Ontario Provincials @ Highlands Nordic Duntroon

I finally got back to another mountain bike race after about a two month summer hiatus on a fine Sunday Sept. 11. The day was beautiful, the course was brand new, and my expectations were non-existent as it was so long since I'd turned a pedal in anger. Here is a view of the start line which leads out and up the hill in the background.



The course started out with a smooth grassy double track climb with a few steeps punctuated with short flats to get a bit of juice back. Then it transitioned to mostly single track back down which in theory sounds like the perfect ingredients for a really fun race. I found however that the fresh cut trails were very tight with lots of off camber sections where my tire choice proved sorely inadequate. It wound back around the chalet and through a tunnel which should probably be a part of all courses.



My actual race was a little weak with lack lustre legs but that was no surprise since I hadn't raced in so long. My tires were not really holding grip anywhere and the course was such that knowing the single track was super important and I hadn't pre-ridden at all. In fact each subsequent lap was quicker by a couple minutes than the one previous. That never happens to me in a race but it was still a fun day and I was glad I made it out. I finished 13th out of 26 starters and that was fine since top half was my goal. It was a bit of a bummer in the last lap as I was passed by two competitors but my arms were completely shot so that I could barely hold myself up off the bars. This was a function of pretty technical singletrack and the fact that I rode the final lap with my fork lock out on after forgetting to take it off after the last lap double track climb. Anyway next year I will definitely try to pre ride and go with a much more aggressive tire. Below are a couple pics that I found online. The first shows some of the rocky singletrack and the second is where the photog conveniently caught me putting a foot down over some rocks where I probable lost ten seconds on the last lap right before the finish. I was trying to get my leg to not cramp as I remounted and another rider got right up behind me and passed me on the final climb across the line.





This last shot is of a cool little bridge that was built over an old rotted out car chassis. Those four greyish black lumps are the tires and as you rode over it, the bridge would dip as you activated what was left of the suspension of the car. It was kind of a neat little feature.



Anyway I think that I would like another go at that course now that I have an idea what to expect but it will have to wait until next year.