So it has been a couple of races since I last posted. This weekend it was the DINO race in Versailles, Indiana. I must say I was pretty pumped up for this one, yet I was extremely relaxed. I decided to follow a good training plan which mostly consisted of proper eating habits. I have always had horrible eating habits. I am not talking about eating junk, I am talking about eating period. Some days I only eat once a day which is not good for any situation.
Fast forward to Saturday night after a nice plate of pasta, I decided to spice things up for the race. I decided in honor of the Tour de France and World Cup Soccer, I would rock a Euro Mullet for Sundays race. Those of you who don't know what a Euro Mullet is, think of a sophisticated version of a "Redneck Mullet". My hair was getting long and I had not time to get to Bob, so I decided to shave the sides and sport a mullet for the race. Did not happen the way I wanted it though. I looked more like Lyle Lovitt than a sexy Euro soccer player or cyclist. Off with the rest. Yes, shaved the rest off.
Sunday morning I woke up at 5am to get ready. I really didn't want to eat but I managed to force down three pancakes with no syrup and a small coke for caffeine. Just like the Pro's. Arrived at the race venue and met Steve and Jess. We set up a pretty sweet spot under the new race shelter canopy I purchased so we can have a proper rally point. The humidity and sun were brutal. It was definitely going to be a scorcher.
Steve was up first. He started around 10 am for the Cat 2. Jess and I headed to the start line and various points on the course to watch and cheer him on. Steve killed it with a podium finish once again.
Two hours later my race started. I was in the starting group behind Jess. Which was her first real mountain bike race and I was so excited for her. She took off at the start and it was my wave start next.
I am not going to go into detail about my race. I will admit I crushed that course and could have done alot better than I did, but one thing put it all into perspective.
SPORTSMANSHIP
I have said before that it is not always about the podium and even though it does feel good to get that podium, some things are more important. About one and a half miles into my race I was chasing down one of my opponents. This is how I like to race. I like to start in the back and chase everyone down and pick them off one by one. I hate being chased, so this tactic makes me faster.
I have him in my sights as we are racing on the edge of steep cliffs and waterfalls and then he disappears. I figured he took off and I lost sight. Coming around a bend I see he has went off the side and down the steep hillside about 20 feet. I would estimate the total steep hillside was about 50 to 60 feet.
At this point any decent human being would stop and help. I asked if he was ok and needed help. The guy could not get up the hillside it was so steep. I got off my bike and went down part of the hillside and we did a daisy chain. I grabbed the front wheel of his bike while he hung onto the rear wheel and I pulled while he climbed. We were able to get on the trail again. Made sure he was ok and I told him to go ahead, he had position advantage over me. I felt it was only fair. I didn't want to place over a rider because of a crash. I wanted to beat him straight up.
The racer starts off and I give him some space so I can chase and not more than 50 yards he goes over the side of the trail again. I stopped, we executed the same recovery procedure and then he was on the trail again. This time he gave me advantage and let me go.
Unfortunately, not many racers stopped or asked if things were ok. This angered me. I have seen this all too often racing. Sure it is perfectly legal to keep going after a racer wrecks, but at what point is a little medal or award worth more than the safety of another human being. I think how a racer conducts his or herself on the course speaks volumes. At least 99% of the racers are local and regional racers. Only a select few are gifted and trained to be serious racers with a greater goal. I could not be satisfied winning if I knew I won at the cost of someone else's health and safety.
I was hammering it the rest of the way and about a mile left I came up on my friend Jess. She was doing great and taking a breather. I passed and she followed but had a mishap and went down. I stopped to make sure she was ok and was not hurt. This was her first real race and I was not about to leave her after a crash. She got up, composed herself and brushed it off. We were off to the finish.
In all, I was the leader at one point but I didn't care that I lost position. The races are about fun and a common love of the sport and helping others. I would not have felt good about myself if I got first because I took advantage of a crash or ignored a fellow racer who was down.
I came in second as I sprinted like hell to the finish line to get the best time I could. I felt accomplished. i felt like things are starting to finally come together and my training and conditioning are starting to improve. I feel like I am finally coming out of rehab and recovery phase to actually improving to become a true competitor. I finally made a podium finish and now I have to do a mandatory category upgrade according to the rules. This means more mileage, more training and better competitors. Bring it. I never back down from a challenge. Next race, my nemesis, Harbin Park. I will shave my head, eat my pancakes and just race my race.
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