Mountain Bike Racing Sucks.
This article is Part I of a series, to read part II, see Mountain Bike Racing is Awesome.
Last night I entered my first XC mountain bike race. Late in the season, as usual. Haven’t been training, as usual - although lots of recreational riding. Lots. I studied up, asked plenty of questions. Thought I was ready - and I was ready - as ready as anyone will ever be for their first race. That’s what I learned. It’s about experience. About what’s in your head more than what’s in your legs.
Here’s what I thought I knew about mountain bike racing BEFORE yesterday:
- Don’t wait for permission to pass. Make your own moves.
- Attack on the hills, recover on the flats.
- Always pass… if you’re not passing, you are not winning (I made this one up).
- Pump the trail for extra speed.
That’s all great, but it’s not what I needed to worry about. Here’s what I learned. Here’s what I’m going to be thinking about next week:
- Quit trying to catch the very front guy, there are a bunch of people behind you - you are beating all of them! Stay cool.
- All physical activities are hard for the first 20 minutes, after you warm up it gets easier, don’t give up before then (dumbass!)
- Feel that pain in your chest and gut? That’s not a sign that you are not meant for this. That’s a sign that you are racing. Keep going.
- Don’t quit while you are hurting. Recover a little bit. Then see if you still want to pull out.
Maybe you’re getting the impression that I didn’t finish the race. You are correct. But I’m not too worried (and I’m not the only one). I did this last year during my first criterium at Seward Park - thinking that I would NEVER be able to even finish that race. But the very next week, I not only finished, I finished before a bunch of other guys (not including the ones that pulled out). And the only difference between race 1 and race 2 was what I learned in my head, there was no time to gain anything by training in that week. So here I am again.
It wasn’t all failure. I found that my strength is my technical ability. In one lousy lap, I blazed past about ten people who had crashed on the drops, bumps, climbs and berms. Good to know. They say you should know your strengths. I’ll tuck that away for future reference. In the meantime, all the experts tell me that you just need to race 5 or 6 races and then you’ll do fine. Experience. This is my path. I’ll keep you posted.
Comments
Aug 14
Moose
I would be one of those guys that crashed on the drops, bumps, climbs and or berms.
Way to go Cole!
Aug 14
David
Oh, and I forget to mention how much it hurts. And it’s really really hard. And it hurts.
Aug 14
Karl Bischoff
I used to try and race myself on singletrack. Always trying to cut a second off my time on a 45 minute loop behind our house (Ketchum). That is… until I did an endo following closely by a faceplant. After some emergency surgery and plastic surgery (I used to look like Robert Redford) I have moved more to dirt/gravel roads and long paved road bike rides. Who knows what I’d look like after the next crash (probably better).
Aug 14
Geoffrey
I’ll be there next week with a brand new 300mm zoom. I want to capture the pain in your jowls.
Aug 15
Sarah
HOT.
No seriously, the best lessons learned are always quite hard and hurt a lot. Can’t wait to hear how you kick ass in the next race. Also, give yourself some credit - you got out there and did it. A+ for effort.
Aug 15
dave
I keep thinking about this race, how to do better… It was HARD. I did sport class - maybe should have started at beginner. I think I lost a lung. I *thought* I couldn’t finish after a couple laps (2/5), so I pulled out, but regretted it about 1 minute later. It was mental, I could have gone on - easily. In fact, I was ahead of 3/4 of the field. Once I saw them roll by it was a bitter pill! This is racing, I guess, and I’m just learning. I’m thinking that experience counts for a lot - maybe even almost equal to physical condition. I suppose you need both.
I got back in the saddle the next day for a spin class. I’m already a member of Gold’s Gym, I go a couple times a week at lunch for abs and upper body. I’ve never done the spin class before. I think the spin class was just as hard as the race, which probably means something, not sure what. I pushed though the class though. Maybe I’m teaching myself to tolerate pain. I hear that’s what it’s all about. Is that natural, or do you learn it?
I’m going back to Seatac next week, eager to finish, and probably ahead of a few guys. I killed ‘em on the technical terrain, they were crashing where I was slashing! Know your strengths, right?
I already get up at 5am twice a week to go mountain biking. I just need some guidance on how much to train, how often. I’m afraid of burning out, but I’m also aware that I"m probably training one tenth as much as “real” racers do, so maybe I just need to keep at it. Let me know if you have any tips, or see any hope or maybe I should take up golf…