Landmine Classic
Wopatuck State Park
Hingham, MA
September, 7 2008

The Landmine Classic at Wompatuck State Park in Hingham, MA is the second to last race in the Root 66 Race Series. I was planning on making it my last race before the Vermont 50 later in the month, but after today, I am seeking revenge…

I registered as Junior Expert, my second race in the Expert class. I was pretty confident there would be next to no one in this class, and I thought I might be racing alone. At staging, I found one other Jr.. Expert, who I later learned was Seamus Powell. He represented the USA earlier in the year at the Val di Sol Worlds. He was super friendly, but I questioned him when he asked me if I wanted to start with the pros. It wasn’t until later that I realized he would finish ahead of a few pros and wanted to challenge himself. I myself am no pro, but it was fun to start with them and the Expert 19-29 guys. I wasn’t the only Bikeman’er there; Mike Joos, John Burns and Sean Daley joined me at the start.

So, the race started, it was muddy and fast, but I enjoyed myself racing with the local pros for about 15 seconds before they disappeared ahead. My plan was to be near last in the start and get a bit faster throughout the race. No point in risking getting hurt while trying to get the “hole shot” (which would be impossible anyway)…we have (had) 25 miles to battle it out. Well, I sort of did that for the first 8 or 9 miles until I could no longer clip in.

I had knocked my pedal really hard on a rock in a fast descent so convinced the pedal was the problem; I triple checked my pedal before stopping to look at my cleat. One bolt had popped out while the second was really loose. I could not clip in easily at all, and if it did engage, the cleat would slide on the shoe or pop out too easily. I contemplated DNF’ing vs. riding 15 miles of slippery roots and rocks with only my right foot clipped in. I figured the latter would be dangerous and not much fun, so I took an access road back to the finish which marked my first DNF.

I was looking forward to the race, as I really enjoyed it last year, but at least I got to experience part of it. I’m not too upset. It is not Shimano’s fault. I had never checked my cleats before, but I guess I’ll start doing that. Turns out, the bolts on my right cleat were loose too.

Apparently John and Mike had some bad luck. John’s handlebar snapped in the last 5 miles while he was in second place and Mike got a flat. Both still managed to finish.

So, anyway, now I’m motivated to try the last Root 66 race this weekend to try and finish, and maybe go fast!

Enjoy the blurry pics of Mike, John and Sean I took after DNF’ing. Plus, my muddy bike.

Nathaniel

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