Chris NewbyFraser Posted October 21, 2018 Posted October 21, 2018 I was comfortable with my state of fitness. Thought I would finish top 5, maybe even just off the grand master podium at the USN race this weekend.....Perfect weather and ground conditions made me confident of a good ride. My seeding in the second and last group didn't worry me as there were lots of strong looking riders around me, along with the usual oke's riding in tekkies and t-shirts. We started and almost everybody rode away from me. Don't worry I told myself, they'll blow sooner or later. Well, they didn't, or if they did I still couldn't catch them.I finished 6th out of 7 g-masters and managed to beat 50 other riders who I left behind me. Most of the field finished ahead of me -far ahead of me;the car park was already emptying.Time, my shattered ego said, for a re-evaluation.
ChrisF Posted October 21, 2018 Posted October 21, 2018 Hehehehe ..... I might as well have typed this last Saturday at the Java event .... only difference .... I started at the front of the the 3rd unceaded bunch ... I got on those pedals and motored away !!! Once I got my momentum I eased of just a bit, got a steady heart beat, and then the the youngsters started passing me one by one .... that was perfectly expected and fine. By now we were catching the back end of previous group, and I managed to pass a fair number of riders ..... Then we got to a climbing section of single track. You were stuck in your position ... nobody was passing nobody .... just as well .... I got my heart rate down a few beats while stuck in he train .... which was only 1 or 2 km/h slower than I what I would have done there .... After the watering point there was a horible climb .... as you go around the bend and see the climb you see people walking .... My personal goal was to RIDE, and not to walk. I engaged the granny and kept riding, passing a few pedestrians and seeing the bulk of the group dissapearing in the distance - thankfully for my fragile ego, nobody caught up or passed me at this point. The next 5km was FUN !! Some steep declines where the full suspension WORKED ! Two of us were having some good fun where some walked down rutted sections .... And then the dreaded last 3km .... my heart rate stayed right up there, but by speed just kept on dropping and dropping ..... the tank she was EMPTY .... I am certainly in better condition than a few months back ... but dammit ... the others seems to have improved more .... good for them !! I am catching them ....
DJR Posted October 21, 2018 Posted October 21, 2018 Yup, every time think I've done really well in a race I look at the total results........and see that the winner finished in half my time ................then I say to myself, "you are an endurance athlete, not a racing snake" ........and I go do a really long race..........just to discover I still finish in mid-pack, as always! The only thing I beat everyone else in, is having fun! I'm the world no. 1 for having fun! Well, that's my story anyway!
ChrisF Posted October 21, 2018 Posted October 21, 2018 Yup, every time think I've done really well in a race I look at the total results........and see that the winner finished in half my time ................then I say to myself, "you are an endurance athlete, not a racing snake" ........and I go do a really long race..........just to discover I still finish in mid-pack, as always! The only thing I beat everyone else in, is having fun! I'm the world no. 1 for having fun! Well, that's my story anyway! none of those snakes can say they took a moment to take pics mid-race ...
DJR Posted October 21, 2018 Posted October 21, 2018 none of those snakes can say they took a moment to take pics mid-race ... VLR-1.jpg VLR-4.jpgI also know what the fynbos smells like and they don't - if I don't stop to smell it (to take pictures, never to rest ) I crash into it
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.