Home  Team BIKEMAN Greenbrier Challenge AMBC
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Greenbrier Challenge AMBC |
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Team Bikeman -
Race Reports
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Written by Josh West
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Wednesday, 30 April 2008 |
Greenbrier Challenge AMBC
Boonsboro, MD
4/27/2008
The annual five and a half mile AMBC race loop at Greenbrier State Park is one of my favorites. It is in my opinion a true mtn. biking course with a great mix of power climbing, fast technical, steady technical and few places to spin the big ring and take some really fast corners. It had rained heavily on Saturday so the course was nicely gnarled with mud and HUGE puddles.
The Pro/Expert race didn't start until 2PM so we had lots of time to prep and warm up. My class (Expert 30-39) had twenty-four riders lined up at the start. As usual, we went off on the grassy start fast. I felt great and as we rounded the first turn up a fire road I felt my winter training paying off as my legs seemed to keep spinning uphill. I rode my way to first place by the top of the hill. Another rider wanted the hole-shot for the downhill and quickly hopped in front of me at the top. I followed his wheel pretty close at what was a very comfortable pace for me.
When we got to the big climb of the course two riders passed us about halfway up. I jumped on their wheels and followed to the top. They were a bit stronger and got a small gap on me at the top of the hill. A few minutes later a third rider spun past. I was able to follow and we could see the two leaders in the distance. I was still feeling great and was confident I could pace myself and catch up. I was in fourth place at the end of the first lap and the three racers in front of me were all in sight at the start/finish u-turn.
Seeing them at the other side of the u-turn put a little gas in the fire and I picked up the pace just a bit and just about sprinted up the hill at the end of the u-turn that starts each lap. My in-pursuit style descent was clean and fast and I could see the number three rider when I turned the corner at the bottom. Then everything went south. I punctured my rear tire as I was navigating a rolling technical/rocky (sharp rocks) section. Heard it instantly as it was a small slice in the tread that Stan's couldn't seal. One wishful attempt at trying to reinflate with the hopes that Stan's would set was unsuccessful. So I had to tear out the rimstrip (I'm running the first generation of 355's which require the strip.) Underneath the strip is just strapping tape which offers little protection from sharp spokehole edges. This had me pessimistic even before I had my spare tube out. Then pessimism turned into pure frustration when I learned the spare tube had a small slice in it. Luckily I had a patch kit. Between the mud, water, and Stan's sealant things were pretty wet and definitely messy. Patching was difficult but I finally got air back in my rear tire and was back on the course.
That flat repair was easily the longest I have ever experienced (race or not). Everyone in my class had passed me. I pedaled like crazy trying to catch up, only to get a second flat during my third lap. No more tubes, no more air. I was done. Hiked out of the woods and called it a DNF. Based on the time of my first lap it would have been a pretty good race. While hiking out, I got to cheer on teammate John Burns trailside as he flew by on his way to 5th place in the Semi-Pro class. Nice job John!
Josh West
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