the really bad conditions at the first of the course and I was feeling really good and was looking at that top 10 spot.
100 yards scrrrr scrrrrrrrr ching. That's the noise of chain suck and then the chain dropping off. Expletive, swear, curse word off the bike put the chain back on the back on the bike and pedal again. Zoom zoom two people go by, damn. 50 yards scrrrr scrrrrrrrr ching. That's the noise of chain suck and then the chain dropping off again. Expletive, swear, curse word off the bike put the chain back on, back on the bike and pedal again. Zoom zoom more people going by, damn. 5 feet scrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Get off bike scream and shout expletives. Zoom zoom zoom zoom more people going by, damn. Flip bike over fiddle with things for a while. Realized that the small chain ring is bent and that's why I keep getting the chain suck and the chain drops off the ring. While doing that I realized that the rear tire is scraping the brake pads. No biggie it's probably just mud, it's not. I try to shift the gears to a bigger chain ring and nothing happens. Now the front derailleur is not working. Sadness, I'm done for the day.
Sucks, my first DNF and I totally hate it. Walked back to the site after only 3 or 4 miles and got sunburned too.
Race #4 bike parts replacement list:
1. Front Derailleur, possible made it work after I cleaned it up. At the bike shop right now well see
2. Rear wheel, out of alignment. At the shop right now well see.
3. Small chain ring. Wasted. Must replace.
Only on more race for the season in two weeks and I'm looking forward to it.
Three days prior to race day the deluge began. For 3 days and 3 nights the rain cometh from the sky and on the final day God said "let there be sun" and there was and it was good. I was not feeling all that well. I went out for sushi on Thursday night and think I got some bad stuff. Dropped my truck off at the shop on Friday and went home. I wasn't feeling "bad" just a little extra tried. Saturday, whoa Nellie, I'm not even going into that. Let's just say it was bad. I only left the apartment once and that was to pick up my truck (I was hoping they would say it would be ready until Monday so I would have a real excuse not to race.) Sunday morning I was felling a little better so with my red bull and pepto I was on my way.
When I got to the site I went around looking for some friends who had raced earlier in the day. All the one's who actually raced said not to race, it was really bad and they had quite a few broken parts to back up their statements. I decided since I was not felling all the great that I would just "ride" and not "race."
The course winds around some of Bryan/Collage Stations finest piney woods. The trail winds it's way across the lake leave and though the "bottoms' area behind the leave. We started in a large open files that resemble a hog waller. After a few hundred yards of open but twisty sliding the course went up a clay embankment onto the leave. The embankment was only about 10 feet up but the course was so muddy you didn't even get a chance to climb it because you had to jump off and run through the worst part of the mud and the bottom. At the top I jumped back on the bike and started pushing. The trail is now on top of the leave and is cover in pea gravel. Good? Not! The pea gravel covers clay and at this point it's kind of like riding on wet carpet that covers Jell-O. This stuff doesn't really stick to your tires but it does bog you down like you have flat tires. At the end of this part you drop to the backside of the leave go through a series of switchbacks and into the forest of potholes. Interesting irony number 1: The trail is exact opposite of what you would think. The open, sun, wind weather exposed sections are sloppy and dangerous and covered single trace is tacky and fast.
The pothole section is twisty with a bunch of quick uppie downie water filled creek crossings. The weak got culled out quickly here. I kept running into people because they were unprepared for the up's. I got hit from behind I don't even know how many times, plus someone ran into my hand, stepped on it and ran it over( he would not have been able to make it up the climb without my hands assistance and he thanked me as he blazed down the trail. Once I finally cleared this section my stomach was begging to bloat a little so I undid my camelbak strap and started felling better and I started gaining some positions back. The people who were a round me really looked bonked out from the really bad conditions at the first of the course and I was feeling really good and was looking at that top 10 spot.
100 yards scrrrr scrrrrrrrr ching. That's the noise of chain suck and then the chain dropping off. Expletive, swear, curse word off the bike put the chain back on the back on the bike and pedal again. Zoom zoom two people go by, damn. 50 yards scrrrr scrrrrrrrr ching. That's the noise of chain suck and then the chain dropping off again. Expletive, swear, curse word off the bike put the chain back on, back on the bike and pedal again. Zoom zoom more people going by, damn. 5 feet scrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Get off bike scream and shout expletives. Zoom zoom zoom zoom more people going by, damn. Flip bike over fiddle with things for a while. Realized that the small chain ring is bent and that's why I keep getting the chain suck and the chain drops off the ring. While doing that I realized that the rear tire is scraping the brake pads. No biggie it's probably just mud, it's not. I try to shift the gears to a bigger chain ring and nothing happens. Now the front derailleur is not working. Sadness, I'm done for the day.
Sucks, my first DNF and I totally hate it. Walked back to the site after only 3 or 4 miles and got sunburned too.
Race #4 bike parts replacement list:
1. Front Derailleur, possible made it work after I cleaned it up. At the bike shop right now well see
2. Rear wheel, out of alignment. At the shop right now well see.
3. Small chain ring. Wasted. Must replace.
Only on more race for the season in two weeks and I'm looking forward to it.
