The NYS Mountain Bike series encompasses a total of six races that span the months of June through September. Most of the races are held downstate in the Catskills region always making the courses technically tough with a good bit of climbing. The Catskill mountains are part of the Appalachian Mountain range and because of this, the topography reminds me of home. In this area, there are little towns some which are more famous than others (such as Woodstock and New Paltz), but the history of the Hudson River Valley can be seen especially in the architecture of the buildings that is now eclectically mixed with a urban influence of city dwellers from the City. The small towns that we traveled through at times felt 'artsy' and at other times, depressed like other parts of the state.
The Williams Lake race is one that the Jeffina did years ago (before we were married). Williams Lake itself is a former resort that is now fairly delapidated and not open to the public, but still gorgeous if one loves a fresh water lake, cool caves, rocks, and roots. Our intelligence, i.e., best friend Christina, informed us on the loop would be 4.3 miles in length and even sent a Garmin link for us to get a feel for the climbing expectations. When I talk with Christina before a race, I try to memorize the course to the best of my ability. Pre-riding the course always has its advantages, but because we drive such a distance, this is not always possible for us. Therefore, Christina is my eyes.....well, more than that. She is my best friend.
The Jeffina and family supporters, mom and dad, left early Sunday morning and made our way across the state. It was Father's Day and we wanted to have family with us. Unfortunately, the heat and humidity kept creeping higher, but mom and dad were troopers. They set up our water station and gave great hand-ups during the race. Thanks mom and dad!
When we arrived at the race venue, we were greeted by many familiar faces and happy to see our Ommegangster friends, Paul and Dave (yes, the one and only Paul who won the contest). Both Paul and Dave are extraordinarily good riders. Paul would be ridinng the cat. 1 50+ age group and Dave would be racing in the SS category with Jeff. We all parked together.
During the pre-ride, I quickly realized that the heat and humidity would be factors, coupled with the difficulty of the course. Years ago, this course intimidated us, but we are now more accustomed to the difficult courses. That does not mean we are as good as the others competitors who ride this type of topography on a regular basis, but it means that we are improving our handling skills. I came back from the pre-ride thinking, "This is going to be a tough day...."
I lined up with the Cat. 1, expert 35+ women and Jeff lined up with the SS division. There was a poor showing for the women (only 3 experts and 3 pros) and in the SS division, there was about 15. The expert women were doing 3 laps and the SS men were doing 4. I was glad to see Shasta, as she is a familiar face at the H2H races.
Jeff's start was fast, as our friend, Dave, took it out hard. During the race, Jeff said that he was riding the majority of the time between 2nd and 4th place. For me, the field was so small that Shasta and I rode the 1st lap together and finally on the 2nd and 3rd laps, I was able to pull away from her. I was not satisfied with my race despite the win. The first lap, I was very sloppy and did not on top of my mental game. However, by the time I got to the later laps, I had dialed in the course and found that extra speed allowed me to get over the rocks, and smaller gears helped with the smaller gut-busters.
Jeff would finish in 2nd place in the SS division and our friend, Dave, won. Jeff was 44s behind Dave. That's a great finish for Jeff! I beat Shasta by not quite 3 minutes. Paul got 2nd in his age group. A great showing for the local riders!
Afterwards, we ate watermelon and took a jump into the lake. None of us had swimsuits so we all went swimming in our cycling clothes and Christina had one dry-and-go clothes. I love swimming in fresh water and found myself happy wading in my sport bra and cycling shorts. I love the freedom of being with people like this.
The results took well-over 3 hours to post (which is not normal) and during the time, we ate more and walked around together. By the time the awards-ceremony took place, we were sunburned and tired and preparing for a long drive home.
After the awards ceremony, Christina and Tommy convinced us to stop at a Japanese restaurant in the small town of Stone Bridge. I am a fan of Chinese food, but have little knowledge of Japanese cuisine. I let Christina take the lead and guide us through the menu. I learned that a main staple of the Japanese diet is raw fish. This was a bit difficult for me to conceptualize, so I played it safe on my order, but Christina allowed me to sample some of her order -- yes, I tried raw tuna and raw squid and I loved it! I also had seaweed salad which I shared with Jeff, and mom and dad. I'm comfortable with chopsticks and kept scooping in the food. It was a wonderful meal accompanied by great conversation. Wish I had more opportunities to spend time with Christina and Tommy.
We drove home with full bellies, tired, and sunburned, but satisfied with our results. For me, I know that I will need to be on top of my game for the next H2H race and Jeff is looking forward to completing the Lewis Morris course this year. Last year, he was not feeling well and had to pull out. For both of us, this coming weekend will be our last race before we head west.
Enjoy the rest of the photos.
Together, we are Jeffina, crankin' out the miles, crankin' out the love for Crankskins.com
** Favatta's are one of the sponsoring organizations for the upcoming World Cup at Windham Mountain.
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