WORS Big Ring Classic

I love this course, because it's fast and because the single track is super fun. Oh, and because there is not alot of climbing. After five weeks or so of not racing, I was chomping at the bit to get going and see if all the riding (training) has done the trick. Saturday's pre-ride felt good, we tried our damnedest not to turn it into the pre-race, and were successful for the most part. Ryan was making fun of how my little bike was making me look fat, then he threw his bad self on the ground because he felt bad. Hey it's not my fault the big S had to go messin' with the geometry that has worked for me for 5 years or so. Well since I was thinking of getting a frame that didn't make me look fat I thought why not give the Epic 29 a try since they have wheels and tires that don't weigh 87lbs and they are in fact pretty fun to ride. Unluckily for Scott but luckily for me he also threw himself on the ground last week and was still feeling the effects of that, and was nice enough to let me ride his oh-so-sweet Epic 29 in the race. Having ridden it once before I knew they had matched the feel almost exactly to that of my tried and true 26, but with magic ground sticking capabilities and a built in tailwind. Well that's stretching it but it is cool to try something new after 10 years of racing.

We went off and after my usual struggle to find my pedal I was pleasantly surprised there were no crashes in the first few sketchy turns.


Photo-Niki Frazier

The first half of the lap was chaotic but eventually there was a gap with 5 of us, I had sat in the whole time so I went up front to have some fun in the singletrack. I got a small gap but never really went anywhere and was reeled in before going into lap two. In the old days I would have buried myself and then got caught and dropped, but I like to think I'm smarter with my efforts now.


Photo-Niki Frazier


I was really digging the handling of Scott's bike and was just really having a fun time on the 9-Mile singletrack.


Photo-Niki Frazier


Then it was 4 of us, I figured there was no reason to attack if I would just be chased down by the other 3, so I sat in and did some work here and there at tempo, then Tristan would launch one of 15 or so blistering attacks and I would struggle to get back on his and Brian's wheel. I finally realized he was riding the singletrack pretty slow on his hardtail so I stopped panicking when he went and rode steadily back up. In hindsight I should have at least tried to counter and see if I could get away later in the race, but I played it conservative and tried to save my energy to respond to the attacks and the inevitable sprint finish. I mainly had trouble with the punchy hills and the accelerations, so I need to be working on that going into the Subaru Cup in 2 weeks...


Photo-Amy Dykema


Going into the finish I was sitting comfortable 3rd wheel while Tristan and Brian attacked each other. I wanted to wait until the right moment to try to get around if I had the legs...but I didn't. It was fun to watch them duke it out though!


Photo-Amy Dykema


Mandatory podium shot


Photo-Amy Dykema


So it's official, retirement is boring, racing is fun, and 29ers are pretty cool except for all the hype.

Time to get skinny for the Pro XCT...