Bloomer XC -- Single Speed Style!

Wasn't really sure what to expect today going into Bloomer. Thursday, I was riding like a rock star at Stony Creek, and then crashed and flipped around like a rag doll leaving me banged up, sore, broken helmet, and doubts about racing the Bloomer XC race. But I figured I would give it a try. This race really was nothing more than a power workout on my calendar, since I was planning on jumping into the Elite/Expert Single speed class. This years Bloomer race is part of the MMBA CPS put on by Robert at Tailwind. So if I could get in at least a few good laps and throw in the towel if needed, it still would have been a good day.

I felt real relaxed at the start, but sore all over. Other than that, the only thing on my mind was how I was going to push my 34x17 gearing on my 29er up the steep short climbs. The whistle blew, and we were off. Quickly 3 riders broke away, and I was left struggling up the sled hill gasping for air. I got a real crappy warm up in and was paying for it. I got through the first section on single track, recovered and made my way onto the double track. I then took a wrong turn and met the lead group again. So back down the hill to hop on the right path. This easily lost me 30 or more seconds. But I pushed. My left hip and right quad were sore as hell on every climb. But I pushed on. By the time I made it the falter part of the course, I was starting to feel better. And then near the end of my 2nd lap I realized that I caught 3rd place! He was still riding strong, so I sat on his wheel. In the beginning of the 3rd lap, he dropped me on the sled hill as I opted to run it vs. ride. He got a small gap, but I was able to shut it down in the technical parts of the single track. By the time we made it to the big switch backs, I was stuck on his wheel. This time when we made it to the flats on the bottom, I launched my attack. He could not match it. From here on out, the gap continued to grow to 2;00 mins until the end of the race. I came across the line in 3rd place, and not too far behind the leaders. I was very happy with the result, and how well I was feeling at the end.

The Time Crunched Training Program has paid off very well for me so far! And with Ruby just around the corner, I hope I will still have one good race left before a nice break, and the start of cyclocross training.

Now time to rest up, and heal my boo-boos...