Monday, October 31, 2005
18th Annual Tidewater Moutain Bike Challenge.
Hey....
Yesterday I raced the 18th Tidewater Mountain Bike Challenge. Steve Nevins has been promoting this “classic” season finale for a long time and continues to put his love of the sport into the race every year. Thanks Steve! This years’ course was buffed smooth and fast thanks to trail work and good weather “60 and sunny”. My team-mate Chris and I had a tight race. After a fast hole shot I reached down to unlock my shock and swoosh as fast as you could say moto, he dropped in on me like it was a bmx race my wheel ground into to his and I almost went down after 30 mile an hour tripod! I regain some of my steam and thanks to David Duval was allowed the second slot into the ALL single track course.
The course’s thousand turns and undulating features make for much more than a lowland mountain bike race, it is like a BMX single track thru dense forests,, awesome!
So with Chris in the lead I was in trouble because, well first off he was gunnin for it and second off I realized I hadn’t gone this fast in the proximity of trees since I went head over handle bars and broke my back. The gaps would open and then close with much suffering. I was one attack from relegating to my own pace and then Chris hit it again. Damn I m done I though. No not yet I will just drill it and make sure I just get dropped and then I can crack and limp in. I Dug deep and it paid off he slow down and I started to recover the next lap I maintained and plan for a counter attack after I try to rest a little and hit a power gel. Coming up the longest up hill section of the course Chris let up for just a second and I snuck by with a furious attack. I knew I needed an escape velocity for 2-3 good sections. And then I would have to slow down. You see the course it so tight with so many turns and banks that if you ride it faster than a certain speed you waste a lot by blowing past turns or worst yet hitting the brakes and having to sprint back up to speed. So after hitting maximum cruise pace for a lap I had to kick it into the pain gear for the last 15 minutes. I have lost a few races to Chris in the final stretch so I needed every inch I could get. The time of 1:29 was the fastest ever Tidewater mountain bike challenge!
I did get the win, it was a good confidence builder and an indicator that I am back on track! David was 3rd, and Chris Beck was 4th.
Afterward Erin and I went out Pepito’s with the Baltimore crew of Chris and his wife Alison, David Duvall Chris Beck and Dave Bradshaw where we celabrated Chris Eatough’s Birthday with a fried Ice cream with candles and sung happy birthday. It was a fun time with friends.
Keep ya posted.
JB
Ps: the first person to guess the number of World Champions that have raced at the Tidewater Mtb Challenge gets a free autographed jersey.
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