Eric sent in a report from Nationals:
"This
was my first trip out to Sun Valley let alone Idaho. Sun Valley is the
Hollywood of ski resorts. Fancy cars and houses are abundant in the
area. After my pre-ride on friday I took the gondola and chairlift to
the top of Bald Mountain for lunch at the "Roundhouse Restaurant".
While waiting for my food, I wandered about looking at the old pictures
of Sun Valley and the restaurant from the early 40's when it first was
built. Lucy even made a film featuring Sun Valley. It was a great place
to relax and take in the scenery while enjoying some good food.
As
stated before I did a nice pre-ride on friday. The course profile
looked like a mountain itself; climb for half the race then descend for
the second half. The second half also had a couple short climbs but they
weren't too bad. The "ameture course" was 1, 18 mile lap around the
mountain. I really wanted to check the downhill part so I took the
gondola to the top of the mountain and rode a connector trail to the top
of the race climb on the back side of the mountain. Where the trails
met was also the first feed zone. I laughed when I heard we had to fill
our own water bottles from the gatorade jugs provided. It was so remote
all they could do is get 3 jugs back to a picnic table. How they did it I
don't know, because there was no motorized vehicle access back there.
Anyway, I was feeling fine and the downhill was quite hazardous so it
was a good decision to do the downhill and get a feel for it. What I
found interesting about this race was 100% of the singletrack is
mountain traverse, much like the last section of single track at Red
Wing. However, this terrain was much rockier and sandier. One slip of
the tire or wrong move could send you off the side of the mountain and
it was always a long and steep way down. It was still a blast and I had a
smile on my face all the way down.
My
race started at 8am so it was nice to start in the cool mountain air
which was key to not getting dehydrated with only 1 water bottle. On the
start line I was 2nd or 3rd row which was fine with me. I haven't been
as fast as previous years and I knew it was going to be a very long
climb so I had plenty of time to move up. When the gun went off I had
one of my worst starts in modern history. I couldn't find my cleat for
the life of me and missed like 3 or 4 times which put me in the back. We
did a short prologue loop around the chalet area and then were sent
down a flat paved bike path for 2 miles. I had to burn a few matches and
put it in TT mode to catch the lead group right before the climb. Oh,
did the climb hurt too. I found myself near the back trying to get into a
good rhythm and run my own race. It took me a full hr of non stop
climbing to reach the top, going from around 6,000ft to 8,000ft. The
gravel road and doubletrack were brutal. There were a couple kickers in
the beginning to sap the legs before the looooong gradual singletrack
traverse to the top. The downhill was fun and I rode within my limits to
stay safe. I passed a few guys with broken chains and flats, feeling
fortunate not to be one of them. It would be a long hike a bike back if I
was. The bottom section of singletrack that the pro course was on an
even steeper hillside with lots of rocky, rutted, and loose switchbacks.
I arrived at the finish with no one around me finishing in a time of
1:48 and in 21st place. The results didn't matter for me, only to have
fun and stay safe which I did. It is a good experience to go some place
and ride trails that are so foreign to us Midwestern folk and meet new
people. I love riding out west and hope to make it to another Nationals
someday.:"
Racing at Duluth and posting results were:
Thad Schulz- 5th in age class and 39th overall Sport
Alye DeRoma- 5th in age class and 8th overall Sport
Dan DeRoma-12th in age class and 64th overall Comp
Greg Ames- 4th in age class and 38th overall Comp
Earlier this week I hooked up with Chris "Zigs" Ziegler, one of the early riders of the Maplelag team. We rode a lap and half of the course, getting out early while temps still cool and no bugs. Good to hook up with Chris who was home from a few days from graduate studies (microbiology) at University of Vermont.
Keep the wheels moving!!
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