Sunday Augst 3rd was EFTA’s notorious Fort Rock Revenge, #8 in the NECS series (with only 2 to go). The weather looked like it would hold with a hot humid sunny morning to help Aaron, Katie and company with registration, coffee and bagels. Saturday night’s rain left the course a little damp with some mud in places, pretty much a typical summer day at Fort Rock. The registration buzz was something like “ya, I know when this place is wet it is a little tricky, but I can use that to my advantage…..”. Followed by the “oh ya, I’ve ridden in here before….”. Us locals behind the registration table only looking forward to the 10 a.m. start and seeing just how easy a ride this will be when things get dicey.
I caught the starts (by class) and watched everyone race uphill on the grassy road and off into the woods. The elite men were finishing their first lap when I had to head back down to the registration tent to sign up the novices for a 1:30 start. Shortly there after, the first of the beaten riders started to make it out of the woods and down to registration. Mostly flats, bruises and mud. ECV rider Stu B. made the first three miles in then flatted. Made the repairs, got off and flatted again. Now standing by the reg tent, muddy and beaten, flat tire and bent chain, heading back to the car and home. Stu was one of about 20 DNF’s, all with similar comments about the rocks, roots, mud and how much fun can be had in an 8 mile loop. I believe it was #$%$& slippery rocks and &$%^%^#$ roots, or something like that.
Now the fun part, the novice race for the Adamik boys. I know the course conditions were sketchy for the elite, experts and sport, but why not add a little thunder, lightning and rain for the novices to make it really interesting. 10 minutes before the start the sky opened up and got everyone in the mood. The starter asked if anyone had a problem with a mass start, waited 10 seconds for a response and blew the whistle. Off we went en mass up the now muddy hill and into the woods. I had a decent start and managed to be about 10th into the single track. The first hard left turn, a rocky rooty uphill, was the first log jam with most walking and cussing. Feeling pretty good about picking off a few riders, I’m starting to get in somewhat of a groove (if that is possible at ft rock) only to have someone come up on my wheel and announce “competition coming through”. I managed to find a little space to let this “competitor” pass, only to find my son Connor blow by me. Now the chase began, and it no longer had anything to do with my class of competition. The lightning, then immediate claps of thunder with the pouring rain would trigger me to question the sanity of this ride. But it was a race, right? I rode in the rivers of water flowing down the trail, hoping that a hidden show stopper wasn’t lurking beneath. The typical wet spots became 6 inch deep puddles, with the best one over my hubs. The many wooden planks/bridges were like sheets of ice. Some of the rooty sections I have ridden in the past became nothing but wheel spins with a run up. Staying on Connor’s wheel and keeping the eyes clear of mud was an ongoing battle. With his occasional crashes and my steady perseverance we stayed on each others wheel throughout the race. Upon entering the final long plank span, I tried to accelerate and spun my rear wheel off the plank, coming to a scary halt and watching Connor ride off into sunset. Despite the conditions, that was one of the best 8 miles of fun packed punishment one could ever have, finishing up in 3rd and 4th overall.
Kudos to Aaron of Riverside Cycles and Derek of Recycled Sports for sponsoring the event, and of course none other than Smokin Man Dave of MTB Minds for laying out one awesome loop. Our team captain, Mary, for all the support and smiles while standing in the rain and mud. Also, thank you to the many volunteers that made this event run as smoothly as it did and in the end, one big heap of fun.
Race results: http://www.efta.com/PDF/results/2008/2008_necs07_ftrock%20temporary.htm