These two courses lacked the smooth flow of previous Mabra races & were reminiscent of Mt biking before suspension. The uneven surfaces made it challenging to keep a consistent cadence anywhere on the course. Hidden holes, rocks & other bulging or sunken grassy surprises injected periodic moments of terrifying laterally moving excitement into the entrance into or exit out-of turns.
Luray kindly included an entire downhill of off-camber switchbacks covered in a conveyor-belt of acorns, giving both wheels the freedom to roll simultaneously forward & sideways without technically sliding. With more vertical feet of climbing than all the previous local courses (seemingly combined), it was more of a pure power course. They both favored a "light" rider able to float over the saddle and keep a light grip on the handlebars (otherwise the ride turned into a pugilistic slug-fest featuring Saddle v Taint).
Vint hills put together a course with enough elevation & surface changes to keep if from feeling repetitive. The start was a long open double track runway onto a loose gravel section, through the hole-shot of two very steep, tight off-camber turns. Incredibly on an otherwise dusty dry course, they found a section of mud to suck any residual momentum leading into the misleadingly sustained uphill section. Even the series of 180-degree turns had enough topography changes to avoid feeling gratuitous. After commiserating with stronger output riders Rich & Sachanda, I think the course favored a mt biking background.
I rolled up late to the start of the 3/4 35+ race, and started penultimate to DFL. I chatted with Will Wong who, in his first season of CX, was also relegated to the back, one row ahead of me. I managed to survive through the middle of the pack in the hole shot but plaudits to Will, who I didn’t catch until late in the first lap. He was surfing comfortably within site of the top five riders. I hopped from the 5th wheel to the 4th wheel and finally to the two leaders without bringing anyone with me. I led through the final lap to keep the three of us ahead of the chasers. At the barriers, I relinquished the lead hoping to recover enough to snipe the sprint in end. I quickly remembered I was not a sprinter as they jostled for 1st & 2nd while I trailed in their wake for 3rd, happy with my best finish to date.
The next 3/4 race was a blur of survival with a side of puke-breath. I had no illusions of hanging onto the lead group in a race of chipper young guns. I was happy to give up a second row spot to a fresh team mate at the start and was happier to cross the finish line at the end sans a technicolor yawn.
Sundays race in Luray deviated from the Mabra category fields. With stand-alone cat 4 and cat 3 fields, I pre-empted my pending upgrade and jumped into the cat 3 race as the only NCVC representative. I had initial (ridiculous) aspirations of duplicating if not improving on my Vint Hills result. Because I suffer cat 4 delusions of cat 3 grandeur. The uphill start worked to my favor and I sat in on the third wheel through the relatively wide hole-shot. With over 500 ft of elevation gain/loss per lap on continuously uneven surfaces, the course failed to do me any more favors. I latched onto, only to slip off-of, every wheel that went past me like I was riding Vint hills in reverse. After several crashes, some chain suck, generally leg suck & a fight between my internal organs for who was going to push my stomach out of my face, I appropriately finished 3rd…from last: A finely balanced book-end to the weekend and likely my final race of the year. Kudos to teammate Kensinger who powered to 3rd in the cat 1-4 45+ & WWVC's sweep of both podium top spots in the 3 and 4 race.
A biggie shout-out to the posse that came with; an ever improving Dr. Team Z-Giles and especially Alison & Rev who managed to smile at the end of their first CX race ever. It wasn't Chamonix but it was sustained. Luckily we got some pre race parking lot barrier practice beforehand.
