Amateurs, such as ourselves, are privileged to ride the same course as the pros the day following the World Cup Race. This year, the amateur racing brought together racers from the NYS mountain bike series with the Route 66 series who are not only competing against one another, but also for their respective series points. For us, this event holds much weight due to the large fields which it draws and of course, the idea that we are racing in a true World Cup venue.
Windham Mountain
Start/Finish Line
Leading up to the race, we pre-rode the course on Friday and found it to be identical to the previous year's course. The course itself is 5.5K in length with approximately 700" of climbing. The course climbs the first 4K up the ski slope, into and out of the woods with the remaining 1.5K dedicated to a technical descent which is broken up into sections. While Jeff is strong in the technical sections, I still struggle with nerves and fears, but felt more comfortable than ever knowing that I did relatively well last year. For me, the mental portion of my riding is often times the component that can make or break my race.
Saturday morning, we awoke early to get in an easy spin on the road with our good friend, Paul S. We enjoy traveling with Paul and find our time with him especially easy due to his laid-back personality and gentle nature.
Jeff after our ride on Saturday morning
Paul after our ride on Saturday morning
Afterwards, we headed over to the "mountain" (as the locals say) and took in the pro race. Prior to the start of the women's race, I was fortunate to find the gals from the Mexican National Team (whom we met while in Wisconsin) by using my very weak Spanish-speaking skills on their team director, "Hola! Donde esta Laura?" He replied something in Spanish and pointed me to her. She remembered us from Wisconsin and was very welcoming. We took a few photos and wished her and Daniella good luck. During their race, I cheered for them, "Vamos, Laura....go Mexico."
Following the women's' race, we watched the start of the men's race and then decided to get out of the heat and sun and return to our rooms to relax prior to an early dinner. Last year, we found a quiet out-of-the way Italian restaurant near the hotel and would return this year knowing that the quality of the food was excellent. Our pre-race meal -- well, what else but spaghetti and meatballs.
Sunday morning arrived quite early as the Cat. 1 race started at 8 a.m. To enable plenty of time for our food to digest, we awoke at 4:45 to eat a breakfast. Jeff woke up not feeling well, still feeling the effects of something he had earlier in the week. Knowing that this was not going to be a good day to race, he begrudgingly took off his bike number and asked for me to turn it in for him at registration. My thoughts were with him and it was difficult for me to think of anything else. Yet, despite of the situation and at Jeff's urging, I went through my usual race preparation. Paul and I left at the hotel (and Jeff said he would try to make it to the race course to watch part of the race) and headed over to the mountain for warm ups. I missed Jeff. He is my rock.
Our start time drew near and I lined up with about 12 other women in the 35+ field and prepared for the short 3 lap race. Shasta was not happy about the shortness of the race, but I liked the idea that we would be out there a minimal amount of time. The trade off would be that the race would be high intensity. As the gun went off, I led out the group up the first climb and would hold this spot well into the climb. It was myself and two other gals in tow and as we made our way into the descent, I began losing time on time. They were able to navigate the downhill much quicker than I despite riding just about everything. I was hoping to play catch up on the 2nd lap, but was unable to close the gap on the climb and made a few small bobbles which caused me to lose more time. As I started my last lap, I was solidly in 3rd place and would finish as such. I was extremely pleased with my ride as I did the best I could and I was especially pleased with how my new 29er handled.
Jeff and his parents would meet me at the finish line with hugs. As the morning wound down, we watched the cat. 2 and 3 races, chatted with many of our friends, took in the sights, ate some food, and waited for the awards. Unlike last year, the awards were not held on the larger UCI stage, but on a podium near the main lodge.
We hope that Windham will continue to host this event, but we heard through the grapevine that the cost to put on such an event is $100,000 which is paid directly to the UCI and as you might imagine, in these tough economic times, does come easily especially in New York State.
The next few weeks will keep us closer to home which is sounds good this time of year as our garden is coming into it's peak season. It will keep me busy.
We'd like to thank EJ for his generosity and personally, I'd like thank Brent Mooreshouse for helping me move through my back pain. I had a pain-free race.
Also, good job to all our friends who participated: Paul S., Margaret T., Christina P., Tamara L., Vanessa, and Shasta J.
Together, we are Jeffina. Crankin' out the miles, crankin' out the love for Crankskins.com.
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