Monday, November 3, 2008

Darkness @ 909 Night Race

This past weekend was the official end of my race season - wohoo!!! Time for some relaxation and beer! The 909 race is always a good time and it brings out the crazies in costumes and those just wanting to have fun and ride their bike. I was a little of both. Decked out in my best geek gear and my roomies TT helmet I set off to get my best time on my newly built up rigid SS 26'er.

A friend was throwing out a frame so I gave it a good home. It was the 2nd ride on the frame and it performed flawlessly. The worst part of the whole bike is the v-brakes. There were sections of the course that I was setting a hot pace through and then a blind corner would come up and I had no control. I was used to the hydros and now I had to get used to drifting through corners. It was fun though. Put the inside foot down and pray that you made the corner!

The course at the 909 is nice fast swoopy singletrack that is very tight at times. The leaves made it more treacherous and more fun for sure. It's a time trial format with one minute margins so I went 43rd and tried to see how many of the previous riders I could pick off. I went out pretty hot and had to tone it down several times as I felt my dinner starting to rise. Little by little I picked off one person, and then the next. The hills were pretty brutal on one gear but I either rode them or ran them pretty quickly. The best part is the feeling of hauling through the darkness and seeing a little light up ahead to try and chase down. I think I passed about 12 riders all together and only had one pass me. It was a great time and an even better atmosphere. Really any night ride is ok with me...

I finished 3rd of 3 in my class - wohoo!!! (I was only 30 seconds off 2nd place) And I believe I ended up about 12th overall of 75 racers. I'm pretty happy with it all. A great end to the season and a lot to look forward to next season. Before I know it training will be upon me for 2009 so it's time to relax and look forward to what's to come.