This race was looking to be a good one for me, my last race at Schooley mill was spectacular, this one had a small field, I had a second row spot on the starting grid, and I had taken two days of rest before race day. It just goes to show you that it all comes down to the race not always the racer, any given Sunday as it goes.
I arrived in Taneytown about 15 minutes early, so I was feeling good, plenty of time to get checked in warm up and preview the course. So I striped out of my morning duds and down to my Kit. It was cold, but not freezing, so all I needed were my cold gear gloves and some arm warmers and I was good.
Surveying the course from the parking lot, it looked to be fairly simple and fast, this was not true. It became apparent very quickly that my initial assessment was way off, the course was MUDDY! Shortly after leaving the paved start/finish line area it was soft earth and thee first lap was to involve a "prologue" (it cut off the about a third of the course), so I rode this first and it was Okay until you got to the back side of the course. This area went through and around several baseball fields and was sticky, slippery, and not kind to the big boned. It had a tricky off camber u-turn that if not taken properly would lead you into the backside of a shed, it also involved a steep drop off and run-up which I decided was easiest for me to dismount beforehand and run along the side of the hill instead of ride it down and then dismount to run-up it, this preceded a drop into a muddy area behind the outfield fence of one of the fields. Still on my warm-up/preview I took to the first portion of the course that I had previously skipped and as soon as you pass the prologue cut off you find yourself in a bog that was not passable on the bike by me, so running through this and up the hill following it was a must. The rest of the first third was similar to the prologue soft but manageable. Now that my warm-up was done, I found me and the bike to be very muddy so I rinsed the bike off as I waited for the start, this would be the end of my good race.
I heard the announcer saying it was time for the Cat 4 men to make their way to the staging area. Knowing that the earlier you get to the start, the choicer the spot, so I made my way over. I got to the grid and found myself in the second row and I would have the inside of first left corner we came upon. I didn't think this would be a problem because of the small field and the good start I was going to have(best laid plans). The official readied us and then blew the whistle to signal the start and we were off. That good start went right out the window when I found myself battling to get my left foot clipped in. This is what I had dreaded, now instead of battling for a good position up front, I was fighting myself to get toed in and I found myself near the back of the pack.
Okay I thought, fight for your position and work on reeling some people back in, easier said than done. I pedaled hard on that first lap to trying to stay near the leaders and catch some riders. Once we reached the uphill paved power section on the backside I was still near the back trying to make my way through traffic when we headed up a little kicker and into the tricky off camber u-turn I mentioned earlier. A group of about 4 riders headed into the turn followed closely by me, the rider right in front of my took a slightly higher line than me and ended wiping out right in front of me and I thought for I was going run over him and his bike but I had just enough room on the lower line I had taken to squeeze by and off I rode. I caught a couple other riders but the leaders were out of sight after the first lap. I ended up on the tail of a rider who was light and nimble so I couldn't take him in the technical stuff but on the power sections I thought I would have a chance. Biding my time I waited until the paved uphill section and powered passed him and beat him into the first turn.
I maintained my position for the rest of the second lap and slogged my way through the mud hoping to try and catch a couple more guys but the mud was wearing me down. The third lap was a tough one as the condition of the course continued to get worse and became increasingly difficult to ride certain sections. I found myself running through sections I could previously and staying up right on some the off camber stuff was not happening for me and some better riders got by me on this lap but I could keep them in sight.
Now the one lap to go bell was ringing and my goal was to catch the riders that got passed on the last lap. There was an "Adventures for the Cure" rider in front of me that was built like me and was struggling to ride the muddy stuff. After the MABRA double barrier set up it was a soft section that had gotten really bad and on the previous lap I had ran through it, but to stay on the bike and try to pass this guy seemed like a better plan, it worked! Now to find the other one that got by me earlier, I caught a couple glimpses of him but catching on the off road stuff wasn't going to happen. I came up on the final section of off road that paralleled the finishing straight and there he was just hitting the finishing straight. I pounded on the pedals to get onto the pave' and purposely ran through a large puddle on the road to clean my tires off, I put my head down and began to sprint for the finish, I looked up and the rider had no idea I was coming. He was gaining on the finish line and I wasn't sure if I could get there before he did but I continued my effort and right before the line I surprised the both of us and moved into 19th place.
The lesson learned, stay away from muddy races and NEVER give up!
