The Candid Cyclist: Mainley Fatty Fatbike Race 2015

Monday, March 16, 2015

Mainley Fatty Fatbike Race 2015

Don't trust that crust, it's a lie

In retrospect I should have started closer to the front. I'm not a serious racer so I usually start off casually and work my way through the pack when I can. This course was so narrow, soft, tight, bumpy, icy... that there was pretty much no passing except for the run-ups. "Luckily" there were plenty of run-ups.

See me? No you don't, I'm way in the back., Photo by John Keller

The trouble was that any time anybody ahead of you got off...you got off. Over the race period that probably cost a few minutes. The course was pretty rough. I had 2-3 unplanned dismounts where the front wheel broke through what was previously known as the trail. Other than that, the singletrack was pretty fun.

Did I mention I was sick? Not that I'm looking for excuses, but I felt like crap on race morning. Luckily, I was able to set that aside for race time. After the first lap I was actually feeling pretty decent about my performance. And, I had a HUGE cheering squad. At least they sounded huge. If you were there spectating...you know who they were. "YOU'RE A VIKING!!!"

Lap One Complete, Photo by Bruce Manley

Lap 2 was a little faster, for me, mostly because the pack had thinned to a point where your pace wasn't being determined by the rider in front of you. I was back and forth with a few riders in my speed range but had a little saved for the finish. I was able to move from lucky ~~13th~~ 12th place to ~~12th~~ 11th moments before the finish line.

Going In for the kill!, photo by Bruce Manley

Pass complete, photo by John Keller

And then 30 seconds later I was at 110% max heart rate.

Results

I was happy to see that I placed in my usual middle of the pack standing. It was pretty surprising to see how well the sport category had separated itself from the expert category. The fastest experts finished 2 laps faster than the sport group did 1 lap and I managed to come in a handful of minutes behind them. I'm not judging because that was a pretty intimidating course for a casual rider. I really wanted to take my cheering squad for a lap after the race so they could get a feel for it. Except I was sick, my wife was sick and they left, oh well.

Now for the excuses. I'm usually pretty good at excuses but seriously, I was riding an original Pugsley. I'd really like to see what I could do on a lighter, racier bike with fatter tires. I might even try to start closer to the front of the pack if I get one. I've been talking about this long enough, it just might be time. 'Nuff said.