My 'Expert' DH debut.

I made my 'Expert' class DH debut yesterday at the Timber Rattler DH Race at
Wintergreen Resort in Virginia. Master Expert class in this race was 30-45
year old. So I was racing many guys 10 years my junior. I think I was the
oldest one there. ;^) I finished 8th out of 9 racers in my class. Hey at
least it wasn't DFL.

Because of the tight, twisty course I raced on my Bullit but probably
should've run the M1 for the drops and the rock gardens. The course dropped
600 feet in elevation. It started with a sprint to the woods to a rock
jump, which I took the ride around. Then a short rock garden to a very
twisty section to a big off camber rock that shot you off at the ground 3
feet below. More twisties with berms to a 6 foot drop onto a road which
was too undercut to roll. (I know because I tried it once and crashed onto
the road) I had to just pop my front wheel out in the air and drop straight
down to the little bit of transition there. Cross the road into a chute
straight down through tight trees. Handlebar check!!! More twisties to a
rockgarden beginning with two big boulders arranged like big steps into more
rocks. There were three rocks in a row you could jump off of finishing with
a ladder ramp over a 3 1/2 foot log which pops you up about 5 feet in the
air. Whoohooo!!!! A few more turns and more rocks and out onto the ski
slope to the finish line sprint. My 32 sprocket wasn't big enough for that.

It was the best of two runs with the winning time was a little under 1:54
and my times being 2:17 for my first and 2:16 for my second.

Practice was on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. Friday afternoon I
warmed up with a couple runs with my friends son Jordan on the sport course
and then set to work on my course when some of his friends showed up. Each
run I added one obstacle at a time so I could make it down without doing any
of the ride arounds. (There was no ride around for the road drop) and was
going to save the first rock for the morning. Jordan and I came back to
Richmond that evening (about a 2 1/2 hour drive) I got up early, picked up
Jordan and drove back Saturday morning. I started off cold going down the
expert course and screwed up the landing off the big off camber rock and
crashed. I was fine but after hearing the sickening sound of spokes
breaking I looked back to find a 4 inch thick log had skewered my rear wheel
breaking one spoke. ****!!! The log was too big to pick up and pull out and
I couldn't pick up the bike to and pull it off. So I wound up holding the
bike up and kicking the rear wheel off the log. I wound the broken spoke
around a neighbor and finished my run. I was rattled by the crash and rode
badly for the rest. I went back to the car and removed the broken spoke and
trued up the wheel as best I could. I made two more practice runs, with the
second being better, and my two race runs with a 35 spoke rear wheel and the
Mavic 321 held up great.

Jordan finished 4th out of 8 and had a very pedally course at the bottom
which made me glad I moved up to expert. But we all had a great time and
Wintergreen put on a great event.

Mike - Beginner Expert Downhiller ;^)

"Slacker" wrote in message
...
I made my 'Expert' class DH debut yesterday at the Timber Rattler DH
Race
at
Wintergreen Resort in Virginia. Master Expert class in this race was
30-45
year old. So I was racing many guys 10 years my junior. I think I was
the
oldest one there. ;^) I finished 8th out of 9 racers in my class. Hey
at
least it wasn't DFL.

Mike - Beginner Expert Downhiller ;^)


Well, I guess I can't call you Mr. Sandbag anymore ;^ )
I'm sure you'll be standing on the podium (again) very soon.

BTW, how'd the helmet feel?
--
Slacker



Hehehe...thanks! The helmet fit great. A bit hotter than the 661 (less
vents) but a small price to pay for extra security. I highly recommend it.
I also upgraded my body armor to the Dainese Safety Jacket Next and the
Gladiator pants. I decided to go two piece since I blew out the knee pads
on my Shuttle suit. Now I only have to replace the top or the bottom if
something gets ripped beyond repair. I also needed the chest protector on
the Jacket. I cracked a rib a couple weeks ago in a crash. I guess the 1/4
inch of foam rubber didn't cut it. The new stuff is made of a tough lycra
mesh and is much cooler. It's also nice to be able to take off the jacket
while I'm waiting around for my run.

Mike

"John Harlow" wrote in message
...
I made my 'Expert' class DH debut yesterday at the Timber Rattler DH
Race
at
Wintergreen Resort in Virginia.

Awesome, Mike!

Any pics?




Here's a link to some pics

http://homepage.mac.com/robertyu1/PhotoAlbum64.html

I'm in DSC01199.JPG

and movies

http://homepage.mac.com/robertyu1/

Here's the RideMonkey thread I pulled these from

http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/sho...149&perpage=15
&pagenumber=1

Mike