This morning I choked down a bagel and some coffee. I’ve
done a lot stage of racing over the past 5 years and I'm still surprised how my
stomach can turn in knots at breakfast before the start of the first stage.
I'll just chalk it up to the anticipation of awesome.
Tyler and I quickly gathered all our gear and our bikes that
we had prepped the night before. We and loaded up the car and headed to the
race start.
I ran into some familiar faces rolling around the parked
cars and race start finish. There were also a lot of faces I've not seen
before, but glad to share a stage race with.
We rolled out behind the police escort from the start
without any dramatics. The pace was pretty easy as we followed the flashing
lights to a main intersection.
As soon as we turned left, the Canadian team
guys PUNCHED it, hard. I was not expecting this since the last two times I've
done this race, the leaders save the 'pop' for the gravel road where traditionally
the race pace has kicked in. There was a pretty big hill on the way out of town
that would slow em down a bit, eh?
After a short lived pace line, the group I was rolling with
turned left onto Turkey Penn RD, the first gravel climb of the day.
We rolled
along a gradual incline and it was nice to sense all the riders settling into a
more rational pace. Soon we would hit the day's first single track and bomb
down the start of the Mullinax trail. There were a lot of small fast water
drops that kept it interesting. Then we crossed a short suspension bridge and
started the climb up Mullinax Trail towards Squirrel Gap. I pushed a bit harder
through this section and made sure to start consuming my calorie laden elixir.
It was not too long before Squirrel Gap trail welcomed us
with its mix of roots, tight bench cut, and single track love. It was nice to
be climbing lots of sing track. Tough stuff for sure, but much more engaging
than grinding it out on the gravel.
Once up on Squirrel, it opens up a bit into
some fast sweeping sections with tight, rocky, and wet turns. These are awlays
a bit of excitement. I was pushing hard to catch the rider in front of me and
keep my small lead on the rider behind me. Soon, there was a right turn up a
rooty and very steep trail. The top of this trail gets very steep and chewed
up, making it a challenge to ride. But I knew that some reprieve from all the single
track climbing lay ahead.
After cresting the climb, a rolling section of old road bed double
track granted some nice views of the Pisgah Mountains. A white knuckled gravel
descent had me entertained as I drifted through a few corners. Soon I popped
out onto a gravel road and the aid station. The awesome aid station help
already had my bag ready and I grabbed my bottle, rolling out in probably less
than 30 seconds. Thanks Guys!
The short section of gravel that followed gave me a chance
to suck down some nutrition. I was going to need it for the hiking on Black
Mountain that lay ahead of us. Just after the gravel, a fun trail called South
Mills River was a blast to ride. Race director Todd Brahnam was dressed in a
Lion suite and cheered us on. The trail soon began a gradual climb up to the
Black Mountain trail head. I was mindful while climbing Buckhorn Gap to leave a
little in the tank for Black Mountain.
Roots, roots, and more... roots greeted me as began the
assault on Black Mountain. Pretty soon I was just trying to hike my bike as
quick as I could. My legs ached as I neared the 1st hike a bike summit nd began
pedaling again. Wow, my legs were smashed. Another two or three hike a bike
sections had me hurting, but I made it to a hair raising descent. The trail coming
off the top soon turned steep and very water eroded, with a deep rut (1/2 to 1
foot) running down the middle of the trail. It was pretty gnarly, but I was
happy to clean it all and not smack my hand on a tree. I had done this a few
days before when I pre-rode this section.
The angry trail finally eased a bit and I picked up speed
heading for the last techy climb and then the sweet downhill that follows. I
made it about halfway up the next steep, rooty, and difficult climb. However,
my legs surrendered and soon I was hiking again. I knew another rider was right
behind me and put it on full steam to keep my position going into the 2nd part
of the Black Mountain descent. Cresting the last bit of climb was nice as I
shifted into high gear and descent mode.
I made some great time on the descent and had truly ripping
finish down the last third of the trail.
I finished 5th Open Men in about 2:58.
What a fun way to start the 2013 Pisgah Mountain Bike Stage
Race!
Cheers!
