To race Southridge XC, or... not?

[allison]

Hey guys,

I'm really stuck on deciding whether or not I want to race XC. Could be fun, but then what bike do I ride? My XC race bike that I used for Counting Coup and love has a creased/dented TT. Otherwise it's in perfect working order. Hubby says no to me riding it because the TT is way more suscepitble to giving out and making me fall on my head now.

My only other option is a rigid 1x1 currently geared 32x18. I'm not really that strong, btw, of a SS rider. I enjoy riding it, but I usually slow down quite a bit after a few miles and while climbing a lot. The Women's SS under 35 I am assuming is 2 laps with 2k ft of climbing.

I'm just worried if I race SS I'll be really slow. Besides, from the results on geoLadders, doesn't seem like there's any competition NTTAWWT.

Lastly, Justin said if I race SS, he won't let me quit.

So, what's it like? How is the course, and multiple laps, on a SS? Should I just spend the morning doing DH practice?

[tkblazer]

F the xc race, you did enough of that... just rock and roll on the DH!

[allison]

Originally Posted by tkblazer

F the xc race, you did enough of that... just rock and roll on the DH!

haha! Thanks for the quick reply and the advice Maybe I will.

You don't get geoLadders points from the DH though!!

[Keith B]

If you decide to race and dont want to wait until you have a new XC bike frame then you could jsut enter SS and do the smart thing and select a gear based on the course layout. If its steep both up and down with little flat in it then it wont matter either way if you run 32:20 or even lower as there'll be little chance to spin the legs. Get a choice of gear ratio's and give the SS a go

[allison]

Originally Posted by Keith B

If you decide to race and dont want to wait until you have a new XC bike frame then you could jsut enter SS and do the smart thing and select a gear based on the course layout. If its steep both up and down with little flat in it then it wont matter either way if you run 32:20 or even lower as there'll be little chance to spin the legs. Get a choice of gear ratio's and give the SS a go

Yeah I just know nothing about the course at all, and I'm there's no way I can do 3 laps of SS (1 to pre-ride). All I know is that it seems like 2k ft of climbing in 14 miles is a lot. But, I dunno.

[Winston]

Skip the XC race till your frame is replaced. Practice DH instead.

Too bad Andy aka Rut is away from the Internet at the moment. He could tell you first hand the joys of racing Fontucky on a SS.

[Keith B]

Here's the gradient profile to give you some idea of the gearing to run:
http://www.geoladders.com/enlarge.php?route=431

Course walk through for more detail:
Geoladders --

[allison]

Originally Posted by Winston

Skip the XC race till your frame is replaced. Practice DH instead.

Too bad Andy aka Rut is away from the Internet at the moment. He could tell you first hand the joys of racing Fontucky on a SS.

Oh man! Is it that bad?? Maybe I will just do DH practice.

That doesn't address my problem of lack of egoLadders points

Keith - Yeah I checked those out. It doesn't look that bad!!

[1x1clyde]

If you are considering SSing there, ask Andy. I hate that course on a SS, but that is racing!

[andy aka rut]

Fontucky on the singlespeed.

Hey Allison! Ride the single girl!!!!! There are basically 3 tough hills on the course. The first one is the pavement, but it's over in *2 minutes. Just put your head down and grunt through it all. Once you get past the pavement you descent for 10 seconds then start climbing again. I still consider this the first climb, but it will add another *3-4 minutes of climbing. The second hill is the tough one for me. You can see the end of it, it just seems soooo far away and wayyyyy up there. Once that is done, I look forward to the third climb. It's not as steep and you can catch lots of people from the earlier start times. Then it is mostly "DH" and flats from there. Oh, yeah, there is one or two quick hike-a-bikes in there too.
Gearing? I ride 32:20 on my Niner. If I were on a 26 inch bike I would be riding 32:18 or 32:17. If those gears are too tough for you, try something like 32:20.
The singlespeed class only gets to do two laps at Fontana so no need for you to worry about doing three laps.

* denotes all times are approximate and exaggerated!

[allison]

I sure hope you're right, Andy Otherwise, I'll be the dead girl on the side of the trail!

[andy aka rut]

Originally Posted by allison

I sure hope you're right, Andy Otherwise, I'll be the dead girl on the side of the trail!

Whatever you do, don't die on the side of the trail. Winston will take a photo of you and post it on all the boards.

Good luck and have a lot of fun!

[Keith B]

The female riding scene is getting ever more competitive - give it your best shot and know that you gave it your all :-) 32:20 all the way

[LBmtb]

Originally Posted by allison

You don't get geoLadders points from the DH though!!

You're really deciding what rides you do on the # of geoladder points you'll earn? That makes bunny cry!

[CC]

BTW: Alison got 1st place in the xc, I think she was the only woman SS, but no matter...And Justin gets a 3rd place finish. It was great meeting her and Justin today. Hope to see you guys out there again tomorrow. And I am definitely up for a road ride, so just let me know.

[tkblazer]

congrats to the fontana noobs!@ doesn't look like i'm racing tomorrow, wrecked myself pretty good on some DJ's

[Keith B]

Nice! Congrats to Alison and Justin :-)

[CC]

Originally Posted by tkblazer

congrats to the fontana noobs!@ doesn't look like i'm racing tomorrow, wrecked myself pretty good on some DJ's

Dood you should have been practicing today. hope you get better soon

[tkblazer]

me and my friend were trying to "take it easy" and not doing anything crazy, that kinda went out the window eh.

[tkblazer]

how did you feel along the wall, my legs are usually on fire by the time i hit it