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Brialee's Ramblin Rumble 2 |
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Team Bikeman -
Race Reports
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Written by Art DeGraw
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Wednesday, 16 May 2007 |
Brialee's Ramblin Rumble
Ashford, CT
Sunday, May 13, 2007
So what a fun race. Start times were...on time, exactly on time! The race organizers were...organized. This years race #3 for the Root 66 race series was at the Brialee Campground in Ashford Connecticut. Although nestled back in the woods, the location was very easy to get to and worth the trip. The staff of Brialee were welcoming to the racers and even offered a discount to campers whom wished to arrive a day early to preride. As it is final exam time I couldn't arrive on Saturday to preride but was able to arrive early enough on Sunday to preview the 5.5 mile course.
When I arrived I saw another Bikeman.com rider suiting up and preparing for the race. I saw a few teammates at the race and the first team rider I met 2 years ago Matt DeMeis and his family. It is great to see familiar faces and jerseys each weekend.
The course consisted of single and double track, dirt road, scattered mud sections, a few water crossings, bridges, but not any significant climbing. It was a fun, fast course. The Open Class began at 11:45 am as scheduled and narrowly avoided a car before entering the trail system. Through the morning the course held up very well during the beginner classes and was in good condition for the second of three waves of racers for the day (sport classes were at 2:45.) Due to the compact and doubling back nature of the course there were quite a few spectators cheering us on and helping to get the knots out of the thighs. On the first lap I just sat back and rode with some riders at a comfortable pace but by the second lap I was ready to turn it on and gapped up to a group ahead. Making my way through this group I was trying to reach the leaders but was unable to reach them at this point having put myself in such a time deficit on the first 2 laps. By the 4th and 5th laps the course was nailed down, corner burms formed, rocks churned up, and mud deep and wet. It was a lot of fun. Although mud was covering my bike, in my socks and my glasses my SRAM drivetrain shifted spot-on as expected. Usually on the last lap I'm thinking: "Bring on the finish line." But after 27.5 miles in the saddle I wouldn't have minded a few more on those trails. The rocks and roots did cause some problems for riders as sections became covered with mud by the last lap but it was all smoothed out riding the Salsa El Santo and I could carry my speed into the next section much better.
I finished 4th overall in the Pro/Semi-Pro Open Class and had a great time. This was my second race as semi-pro and even though I was off the podium I am quite happy with this result.
Art |
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