This weekend was the Dave Boyd Huntsville Classic, hosted by Bike Lane. This was the first mountain bike race I ever attended. This year I actually got to race also. We have been planning on this weekend for a while. The plan was to camp out all weekend. We even booked a shelter early on so that we would be sure to have a campsite for the weekend. Friday came and Vanessa headed up and reserved a shelter. We were able to get shelter #1, which is the closest one to the start/finish line. We got to Huntsville about 9:00 Friday night and pitched the tent. It was dark and starting to sprinkle, so pitching the tent was a bit of fun. After we got the tent up we found out that we were missing one pole for the rain fly. So we made do and used the fly with out one pole.
Saturday morning was the big set up day. We woke up around 7:00 as it started getting light. Once we got ready, the crew was getting thing set up for the race. Vanessa and I jumped in and began helping out. It was raining, but not bad. The rain was confined to a light drizzle, which was just enough to keep the ground wet. We finished around 1:00, and got a chance to ride the course and see for ourselves how good the course was. We had been getting comments all morning about the train being in great shape. I made the lap easy and did not push it. After the ride, I got cleaned up and ready to help out for the evening. We hung out and told stories and just had fun for the evening. It was Ken's birthday so we partied well into the night. Around midnight, I had to call it a day, since I had to get up early to help with the race.
Sunday morning came early. Vanessa had to get up at 5:00 am so she could get ready for the day. Registration opened at 6:30 am. I slept in a little later, but then got up and started to clean out the tent. The more I could do in the morning, the less I would have to do after the race. I got the rain fly off and hung it up in the shelter. I thought it would help the tent to dry out. Luckily Sunday morning it was dry, but it did not stay that way. Around noon we got a pretty good rain, just before my race.
My race was the third group to start on the Cat 3 races. Around 12:40 we started to stage for the race. They called up the 19-29 group, then the Collegiate Cs. I rolled up to the line for the 30-39 group and waited for our start. When the whistle blew, I got a good jump on the crowd. I headed into the single track in one of the top 10 spots. I held a pretty good pace for a while, but lost some ground on the climb to the power line. The next section of single track was nice, but lost some more ground to a few riders just before getting to the nature center. This is where Egan caught me. I was able to hang with the next group for quite a while. Most of of us stayed together until we got to the first typically sandy section. This was where I was caught by Vandy. Once we got into the trail, he passed and it was the last I saw of him. We made it to the jeep trail to the damn, which was one of the few spots where the trail was slippery wet. There was a small group that passed me in this section. I knew that the next section would be interesting since we were getting close to the fence line climbs. One of the first really rooty up hill climbs on the course. I crossed the bridge and saw about 6 guys stopped and starting to walk. I was riding away, calling out and most moved for me, one guy just said it was not his fault, but did not move. I had to stop, get around him and take off again. That was the last time I had to stop on the course. I pulled away while we were climbing, but they would catch me on the down hill. The next climb, the same guy took a bad line, so I went far left and passed him again. After the next down hill he passed me and I did not see him again. I was feeling pretty good, but had a difficult time finding a gear I felt comfortable in. I was caught by another rider about 2 miles out. From that point on, most of the climbs were done, and those that were left were short and not bad. I put the bike in the big ring and just tried to follow the line cut by the previous racers. Just before we got to the bridges, the guy behind me said that I was setting a good pace. After we cross the last bridge, he passed me, and we both passed another rider. I decided it was time to latch on to his wheel and ride it in. There were a couple times where he started to pull away, but I always managed to catch him. Once we made the last left turn I stuck to his wheel. This is the section of the single track which is narrow and fast, but at the end, there is a short but good climb before you start the long down hill to the finish. When the guy in front of me when wide to make the turn, I went narrow. Stood up and sprinted up the hill. Left him in the dust. and caught another rider on the hill. Two down, now I set my sights on the rider a few hundred yards in front. I set up the gears, spun up and started the diesel engine running. There was a rider who latched onto my wheel, but I was able to drop him about the time I caught the rider in front. It felt good to see the rider in front of me look back and then stand up to try to get away. I caught him just before we hit the pavement and motored on to the finish line. I looked down and saw my average hit 11.0 mph right after crossing the finish line. My GPS recorded my speed at 26 mph as I crossed the line. I felt good, I expected a top 20 finish.
When the official results came out I did indeed turn my fastest lap of the course, 53:05. I bettered my previous time by about 3 minutes. The final results came out and finished 17 out of 31 riders. While there were a few slick muddy spots, over all the course was the best It has ever been since I have ridden at Huntsville.
