Rangeley

I'm way behind on posting my Rangeley race report. Partially because of our move, partially because I couldn't find my camera which had a couple of sub-par pics that I wanted to use. With my next race coming up on Saturday I figure I'd better bust something out quick so here goes:

A couple days before the race, I decided to totally switch gears (so to speak) and go from my geared Salsa Dos Niner to my rigid single speed El Mariachi. The main reason for this was to help me make the break from competing in the series (since I can't do the two final races) but, truthfully, it was also because I hadn't been riding much and going to the rigid ss gave me a built in excuse for sucking! I hadn't been on the single speed in months so the day before the race I got out on a whopping 20 minute ride to re-familiarize myself with the El. Not nearly enough time really but that is my reality these days so I took it.

The course is mostly ss friendly with lots of rolling hills few false flats and only one or two super steep climbs that would require walking. The only real ss downfall to the course is the opening mile or two which is a slight downhill dirt road. Off the start I tried to stay with the lead group but I soon found myself spinning way beyond my comfort level so I was forced to watch as the WHOLE expert field disappeared in the distance. Once I hit the single track I started to pick guys off and settled into a good, fun pace. By the end of the first lap I was feeling pretty good. My gearing was spot on and for the most part the lack of suspension wasn't an issue except on a couple of fast-ish downhills that had lots of square edge rocks. Whenever I entered one of these sections behind a suspended rider I lost time.

By the end of the first lap my sissy boy office hands had developed a nasty blister on my thumb from the relentless pounding the course was giving me. Even with the ergon grips, my hands just weren't prepared for the abuse. I tried several differnet hand positions but none really felt better so I said f' it! and just kept plugging away. By the end of the race my thumb was a bloody mess and my grip was stained a nice red.

Back to the race. Laps two three and four went well and I continued to slowly pick off riders but never caught sight of Wheels or Andrew. When I finally rolled (bounced actually since the finish was in a very bumpy field) across the finish I was about 10 minutes down on Wheels and a few more on Andrew which, in retrospect, is pretty close to where I usually finish against them so maybe the rigid single wasn't such a bad idea after all.

Mike on the pre-ride

the bloody thumb after a quick wipe