Yesterday's race at Bellearye Mountain Ski Center, located on rt. 28 in the Catskills, turned out to be a wonderful reprieve after the rocky challenge at last week's Kenda Cup. We had ideal conditions for racing -- beautiful, clear blue skies, a great setting, and dry trails. The course was approximately 4.8 miles in length and had a little bit of everything: singletrack, doubletrack, climbs, descents, rocks, roots, and some fresh cut singletrack. The expert riders did 4 laps.
Most races that Jeff and I attend, we start at the same time, but we start in staggered waves. However, yesterday, they started the women with the SS'ers and in some ways, I found it comforting starting so close to Jeff. Of course, once we heard the countdown to "1," Jeff was quickly off and I was able to keep him in sight for a bit and eventually, lost sight of him. Jeff lined up with 8 other guys and I had a total of 3 women in my age group. Our start was fast, but I uncharacteristically did not find myself nervous on the start line. We've been doing so much racing that I have started to lose that anxiety I usually feel at the start of the race.
(Start/finish line)
The course started with a moderate climb into the woods which enabled me to get some distance on the other gals before the first descent and I would eventually pull away by the end of the race to win by 6 minutes. I kept my efforts steady and watched my lap times. By the last lap, I was feeling tired, but focused on riding clean. I was pleased with my efforts and my handling -- a few minor bobbles, but overall, solid riding.
As for Jeff, he also won the SS category and I would actually see him finish as I was 1/3 of the way through my final lap (due to course configuration). I yelled, "Hey Jeff....you won, right?" And, sure enough, he did. He crossed the line with 5 minutes to spare and said that he kept looking back to see if anyone was near. The last two weeks, Jeff's been plagued with brake issues and I was relieved to see that everything worked out for him.
Even though both of us had uneventful races, it says a lot about our fitness this time year. July and August are typically the time of year where we finally feel fit and can push ourselves. Our bodies become accustomed to the efforts of training and racing, and we also allow time for recovery, but coming out of one of the snowiest places in the northeast, we find that it takes us this long to finally find 'our race legs.'
I want to mention also that our local friends, Paul and Tamara, made the trip to Bellearye Mountain. Paul got 3rd in his division and Tamara got 2nd. Good job! We also saw one of Jeff's former teammates from the Ommegang team, Mike (who goes by "The Rooster" -- sorry, no explanation on this one). With Mike, was his 6-year old precocious daughter, Sophia, i.e., very cool kid!
Afterwards, we feasted on watermelon, peaches, and homemade zucchini muffins. I always enjoy a mix of lemonade and green tea, whereas Jeff finds beer to be his recovery beverage of choice.
While waiting for awards, Jeff came across a very unique bike made out of bamboo. Jeff has a keen eye for engineering feats and marveled at the artistry of the formation and angles of this bike. The owner of the bike said that is rides like a steel frame and was made by a dude who has an engineering degree. The bike's name? Well, see for yourself below.
We drove home into the sunset, enjoying sandwiches from the cooler and already talking about next weekend's race -- the Taconic 909.
Together, we are Jeffina, crankin' out the miles, crankin' out the love for Crankskins.com
Enjoy the photos of the day.
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