The Bear Brook blast was, well, a blast. Big thanks to Kelly for bringing this venue back to EFTA. The weather was great and trail conditions perfect. There are a many sections of sweet single track that make you forget the suffering and bring a broad smile to your face. And NEMBA has done some outstanding work within the park. Making the race even better was the big crew we had at the race. Myself, PJ, Mark, Dan, Aaron and Greg were all there flying the team colors. My race was actually quite uneventful. The pace at the start was quite modest. I wanted to enter the singletrack 2nd or 3rd and let someone else pace for awhile. I think all the front runners had the same plan as the pace really slowed prior to the right turn off the road. So I decided to be nice and take the lead. Glad I did because hammering those first few sections with no one in front on me was hoot. Eventually caught up to PJ who was looking strong right in the heart of the single speed pack. I was still two riders back when he called me out, guess my breathing pattern is very recognizable. It was about this time when I started to gap the secong place guy. The middle section of the race was a blur with lots of big ring sections and little traffic. Nearing the end I got Greg in sight on a long section of single track, but could not reel him in. He looked strong and was at or near the front of his group. Then a broken frame brought him to a screeching halt. He said a couple words I will not repeat as I went by. Then the anticipation of the stairs began, remember when they used to be a big deal? Bounced down the steps and onto the finishing singletrack, some of the best flowing trail in the region. Ended the race in first with a few minutes on second place. The bike was perfect again, money well spent. Lots of smiles and laughs at the end, the way EFTA racing is meant to be.
 
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What a great day for a mountain bike race. Maybe a little too hot but trail conditions were fantastic. I was in the 50+Sport Masters and we had an unusually large group of about 16 guys. Some I recognized most I didn't. Shortly after the start the group dumps out on to a gravel road where we jockey for position for about 1/2 mile before a sharp right onto a single track climb. I stayed in 3rd position on the road until just before the single track then accelerated to get on the single track first. On the way up there were about 5 or 6 of us in tight but after the top was reached I had a great downhill run dumping out onto another road where the 29er continued to roll fast. I saw no one behind me and felt pretty good until the next single track climb where I messed up and jumped off the bike. I got passed there and was in 4th place for awhile. For the next hour bouncing between second third and fourth place. I ended up finishing 4th. It's a fun course well marked and the event was well managed. All of the Cycle Depot Pinnacle guys gave a great effort it was nice to see the jerseys spread out in 6 different divisions. But the highlight of the day was seeing Mark on the podium.

Ah! good to be back racing again. My winter coat felt a bit heavy as I straddled up to the line with 13 other singlespeeders. My hope for a top 10 was now in trouble, as clearly I had quite of few pounds on my fellow competitors. The vibe was nice at the starting line, no egos, just laid back laughter. We got called up before Currier's crew, so I now had a reason to push the beginning to see if I could keep him behind me. I figured 10 minutes would be the catch.....and I lasted 12.
I spent most of the race battling with Derek Griggs.......I got out of his site, but his fitness reeled me back in. As he went by I kept him in site and started gaining ground on him as we hit the technical stuff. I finally got close when he missed a turn and I got by. I felt bad at first, as this is no way to pass, but then I ran into more technical stuff and figured this is my chance to put some distance on him. I was going a bit too fast coming around a downhill corner, and endoed just before the nice new long bridge, right shoulder ate mud, left hand ate a rock and bruised the palm. Derek went by and few others, all checking on me first.

I got up straightened my handbars out and got back on the bike, then the bike wouldn't turn, so I stopped and realized my handlebars had done a 360, and the cables just couldn't stretch any further. Now back on track I start peddling again to notice, that front tire came unseated from the rim. Then all of a sudden, like a that firework snake that expands when lit, my 29 inch tube came flying out of the rim and filled the trail. I again pulled over and got some laughs from a few that passed. a 40 lb filled 29 inch tube is quite large. I had to deflate the whole tube before reseating the tire on the rim and I was off again, managing to get a whole 20 lbs of air into her. Then end was uneventful as I tried to get a glimpse of someone to chase. I did get to make a few more passes as we remerged with the novices, but I just didn't have the legs to make much of a comeback attempt.

Great ride...........thats about the best loop I have been on. Can't wait to ride it again. Ended up 12th..... but thanks to Currier's winnings, I got a free post race cordial.

The good thing is Gurney, Oneill or Brandt never caught me.

PJ

Kudos to Kelly for such a well run race.

As we staged for the start, once again the Sport Vet II was the largest field in the race at 16 entrants. I was hoping for a "top third" finish, getting in 5th or so.

The initial pace was more civilized than last week's race and I ended up getting into the woods sixth, about where I expected. One guy in front bobbled on the first bit of steeper uphill, and he and the guy right behind him came to a stop, but graciously pulled their bikes out of the way immediately. I managed to stand up and pass one or two when the trails widened here or there, and after ten minutes of racing found myself in first place, for the first time in my relatively uneventful career.

It was an odd spot to be in. I stayed in front for about 30 minutes. There were other racers right on my tail. I'd gap them a bit when the course turned steep, but they'd catch up on the flatter portions and were probably anxious to go faster on the downhills, but no one complained. We began overtaking some of the slower folks in the earlier starting divisions, which allowed many in my group to catch up and get a breather while we waited for spots to pass.

There were a couple of fair sized logs across the trail, which I would typically have slowed for, then lifted the front wheel over, etc. I just bunny hopped them. The first was clean, the second was some ugly, but I stayed upright.

At one point the guy right behind me was not letting me gap him at all, and I offered to let him by at a convenient spot. Unfortunately, a very calm, unhurried voice replied "No, thanks, we have 10 miles to go." Damn! If he planned on psyching me out with that reply, it worked! I decided if he got by me, so be it, but I wouldn't let him get away.

And then we thought we were lost. No arrows, no tire tracks. We actually stopped. I was suddenly in third. We rode tentatively for a bit, but then saw an arrow and the race was back on. I quickly passed one, and was in second, I was passed by two (now fourth), one of the two crashed (now third), and that's how the race finished. I was 30 seconds out of first place. The top four in this race (except me) were top three in the first NECS race.

The course was a lot of fun. I thought it was about as flat as anything I'd ridden, and was surprised to find out it was more or less one long gradual climb for the first thirteen miles, then a steeper downhill for the last five miles. The total climbing was almost as much as three laps of Webb's.

It was a great day with great company, (Good job, Brian). It was good to see PJ back in the saddle, I'm glad Aaron made the outing, and Dan didn't break his bike or bleed!

Cheers,

MG

Great Job guys!

Ryan

I did not notice you were only 30 seconds back Mark. Them boys better look out come Moody and Sunapee. Great job!
 
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Way to go everyone.

I plan to line up with Dan (sport 50+) at Moody.

It's late but I'll add my experiences...I was dodging tornadoes all week in Kansas but made it back to NH safely.

It was great to get back to an EFTA race, particularly Bear Brook since it is my only recorded race win 5 yrs ago, (even though it was as a Novice. ) Certainly winning was never a risk for me on Sunday but when 11 people lined up at the start for Senior II sport I realized top 10 was possible... :wink:

Race started at typical "overspeed" sport pace, I just held in around 5th and paced myself to the first climb. Hit the climb and started to reel people in but reality took hold and I had to settle in to pace and drop back. The first half of the race went smooth, and my only goals were to hold position as much as possible and also hold off Dan and Mark from passing too quickly.

About mid-way through the lack of race legs started to tell, and I slowed pace and quickly dropped a few positions and had a regular stream of people passing from other classes. The 29'er was still riding the technical well, just couldn't give it the power I wanted. Mark went blazing by around the mid-point and looked incredibly strong - a quick comment about the "beautiful day" from him and he was a blur with 2 close behind him.

I spent the next 20 minutes latching on to groups to get pulls before Dan went flying by, also looking good. He gave me a quick "keep it up" and then disappeared.

Loved the technical and the final trail to the stairs was fantastic - I remember being terrified of this as a Novice and during the race it felt so easy. I got caught in the novice traffic on the final trail and a girl went down very hard 10 feet in front of me into a tree. I stopped and pulled the bike off of her and helped her back to her feet - lost about 4 minutes but this was more important than finishing time (one reason I like EFTA races).

Rode the stairs with a smile and onto the final singletrack but one more fun experience awaited - my left hamstring erupted into a cramp with 2 miles to go. I must have been a funny site punching my leg as hard as I could to try to keep riding.

In the end final time was a minute over 2 hours, and 8th place in my age group. I had a blast riding the trails and it was great to get some more miles on the bike and also see everyone from the team doing so well.

Congrats all around and see you all tomorrow at the 'six'.

Aaron