The Right Kind of Season Opener

My season is usually pretty long. Technically it opened back in February with a local winter series where I had great results. But the season opened officially two weeks ago with the Ride The Ridge to benefit WorldBicycleRelief. That race was a dismal failure. I anticipated dry conditions since the forecast was for rain beginning late that night, mother nature brought it early and dumped it all the night before. So my trusty XR1s were not exactly the perfect tire. My legs felt fine that day but I hadn't hydrated enough and had almost no control with the XR1s in the mud soup which covered the entire course. So I chalked it up to poor prep and even worse luck.

This past weekend the VORS series really kicked off with the first of two races at Camp Hilbert in Goochland VA. I had always heard that Hilbert was a great course and was a fun race but always had conflicts. This year I'm dedicated to getting out and doing more of the VORS series and so it was a must.

I put on a lower gear because the scoop was that CH was a fast course, so I dropped the 20t for a 19t and set up the 'Fly for some racin'. I pulled up the morning of and was blessed with the best weather you could ask for a race day to have. Just a little cool but warming up very mildly very quick. I rolled to the start to greetings from lots of friends and when the horn sounded I took off in my usual fashion. The course proved to be as promised and after the pack behind me thinned out a little and I had gotten a feel for the trails I began to push it a little. What few reports of "hills" had been reported proved to be nothing more than long rollers for a mountain boy like myself.

The course was a blast, fast, swoopy in all the right places, and because of just enough rain a few days before the dirt was perfectly sticky to really throw the big hoops into the corners. A skeptic had mentioned that Hilbert was "totally not a 29er course" when I rolled up to the Ride the Ridge two weeks before. My response was of course two parts: 1) Everything is a 29er course, and 2) how bout you roll out with me and Ill prove the big wheels are faster. He of course didn't race his unnamed 26" fully suspended bicycle whose shocks have a 'brain,' whatever that means.

Here's a shot of the Superfly in action:



So as I pushed the juice I found Hilbert totally was a 29er course and each racer that I passed (kindly of course) can verify how well the wagon wheels rolled through. What started as a small lead continued to grow into the minutes as the third lap rolled around. I crossed the line in first with a couple minute lead and in good standing even in the class before me. All in all, it was a great day. The right kind of season opener, one which shows you that the legs are good, the bike is good, and the season is gonna be great.

Keep em rollin'