Lake Sonoma- 3/27/16

[Otis Lyons]

This was to be my first race in an Acme jersey- I didn't know what to expect in a junior field consisting of who knows who. It was different then a NorCal race, where I knew exactly who I would be competing against.
Preriding the course an hour before was good- if I hadn't, I may not have realized that walking my bike in places was more beneficial then trying to ride.
The race started and I was in the first row on the inside. The fire road hole shot to the start of the singletrack was hit hard, and I found myself second wheel behind a masters rider. I sensed a few other Acme riders just behind me, and going down the initial descent, four of us were in the front group.
I stayed second wheel through the whole single track section on the first lap, and by then the lead group had been diminished to just three- the leader, me, and Mark. I saw no juniors, so I decided that I wanted to keep with these guys, and make sure the other guy didn't beat Mark. As we got onto the next fire road, I came by as if to take a pull at the front, and the other guy disappeared, leaving just Mark and I. It was maybe five minutes of us two off the front, before two Breakaway Bikes guys caught up. One guy attacked, but we thought he was an expert rider. I had made this mistake last year at Skyline, letting someone get out of sight because they said they were from a different category, and finding out later that I had finished second- so I decided to pick up the pace, and find out if we were racing this guy. Mark and I caught and passed the attackers compatriot, and soon found him coming back down the hill (he had made a wrong turn- something we probably all did). So, finishing the first lap it was the three of us- Mark and I for Acme and the Breakaway Bikes guy, who I now know as Henry Moore, a varsity rider in the NorCal league. As we reached the singletrack again, we finally realized that yes, we were racing each other, and Mark was now the one with the free ride to victory in his category. Henry lead us at a quick pace down the singletrack, but once he saw he wasn't going to shake me in the middle lap, he backed off, and so began a very slow lap. At one point at a fire road, neither of us wanted to lead, so we were stuck at a snails pace while Mark caught back up. The stop start pace made it hard for the group to stay together, but at the end of the lap it was still us three at the front of the race.
But, that was the end of that. Henry drove the pace for much of the last lap, and we dropped Mark for good right after the initial downhill. At one point I wanted to go to the front to let my teammate back into the fold, but Henry wouldn't let up the pace, and I saw that Mark had a hefty advantage and should be able to cruise in with the win.
The final mile and a half of the race was a weird mix of fire roads and singletrack. I knew that on the second to last fire road, I wanted to lead Henry, because he was better on the little singletrack before the last steep climb. Inching past him on the third to last fireroad, I lead into the next singletrack. With the pace hot, I actually slid out on a uphill switchback, but I managed to keep the lead going into the final singletrack section.
Into the final creek crossing, and I sensed I had opened a tiny gap! Hammering up the climb, I opened it up to about two bike lengths. But, one expert rider decided not to get out of the way on a skinny section, so I was forced to slow down, and gather myself before the final climb.
I could feel him breathing hard behind me- or maybe that was me, I had no way of knowing. All I wanted to do was reach the top of the climb in front. Looking up, I attacked. I felt him on my wheel, but not coming around. But too soon, I was faltering, so I sat down again- I had gone too early. Out of the saddle again, and up the hardest part of the climb we went. I could feel him on my shoulder, a wheel behind me. Then it was his elbow on my elbow, and with every ounce of energy I had left I gave it one last dig, but he had enough left in the tank. Barely getting in front of me to the singletrack, I had no choice but to slam the brakes and coast to second place, taking part in perhaps the closest finish I have ever had.
Mark came in soon after, getting a great win for the team! Greg and Dave also notched podium spots which were awesome as well.
I don't know how they did four laps, but somehow Stephen and Danny were able to come away with 1st and 4th in pro, which was incredibly impressive.
It was a great start to my Acme season!