experiment results: negative
i may have been sensing the future when i wrote that last post. i had meant it to be a reminder to keep going when it looks bad for my goals. a couple of things had happened at work and riding wise that were obstacles or opportunity depending on how i reacted to them. that post was to celebrate the choice of opportunity over obstacles and the good results of that. yesterday at Afton Alps was another kick in the teeth however.
it may have been an omen when i didn't hear my first call-up ever because i was chatting in the starting chute. this was a milestone that i will admit i had been looking forward to. i didn't hear call-ups for the first wave so i decided that they weren't going to happen as i heard they were. it didn't really matter race wise. i made my way to the front of the pack by the time the singletrack started.
the climbing starts quick at Afton. Like right away, as soon as you are in the singletrack. i was first for a while but not feeling great. i got passed by a group of 3 or 4 (it may have been more but i don't want to admit it to myself if it was). i didn't go with them. i was going to wait until i warmed up and hope that i was still close enough to find them when that happened. i never got the chance.
i had decided to try very low tire pressure for this race. it was an experiment. i was at 28 front and rear on a tire with 40 minimum recommended in the back and 35 in the front. the experiment had poor results. i flatted a couple of minutes after the attack mentioned above. took me forever to get the tire off. (if you are looking for a tire with an amazing seal it's the Kenda Blue Groove. i thought i would never get it off).
finally got a new tube in. very low pressure and stopped again to pump it up some more. pretty tempted to get a bad attitude at this point but as it often happens i could hear B. she told me to find something positive, to find a new goal that i could feel good about and make this race productive. i decided that i was curious to how well i could come back. i had listened to my entire wave and a lot of the next one pass me as i changed that tire. i was curious to how many places i could get back. i wasn't going to get the same place i was without any mechanical problems but how well could i do after a flat? this was my new goal (thanks to B).
i got through the first lap. told B "flat tire" as i saw her as a blur i almost hit at a sharp corner going downhill. i think i heard her say, "oh" like that explains why it took you so long to get here.
still didn't feel very good going into the second lap but i was determined to get my legs and get feeling good and riding well. i got to Shady Lane and felt very bad. i walked because i learned a lesson on Stairway to Heaven at Redwing last year. if i feel that bad and go for riding up that hill just to say i did it i will take forever to recover and maybe not at all. my race time would probably be better if i walk Shady Lane and not use everything I got for the race on one hill. it paid off. i took the time to take a gel and get a couple of good drinks of water in. i got back on and i felt good. i felt like my race was starting now. i started making passes and even started to see people i had been with right before the flat. i couldn't believe it. i was very curious to see how i could end up after all of this. i was feeling like a goal was in sight and then i got the second and final flat.
frustrated...disappointed...learning. that's what i was at that moment. i can still see it. about 20 people ahead of me, all of them in a line about 1/4 to 1/2 a mile to the peak and then all downhill to the end. they were all going to feel that finish line. well earned for all of them on a course like this. i grabbed my handlebars and hit my front wheel on the ground a couple of times, i looked at my flat on the back, i hit that a couple of times. watched the others get to the peak for a second more and then started walking down that hill.
it was a long walk to the bottom. i had a bad taste in my mouth. but then i saw my family. H was leading the way of everyone walking up towards me. he was waving like he hadn't seen me in weeks and had the best smile on his face. part of the reason i write this is in hopes i never forget that look on his face and that wave. B was pulling W in a wagon UP THE SKI Hill to see me. i was thinking "why doesn't she wait until I get to the bottom" but it was so cool to see her come up to meet me. you are something else B. i love you.
takeaway: put tire pressure where the maker recommends.
it may have been an omen when i didn't hear my first call-up ever because i was chatting in the starting chute. this was a milestone that i will admit i had been looking forward to. i didn't hear call-ups for the first wave so i decided that they weren't going to happen as i heard they were. it didn't really matter race wise. i made my way to the front of the pack by the time the singletrack started.
the climbing starts quick at Afton. Like right away, as soon as you are in the singletrack. i was first for a while but not feeling great. i got passed by a group of 3 or 4 (it may have been more but i don't want to admit it to myself if it was). i didn't go with them. i was going to wait until i warmed up and hope that i was still close enough to find them when that happened. i never got the chance.
i had decided to try very low tire pressure for this race. it was an experiment. i was at 28 front and rear on a tire with 40 minimum recommended in the back and 35 in the front. the experiment had poor results. i flatted a couple of minutes after the attack mentioned above. took me forever to get the tire off. (if you are looking for a tire with an amazing seal it's the Kenda Blue Groove. i thought i would never get it off).
finally got a new tube in. very low pressure and stopped again to pump it up some more. pretty tempted to get a bad attitude at this point but as it often happens i could hear B. she told me to find something positive, to find a new goal that i could feel good about and make this race productive. i decided that i was curious to how well i could come back. i had listened to my entire wave and a lot of the next one pass me as i changed that tire. i was curious to how many places i could get back. i wasn't going to get the same place i was without any mechanical problems but how well could i do after a flat? this was my new goal (thanks to B).
i got through the first lap. told B "flat tire" as i saw her as a blur i almost hit at a sharp corner going downhill. i think i heard her say, "oh" like that explains why it took you so long to get here.
still didn't feel very good going into the second lap but i was determined to get my legs and get feeling good and riding well. i got to Shady Lane and felt very bad. i walked because i learned a lesson on Stairway to Heaven at Redwing last year. if i feel that bad and go for riding up that hill just to say i did it i will take forever to recover and maybe not at all. my race time would probably be better if i walk Shady Lane and not use everything I got for the race on one hill. it paid off. i took the time to take a gel and get a couple of good drinks of water in. i got back on and i felt good. i felt like my race was starting now. i started making passes and even started to see people i had been with right before the flat. i couldn't believe it. i was very curious to see how i could end up after all of this. i was feeling like a goal was in sight and then i got the second and final flat.
frustrated...disappointed...learning. that's what i was at that moment. i can still see it. about 20 people ahead of me, all of them in a line about 1/4 to 1/2 a mile to the peak and then all downhill to the end. they were all going to feel that finish line. well earned for all of them on a course like this. i grabbed my handlebars and hit my front wheel on the ground a couple of times, i looked at my flat on the back, i hit that a couple of times. watched the others get to the peak for a second more and then started walking down that hill.
it was a long walk to the bottom. i had a bad taste in my mouth. but then i saw my family. H was leading the way of everyone walking up towards me. he was waving like he hadn't seen me in weeks and had the best smile on his face. part of the reason i write this is in hopes i never forget that look on his face and that wave. B was pulling W in a wagon UP THE SKI Hill to see me. i was thinking "why doesn't she wait until I get to the bottom" but it was so cool to see her come up to meet me. you are something else B. i love you.
takeaway: put tire pressure where the maker recommends.
the pics below are in order of me going up the hill, getting a little downhill and then my view for the walk down the hill. Thanks Dana Schoppe Photography for the pictures.
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