Napa Dirt Classic - Mixing it up in the MUD for the first time with the Experts

[Mark Buell]

Going into the race, I was excited that I had been having some good training rides and this would be by my first time testing myself in the expert division. The age group categories were 35-44, and 45-54…I am actually 44 and didn’t fully understand that I would be racing in the 45-54 as my birthday is later this year…I’m babbling…let’s get to the race.

 

Fortunately, I was able to play hooky from work on Friday before the race and had the opportunity to pre-ride the course with my ACME teammates Greg and Jim. The pre-ride was very helpful to give me confidence to be aggressive on the downhills that I may have been timid on had I not pre-rode the course and to gain some intimate course knowledge from past and present Napa Dirt Classic champ Jim.

 

For the race, I was riding my hardtail, with a 30 tooth front ring. I was hoping that this was the right gear to get up that monster hill on the backside. (Fast forward - Although I was able to clear the hill on Friday, the mud forced me off my bike a couple times on race day.) There seemed to be a roughly even split between full suspension set-ups and hardtails in the field.

 

So back to the actual race – I started off hard and was in the top 3 of our starting group up to the airport . I was panting quite a bit after 10 minutes, and tried to slip in behind the 2^nd place rider on the fire roads that we would be on before heading into the woods. I drafted for a minute or two, but the mud coming back in my face did not compensate for the marginal benefit in wind resistance. I think the muddy conditions which slowed our speed down made drafting a hazardous way to conserve energy.

 

A racer or 2 from my division passed me on the fire roads, and I entered the whoopy whoops in 5^th or 6^th place. As we entered the whoopy whoops, I started to pass riders in the younger expert category who had started a couple minutes before the old men :). I took a good line to the right on the first whoop and was able to pass 3 or 4 riders on the first sharp climb.

 

As the race progressed, the field spread out….I seemed to be able to gain on riders on uphill sections only to lose sight of them as we descended. This could be an illusion as the gap between riders is smaller the slower you are going.

 

At this point, I started trying to conserve my energy for the monster climb at the end of the race. To my surprise, I caught a number of people at the creek crossing just prior to the “BIG” climb. I gained more and more confidence in my descending throughout the race, and must have made up some time versus my competitors on the descent heading to the creek. Upon arrival at the creek, you could have literally thrown a beach blanket over 8 riders as we crossed the creek (some from the younger divisions).

 

I was able to overtake all of these riders except one on the steep climbs. I had to get off my bike several times, but was at least able to ride it a little further than other riders in my category. I did get frustrated at the rider who did remain in front of me as I had to dismount twice as he continued to walk his bike on the only line that I could have possibly ridden. This rider ended up in 3^rd place, and was very strong at the end…so even had I passed on the steep climb I am fairly certain I would have still finished 4^th in my category.

 

The rest of the race I was pretty much alone….End of Story. 4^th place.

 

What did I learn? (Pretty obvious)

 

• Pre-rides are important.

• I should ride my hardtail more often as I really felt more and more comfortable as the race progressed descending on my hardtail. I typically ride my full suspension for most of my training rides and I do not adjust quickly to the set-up of my hard tail.

 

At the end of the race, I was thrilled for number of reasons.

• Greg’s continued improvement.

• Dave’s spectacular Sprint Finish.

• Jim and Danny’s successful first and 2^nd place finish in the pro category.

• Cathy’s win in the Cat 2 women’s division.

• Shiloh’s 2^nd place finish in Cat 1.

 

Most of all, I have always enjoyed mountain biking for a number of reasons…but I can add another reason….the camaraderie of my teammates!