Norma, koko and I headed up the hill on Friday to Flagstaff for the inagural Barn Burner.
The event consisted of 4 laps to a 26 mile course made up of 100% forest roads. The venue was set at a private ranch near Kendrick Mountain. Here is what the venue looked like minutes before the start.
The start was LeMans style aka...running to your bike. We had rain shower for most of the morning and cool temperatures. I wasn't too excited about the conditions but slowly kitted up and put on a few layers. The run went well. I guess it helps to take Koko for short evening runs.
I was in the top 10 group on foot then jumped on the bike for a slippery ride out of the venue. The mud was sticky and soon the bike had gained several pounds.
I made my way to the front of the group on the greasy start and soon found myself on Kimo's wheel. Here we are going around Tom with Kendrick Mtn on the background.
I stayed on Kimo's wheel for the first couple of miles while two guys riding for Carmichael Systems joined our group. We each took turns at the front to keep the pace high. Soon we were all by ourselves. The forest roads got drier and faster, however there was one little low spot that was slippery. I was leading the pack through it when suddendly my rear wheel got on a groove and made me got sideways. The few seconds that it took me to right my bike was all those guys needed to gap me. From that point on I rode by myself. I would see them up front from time to time but no one behind me. Here I am rounding the last corner heading back to the barn to complete my laps in 4th overall. You can see how muddy my bike was. Front derraileour was out of order.
Norma did the second lap. By the time she went, the course had dried out pretty good. She had a good lap and said there was only one steep pitch that forced her off the bike. She finished her laps with a smile on her face. I took over from there and completed the next two laps. My legs felt pretty good after the break but at this point we were all about enjoying the ride. I kept the pace moderate on the flats and gradual climbs and just put myself into a little bit of pain on the climbs. On my last lap I grabbed a jacket just in case of rain, which I later had to remove as the sun finally came out. As I was removing the jacket a rider went by me. The first rider to pass me during the whole race, so I got on his wheel and he pulled me for the next several miles. As we approached the first climb he seemed to slow down, so I went around him. I saw him again a few seconds back after the downhill then I put some time on him on the final climb. I caught Tom's partner Kim at the bottom of that climb and unaware of it took over the lead of the coed duo race. We enjoyed the rest of the afternoon while Koko played with Diego, Max and Flor.
Our camera died shortly after I took this picture, so no podium pictures. Art and Wendy finished 5th after Wendy had some tire air pressure issues on the first lap. This was Art's last event before he goes Canadian style for a few days at the BC Bike Race.As for me, MBAA is done. I got 5th in the series after a lackluster performance at the final a couple of weeks ago. I'll probably do a few more road races now that I got my upgrade to the 3s. I should have a fancy looking sticker with a number 3 in the mail soon, so I can place it on my racing license. AMC got cancelled so I'll have to change plans for August. I may end up heading up to Minnesota to spend time with the family, attend a friends wedding and do a couple of races.
We'll see how things pan out.
Until next time....
