From: tohall@ariel.lerc.nasa.gov (Dave Hall)
Subject: Ohio State MTB Championship (Long & Spooky)
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41    
Organization: NASA Lewis Research Center
Date:  7 Oct 1992 08:21 EST  



       This article is about the Ohio State MTB championships. Hit
'n' now if you don't care.

THE COURSE:

  At Clay's Park near Massillon Ohio. Pretty flat, most uphills
were short and steep, needing sprint-type power. Four water hazards.
Two were shallow, short (5-6 feet wide) creek crossings. "Voodoo Creek" was
tougher, about 20 yards long, featuring the "Black Hole" with chest-deep
icy-cold water for those who picked the wrong line. "Alligator Alley" was knee
deep for 15-20 yards with deep mud at the exit point. Lots of single track 
thru the woods. The infamous BMX track was toned down, with the whoop-de-doo
bumps fairly low. Several short steep downhills with loose dirt. Distance was
5 miles per lap.

WEATHER:

 Beautiful. Mostly sunny with a strong breeze and temps of 55-60 deg F. 

THE SR BEGINNER RACE.

 Three laps. The turnout was good, with  50-60 guys was present. Bikes
ranged from plain-jane (my mostly stock Schwinn Impact MOS) to the extravagant
(at least one fully suspended Canon-whale). The first 1/2 mile was flat, which 
inspired a pack sprint to reach the first hill. An off-camber descent followed, 
which caused a lot of commotion behind me. My crit-racer legs and instincts
kept me near the front, and I entered the first single track section in 4th. 
A short descent with loose rocks and a jaunt across a meadow took us to the 
"Haunted Woods". This is where it got **strange**.

     Clay's Park is setting up for a Halloween "haunted house" attraction. 
After we passed the concession stands, the course was marked thru the woods
with ropes. We had to pass by several "spooky" displays. A mannequin
with a butcher knife sticking out of its neck...  A big fat guy (mannequin)
tied to a tree, intestines hanging out of a gaping belly wound, it went on 
for a half mile or more.  

    After the woods came the BMX track. The toughest part was a steep concrete
ramp, normally used as the lead-in for trick-biking, which we had to climb 
*UP* at the end. I was still in 4th here, but then I encountered a steep 
downhill with mucho loose dirt. My front wheel skidded, while turned somewhat 
to the side. Then I caught a tree root. Bonzai! Over the bars we go, 
somersaulting the last 30 feet down the hill. I picked up some nice scrapes 
and bruises, but no serious damage. The bike was ok once I got the chain
back on track. By the time I got going again, I had dropped down to about
10th place. 

       As I neared "Voodoo Creek" for the 1st time, I reached down for my
water bottle. It was gone!! Probably lost during my down-hill tumble. I
figured I would be lucky to finish at that point. I tend to sweat like a
pig while racing, and get dehydrated very easily. Leg cramps and severe
bonking result if I don't swill lots of water. The first pass thru
voodoo creek was ok, though I had to carry the bike to get out of the water.
Then a trek thru the woods while I considered my drinking strategy. I
would have to stop at the start/finish on every lap and gulp down 2-3 of
the paper cups of water they were handing out. I figured maybe I could 
at least finish that way. I then mucked my way thru "Alligator Alley".
I passed several people between there and the start/finish as I figured I
better move up before I stopped to drink. 

    When I got to the "feed zone", I knew the MTB gods were smiling on me.
 There was my water bottle, sitting on the table!! It was well
encrusted with mud, but still nearly full! One of the course marshalls had found
it and brought it back on his motorcycle. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. 

    This turned out to be my best MTB race so far. I have been road racing
pretty seriously for 3 years now, and made it to Cat 3 in August. This was
only my 3rd MTB race. My preparation was pretty limited. I had not
ridden any serious single track since May. I have been doing some good 
interval work on the road, and it really paid off on this course. There
were a lot of flat sections where I could hammer big gears and fly like a
roadie. I passed a lot of people this way, and no one ever passed me 
outside the single track areas. 

    One preparation I did was helpful. A
"pseudo-cyclocross" workout. I figured I would be getting off the bike and
running a lot to make up for my poor off-road bike handling. The day
before the race, I took my MTB out to a school playground and practiced
riding up to an obstacle, getting off the bike, running with it and
then jumping back on and getting into the toe straps quickly. It seemed
to help a lot. I passed quite a few people by executing the dismount/carry/
remount maneuver cleanly during the race.

       On laps 2 and 3, there were no big fiascos like my "flying lesson"
on lap 1. It was fun to catch and drop the expert women, also a few stragglers
from the back of the Sport class. 
 I seemed to get better at single-tracking as the race went on,
getting the hang of it a little more. I managed to negotiate
the water traps quickly on the final lap, and passed one last guy from my class
with a quick remount following the last plunge thru Alligator Alley. He was
floundering around in the deep mud. My lower back was getting real tight
as I neared the finish. The course broke out into a wide open meadow 
for the last 100 yards. I looked back several times to make sure no one was 
trying to sneak  by me with a final sprint. I cruised in with a respectable
4th place finish. I was exhausted but happy. The Sport class had to do 4 laps.
I was mighty glad I only had to do 3.  The next day I was sore all over,
but the muscles ache in a good sort of way. I have 5 or 6 bandages on my 
legs, but I have seen a *lot* worse road rash after a Cat 4 crit. 

     As for the other classes, all I know is that John Shell (Team Columbus)
won the expert men's race, I believe it was his 2nd year in a row. He had 
a real interesting bike, it was a Slingshot frame. The one with an "aircraft
control cable" instead of a downtube.  I had to leave early and had a buddy pick
up my prize stuff. 

    I really feel that my road racing has benefitted from doing MTB races. 
I feel a lot more confident in tricky bike handling situations. When I
start to get bored/burnt out on road racing, the MTB stuff helps to keep me
interested and in shape.


                    Adios!


                         Dave H.











Newsgroups: rec.bicycles.racing