Sammamish neighborhood trails but a bunch of moms and dads are fighting for bragging rights-and I fucking love it.

The Course

This is the second time I ride these trails and the second time I race here. The Cat 2’s would do 2 laps of a loop around the Soaring Eagle mountain bike park in Sammaish, WA. Slippery roots up against tight corners mixed into really sticky dirt. The last time I was here it was the second race of the year, this time around it was my first. Its hard to skip this race. Its nearby and for some reason the sun decides to always be out for it.

The course itself was made up of tight and winding single track leading into two big power hills. No real obstacles other than the rocks and roots. To me, this means I can wrap my head around riding out in the world instead of attached to the turbo trainer in the basement. The first of the two climbs had a rocky section that led to a steep incline with a root in the middle. This root can be considered the first real obstacle. The second hill was the kind that feels like a staircase. Up a step, then up another step, until you're at the top. All the while slipping on gravel and pebbles, but being caught by that amazing PNW dirt.

The Bike

BMC Fourstroke	Type		Setting	Thoughts?
Forks	Fox Float 32 – 100mm		30%	I honestly do not know how I felt about this
Shock	Fox Float DPS-100mm		30%	No clue
Front Tire	Vittoria Barzo 2.35		21psi	I was slipping all over the pace. I assume it was far too much air
Rear Tire	Vittoria Barzo 2.35		24psi	Too much air

What good is fitness if you cant use it to finesse your way around a few slippery rocks?

Lap 1

We had a staggered start and I was towards the back of the group because I mistimed coming back from the car. I was worried about how I would feel on the trails but thankfully I wasn’t nervous nor was I anxious. Perhaps too chill. From the second that tennis racket slaps your stem, its time to climb up into the trails. It was easy to see that I hadnt been on this bike, or in these shoes, or even the trainer, from how I had to mash up the hill with my left foot out of the pedal. I wouldnt clip in for another 3-4 minutes.

I came in with 2 process goals: try hard and “breathe from my belly”. I had to try hard from the first pedal stroke. I was also all over the place on the trail. On the first lap, I missed every turn, I touched every rock, and had a lot of trouble finding my flow. I thought having started towards the back would mean I would be catching people all lap, but that was not at all the case. In fact, I was passed by two dudes almost right away. At this very moment, I decided to add another process goal: catch those two guys and hopefully end up even at the end.

The course seemed to still be pointing downward. Some punchy bumps and winding sections, but for the most part we all were pointing our bikes down a hill filled with a knot of roots, or a slippery rock, or both. This meant that even more people would pass me. At this point, I was allowing my pride to get the best of me. I had to remind myself that I was here to practice and to get reps in on trails. My legs felt fresh but I couldnt seem to use them with the current state of my skills. What good is fitness if you cant use it to finesse your way around a few slippery rocks? The answer is simple, nothing. I would finish this lap frustrated, but happy to have seen the entire course and ready to apply pressure when possible, the second go around.

Lap 2

I am now rolling down the final “road” section and the end of lap one; I have now seen the full course. I didn’t eat it and I am feeling pretty good about how the hills helped my ego recover from sucking hard at the downhill sections. Once I made it over that initial hill, I found my junior buddy and he was still floating around and over every rock and root. Having reminded myself that I was here for practice, I took advantage of this guy’s lines. In a matter of a few minutes, I was rolling smoother than I had been all day. Thanks dude!

The problems of the first lap were behind me but I wasn’t any better at riding these trails than before. I had caught those guys that had passed me and also was able to pass a couple others. I knew that I could make up time on the harder parts of the trail so I could focus on using the trail for the reps.

I didnt see my girls on the first lap but I did get to see and hear them yelling at and for me the second time around. If you can take anything from this blog, its that having someone in your corner is enough to make any level of failure into success. When I saw my little kid jumping, because she saw me come around a random corner in a little neighborhood park in the suburbs of Seattle everything was right in the world. I can’t even remember if my legs hurt.

Conclusion

I was passed by a fast-looking dude, a not-so-fast-looking dude, then a lady, then another pair of ladies, then a young boy. I passed the first lady, then the little boy, then the two other ladies, then the not-so-fast-looking guy. I was caught again by the two ladies, then the boy, and the first lady. I caught the lady, then a new fast-looking dude, then the boy. I was caught by the lady. I caught the lady and finished the race.

I know I need to spend more time on the BMC. I also know I need more time on actual trails. I was rusty, simple as that. This time next week I’ll be racing at Dash Point. My goals for that race are to really focus on the trail riding and try to use some of the skills I learned working with Fluidride last spring.