Part 3
I guess I should talk about the actual race now. It was a mass start, so everyone doing the 3 hour race went at 9. Everyone doing the 2 lap race at 10, and 1 lap at 11. Everyone finished at the 12 o’clock hour. I said hi to Justin and Pete, (I thought I saw my old car but it wasn’t actually my old car. It still reminded me how much I miss my GTI)
I took a pretty conservative approach at the start. It’s a long enough race that I felt I should be able to overcome some first lap traffic. You go up the parking lot and then down the other side, and make the right into the woods. You go down a little and then you climb. It’s a bunch of switch backs with a few rocks sprinkled in. It seemed like mostly everyone was riding ok and I was close enough to the front where I didn’t have to deal with any optimistic fat bikes clogging up the trail and letting gaps form.
But once we got up across the road and into more of the rockier stuff, I made a move to pass 4-6 guys I had been following. There was a small gap forming in front of the pack and I knew we were coming up to some more technical sections. I had a feeling some may be ready to ease up so I cranked out a good effort to jump past them. It was 10 minutes into the race and I think that is when I started to realize I had was feeling good. I stayed smooth and cleared everything and got my own gap. I didn’t just drop everyone though. It was still early and I was trying to be conservative without falling too far behind anyone that may have gotten away. I was only just 1 switch back ahead of everyone and not really pulling away.
But I wasn't getting caught either.
As the race went on, it started to sleet as little. There were a few crystals coming down all morning, just like a random snow flake here and there. But now it was actually sleeting. Or snowing. Or raining. I think where you were on the course determined the precipitation you had. It seemed like it went from sleet, to snow, to sleet, then just rain. At 32 to 35ish degrees. I always feel like I’m in a Rapha ad when I’m racing in wet and cold conditions.
I came around for the second lap and I had 2 guys I was chasing down. I could see them but they looked way out ahead. At least it seemed that way. In actuality they were less than minute in front. And I was able to make 1 pass on the second lap. I don’t really remember where the pass was.
I felt very good on the climbs and anything rocky. I focused in keeping steady pressure on the pedals everywhere. This is an under rated technique that really helps IMO. I never want to go too hard or too easy. Smooth and steady equals fast. Even though I was not the fastest on the downhills. There were a couple long fire road or doubltrack descents that had enough slippery rocks and roots to keep me from going too fast. Back to that conservative thing. I don’t know if I was ever really that fast on the DHs, but now I don’t even try to push out of my comfort zone. It’s just not worth the risk of a crash, a flat, or other mechanical. Losing a few seconds on the DH wasn’t bad because I felt so good. I kept the power and HR right around high tempo and never pushed close to blow up. I was never near max HR despite pushing some good watts on the short, but punchy and rocky climbs.
The third lap got interesting right of the bat. I went through the start line and the 11 AM race was getting lined up. It was nice to get a cheer from everyone. Especially when I was still chasing someone still in sight.
By the time I got into the singletrack and a few switchbacks up the first climb, I could hear these kids coming. A handful of what I assumed were NICA kids were chasing
medown. WTF. I should have assumed it was going to happen. They were just starting their race and were
flying up the hill. I held them off for a while but eventually I got caught. However, by pushing a little I ended up catching the last racer I had been chasing.
When I finally caught him, we exchanged a few nice words for each other. We also came away with some sort of understanding... I don't remember exactly what we said but I do remember there was a loose agreement that if it was close, we would try to avoid going out for that 4th lap.
I didn’t just drop him either. By now we were in traffic with the 11 am racers as well as some 10s. Every time I thought I had a gap and sneaked a peak, he was right there on my wheel. I got a gap on a climb somewhere. I was trying to fend off another kid who was coming up on us. I stayed with this kid in sweatpants as long as I felt I needed to until a gap formed between me and Damien. Eventually the kid dropped me, and I was all alone for the first time all race. (completely unheard of btw).
I felt like I was getting sloppy and my bike felt like shit. I realized after the race that my rear shock was totally blown. I only had about a quarter of travel and it was just blowing right through that and bottoming out. That also explained why I kept hitting my cranks on the rocks. Shorter crank arms pretty much eliminated rock strikes, but I had a bunch on this day.
I rolled through the finish line at 11:55 or so and the scoring table asked if was going to do one more. I told them “I don’t know yet”. I tried to get some info from them like if there was anyone in front of me. I was under the assumption that I was in first. I never saw anyone in front but it was possible. So when Damien came up a minute or less after me they asked him about another lap.. and he looked at me, I shrugged, and he said he was done. I was a little relieved, but I was also ready to head back out. I had been preparing myself for one more lap for the past 15 minutes just in case. I don't know if my bike would have made it another lap but luckily I didn't t need to find out.
Once I realized it wasn’t going to get any answers about finishing order right away, I went back to my car and changed. It’s funny how I was pretty comfortable for the whole race. Maybe a little warm with the mtbnj thermal jersey and vest on, but I was fine for the 3 hours. 7-10 minutes after the race though, and I was freezing. It hit me fast. Luckily my cars heated seat and steering wheel work fast and I got changed pretty quick.
Hard to tell from this angle but here is when I noticed any shock was f'ed. Also on a side note, I left that bottle on my rack for the 1:15 drive home and it was still there. Quality stuff!
Then I headed back down to the tents and waited again. Nobody seemed too talkative.
I figured I would really document this day since wins do not come around very often. When I look a these pictures, I see a much older dude than I remember. 10 years ago I would have been looking at the results to see who I raced against and if I thought they were “fast”… all just so I could decide how good I should feel about my victory. But now, I could not give less of AF. All I know is that I won, and it feels fan-fucking-tastic. Congrats to anyone and everyone who raced Frosty Woods in December of 2025. It was a rough day.
www.webscorer.com
