Today is Tuesday, I am getting geared up
for the mountain bike club ride, in a few minutes I will go to
Milngavie to meet my mates from Glasgow Mountain Biking Club. I am
preparing the bike, taking the necessary spare parts. While I check
the tire pressure, I notice a big blob of wet mud sticked to the side
of the tire, probably some remnant of the British National XC
Championships that took place at Cathkin Braes last week end. Trying
to remove it, I realize what I tought was mud is actually a
walnut-size hernia of the tube sticking out of the tire. The tire has
a 5 centimeter-long tear on its side, how the hell could I even
finish the race with this thing?
After the cancellation of
Scottish Cross Country round 4 at Dalbeattie on July 3rd,
my motivation flaked off. I was too much focused on performing at
these series, so seeing my efforts were in vain was kind of a
knock-down. My training quality suffered. On top of this, I was on
vacation in Spain, drank too much, even smoked cigarettes. The guilt
feeling alone that followed was a strong vaccination against these,
let alone the feeling of sucking at VO2max intervals after that! The
week before National Championships, I was focused on getting back on
track. Although my fitness was not at its best, I felt good on the
technical sections during track practice (cf. the picture). The organizers introduced a few technical sections in addition to the existing track. Some of them were really technical, lots of people gathered around to watch riders, pick up lines, and practice them. I treated
this race as a test against national level Sport category.
Right from the start, I
knew this was another level, being thrown into 5th or 6th
position before the singletrack. I did not make up time on the first
descent, but I caught people on the next uphill section, and even
overtook one. I finished the first lap in 4th position, in
the wheel of the 3rd. Second lap went well until the end.
Loose sharp rock were on the track, dislodged from the ground by
drifting bikes. I dodge them with my front wheel but my rear tire got
mangled by one of them, instantly blowing up the tire. It took my
around 5 minutes to get the bike ready to race again, with most of
the time being spent inflating the tube with my small pump. Now I'm
seriously considering buying some CO2 cans! This mechanical threw me
away in 9th position out of 10 people, but I managed to
get back to 4th position at the end of the third lap.
However, my strength plummeted from this moment. My lucidity went
down as well, as I suffered a crash during last lap. Fortunately I
came out of it unscathed. I finished 6th.
Although my result was
far from great this day, I had a taste of the field at the national
level. Now I know I'll have to stay in shape if I want some good
results in this league. I was also lucky enough not to burst the tube
despite the big hernia and the few jumps and step downs.
The next day the real
guys and girls were racing, I mean Elite, Expert, Master, etc. It was
very instructive to watch riders of this caliber, see how they manage
technical sections and get the flow. People like Grant Ferguson ride
lines of their own, tackle obstables like nobody else. It is also
amazing how much power is generated by a small body.
Full results on Roots and Rain and on the Scottish Cross Country webpage.
