When we got there we met three women who had been out riding and one of them had a titanium full suspension Kona - very nice. We asked them where the course was marked out and they directed us towards some marker arrows. As we rode we noticed that the arrows were pretty sparse and that some intersections were left unmarked. The trails were pretty good although a little wet due to rain fallen earlier in the week.
As we rode we eventually got to an area which was better marked and realized that the previous section we had been directed to was not actually part of the course. We finished a lap on the actual course and found it to be very fast and flowy and guaranteed to be a very fun race course. When we finished the lap, we popped out in a parking lot away from where our car was parked. The weather was closing in and there was a regular rumble of approaching thunder. I decided to squeeze in another lap and Harv headed back to the car.
As I rode, the thunder became pretty much constant and soon large lightning strikes became visible as the sky darkened almost to the point of being like dusk. When I got to the point where the course did a road crossing I decided to bail out with about a quarter of the lap to go as the lightning was now regular and some fat rain was starting to fall. This is where my route finding and sense of direction fell apart.
Initially I turned right onto the road and went a way with out seeing anything I recognized until deciding to turn around about (unbeknownst to me at this time) one bend before I would have come to a point where I knew where I was. I rode back the way I had come past the race course exit point and on all the way out of the park. The only positive thing was that I was moving away from where the main storm activity was occurring. Eventually I got to a sign for Palgrave and came to the realization that I was no where near where I needed to be, so I turned around for the second time and started to reluctantly head back into the thick of the storm. I then passed another mountain biker who was headed toward me as he escaped the weather and got some directions from him. Sure enough I figured out that I had been going the right way in the first place but never went far enough.
Now that I was headed in the right direction, I just put my head down and pedaled as the rain came down heavier and the sky was lit with a regular flash of lightning. These are about the only weather conditions that I really dislike riding in as the lightning is a real hazard but there is not much to do other than push on as there are no particularly good spots to shelter and the faster you go the sooner you are out of it. When I finally got back to the parking lot I was a little shocked to see the car was gone. My immediate thought was that Mark had made good on his 'threat' to head back to Barrie if he didn't see me in 30 minutes. Then I figured that he had probably headed over to the other parking lot where the race course dumped out to save me the ride back. A good and generous plan if it hadn't been for the fact that I had bailed off the course early. Coupled with my short excursion outside the park as I incompetently tried to find my way back, he wouldn't have passed me on the road and we completely missed each other.
After the worst of the electrical storm and rain had passed I headed back out and over to the other course parking and we met up on the road half way there. As it turned out we just got a little wet and all ended well so it was just a bit of excitement and adventure to spice up an otherwise mundane week.
As I said, the race course was super fun and fast, with flowy single track and high speed double track. I have a few pictures of myself below from the race that I found on some of the race day photo websites.
The next couple are from another site and I think that I like them a bit better over all.
The last cool thing that I will mention about this race was that it was the third time in quick succession that I serendipitously met Jany Mitges after not seeing her for a few years. Jany is obviously some sort or machine as you can notice the stark difference between her picture and mine shown previously. While I am huffing and puffing my guts out onto my handlebars, she has the apparent presence of mind to do a little mugging for the camera and thow up a 'peace bra'. At least I have something to aspire to.
Overall, I thought the race went pretty well for me as I finished ninth and rode well without any leg cramps and could barely walk at the end. I definitely didn't leave with anything left in the tank and it took a couple of days for the soreness to leave my legs and back.
Anyway that is it for now. The next post will just be a couple DH pics from earlier this year.
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