The Big Sandy MTB Race Mar 30, 2013

Race report from Kurtis Westbrook.  The Big Sandy was his first race of the season, and first race as a Cat1/Expert, he placed 5th.  We are excited to have Kurtis on board!! 

"The Big Sandy March 30^th 2013 Expert:

 I arrived with plenty of time to get a warm up in, so I rode for a little bit on the trail to dial in what air pressure I would want to run. I ended up running 35 psi in the rear and 30ish in the front because I wanted decent cornering traction but not the bounciness of running to low. Come race time I met up with Sam Guzman and Kevin Herron and started next to them. It was weird that they started us off in one big break and I heard that there was a wreck at the start but I was up in the front with the sprinters and didn’t see any of it. The race start was on the road and went up a hill then down through the parking lot where it changed to single track for an 8 mile loop. We then climbed to the top of the ridge and descended down to meet up with the river trail. There were a lot of “conga line hike a bike” in the first part of the climb which went up very tech rocky stairs. It probably wasn’t too ride-able. I kept pace with the group and things started spreading out a bit when we got past the hiking and back on our bikes for the remainder of the 3 mile climb to the top. I felt pretty strong climbing and was only a little gassed from the sprint start. I passed a few people while keeping my high cadence sustainable climbing speed.

 Once we reached the top the race was on, I knew Sam and Kevin were ahead of me but not too far. I passed a hand full of people when there were openings and caught up with Kevin. He was stuck behind a guy that wasn’t the best at descending and was definitely holding Kevin and the guy behind me up. After some persuasion he pulled off and let us pass. Kevin led the rest of the descent and we were moving pretty darn good.  Caught a few people towards the bottom bridge where there were two lines to get on to the bridge. Kevin took one line and I took the other my line, which got me onto the bridge first. I was impressed with my new Kenda slant six tire.  It had good breaking traction and cornered really well.  There were a few technical rocky uphill climbs and some flowier downhill’s until we reached the river trail. Here I ate my first honey stinger gel right before starting on the single track on the river trail.

The first few miles of the river trail I was feeling that 8 mile loop but I was able to get into a groove. During this time, I was passed by Kevin and a few others but I was able to keep them in sight for awhile. Eventually they pulled away and I was on my own for while. I hit a long fire road descent and pushed it pretty hard to make up some time. There was still no one in sight. Then I saw Kevin by himself off in the distance. This motivated me to pick up the pace. I feel like when I am riding by myself I slow my pace a bit, which isn’t really good. I succeeded in my goal of catching and passing Kevin but when I caught him he told me that he had stopped racing because he had run out of water. I looked down and saw that I had almost finished my bottle with Skratch Labs drink mix and was ¾ done with my plain water so I knew I couldn’t give any up. It was pretty hot outside.

After picking up the pace to make the pass, my legs were getting tired and I started to feel hungry. I was only around mile 15 and wanted to save my other Honeystinger gel for mile 19 because I knew there was a huge climb to the finish. I ate the gel around 1.5 miles later since I needed the boost and was feeling the heat. At this point in the race I started seeing riders that were most likely from the sport and beginner classes. All of them were aware of me and nicely pulled over to let me pass.  An expert rider passed me with some speed and I quickly tried matching his pace but he pulled away a little bit. He was still in sight when we reached the treacherous steep single track climb right before the descent to the finish. I kept the rider in sight until my left leg started to cramp. I dropped down to granny and spun, transferring a little more power to my right leg. This climb was no joke I pushed through the cramps which went away around half way up but I wasn’t able to keep the pace. The rider got out of my sight. I passed multiple sport or beginner riders struggling up the hill.

The Garmin said it took me around 16 minutes to reach the top but it felt way longer. I was relieved when I reached the top of the hill but I knew there were still a few ups and downs before the decent. I passed two more people before the descent that weren’t in my class. Luckily, I was able to get a clean decent but didn’t catch anyone. The finish ended with a sharp right turn at the bottom of the descent went down the side of the lake and then up a dried up boat launch. As I crossed the finished I was handed a cold water bottle and some gel by someone, I took it gladly and did a few laps in the parking lot to cool down. I drank the first water bottle then drank another. Ate some honey stinger energy chews. I did not feel well at all after finishing, I felt like I may pass out and was nauseous. I ate a burger and some chili and still didn’t feel well. I checked the results and ended up finishing 5^th and I counted a total of 10 number plate tags with more possibly coming in. I was quite satisfied with my finish. We left early because I wasn’t feeling well and could use a cold shower and a nap. After sleeping for a bit I finally started to feel better and was able to upload my ride to Strava, which said I finished with a time around 2 hrs and 28 minutes, 23 miles and 3400ft of climbing. -Kurtis"

Final drag...uphill!!

Congestion at the start.

Hot day in the saddle!  Glad to be done

 Thank you to all our sponsors who make it possible to race and ride all season...Velo Wrench Bike Shop, Smith Optics, Kali Helmets, Honeystinger, Skratch Labs, Serfas, Ink Monkey Graphics, Ryan Bates Photography, Handlebar Mustache, Alvarado Equine, Gregg Lehman Nationwide, Jamis Bikes, KHS Bikes, and Personal Best Products.  

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