Last Sunday was the first race in the new GSC mountain bike series and as you know it was HOT! The temp in Macon was easily in the mid 80s and though that's not too bad by July standards, in April it's pretty toasty.
The course for the race was a tight and twisty 5.5 miles of sandy middle Georgia fun. The first quarter mile or so included a wide open start, a lap around a BMX track (complete with jumps, table tops and NASCAR style turns), and a 90 degree right hand turn that only one bike could fit through and that almost required a dead stop. Standing on the start line were almost 40 guys who all knew that the start would be critical.
I couldn't squeeze my way onto the first row, so I lined up behind Bobby T., who I knew loves to go out hard. I can still hear him at the SS race a few weeks ago yelling "GO! GO! GO!". He didn't disappoint and I hit the BMX track in about 5th or so. I lost a couple of positions because, well, a BMXer I ain't. The first half of the first lap was not too difficult as there was no room to pass. As it stretched out I started hitting it harder.
Then the heat kicked in. Towards the end of the first lap I knew that I'd have to back off. I figured that if I eased up a touch on the second lap that my third lap would be much better than if I tried to keep it pinned. That turned out to be a good call.
Just after the second lap started I got so hot that I started getting chills. That's a bad sign. I kept drinking and by the third lap I felt better. I kept the best pace I could and felt like I left it all on the trail. I ended up 11th out of a posted 35 riders in the Sport 40+ class and was about 6 minutes out of first. All in all, it was a tough but fun day and I rated my performance as acceptable.
The next race is May 7 at Jackson Ga. (near Macon) Series flyer here: http://www.goneriding.com/2006/GSC/FLIER-main.pdf
Results posted here: (scroll down to MS 3 40+) http://www.goneriding.com/2006/GSC/GSC-1-Eastmacon/results/06-GSC-1-YELLOW.htm
You guys who ride the dirt need to make the trip over with me! I plan to do the whole season if (as my Grandmother used to say) the wheels don't run off my wagon.
