Gettin' my A$$ Beat...

I once heard an Ironman pro and World Champion say something to the effect of "I never learned anything from winning, it's the races where I got my butt kicked that I learned the most." If that's true, I should have a PhD by now...

I rolled out to Temecula Sunday after a long run Saturday to do some MTB racing at Racers and Chasers. Luke and James came down as well: James raced and Luke came out to get some riding done. The race isn't NORBA sanctioned, which leads to a very relaxed atmosphere. I raced "Expert" along with James and another riding buddy, Keith. It was hot and dry thanks to the Santa Ana wind conditions and I was a little worried since I'm a heavy, salty sweater.

I got off to a great start and almost had the "Hole-Shot" award until I overshot a corner early on and got passed by the "Sport" class rider behind me; nuts. By the time we got to the first major climb, Keith was on my wheel with James not far behind. I bobbled a tight, switch-back corner and Keith got by me. We top out the swithbacks and James puts in a move and goes by me. I managed to lead for a little bit, but these guys were just too fast for me. I kept them in sight through the halfway point, but once James got by Keith, he stood up on the pedals and was GONE. I tried to reel in the Sport class leader to redeem myself, but it was not meant to be. To add insult to injury, Keith mentioned earlier that he was racing with a fractured collar bone and rib....sandbagger.

Honestly, the idea was to jump out front and see how long I could hold on. Mission accomplished, though I wish I could have hung on for longer than I did. Next time.

Here's some pics Luke took:

Race start: that's a mass start. Yeah. Not a big field thanks to the Cal State Series the same day. The top of this is really rocky and sketchy...

Climbing up towards "Tunnel of Love" singletrack

Dowhnilll just around the corner...Steep downhill coming into the start/finish area.Not just done, completely trashed.

At least I got in some great training on trails that included quite a few sections of the Xterra West Championships course. The best way to get faster at racing is to race more and the only way to get used to being out front is to get your butt up there and bang bars. Word.

E.