Iowa Games Mountain Bike Race

Saturday marked the day of the IA Games Mountain Bike Race. I like racing on Saturday because you are mostly resting at work on Friday and your body is ready for Saturday. That leaves Sunday to get all your home chores and yard work done without having to gauge whether or not you are exerting too much energy.

Jed Gammel and I head up with his family to Ames for the race and get there about an hour before the race starts. As we were getting ready the race reports from the beginner racers and pre-riders is that the course has more sand on it then previous years. Oh well, at least there are no creek crossings with sand dunes at the end like at other courses we've raced.

The race did not draw the attendance it has in the past, only 15 or so Experts and 40 - 50 sports. I remember last year there were about 50 experts and 70 sports. Anyway, in my age group it was Tracy Thompson, Jed and Kyle Sedore. Even though Jed sandbags every year making everyone believe that he has not been riding as much as he should, he is still strong as an ox on the bike. The man has good bike handling skills too so I knew to watch him close. As the gun went off we all quickly found each other and rode together. I was looking for Dominic Morenic but didn't see him initially. Going into the first single track section Kyle took the lead. He was riding his cross bike and was having some control issues in turns. I asked to go around him and he obliged. The first two laps were pretty uneventful and slow. I kept looking back wondering where Dom was? We did manage to form a gap of about a minute or more on the 5th place rider. Going into the single track on the third lap Jed moved to the front placing Kyle in second, Tracy in third and me in fourth. I looked back and saw Dominic about a minute or so behind and knew he'd be gunning to catch up. Jed started to ride away from Kyle leaving me or Tracy to go around him. I waited patiently for Tracy to attack but no attack was being launched. I figured he was saving his legs for the IA Games Road Race the next day and decided I should launch the attack. Finally, going into the single track after the bridge, I attacked and got a gap. I could see Jed up ahead about 20 to 30 seconds up. I decided to push it pretty hard to catch him. I got to within about 5 to 1o secs when he finally saw me. Once he saw me he pinned his ears back and opened up the throttle. I was starting to slow down a bit and let it go. By that time my gap on the 3rd and 4th had widened enough for me to settle into a comfortable pace. On the final 1/2 lap I decided to push it to the finish line to see how close I could get to Jed. As I crossed the finish line I could see him just turning around so I knew he couldn't have been too far in front of me. Kyle and Tracy came through a short time after followed by Dominic. Congrats to Jed for his first Expert win, he rode smart and strong and represented the Rassy squad well.

It was a fun race as it is the only mtb race of the year that I get to ride with a pack for an extended period of time. Those are great guys to ride with, we always have fun throwing insults at each other and talking about previous races that we've done together. I have to throw a "kudos" to Kyle for pulling us around the first couple of laps. He was a real sport about that. Who said gentlemen don't exist in mtbking?

It is great to be back in the dirt, (my second home), and seeing the higher heart rates again. I averaged 172bpm with a max of 188. Those are some great numbers for me. I've only seen 190 once in my life.

Thanks again to Patrick Alvorod for his dedication to this race and getting a great group of volunteers together. This race course is always well marked and support is always fantastic. He is looking to put on another race here in fall of this year, I will be there if he does!!

Also - Thanks to Oakley's Rob Versteegh

Rob hooked me up with the new Oakley Path's!! These polished aluminum frames offer lightweight feel with incredible style. I love these things. I've never been a guy to spend a lot of money on sunglasses but I see why these are worth it. One of my biggest worries with glasses are they tend to push down on my nose making it more difficult to breath through my nose. These Oakley's were designed with a wide platform nose piece that spreads what little weight they have out over the bridge of your nose. By doing this, you can't even feel these glasses on your face. Also, the lens is designed so that you have a full vision field in front of you. No missing the little tree sticking out around the corner or the branch above your head. I urge you to get to Rassy's and try a pair of these on if you don't already own a pair. They absolutely rock!! Thanks again Rob, I appreciate the help.