UMass Race Report

The UMass mountain bike race for me started in November. On the way to a cross race, I realized that I wasn't very excited about the start. Gone were the pre-race jitters and the excitement. Racing had become something that I did. The "specialness" of it was gone. Arriving at my first mountain bike race, I certainly was excited. The normalcy was gone and the specialness was back. I took my spot on the second row of about 30 competitors. I was signed up for the men's 30-39 category. With no designation of categories and no organization of numbers, I had no clue who I was racing against. From the gun, the race was tough. Starting uphill I was able to move up a couple of riders before hitting the singletrack. For a roadie, the twisting and winding of the course was made more difficult by the wet roots. Being cautious but exercising speed where I could, I moved up to third place on the second lap. That didn't last too long as I started to fade. By the third lap I was down on the guy in front of my by a minute and up on the guy behind by the same. I sat comfortably in fifth place and pushed myself. Final placing for the day was fifth in the sport class. Upon review of the results which were posted today though, I found out that I won my category!!! Not sure who I beat or by how much, but a win is a win.