Mason & Mason Mountain Bike Race - Week 1
by William Turner • July 12, 2019
The backdrop for this race series is spectacular Mt. Washington Valley. The Great Glen race series lasts 8 weeks, and is an unusual time trial format. You race after 3:30 PM on Tuesdays. The first week the weather was hot and dry. Whatever the weather, racing in the Mt. Washington dooryard is a memorable and fun event, complete with many children participating in the Mini Event, inspirational to say the least.
I did not spy other Bikeman riders this past week as I have in the past. I chose to race the short course this year. It was just a blast, a speed-fest, and well marked. It is about 90% double track cross country trails and the rest single track. The single track had many loose gravel corners to keep you on your toes. However, the Racing Ralph and Racing Ray tubeless tires from Bikeman.com worked extremely well in all conditions. The long course had much more challenging terrain. I now race with only one ring up front, so there is plenty of time to hammer over much of the course. It is about 3.2 miles. I will run Strava next week, forgot to this week.
In addition to being a fun family time,� some dedicated sponsors of the event have great prizes for the end of series rider number raffle. I am racing with a duel suspension Specialized Camber Evo in Maine and expect to be using a Stumpjumper Evo out west later this year, both obtained from Kirk Turner.
This past week I pushed my 69 year old body hard, often riding near my maximum threshold heart rate of 155 or more, for all but the downhill sections. I am adding a cadence and speed computer this week with a heart monitor input again obtained from Bikeman.com. I have a goal to try to edge out my long time friendly competitor Howie Wemyss who beat my time this past week by 10 seconds in an 18 minute event. I continue to rely on Hammer Electrolytes Capsules and GU to keep away the leg cramps along with the 1,900 base miles of training I have this year from Riding 5 weeks with the Fuller Center Bike Adventure fundraiser ride. This effort is all in preparation for two 9 day backpacking trips in August in the Teton Washakee wilderness and Wind River Range. Unfortunately, this year my cross training lacks my wonder dog Annie who was put down in April of this year after 18 years of wonderful hiking companionship.