Ride Report Southridge RR 1/12 - 1/3

Jason- I hope were are NOT talking to me! [-X
I will get to it! One more outburst like that and--- NO MORE PICTURES (OF) you! :lol:

You can make it up to me: Buy me a drink Thursday (at Roscoe's). :bang:
:beer:

 

I have one of you...

kind of blurry for some reason but it should do until Dino gets his posted

 

Mine are about half uploaded (I keep the gallery "turned off" until they're all up, so don't look yet), hopefully they'll all be up by tonight. 17-megapixels makes uploading a pain...

 

Great job everyone. Still did not get to make the rounds to meet anybody, hopefully next time. I manged a 2nd out of 11 in Beg. 35-44 XC. I was a little concerned about the changes to the course, I liked it with more tech. stuff, but after racing it was pretty nice, and a little longer also.

 

Does anyone have the link to Lensart? He was there but with the new computer didn't save that info and getting other photo sites when I try a search.
I should have STR pics up soon.
All you photos look so great!!

The new computer is running slow as hell I'll see if my housemate can't figure out how to fix things.#-o
http://www.lensartracephotos.com/calendar.asp
Nevermind found it on here.

 

http://www.lensartracephotos.com/

 

Great job everyone and fun hanging with you. I'll just add photos throughout today things are slow sorry for the delay.
Stephanie-Sdyeti



Maxwell

Racinjason

Justin -Mechman

 

Upside down, you rocked I raced in the same class and I think you and the 1st place guy beat me by 14 minutes. That's insane! Congrats on the second place (oh and I believe it was 12 guys in our class with two DNF's)

 

Denmother's ride reports

So I decided to race XC on Saturday to test my fitness level. I think I have raced XC maybe 5 times previously over the last 8 years. I am a granny ring climber and not particularly fast, so being competitive in nature but not in the running for placing highly, I usually beg off.

But since my awesome teammates and best riding buds (Mrs. Supermann and Sdyeti) were racing, I thought I would give it a try. And then, silly goose that I am, I changed my mind at the last minute and registered in the Sport Women 35+ class. After preriding the course on Friday I dediced 1 lap was just too easy.

So, off I go Saturday morning to test the waters.....I warm up, take a last minue outhouse break, down a gu and then end up sitting for 1 hr while they get ready for a late start.

Then off we go....the climbs were slow but steady and then the single track descents rocked. Got to pass a few folks (male and female) on the fast and the rocky sections and of course got repassed on the uphills. Kept reminding myself that the goal was to finish 2 laps and keep my time under 2 hours. Well, I actually accomplished that with a 5th place finish and a total time of 1:59. I guess I will have to try it again and see if I can better my time.

Oh, and I forgot to mention all of the cheering and encouragement along the way. Usually you only see people at the start/finish line, but because we raced next to the 4x track and the DH course, I got lots of cheering (including Brad and Frank who were hiking up the pavement) and many others on the DH/4x course!!!

Waited and waited for awards Saturday afternoon, missing most of my DH practice time. Ate lunch, changed into my DH gear, waited some more, then got on the podium (in full DH regalia). Stayed and cheered for the rest of the crew, then got in the shuttle line. The 1st hike up the hill reminded me of the previous 2 hours of climbing as my glute muscles objected to every step.

Ended up getting in 5 runs from the top to the road and 2 full runs before it got dark. My glutes said I've had enough and off to Jose's for some good mexican chow!

Up at 5am Sunday, downed some oatmeal and coffee and off we go. The first thing we noticed on the road was the wind (which the weaterman predicted correctly). Registration opened at 7, then off to hike the hill!!! The wind picked up gradually all morning and the rock jump before the saddle on the DH course became quite sketchy never knowing if you would miss the sideways gusts or not. Practice ended up being non-eventful but was difficult in every section where you caught a gust or had to peddle into the headwind.

So, since Lisa wasn't racing this weekend, I got to start off the Pro Women's class. We had 9 contestants which was awesome since the class usually runs 3 to 5 on average. Off I went remembering to start in a higher gear and to upshift before every corner and uphill. Got to the rock jump, stayed low, sucked it up racer style, landed and got blown over. Had to jump off the bike and run up the saddle and then remount. I knew at that point I was not in the running for a podium spot, but as my coach taught me it's all about personal best. So I pedaled my butt off for the rest of the race, sprinted the finsih and was happy to have had a safe race with no damage done.

Congrats to everyone who raced and thanks to all of those who cheered me on. It really helps!!! See you all in 2 weeks.

Oh, and it was great to meet some new STR peeps as well. The names elude me at the moment, but remember to say hi next time!

Me and Guitar man


Before the wind blew me off the bike (compliments of Photmom)

 

Drew... I hope you don't mind....

I took the liberty of doing a quick edit on this great photo to show you how much of a difference a good crop will make on an image. I played around with a vertical crop, but I settled on horizontal because I wanted a sense of place (height, actually).

For all my fellow shooters - keep this rule in mind for great shots -"Shoot tight - crop tighter".

If any of you shooters want help on editing or shooting tips, please feel free to drop me an email at [email protected] and I'll be more than happy to share what little I know. Also, I shoot so many other sports so I know I won't be able to make every single race, but anytime I'm at a race, if any shooter wants to hang with me, you're more than welcome. I love working with people and watching their skills develop. Not only that, but every time I help another shooter, I learn something new too!

\\/

Jody

 

Thanks for the post race chicken Denmother & Roger. It hit the spot. Poor Photomom looked worked when she came over to Denmother and asked for baby wipes. The spectators and photogs out there today were hardcore! (Photomom's pics turned out fantastic!)

Thanks to Denmother, SDyeti and Sauce for the race run wind reports. It helped.

I hope the woman (cbharping's Sport class) that dislocated her ankle (or whatever the diagnosis is) makes a full recovery.

 

I HATE THE WIND

ok, i finished 16th out of 20 dont know my time. but if any one has pictures of 409y i would greatly appreciate them. (thanks lee). i fell at the saddle jump. didnt try jumping, i think i got one of those 90 mph gust, cause i barely left the ground, then i was sideways.

any way enough of me bitching, i had a great time on sat. hanging with the whole incycle group. having fun. all in all a great showing at southridge.

congrats to all those who won.:beer:

 

RR for the weekend

Truth be told... I was somewhat nervous to be up against Steph in XC. I know she can beat me (with her eyes closed) on the DH course, and I know she's a really strong rider when it comes to riding on lighter bikes as well. I did have an advantage.. I'd done 3 or so XC races in the past 3.5 months, so had my nutrition and race pace down pretty well.

We both joked that we were going to ride behind the other, but when it came down to start time I figured I'd just go out and do my thing, which was basically go as fast and as hard as I could from start to finish and not get too caught up with trying to beat Steph.

Once we took off (in a group with the older Sport men and the Sport women 35+) I started pedaling pretty hard. My HR was 158 at the start (seriously, before we took off). I looked down a few times on the flatter sections and swear I saw my HR around 198. I was fairly concerned since my max to date had been 194 on a treadmill stress test.

My throat was searing. I thought if there was ever a time I was going to drop dead, it would be then. I made myself slow down a bit and tried to keep an even breath. It didn't really work as another climb was at hand. I had a sip of water and continued, up the pavement.

Steph had been RIGHT next to me going past the MTX/4X course, but due to not being able to breath or function really at a higher level at all, I don't remember noticing whether or not anyone was around me.

I actually didn't turn around again after the pavement climb and once I was on the winding rolling singletrack. I didn't see Steph.

I did hear Eric cheer for me where the DH course start is close to the XC singletrack.

I managed to get caught behind one of the women in Nancy's class (who climbed faster than me) on the singletrack descent. At first I figured I'd just take it easy and catch my breath (never happened), but I ended up right on her wheel the entire time. Eventually i wanted to pass, and said I was going to go around, but she kind of blocked me. I let her take off, and then there was more climbing.

I fell over in the sandy wash before the little fire road climb. Nothing major, just got stuck in a big pile of sand.

I always downshift right before the steep climb so I don't screw up my shifting while under heavy pressure when the climb starts... she must not have known the course (or didn't think to downshift) so her chain had fallen off. I didn't see her again.

I ran down the new singletrack part that goes next to the culvert. I jumped over the V at the bottom and was clipping back in when the guy behind me endo'd. I took off. I remember looking up and seeing Steph coming around and thought I had to keep booking it since she had more gears on the flats and is a strong rider. I looked behind me much more on lap 2, as I thought she'd turn on the heat!

I crossed the line and heard some cheers, continued on. I felt pretty good, though. But, I didn't want to push it *too* much.

I don't remember seeing too many people at the beginning. I just kept my pace and kept trying to keep my HR low. I don't remember seeing it below 178, seriously. No matter how hard I tried.

I started up the pavement and saw a blue and yellow jersey hiking up. Nope, it wasn't a Charger fan (er...). It was Winston with a Rams jersey. I said something to him and he commented I had way too much energy (thanks to Hammer Gel - Tropical with caffeine - and Cytomax!), and I passed with a smile on my face.

During lap one a guy had fallen on the turn of the new singletrack that bypasses the steep loose section. This time around a guy was walking down it. I had no problems with this section, but it seems others did. I really enjoyed the swoopiness to replace the steep loose section.

I got to the rocky climb after the sand and was passed by Robert Herber. I didn't recognize him in his Ellsworth kit, but said a quicky hi and good luck to him as he went on to win the Pro class!

I passed the mom who wound up hurting her leg and her son on the last fire road climb after the urban jungle section.

I rode down the dirt culvert section this time (behind the saddle), but my front tire hit the V and off I hopped to jump over it.

Pua passed me on the flat section just before the super short steep climb. She made it up that and continued on and by the time I got to the next little climb area she was GONE. The rest of the lap was fairly uneventful, and next thing I remember was Justin cheering me on at the finish!

Hung out with Dan, Roger, Sharky, David and a few others waiting for Steph and Nancy to come in!

All in all, XC was great. I bested my time from the 16th annual by like 6 minutes!

Not sure I'll beat my time from this past weekend again soon, but I'll be trying. I'd like to work on 35 minute laps. But, that's about 7-8 minutes overall I'd have to drop (total race time).

Pickett in 5th



Davidb



Crash went down a few times



Pro



Justin got 2nd overall



Greg in 1st



Steph and I were ready for some DH



Nancy on the podium as well!



Maxwell, Rut, and Tumbleweed



Davidb in 5th



xcburr 2nd and Maxwell 3rd



Our buddy Melissa came out for her 1st XC race and won her class as well



Womenz out there, if you are thinking about trying XC (or super D or MTX) come check it out on the 26-27!! We really need some more female competition and it is a blast! Even if you aren't out there to set time records, it is a great course, ton of singletrack, and lots of good people.

FWIW, I'm just as worried about round 2 as I was round 1. Steph is out for blood this time!

DH up next.

 

Thanks for hanging in the wind and shooting all the photos. It was crazy just hanging at the top for the few hours I was up there. You all are dedicated!!! Thanks!

So I did the Super D for the 1st time on Saturday. I did Sport and missed the last turn from the pavement. I guess I should have raced expert. I finished 1st by about 45 seconds. :?: Now I know better. I will be in the expert class next time for sure. I'm stoked!! No need to call me a sandbagger...I'll move up.

On Sunday I tried DH for the first time. Boy, you guys sure get to do a lot of waiting for a 3 minute run! Maybe I should say "we" because I'm sure I'll be out there again. I raced sport and feel that is where I belong for now. I finished 5th in my age group. Stoked!!!

thanks to all!!!

 

Sorry I didn't get you. I had quit by the time you came down. I had been on that saddle section since 9:30 and couldn't take the wind anymore.

Jody

 

BRUCE!!!!!!

Man you looked so relaxed and happy. Good seeing you this weekend and congrats.

 

Check out Heather/Orven's pics on Ridmonkey. (Starts at post 254.) Always a post Fontucky treat!


Photo by Heather/Orven

 

Thats not Fontucky! I see GREEN!