Anyhoo . . . the race was phenomenal! It was held over two days: Saturday and Sunday, and consisted of three separate races. Before I explain the race, I need to explain how bike racing works, because it's a LOT different from triathlon. In triathlon, we have age group divisions, like Men 35-39 and Women 40-44. In bike racing, if you're not a professional, they have different categories, which are numbered 1-5 for men and 1-4 for women. The lower the number, the better the riders. So, the races are set up so better riders face each other instead of us newbies. At Ft. Davis, they had the Pros, Cat 1's and Cat 2's racing together, and the other categories had their own separate races. (They also have age-graded categories, like Men 35+, Men 45+, etc.). As a new racer, I raced in the Cat 5 group.
First up on Saturday morning was the 16-mile individual time trial. This was basically just like the bike leg of a triathlon. They lined up the riders and sent us out in 30-second intervals. The race took us about 9 miles in a generally uphill direction and then we turned around and went 7 miles back "down" to the finish line.
Here's a shot of me on the time trial course. I love the mountain in the back-ground. It was a beautiful day, but a little chilly, and the wind was blowing flat out cold. I also like the fact that you can see my shark tattoo in the picture. I wish they'd gotten just a bit more of a profile shot so you could get a full view of the shark on the rear wheel cover, too, though. Ah well . . .Saturday afternoon was the 16-mile "hill climb." Basically, we started at the edge of town and rode Hwy 118 out past the Davis Mountain State Park, past the Prude Ranch, and toward the McDonald Observatory at the top of Mt. Locke. The first 10 miles of the climb are moderate to rolling hills until you get to the foothills of Mt. Locke. Then, it's pretty much constant climbing (a few minor reprieves notwithstanding) until you get to the Visitors' Center for the Observatory. There, you get about a quarter of a mile of gentle sloping to recover on until you hit the base of the mountain and the last 1.2 miles, which seems like it's straight up! It is just over a mile of steep, steep climbing, up to a 17% grade in some parts, with the finish at the very top.
Sunday morning was the "long" road race. The P/1/2 racers and the Cat 3 men rode a 74-mile loop. The Cat 4's and some of the other groups rode a 56-mile course. Us Cat 5 guys did a 34-mile race that encompassed much of the previous day's hill climb (without the last 1.5 miles). Essentially, we rode from the Prude Ranch out through the foothills of Mt. Locke, and then past the Observatory to Madera Canyon, which we descended into and then turned around and climbed back out of the canyon, past the Observatory again, and down the foothills and back to the finish line at the top of "Heartbreak Hill."
What can I say about these races? I had an absolutely awesome time! My results were as follows:
Time Trial: 41 minutes 22.62 seconds - 7th Place
Hill Climb: 1 hour 2 minutes 42 seconds - 12th Place
Road Race: 1 hour 58 minutes 22 seconds - 13th Place
Total (GC): 3 hours 42 minutes 27 seconds - 10th Place.
Here are the official results.
There were originally 51 guys in our Cat 5 race. A couple DNF'ed the time trial (I'm not sure how, but maybe flats or something). By the afternoon, we were down to about 47 guys. The hill climb was where we lost a lot of guys. There was a crash about 7-8 miles in and about 12 guys went down. Some of them got back up and got back in the race, but a few didn't. The last guy to wreck was right in front of me. He flipped over his handlebars and face planted into the pavement. I think he was okay, though. I came to a skidding stop right in front of him. Scary moment!
Anyhoo . . . by the time we got to the road race on Sunday morning, we were down to only about 39 guys in the field. Still, it was a really fun race. My goodness, but it was cold! It must've been only about 35-40 degrees when we started on Sunday morning!
I gotta say, it was a really fun weekend. I wish Lisa could've been there with me. I've never been to the Davis Mountains before, and although it's pretty desolate out there, I really liked Fort Davis. It was a nice town with very nice people. I'm definitely going back next year if I can fit it into my schedule.
Hopefully, I can get some pictures to fill in with this blog entry soon.
