Beyond The Road

2019 Season Recap: Rattler Race Series Fandango

2020-04-23T13:20:00.000-05:00

I selected this race as my second qualifying event for Nationals, but the race became so much more than that.

The Fandango was my second race of the season, but it was my first cross country distance event and the first event of the season that I would have a full support crew along with me. I had more to plan for this race; I had to plan my crew’s schedule, plan their meals, make sure their needs were looked after, plan plenty of down time for them to relax and enjoy themselves, schedule in fun activities, and let them know what I needed and when.

There was also more for me to pack in the rental van. I had to pack gear for my crew as well: food, drinks, their luggage, chairs, umbrellas, etc.

I had originally reserved a minivan. On the morning I drove to the car rental business there were no more minivans available. Instead the only van option available was a full-size Ford E350 passenger van. My crew thought this was far too much van for our purposes, but I knew it was ideal. By the time I had everything packed and I had enough space to store both of my race mountain bikes inside on their stands without removing their wheels. It was perfect.

On the road, we were rewarded on our adventure once again. I chose highway 285 because it kept me from having to take I-70, had fewer mountain passes, and had roughly the same travel time. The route also proved beautiful and relaxing. Living in the mountains of Colorado, I am accustomed to scenic drives that I try never to take for granted.

Route 285 however was more stunning than I expected with wide grassland valleys surrounded by imposing mountain ranges, and on a side note there was very little traffic. We enjoyed road trip games and driving through the unique small mountain towns. We even stumbled upon a Coney Island hot dog stand that sparked the interest of my crew. We quickly decided that we would have our victory meal here if I won the race.

We hit the first figurative pothole when we arrived in Bailey, Colorado where the race was held. We still had not received any word back from our Airbnb. We had confirmation numbers from the website and we pressed on with faith. Plans quickly fell apart.

We arrived at the Airbnb and were greeted by the kids of the owners. They were clear with us that the owners, who were also not on the premises, had made a mistake. The house was not actually available to us and never should have been. I thanked them for the trouble, pulled out my phone, and quickly booked the Holliday Inn Express in southwest Denver. Disaster averted, complimentary breakfast secured, and Airbnb later provide us with a full refund.

Pre-race day:

The race course was excellent. It was a standard cross-country format with one smaller pre-lap followed by four laps on the same closed course for about 90 minutes of racing. The course itself had technical rocky sections, sand to negotiate, steep climbs, twisting descents, jeep road, and ample spectating opportunities. The only real difficulty was negotiating the cow patties and gopher holes in the parking area.

I was sure to practice feeding with my crew on the short jeep road section that proved ideal for this as it was the most open and featured a slight uphill. When everyone was comfortable, we called it a day.

Race day:

Preparation went smooth.

When we drove into the parking area, a race volunteer decided to give us a VIP parking spot closer to the course and next to the start/finish area. The race director, Dave, who puts on Denver’s Rattler Race Series, was also very kind. I can’t say enough about how well the race was run and how warm and friendly the race staff were.

After a good warm-up, I was ready to race.

My goal for this race was simple, get into first position as quickly as possible and then win the race. All went to plan. I was the first racer out of the first corner, and I didn’t see my competition again. Thank you again to my crew who performed admirably.

And in good fashion, we did treat ourselves to those Coney Island hot dogs to celebrate my victory.

2019 Season Recap: Bailey Hundito

2020-04-18T13:51:00.001-05:00

This was the first Pro race of my season last year. I surprised myself with a good race, finishing on the podium. But this post isn’t about that. This is the story of my race crew’s incredible experience behind the scenes.

Bailey Hundito Pre-race Day:

I make a point of helping my crew prepare for each race to assure everyone is comfortable and on the same page. I want their day to flow smoothly too.

One aspect of this involves scouting the race course feedzones ahead of time. It’s important for my crew to have an easy working knowledge of how many feedzones there are, where each one is located, how best to get to each of them, in which direction the race is coming from, where to park and set up at each site etc...

The reconnaissance was made more challenging at the Bailey Hundito as the course featured several feedzones along a single 50-mile loop. The loop was also completely within one wilderness area so my crew would have to circumnavigate the course from outside the loop’s perimeter, meaning much more driving.

Bailey Hundito Race day:

After staging with me through the start of the race, my crew took off in our rented minivan. They drove 30 miles via several twisting mountain highways to get to the first feedzone. Then, they parked the van and had to hike over a mile away on foot to reach the right spot.

My crew parked, grabbed all the supplies they needed and made the hike, successfully feeding me as I came through at the front of the race. My crew then started the mile hike back to the van. On their walk back they spotted a beaver in a stream. They took a brief moment to enjoy the beauty of the mountain forest, watching the beaver work on its damn.

At the van they learned they had paused a bit too long at the beaver pond. They would have to work quickly to get to the second feedzone ahead of the race. My crew would have only 20 minutes to get there. Sure enough, they arrived at the second feedzone only to see me speed passed on the bike still at the front of the race.

Luckily, we had pre-scouted the area so my crew kept a cool head. There was a prime feeding area close by, but they would have to move quickly to get there in time. They hit the gas pedal in the rental van.

The course marshals were blocking the road for the race and stopped the van from crossing the course. My crew pointed out that they were only trying to feed their rider at a safe spot just ahead. Meanwhile my crew was watching me race down the trail just beyond the road. The course marshals as it turned out were helpful to my crew as well as observant of the race. My crew was allowed through at a safe time.

My crew maneuvered through and pulled into the alternate feedzone’s parking area. They jumped out of the van with bottles in hand just in time to hand me the second feed of the race. I had no idea of the events transpiring in the operations of my crew.

My crew breathed a collective sigh of relief. They then jumped back in the van and retraced their route driving the 40 or so miles all the way back taking the same roads on which they had come, passing the starting area, and making it to the finish line just in time to arrive before I finished.

Scouting the driving route for my crew proved profitable. Their race day experience was just as intense as my own. I’m grateful for their support and proud of their perseverance!

2019 Season Recap: Steamboat Stinger

2020-04-14T16:13:00.000-05:00

Two laps of a 25-mile loop, this race course had everything MTB racing can offer; tight and twisting single track, lung busting climbs, gravel roads, boggy creek crossings, modern flow trail, as well as treacherous rock gardens that fully exhaust the 120 millimeters of travel on a lightweight cross country race bike.

I started fast. The course wound around the start village to a short steep climb that made a sharp turn at the top directly into single track. My goal was to be first to that turn and to carry what I could for the remainder of the race. I succeeded in entering that turn in first position.

The course then climbed for five miles in single track to the top of a ski mountain. I was in second position cresting that summit. From the summit, two miles of tight single track dropped the course down the backside of the mountain.

Once on the valley floor, the course followed a gravel road for several miles tracking slightly uphill before reentering the single track. From there the course wound through a myriad of terrain types for roughly ten miles climbing to the summit of the mountain once again.

At the summit the course descended sharply for five miles. The descent had little to comment on besides being highly technical.

Through the start/finish at the base village I was with one other rider, together sitting in third and fourth place. We were ten minutes back from the first-place rider and five minutes back from the second-place rider.

My legs started to improve climbing the five miles back to the summit at the beginning of lap two. I grew stronger as I climbed. I dropped the rider I was with before reaching the summit, securing my third place spot.

The descent down the backside was much smoother the second time around. My speed increased on the gravel road on valley floor too. I smiled. I knew I was gaining time.

On the long single-track climb back to the summit I kicked into high gear and the 5-mile descent to the finish gave me no troubles. I sped through the base village to the finish line, finishing in third place, one minute and thirty-five seconds down from second place.