2014 Memorial Day Weekend of Racing: 3 days, 3 races, 700 miles - Race 1 - Mountain Massacre

Mountain Massacre Road Race Report

Women’s 1/2/3 field.

2 laps, 40-ish miles total.  Lots of pain and misery.

Chuck and I started our three day, three race weekend in Friendsville, MD for the 2^nd Annual Mountain Massacre RR.  My field was small – with day-of registrations, we totaled 8 in the 1/2/3 field with about another 10 in the Cat 4 field.  The field had two women who I know climb well, Ainoha (ABRT) and Michele S. (BMC Bike Shop) and my plan was to stay on their wheels and let them set the pace.

For those who have not done this race, there are two major climbs – Sam’s Friend Road and Pig’s Ear.  The former is longer and the latter is steeper.  In between there are several rollers and some fantastic downhills.  The race culminates with a gravel climb for about 2 miles and then another 2 miles of slight uphill to the finish in the middle of a field.  To return to the start, you have to ride another 10 miles along a different route.

We rolled out.  Everything was fine.  We hit the first climb and people start popping off the back.  At the top of the climb – I could see the top – I could not breathe.  Now I have a list of excuses – I am asthmatic and have a hard time telling the difference between an attack and red-zone breathlessness, I forgot to pack my legs, blah, blah blah.  At the end of the day, I got dropped.  I did not have it in my legs or my lungs on Saturday.   I knew that others would drop off the front group and I perhaps could chase them down and move up a couple of positions but….the podium was three deep and that ship had sailed.  With two more days of racing, and Fort Ritchie the following day, where I wanted to defend my jersey, I decided to turn the race into a ride and save my legs. 

Saving legs on a hilly course – well, “saving” is perhaps relative.  By the time I made to turn onto Limestone, the home of the gravel climb, everything hurt.  Quads felt like they would seize at any moment, hamstrings not happy either.  I was miserable and still had this dreaded steep gravel climb, which turned out to be my favorite of the entire course.  It was awesome (granted, said at a riding not racing pace).

I crossed the line and provided a quality example of “you’ve been dropped”.  For some reason, I want to do this again.

After the pain and suffering was over.

Before the pain and suffering started.