Ringwood Racap

pooriggy

pooriggy

Well-Known Member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Let us know how you did in the last H2H race of the season!
Even if your chain snapped in the first 100ft, share you story.😀

Cat 2 40-44

I rode up to RW with Jeff(Grateful Rider) and another Chris(Cat2 30-34). The whole racing thing is less stressful when your with other people, It was nice to hang with these guys before the race.

Did the usual warm-up which lasted about 35 minutes and lined up with the guys in my cat who I’ve come to know over the series, Kirt, Dave, Robson, Jeff, Sascha…There are 20 something guys lined up and everone is friendly at the line than the horn goes off and its game on. The beginning is a lot of fire road and the pace starts off hot. Fire roads and climbing are my strength so I am going to push on these sections. I am sitting 5th wheel as we go into the single track and no one is behind me, the blistering pace up the fire road separated us from the field.

As I sit here drinking a Sierra Nevada Tumbler autumn brown ale I don’t recall much significant happening in the first lap other than Kirt caught up to me in the last mile of single track and I was able to pass Dave ¾ of the way through the course on a fire road which was big because he beat me in every h2h race this year.

Going into the 2nd lap Kirt was behind me as well as Dave(2 guys that pose a threat to me). On the fire roads I tried to keep up the pressure and put some time on riders behind me. As we dropped into the single track I began to go off course but luckily Kirt was behind me to give me a shout out after I missed the turn…brain fart I guess.

Now Kirt was in front of me but Dave was still behind me but not far. In one of the rock gardens Kirt got hung up with some other guy and I was able to scoot around them. On the descent Kirt was behind me and told me that Dave was a ways back. I was not ready to back off, knowing Dave he could work his way up and pass us both so I continued to push myself.

On the fire road I lost Kirt again but heard someone behind me on the smooth single track. I thought is was Kirt but as it turns out it was Dave…yikes. As we entered a fire road I playfully ask him how did you get here, I thought you were dead. He acknowledges and I put the hammer down on the uphill fire road before the swithback climbs to try and finish him. I am able to keep Dave at bay but according to my calculations I am sitting 3rd and the 2nd place guy is right in front of me.

Going into the last section of single track I am right behind the 2nd place guy. I keep pushing for fear of Dave behind me. With less than a ¼ mile to go there is no sign of Dave or Kirt so now it’s a battle for 2nd place between me and the guy in front of me. After we go over the little bridge toward the end of the course the guy sitting in 2nd goes over the bars on a log over with less than 50 yards to go. I can’t believe it but once I see that he is ok I shoot around him and ride down the hill to the finish line to finish in 2nd place.

Thanks Black Bear for doing a great job putting on the race. By the time I got changed and finished my beer the results where posted…excellent.
 
I was just making the thread, you beat me to it...


The Race...

Cat2 19-29

I wasn't expecting too much today. In the back of my mind I was hoping to do well, but more than anything I wanted to have some fun on my bike since I haven't been riding much lately.

It was a chilly, but nice morning. Ringwood is one of the closer races for me, so I rolled at 8:30 and got up there around 9:30. Quickly registered, got dressed, then started cruising around and warming up. After some wandering I eventually tagged along with Tyler and pooRiggy and rode the first section of the course out and back. It was a well timed warmup getting us back to the line with a few minutes to go.

They lined us us up right behind SS, which is always awesome. Lining up in the back stinks, although I imagine it wasn't too big of an issue on this course. My class seemed larger than it usually is. I go with my strategy that worked well for me at the Jungle, and get a fast start grabbing onto the wheels of the leaders. I'm feeling pretty good, settle into fourth, and go through almost all of the first fireroad part of the course like this, though the pace is fast and I know I won't be able to keep it. I drop off, and even though I think I'm keeping a pretty good pace, it isn't fast enough and it isn't long until I find myself in 8th.

I'm all by myself, and I keep it steady. I didn't preride, but I have been to Ringwood a few times and knew the switchback climb. Once I rode up to the start, I dismounted, shouldered the bike, and ran up to the first left hander. This worked well, I hopped back on and finished the rest of it cleanly. I ended up gaining a spot back shortly after this. 7th. I felt strong for the rest of the lap, I'm way more at home on the technical stuff than on fireroads.

On the second lap, I was starting to feel the pain. The first lap seemed pretty long. I was definitely dragging a bit. An NYCMTB guy from another class came by, and I latched on which helped me pick up the pace for much of the beginning of the course. I end up alone for most of the second lap, not really passing anyone, and the leaders of the other classes passing me (more on this later). Same plan on the switchback climb, which again worked well. I thought this section was easier than some of the sections on the following singletrack, and didn't really have too much issue with it. I was getting a bit sloppy, but managed to get through the rest of the course cleanly, even though I was taking some brutal lines. Unless I missed someone, or there were some DNFs, I believe I ended up in 7th. Hung out for a few minutes, chatted with some folks, then changed and headed home. I was back home by 2:00, which made it a quick day.

Big thanks to Black Bear for another smoothly run event. Although it was well run, it did feel pretty anti-climactic. Not too much really going on after the race, and the turnout seemed pretty small. The course left a bit to be desired. It was tough with a good bit of climbing, but pretty underwhelming overall.

My Quick H2H look back...

This was my first season of racing. Wawayanda was my first race, that was a great event. I finished 2nd, won a bike, and was hooked from there. I raced the first 2 events in Cat3, getting a 2nd and 3rd place. I went up to Williams Lake (NYS series) and took 1st, beating the field by a wide margin. At Lewis Morris I moved up to Cat2, in finished my season there. I was also able to mix in some endurance races along the way, which were great. I will be trying to get more of those in next year.

In H2H, I finished consistently throughout the season, always in the 4-9th place range, and always behind the same riders. My placing really depended on which of those riders showed up, +-1 or 2 places. I also consistently get passed by the same leaders from the other classes (Kirt, pooriggy, ChrisS, jeremy, etc..). This tells me that I have a lot of room for improvement. To consistently podium next year, I have to cut my race times down by about 10 minutes. I really hope I can find the time to put the work in during the off season to make that a reality.

Looking back though, I never would have thought I would have had the success that I have had this season, so I'm really happy. At Wawayanda I thought the second lap would be crazy and that if I ever moved up I would be lucky not to DFL if finish at all. Its crazy how just putting time in on the bike can change your outlook on things. I have yet to do any training other than just riding.

If I'm doing the math right, it looks like I'll finish 2nd for the season by 15 points, and way back from Paul who killed it all season in my class. This is assuming no more PayDirt points come in out of nowhere. If they do, I'm still a lock for 3rd. I'm really psyched about that. I'm not the fastest guy in my class, but doing all 8 races (and carrying my points from my 2 cat3 races up ) really makes a difference. I'm really looking forward to next season. I really hope I can grab some podiums, and maybe even put up some good times in some endurance races :getsome:
 
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I posted my recap on my thread. It's kind of long, so I'll copy and past just the short versions here and link the rest.

Race Recap - Shortest Version
I think I did as well as I could. Let me take that back. I think I placed as well as I could place. I'm not sure how I placed, but my guess is somewhere between 5 and 10. All I know for sure is I didn't come in 1st and I didn't come in last.

Race Recap - Short Version
My approach to this race was different than my previous races. I was far more relaxed and just did my own thing. I guess the novelty of putting pressure on myself via my blog has worn off. This was good in some ways, but maybe not others. The main good point was that I felt comfortable and had fun riding, and kept everything nice and consistent throughout the whole race. The main bad point was that I don't think I pushed as hard as I should have on certain sections.

Rest of recap here: http://www.mtbnj.com/forum/showthread.php?t=17166&page=84#840
 
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45-49 cat 2

My race started with a new guy(congrats), Rob, Jim, and two others in front of me on the fireroad. New guy takes off and he is on his way to the top step of the podium.

As we approach blueberry, it is Jim, Rob, and myself. Now Jim is fresh from absolutely killing us all at jungle, and he is climbing that first hill at a slower pace that what he is capable of. Rob, I was surprised that you didn't make a move at this point. Anyway, Rob and I pass Jim and off we go.

I thought I might be able to gap Rob on some of the approaching tech light stuff that we're riding but that didn't happen. Rob passes me and is in front of me going through the fireroad, poison ivy, fireroad sequence. I finally get Rob on the swithback portion, with both of us riding it fairly sloppy.

My thinking is that I'll eventually see Rob at some point on lap two but that never happened.

Lap two was uneventful until I hit the switchbacks. As I'm riding up, I see Kirt, who is either taking it easy or deathly ill. He allows me to pass, and I remark not to let Jim or Rob get by. Kirt replies "Jim is right behind you."

I look back and there he is. Holy shit, he is going to beat me again. But I caught a lucky break, he never saw me. But I didn't know, so now I'm racing as if I'm being chased by a bear. Full panic mode. I'm riding sloppy again, hike a biking, and looking for Jim every chance I could. I was able to keep out of sight and ride into second place.

I had a blast racing in this series this year. I never would have raced had I not met Jeremy and our mutual friend Paul. Guys, thanks for putting up with my slow riding and clumsy bike handling skills.
 
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@pooriggy.hope i get this right..so,you rode as of..riding your bike and not driving to ringwood?from cranford? wow..that's really amazing man!
(seem like a trend lately) guess, i'm not the only one doing this silly thing!😀

by the by,.congrats,chris!

and to everyone who's racing today.
 
My recap is for my first ever crack at the Pro race. ***Note to self - these guys go FAST!!!***

So from the gun it was hot and fast and somehow I found myself in 2nd spot drafting behind Aaron Snyder... not the place to be. I kept the pace up but before the initial climb I needed to tone it down and think about the long haul. So I pulled to the side and let the gaggle through. So up the first climb I was sitting 11th of 13 and was 10 seconds from 8-10th place as they were dangling in front of me. I knew it was useless to try and close quickly so I let it play out. One of the guys in front flatted and I just kept my pace steady.

By the end of lap 1 I was on my teammate's wheel and sitting in 10th. We crossed lap one in 37+ minutes and I knew he needed to go chase some guys for a shot at the series podium so I cranked hard and pulled him up to Greg Wagoner and let him fly by and get back to chase down those ahead. That pull HURT me. I had to dial it back and recover but stayed at a good pace. Lap 2 was ~40 minutes and a minute back from my teammate. Lap 3 was consistent but I was hurting from those early hard efforts. I was still strong but not fresh.

Almost to the last mile of trail and my rear tears and goes flat. Air it up - no good. Pop a tube in and no one passed in the mean time - SWEET! Cruised easily to the finish for 10th of 13in a time of just under 2 hours ride time(via garmin) - probably 2:03 total with the flat. Not DFL and I felt pretty competitive. I was hoping for 4 laps as posted but by the end of lap 3 I was glad it was 3 laps. Great day overall with some really fast company. Now I know how solid my training needs to be this winter. Game on!
 
Final Cat 3 race 40-49

I knew going into this race that this is it for cat 3. I accomplished one of my goals which was to stand on the podium which I did at Jungle. I`m not a climber and I dont do well on fireroads that seem to last forever so my plan was to let it all out at the start so I can keep the leaders close then hopefully take them on the singletrack which is my thing. If I blow up so be it. I talked MtnRider (dave) into staying for 1 more race before he moves up as well so at the very least we could battle again which are always a blast.Did not do a proper warm up which seems to be a problem lately. Well we take off very hot start cranking in the big ring near the front and when i make the first turn I WAS DONE ! I had blown up,done,put a fork in me DONE !Like 8 guys pass me all at once and Dave well he is just dropping me like a bad habit.I was having so much trouble pedaling that I though I had a flat cause the bike just would not go. First down hill I pass 2 guys and start to see lead group again in the distance but my body is still not back but I motor on. It seemed like everything was a climb. I start feeling a little better but we are now just before the big downhill so I hit that and pass a couple more guys. I never stopped pedaling in my tallest gear down that hill and at times at tough I was going to die but I want to catch dave. Near the switchbacks I catch Sammy and enter the first one and make it like 3 feet up it:hmmm: and have to unclip. I have made them before but I can see today is not my day.Make it to the second set and I hit like every rock and just had ZERO flow the whole time and Sammy,well he is not giving up easily.I start closing in on him and i`m about 5 feet from him and hook my bars and slam real hard chest first into a tree. Man it hurt so I look back and no ones going to catch me and Sammy, he`s gone now and Dave , well he`s probably back starting the grill already for our BBQ so I decide to just ride it in. I have plenty of excuses as to why I did not have it today but I wont use them.The bottom line is I got beat by some better racers today.Dave you got me and you deserve it. You were moving.Good year overall, met more good people,maintained the bike all season for under 50 bucks and did not get hurt nor did anyone form our little circle.Great BBQ afterwards and now its off to Cat 2 next season. I`m done racing for the year,time to spend more time with the family. But training will become very important this off season. Finished 9 th.
______________
Willy
 
pooriggy said:
Let us know how you did in the last H2H race of the season!
Even if your chain snapped in the first 100ft, share you story.😀
Click to expand...

Just because you asked.....😛


I really had some high hopes for this race. All the real fast guys in my cat were there. I would have liked to see how I stack up against them.

But my chain snapped 9 seconds into the race. I was was muscling a holeshot and clicking through the gears, and then snap...

End of story


44515794-289a-331d.jpg
 
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pooriggy said:

Going into the last section of single track I am right behind the 2nd place guy. I keep pushing for fear of Dave behind me. With less than a ¼ mile to go there is no sign of Dave or Kirt so now it’s a battle for 2nd place between me and the guy in front of me. After we go over the little bridge toward the end of the course the guy sitting in 2nd goes over the bars on a log over with less than 50 yards to go. I can’t believe it but once I see that he is ok I shoot around him and ride down the hill to the finish line to finish in 2nd place.
Click to expand...


Congrats Iggs! perhaps you need to get out on a cross bike :hmmm: ?
 
xc62701 said:
End of story? No way. That's when you fix it and have the ride of your lie chasing from behind. It's more exhilarating then you think!
Click to expand...

I blew it. No link, No tool...

When is the next cross race? I have some pent up aggression I need to unleash:getsome:
 
jShort said:
I blew it. No link, No tool...

When is the next cross race? I have some pent up aggression I need to unleash:getsome:
Click to expand...

Balls! Should have been ready for that one.

Anyway Westwood Velo CX race next weekend Saturday and Sunday at the Anthony Wayne Recreation area in Harriman State Park. Be there... I will.
 
I agree with Ryan, fix it and crank it. I seen that a million times, shifting under load will do that.

Great job Ryan this season.
 
Cat 3 - 7th

Ok - so I had planned on moving up to Cat 2 for this one but that was before I crashed at Blue last Sunday and have a wonderfully purple hip as a result - combined with one last shot to duel with Willy and the gang I decided - Why Not?

Only had about 20 minutes warm up which clearly wasn't enough (lesson learned again). Knew I would have to try to sprint hard all the way until the singletrack to have another shot at the podium. I was 2nd or 3rd for the first mile but then I had to take it down a notch and 6 guys passed me.

Caught my breath and kept pushing - about 3 miles in I was finally warmed up and after one of the big climbs (blueberry?) I caught up to a bunch and started passing - the sharpie leg thing helped again as there seemed to be an unending amount of 30-39 guys to pass.

Finally caught up to Percy - who has been one of the fast guys and had some fun - first calling out "I'm going to catch you" which made him sprint but to no avail as I finally caught up and said "hey you in the blue jersey pull over" A bit too much clowning around as my handlebar tapped his and I went down.

Finally passed him on the next section and then started the switch back climb but there were too many guys walking to ride it and I had to run up. Then I was behind a 30-39 guy who kept bobbling sections - frustrating as I couldn't safely pass nor get any real flow so I took it easy as I had pulled something on my right side anyway and knew podium wasn't happening.

Percy caught me in the last section and he finished 5 seconds ahead of me and Nick 15 seconds ahead in 5th. Wish there was some fire road to sprint at the end rather than the hard stop at the end of the singletrack.

Overall a good race and a good decision to do one more Cat 3. It's been a great year with top 10 finishes throughout and I'm looking forward to Cat2 next season starting at Wayway.
 
That sucked

My race and season summary
stupidity.jpg


The only good thing today was feeling proud that I built a properly tensioned wheel that even with 2 busted drive-side spokes, I still got through 1.5 laps with a slight wobble. Otherwise, it was an expensive day for repairs. :hitsfan:

So what broke?
2 DS spokes due to throwing chain (lap 2 into switchbacks)
Front Derailleur cage
Rear derailleur B-screw (I think) causing pulley to sit in casette for the final two miles

Oh yeah, and my rear brake rubbed the entire 22mi....(bought wrong pads, hoped they would burn in, but no, they did not).

Bring on CX season before I murder someone, likely being myself.
 
50 cat 2

Conditions were perfect. Cool temp felt great. Just enough water on the trail to make it fun. Great job by Black Bear in putting this on, although I wish they would have taped off a trail here or there. More on that later.

Good start. Me and Eric side by side in the front for a long time. Chris Walsh passes and is never seen again. Spend most of the 1st lap trading with Eric. But he finally gets ahead in that single track before the tech stuff and pulls away.

OK, I'm cool in 3rd. Good pace, no one around. 2nd lap coming out of that same single track it forks. I see the bike patrol guy stationed there. Say "hi" and took my eye off the ball just long enough to make a left. Damn, course went right. Finally hear him saying "you're going the wrong way!" I said to myself "I just missed the podium". Get back on the trail and sure enough Dan passes me.

I was able to catch him and hold him off on the fire roads but when we got to the tech stuff he was just the better rider and got by me. I cleared much but could not put the hammer down to get by him.

Haven't seen how much I missed 3rd by yet. Will wonder if I didn't miss the turn if I could have held on. Doesn't matter because I didn't. No worries.

Great season. Great group of guys. Going to miss it.
 
Cat 3 40-49

As some of you might remember (hopefully not😱), right after winning in JH I said I was going to move up to Cat 2 for the last race of the season since I got there my 5th top 5 finish (I was first). Well, after that I looked again at the standings and realized I was 7 points behind the leader (with a dropped race) and could not resist give it a go and see if I could win the championship in my class or at least get second.

I'm not going to lie, I had high hopes for today. I won the two races before Ringwood and this course suit me for the most part. So I was hoping to fight for the top and for some guys to come between me and James (the leader of the championship).

The gun went off I started pretty much full out chasing 5 guys or so in front of me. Towards the end of the first wide section of the fire road I started hurting and people started to pass me left and right. By the time we hit the first rock garden I must have been between 10 and 15? Don't really know. Then I started to recover a bit and started to reel in some guys.

Everything is blurry for me now but at some point Dave goes by me, then I pull up to him at the end of that windy uphill that finishes very steep onto a fireroad. There I took some chances and cranked like crazy and finally passed him.

A bit later (I think) I can see the top two guys (a mate from MArty's Tue rides, new to the series) and James. They come and go from my sight with the turns but I'm slowly pulling up. In one uphill/turn they disapear from my sight and I follow a guy from the previous age group onto a fast fireroad downhill. I pass him and get to a fork w/o markings. Shoot we missed a turn😡

Go back and can't find anyone until I see Percy and Dave go by so I climb back and enter the single track after them.

At some point I pass Dave, then Percy and near the end, Nick. About 100 yards from the finish there was a guy that jammed behind another guy from another category and I passed them both. I ended up 3rd.

Today JP (1st place) and James (2nd) were better than me (if you read this, Congratulations!) and getting 3rd felt really good after battling with guys that were giving it all today.

This year I learned a lot, made some friends and really got hooked into racing. I'll come back for more next year (this time in Cat 2😀).
 
I did twice the warm up I normaly do and it seemed to help. ALOT. My toes felt like they were going to fall off in the morning. I got the blood flowing on a sketchy climb with Dustin. At the top we found Jeremy and rode back to the staging area with him then talked to some peeps for a bit. I started to get cold again so I jumped on Pooriggy and RUchris's warm up. Bla bla blaa
At the start 4 out of 5 of the regulars were there along with some new kid. I was worried that he would be fast for us, but further inspection of his bike and clothing screamed NOOB! So now I only had the 2 towncycle "killer b's" to worry about. We started in front of the 50+ YES! This made my life a whole lot easier.

And were off! Better pedal fast! Hey why am I coasting? Why are we talking to eachother? Am I racing or is this a group ride? Is this a dream? WTF is going on!! So we crused down the fire road not slow but not fast but in a group. As we rounded the first turn I could hear Adam breathing like a smoker with the flu. So I ATTACKED!! Up the hill through the intersection and back down again. Looked 200ft back and didnt see anyone.SUCCESS!!

Into the single track! I backed off on the gas a bit and tried working on my smoothness so I didnt have to work that hard. But me being me I got knocked around on a down hill and hit a few rocks that bounced my chain off😡 Looked up the hill and saw the enemy. So I put the chain on and by that time he was right there. I let him go by then jumped on his wheel. Even though I was fresher at the moment I chilled behind him on the fire road. He got away in the ST then I caught back up to him and past him on the Fire road. Got back into the ST at the switch back climb and he past me again.

Lap 2. He was gone🙁 A bunch of people said he was right in front of me. So I buried myself on the fire roads. Now this part of the race is a blur. I was at 110% My eyes were poping out of my head. My legs were blowing gaskets! I knew I was haulin ass because I was passing people that are usualy a good 10+ minutes ahead of me. Every little technical section I rode like a roadie because I didnt have the energy. Bla bla blaa..

There he is!! I was already at 110% but I pushed it to 120%. Up the switch back climb he went! I could still see him! If only I could push juuussssst a bit harder.. OUCHHH!!!! side cramps from hell! I lost him🙁 There is no recovering fast from a cramp this bad. And there was tons of traffic on the climb. I was pushing hard but the power just didnt go to the pedals. It all went into trying to ride smooth so my side will recover. It did but now my legs were super stiff by now. Thank god my blow-up point was only a 1/2 mile from the finish and it was down hill!

Rolled on through to finish in 2nd.😀 I didnt stop. I shifted into the lowest gear and spun around the parking lot for a half hour.

GOOD RACE! See yall in expert:getsome:
 
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