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Written by Jerry Hughes
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Wednesday, 16 September 2009 |
Landmine Classic
Hingham, MA
September 13, 2009
Ok - It has been a long time since I seriously raced my mountain bike (like 4+ years!)...so I knew this might be a tough one given the length (25 miles) and course conditions. Ally and I welcomed new twin boys (Tucker/Colby) this summer so things have been a bit busy to say the least. It had rained 5+ inches the night before and we were at basically sea level so I didn't expect quick drainage. The 2009 Landmine Classic was the final race in the GT Golden Bike Challenge Series. This brought an exciting buzz to the race - in addition to the oddly placed cheerleaders at the starting line - dressed in basically nothing doing sophmoric cheers right before the gun went off.
There was a 50 mile marathon event going off earlier in the day but I opted for the 25 mile single lap option. I loved the idea of a long single lap - these 5 x lap races get so old. With 5 mins before the start the sun comes out - beautiful day...I was expected tons of wet roots / rocks and started to second guess my tire selection and pressure settings.
BLAM! (they actually had 6 guns fire off muskets!).....And we were off!
The Cat1's (me in there) and Cat2's went off together which made for a busy group charging for the single track pin hole. We settled into a nice paceline and gingerly made our way through the woods. I counted riders in front of me and tried to maintain a top-10 spot.....
The course was AMAZING. It was wet but all 100% rideable. There were many river/deep mud crossings but they could all be ridden at speed. I was expecting to have to walk more or dismount more....I highly recommend this race! I didn't get a chance to grab everyone's names, but it was nice to see so many Bikeman.com riders there. At one point, we had a mini train of 4 of us in a row on the trail - cool. John Burns rocked it.
The bike held up perfectly. MAD props to my tires - Race King up front and Maxis Larson TT in the rear. I rode lower pressure than normal (39 front / 37 rear) and that definitely helped me navigate the wet loose terrain.
Results can be found here. I was glad to see someone from New England steal the GT bike from the 'West Coaster'. I managed to grab 10th place in the Cat1 group - I was happy with that all things considered. Next up: The Vermont 50.
Have fun out there, be safe, and work hard.
Jerry
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