Lost Valley Race Report

Louis and I headed to Lost Valley for the first in Mid West Fat Tire series Sunday. The last two scheduled races have been canceled; I along with many was hopeful for good weather this week so that we could finally get out and race MTBs.

Fortune was on our side, all worked out to be a great day of racing for many of the 177 plus racers. Big Thanks to Matt, the Mesa crew and all the volunteers for a fun day.

One of my season goals is to chase Mid West Fat Tire points in a quest to see how far up I can rank with the Sport 30-39 group. I lined up with 20 other Sport 30-39 racers and off we went. Ron from the team took the lead-out with me 3rd wheel. Just before the big downhill into the long climb I moved into 2nd and eventually took the lead heading up the hill. The start felt like a cross race as we were moving fast trying to get that good starting position.

Up the hill I started to catch the back end of the sport 29 and under group and continued to move away from my group. I kept thinking I need to push the pace before we enter the single track to get in front of as many slower riders as I can.

I was able to keep the pace high for the entire first lap feeling great and much better than anticipated. I have not done much high end training yet this year so I was worried how I would respond.

After the 1st lap I crossed the line in 34 min 1 second still in first place, good enough for a near 4 min lead. Surprised to see after looking over the results that was one of the faster 1st laps on the day.

Well that 1st hot lap did not go unnoticed by my legs. About mid way into the 2nd lap I began to feel a subtle feeling a muscular fatigue in my legs. They were beginning decrease in power, not near the same level of power as they had during the first lap. I worked to spin more so to not risk a cramp.

At the end of the 2nd lap I was still in first place but only by a second as two guys in my group, Ira and Christian caught me. We headed up the climb for a 3rd and final lap, I could not hold their wheel. Now in 3rd my goal was to keep spinning at a good pace that I was comfortable with. I had done what I came to the race to do and felt good about the effort.

At the end of 3 laps two more guys passed me for an ending result of 5th place @ 1:59:03. Last lap was about 46 min. Earned 17 points on the day, obviously now 5th in the series.

Next Sunday is point series race number 2, The Rim Wrecker!