Black Mountain Race Report: Not So Fast

Racers and Chasers.com

Black Mountain XC

Sunday, April 25

No, that's not my little sister. Put your hands together for Rachelle, who turned in an impressive 1:07 lap time at the Black Mountain XC race on Sunday. On a single speed. She demolished the entire field, men and women, in the beginner category. Oh, wait, she was the only entrant on a single speed bicycle in that category.

I raced with the Sport men; we slogged two ten mile laps. Robert Herber, the race director, created a category for women's single speed, so Rachelle and I shared the podium to receive our blue ribbons. She promised to upgrade to Sport. And then there were two...

I confess that, not having any women to compete against, I play possum on mass starts. I'm usually lined up with thirty or forty guys, all of whom insist on being the first one to the single track. I'd rather let them all go on ahead than mix it up in the rolling scrum. However. The race was only half an hour north of where I live, so all the guys from my bike shop showed up to spectate the start. One of them took a picture of us crowding onto the baseball field at Black Mountain Open Space Park.

We sprinted across the wet grass, took a sharp downhill left through the Lusardi Loop Trail gate, and tore down the fire road to the entrance to the single track.

I made it into the first half of the pack, and got to enjoy bombing down a rocky trail. Due to the long line of bikers in front of me, I couldn't really see where I was going. I could definitely hear the gentlemen breathing hard right behind me, though. Do I get bonus points for not nudging Jeanne's wheel?

After the brief downhill party, we were treated to riding up and down power line access roads. A couple of them were so long, I almost had time to finish writing the novel that's been rattling around in my head for the last decade.

Aware that my bike shop friends, as well as title sponsor, would be milling around at the start, I pushed hard to finish that first ten miles. For which I was rewarded with a debilitating case of vertigo. My brain doesn't like it when all the blood goes to my legs, and pulls rank by turning off my vision. The only way to get the lights back on is to put my head down around my knees. Which wasn't too hard, because I was already pushing the bike.

More than one person commented on how miserable I looked when I lapped through. There are even pictures, which you couldn't pay me enough to post here. The second time around, I hopped off the bike well before I started to hyperventilate. Oddly enough, dismounting earlier left enough oxygen upstairs for me to actually run up a couple hills. Counterintuitive note to self.

I actually finished miles eleven through twenty in less time than it took me to complete the first ten. And, I was only a minute or so off the back of the Sport men.

I paid a $40 entry fee for those two hours of suffering, about $2 per mile. At the finish, I certainly felt I'd gotten my money's worth.

Thanks to Racers and Chasers for putting on another quality local event, and for all my friends and family who came to cheer me on.