2009 Coyote Hill MTB Race Team Report
Conditions:
The weather started out in the low 50’s with a steady soaking rain early in the event but the rain stopped just before the Cat2 race. Unfortunately, the damage had been done at that point. For the later races the skies cleared off and the sun came out, making for a steamy and abrupt transition.
The Course:
The course was a 6 mile loop of rolling deep woods single-track at the Coyote Hill MTB Camp (http://www.coyotehillcamp.com/) in Fairlee, VT. This was a good old fashioned 90% tight twisty single-track MTB race course with a number of good technical stream, mud and rustic bridge crossings, some fast flowing single-track, screaming side-hill descents and all the slick roots you can imagine. Unfortunately, the sticky, slimy mud made it all treacherous for the Cat2 races and the start of the Pro/Cat1 races. If you didn’t crash at some point, you were in the minority of racers.
Results:
The NEBC/Cycle Loft/Devonshire Dental team braved the weather to attend the event on the long holiday weekend. The overall team results were fantastic and the turnout for the event was once again very high. Also, Cathy managed to take the lead in the overall competition for the Cat1 35+ women’s category with this result. Excellent work!
At the end of last year, USA Cycling changed the mountain bike categories to be more inline with the other disciplines. They mapped Beginner to Cat3, Sport to Cat2, Expert to Cat1 and Semi-Pro’s were given the option to either become Pro or Cat1.
NOTE: The results are listed in order of category/field start and then by place in said field.
- Michael Rowell – Pro/Cat1 Open – 15th
- Keith Reynolds – Cat1 Men 30-39 – 9th
- Michael Good – Cat1 Men 40-49 – 7th
- Wayne Cunningham – Cat1 Men 40-49 – 8th
- Cathy Rowell – Cat1 Women 35+ – 2nd
- John McGrath – Cat2 Men 40-49 – 20th
http://www.root66raceseries.com/page/9-new-results (Race Results)
Reports:
[Michael Rowell]
The drive up to Coyote Hill started OK but as we neared the event it started to rain. Temps were hovering in the low 50’s and moral was low; I hate mud. The event was bustling and we registered, watched the start of the Cat2 race, then changed and went for a pre-ride. In hindsight, this was a huge mistake. Lap times were slow, conditions were terrible and there were racers on course with whom we didn’t want to interfere. This meant we would get off the trail and out of their way. The mud was miserable and going was near impossible. Couple this with the delays and we barely made it back in time for our races and had bikes covered with sticky mud. Not a good way to start a race.
On the line the field was huge. We counted 36 and were told that there were two others that were supposed to be there. At the gun it was a mad scramble through the turn in the field, down the finish/lap stretch and over a small bridge. Mayhem ensued and things backed up. I ran around through the mud as my maxed HR spiked some more. Then back onto the bike for a winding squishy grass field climb up to the sustained 3 minute dirt road climb. I imploded, then exploded, then gave up. I could see everyone riding away and I just didn’t care. My will was broken well before the race even started, somewhere after the rain started that morning.
After about 15 minutes of self pity and loathing in the last seat on the bus, I started to snap back out of it and pass as I could. This was difficult given the course’s tight twisty, slick, rooted single-track. The best gains came as someone wiped out and you scrambled around them. Guenter Hofer did an excellent endo face plant that I scrambled around for a two spot net gain. There were others as well and I was able to pass here and there, making up some spots.
By the second lap I was starting to race and was making up ground. About half way in I saw fellow master’s racer Todd Wheeldon slipping and sliding his was around. I asked how he was doing and where all these young kids came from then snuck by. A few more passes of folks in my class then lapped traffic and the laps blurred together. On the final lap I took a fresh bottle and started the climb. I saw Matt Okeefe up ahead chatting on the side of the course taking a break, which seemed odd. He jumped back in front of me and I followed him up the climb. We shot down the off camber hillside and I instantly lost my fresh bottle, the one I just carried up the darn hill. Matt let me by on the small double-track climb and I marched forward. I went hard and steady the rest of the lap and managed one my category pass.
Not a great race by any means and I certainly wasn’t turning impressive lap times. I did learn a couple of lessons, unfortunately which I already knew. If lap times are much more than ½ hour, it’s probably a bad idea to do a warm-up lap. If it is raining and the course is muddy, save your bike for the start and don’t do a warm-up lap. Lastly, if you are mentally beaten at start, it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy for the end.
[Keith Reynolds]
Arriving in the rain was a real downer. If it had started before entering Vermont the car might have returned South. My enthusiasm didn’t peak much higher than that. While setting up for a pre-ride MG needed some front brake attention. After making some minor adjustments I was only hopeful the worn pad would not interfere with his race.
We set out and saw John McGrath (race lap #2) on the first major hill climb. We got behind him and took it easy as everything was slippery. During the descent John pointed out the tree he intended to hug but it had turned his bars sideways. Now that was a nice feature; steep pitch with a hard right hand turn pointing straight at a tree with some saplings on the side. In the lower sections the ground was very slick, roots were exposed everywhere. The stock tires on John’s bike weren’t doing him any favors. Ten minutes in I had seen enough to know the conditions would prove to be a real challenge regardless.
At the start the skies were clearing and condition improvements would only be marginal. The pro/open field was huge with Mike Rowell joining them on the line. The single speeders were (again) seeded before my field, somewhat of a sticking point. Should an equipment choice have its own field? If they routinely get passed by later fields, should they readjust their start?
I jumped to get a decent start and was climbing the hill while only one lone guy was going full steam ahead. A few came around me while I paced up the hill, entering the single track ahead. We stayed close for about half a lap. From there I just couldn’t get into a rhythm with the standing mud and exposed wet roots. There was something reminiscent of a pond jump where you come flying down a hill into a small lip before a stream. Instead of dragging the bike up the hill to do it again I pressed onwards.
Lap 2 I took a flying leap off the bike on a descent courtesy of a sideways root I hadn’t seen. Then I began to come upon the destruction; one guy walking his bike while carrying someone else’s broken chain, a single speeder riding with one cleat and damn near dropping me and giving needed encouragement. The 3 hecklers at the base of the woods drinking PBR were also somewhat of a scene.
The next lap I so didn’t want to complete, the negativity was too much. I ran with the bike through most any of the mud. I was thinking never would I recommend this place again, there’s just too much erosion around all these exposed roots. One persons perspective can vary from day to day, just ask the others who seemed to enjoy the course.
Upon finishing, I sat in a lump and felt about as good as one. Great job to everyone who finished, we earned our badge of mental toughness on that one.
TIP: get all environmental and hand wash the first few layers of mud off your kit in a bucket.
[Wayne Cunningham]
Jean and I drove up to Vermont on Saturday morning to get in the short track race the day before the big event. For me, hard as it is, short track is a good way to open up my legs for the next day – it’s basically all out for about half an hour, and this course was pretty much up or down the hill. I took second of two in my field. Then we took off to our campsite for the weekend.
The cross country course was a little tighter then I would have liked (for racing) because I am still trying to improve my skills and I feel slow on the tight stuff. I spent a while debating which bike to ride; I feel faster sometimes on my hard-tail, but the suspension definitely smoothed out the rocks and roots. I decided to go with suspension. The race overall went well enough. My field was relatively large, with more than a dozen in my age group on the line. For the first two laps I was riding around others and felt good – like I was racing – but by the midpoint of the last lap I was having trouble… I fell several times, including into a tree, and was generally slower. I eventually got passed by the lead of the pro open field and boy those guys are fast. My results were not stellar but at least I was feeling good about this race right to the end. I don’t have any lessons to pass on from this weekend except don’t always trust the same line each lap. I hit a puddle that had become a wheel trap on the last lap and fell. I think I have shaken off the troubles I was having at the earlier races. And I have a few more tweaks to make to my bike. So I am looking forward to racing in Putney in a few weeks. If you’re contemplating a race, it’s a really fun (and challenging) course. I’m hoping for dry weather, though – it poured last year.
Thanks for reading.
[Michael Good]
Having done this race last year and enjoying it, I was looking forward to this one. The weather report seemed good. I was optimistically looking forard to a non-muddy race. There was a few light sprinkles in the air as we left town but they didn’t seem like anything to be concerned about. But, alas, as we got closer to the race the light sprinkles turned into heavier sprinkles before finally giving way to a full on shower. Upon arrival I learned that it had been showering steadily for over an hour. So much for a dry, mud free course.
As the team gathered I felt like the reluctant racer. Everyone else seemed undaunted by the rain, I, on the other hand, was considering not registering. My teammates would have none of that talk and I was soon registered, dressed and doing a one lap pre-ride.
By the time we were called for staging the rain had relented and the hot sun was now the issue as we huddled in the shade waiting till the last moments before getting out in the sun.
Once again I really enjoyed this race. I like the course a lot. I think it has a great mix of terrain. Something for everybody, extended climbing, fast downhills, stream crossings, twisty single-track and lot’s of roots.
My pre-race goal had been to improve on last years time by one minute per lap and take three minutes off of my result. The mud took care of those goals and I was actually pleased to have only added two minutes per lap for a result that was six minutes slower than last years time.
I’ll be back next year, maybe I can find those minutes then.
[Cathy Rowell]
My day started auspiciously – I got up to close a window when I heard the rain. Unfortunately, my foot was still sleeping, and when I put my weight on it, it went out from under me pretty hard. It would only be later that I realized I had sprained it… Racing on a sprained ankle in the mud, uphill on slippery roots is ok, right? ;)
Outside of that, the race for me can be described in three parts – the good, the bad and the ugly.
The good: I drank THREE bottles and ate my Clif Bloks during the race! Woohoo. The pre-ride showed me that the ONLY Place I was going to be able to do this was on the uphill start, the grassy area near the start/finish and one teeny section of double-track. I took advantage of all three places! I also had a great start, despite lining up in the back and trying not to go out too hard, or near the front of the pack…
The bad: The course was tough and technically challenging. It was raining when we arrived, making the roots slippery, and some sections really muddy. I watched racers crashing on rocks, on roots and in giant mud puddles with logs buried so you couldn’t see them. I hit a tree – twice. I ended up scraped, bruised and generally sore. The course required you to be “on” the entire time… Also, doing an entire lap of the course prior to the race was a BAD choice. I didn’t have much time between that and the race start (which, thank goodness, ended up delayed by 15 minutes).
The ugly: Lap times went downhill fast. I had a good first lap, riding with Alex J from IBC. We went back and forth – she would crash and I would get by, only to have her pass me (or ask nicely to get by) on some downhill sections (where I reminded her that I had become more cautious given that I had a mortgage to pay!). I lost Alex in the second lap where I technically rode better, but with lapping traffic, had to literally stop to get out of the way on occasion. The second lap for me was six minutes slower than the first, which I attributed to all of the traffic. On the third lap, I was tired (DUH!), and started making mistakes. Slipping here, sliding there, dabbing where I shouldn’t have needed to. I got angry with myself and started yelling out loud (good thing no one was around ‘cause they would have thought I was crazy!). Final lap was even LONGER. Total race time for about 15 miles was 2:41 – too slow.
Learnings: a full lap pre-ride isn’t a great idea on a technical course. Don’t let the person you are riding with get away after 1 lap. And the trees will always win ;)
[John McGrath]
Well from my perspective a bit of a baptism of fire. Maybe I was a ‘little’ optimistic signing up for the CAT 2 race as this was my first time on a mountain bike in years and only my 2nd race ever but the thunderstorms just prior to the race put paid to any optimism I was feeling.
I had a good start and was 6th up the initial climb as I wanted to make sure I had a good place into the single-track. That’s were everything got interesting. I knew the tyres I had were not going to be good in the mud but I didn’t realize how bad they were going to be. My front wheel was all over the place on the downhills and I had absolutely no grip on the uphills from my rear. Had a BIG crash while more concerned about the riders behind and not the course in front. Hit a tree on very steep downhill and turned the handlebars on the stem. I had to spend 5 minutes getting them realigned and generally getting composed again. The rest of the 1st lap was a blur. Lap 2 was much more fun and I started to enjoy the course a lot more. This was certainly a tough race for 1st time out but looking forward to getting more experience and doing better next time out.