Blind Racing in Connecticut
by Andy Trueworthy • June 19, 2023
Date: May 21, 2023
Event: Eastern States Cup (ESC) Stan’s Enduro Series #1
Venue: Powder Ridge, CT
Practice Day
The start to the ESC racing season began with a literal SPLASH. With over 2” of rain falling on the venue throughout Saturday’s practice day, the stage was set for some wild rides. Having arrived from Maine early Saturday morning, I had expected to grab some practice runs before the storm hit. That didn’t happen. Leaving my tarp palace periodically, I would swing by the lift lines to catch a glimpse of the competitors who did not shy away from the conditions. They were muddy, wet, and generally STOKED. All I could think was how many hours of maintenance would have to be performed after race day to properly clean the components, solidifying my decision to go-in blind on Race Day. This was my first time at Powder Ridge and my first Blind Race.
Race Day
The 5 Stage race was fun. The transfer stage was a push straight up the face of the resort to the mountain’s peak elevations. During the hikes I chatted with competitors and gathered whatever beta I could for the upcoming stages. Thankfully there were plenty of good tips and tricks accompanied by varying levels of skepticism from others when I told them I was Blind Racing. Although their concerns were justified, I knew that if followed my plan and ran MY race, everything would end up okay and I was right! Each Stage was a different variety of wet riding. Wet roots. Wet rocks. Wet wooden features. Peanut butter mud. Puddles as deep as the bottom bracket! I can still feel the sound of dead plops the peanut butter mud made when landing on and sticking to my saddle and clothing. I was fortunate enough to be one of the first in my age category to head up the mountain and start racing. Those behind were held up while a competitor was medically rescued from Stage 1. Best wishes go out to that competitor. Never good when a follow rider gets hurt, but that’s all part of the risk we accept in this sport.
Race was fun! Despite the conditions it was really great to be back out on my bike. Not only was this the first race of my season, it was only my second in-real-life ride of the year! Some people may have bowed-out of the race under such circumstances, but I can’t back down from a challenge and opportunity to get on the bike! I stayed off the brakes as best I could and pedaled as hard as I could. There were a number of times throughout the day where I knew I was slow. Felt slow. Must have looked slow. Was slow. Despite these moments I turned a pretty good result; 16th place of 46 competitors in the Men’s Amateur 30-39 age category.
As always a HUGE THANKS to my supporters at Bikeman.com!
Results
Stage 1: 13th
Stage 2: 15th
Stage 3: 26th
Stage 4: 19th
Stage 5: 21st
Final: 16th/46