Lost Valley MTB

Can you revirginize? Well 13 years is a pretty good try at it. Sunday I popped my recherry & toed the MTB line. Let me go on record as saying I know for a fact MTB racing didn't use to be this damn fast. But I digress, let me back track a bit.

First & fore most I grabbed a ride with JJ & Ira(sandbaggers the pair; 2nd & first in their sandbagging cats) to the STL. Got to whip out by brand new Cat 1 license; not really it turns out you don't need a license to race the Midwest Fat Tire Series(Oh well I can at least say I'm a Cat 1 for all the load of crap that is).

If you can have zero expectation for a race I was at -5. I just wanted to get on some dirt @ speed & see how I did. I lined up with the old fart Experts. And we're off! Oh shit flat Katie trail start means drag race pace line to the ripping fast 58KPH descent to the finish area climb. I slotted in & started climbing. Felt pretty good but realized my HR was WAY too high for March(read Max HR). After some double track pace line action we hit the first single track(new section read rough). I had forgotten how fun it is to ride single track blind @ race speed. Four guys got away & I hooked into the 2nd group which had four of us taking pulls like a freaking road race. I felt pretty good for the first two laps even though my HR was way too high for March.

In the back of my mind I had a plan of going semi hard for an hour or so then limping in. Well I pinned it for two laps(screw the plan) & fell to shit. Going up the climb at the start of the third lap I had to let the other 3 go. I did manage to get back on on the double track up top. I went onto the single track after recovering only to watch the other 3 ride away for good. They were on fully suspended bikes which let them ride across the rough new section while I got beat to hell on my hard tail. Oh my aching old back. I put it in survival mode & rolled in about 2.5 minutes down for 7th(or 6th depending on which results you look at). I'll take that after only riding my MTB 4x this year & not having raced MTB in longer than some of the guys on the start line had been alive.

Good news was all the air stayed in my tires for the first time this year. Tribute to Continental tubes & tires. Damn good German rubber. My bike also stayed in one piece for a change. No small victories in themselves. Now my dilemma is Dogwood or Rim Wrecker? I'm leaning Rim Wrecker I think the MTB bug has bitten. Road racing is soooo boring, plus I'd have to build my road bike back up or be snubbed for racing road on a cx bike.