Rumble in the Jungle

The setup.

Pre-race meditation in the hammock.

Apple-cinnamon Hammer Gel compliments of Tara.

I saw the photographers all set up on this burm, so I railed it!

Smiling despite the suffering.

Coog had the low angle shot at this log ride, just before the finish line. I saw him and gave it everything I had to air over it. It would either be a great pic or a great crash. I cleared it and then some!

Jungle Habitat, one of my favorite parks, was host to H2H Race #8 and the 2010 NJ State Championship. It's a very technical course that can really keep those who have strong aerobic engines in low gear and rewards those who have the best bike handling ability. That was my only advantage in the Cat 1 30-39 field, who are arguably the fastest in the series.

Once again, it was my goal to not come in last and once again I succeeded. It's also a bonus when you don't crash, and I always hope to never do that. It was a crash-free race, thankfully, and despite the fact that rock gardens and technical sections were being taken at race pace, my bike suffered no mechanical issues.

My carrot for the day was my friend Lucky, who rides for Cycle Craft and has been doing consistently better than me in the last few races. I knew we were closely matched and it was shaping up to be a showdown. From the start, we watched the lead group pull ahead and we didn't go after them, rather just settled into our own pace. Lucky led most of lap one and I stayed right on his wheel, until a mistake on the first techy descent allowed me to get by. I kept ahead of him for the rest of the race. My gap on him diminished on every climb as he reeled me back in, only for me to regain the distance on the descents. It's a funny thing. When you're leading, you want to go fast enough to keep your opponent behind you, but not so fast that you lose control. When you're chasing, you want to go faster than, but not so fast that you make mistakes and lose the ground you worked so hard for.

I was able to hold him off as well as four other guys to get 12th, my best Cat 1 finish. I am very pleased with how well I rode and how I didn't bonk. There was the necessary power right til the end to power up climbs and to showboat for the photographers. It's always a good time before, during, and after the race, seeing all my good friends as we cheer each other on and share our experiences. The best part was on lap 2 when my coach, Ken, was standing amidst the numerous switchbacks on the climb up Animal Chute near the end of the lap. I heard him cheering for me all the way up the hill as I was murdering bitches in the face. I don't even remember what he was saying, but it helped so much.

So there's one more H2H race left, the Leafblower at Ringwood on Oct. 3. It's another one of my favorite parks and it's another challenging race course. After this, my focus will be solely on cyclocross for the rest of the year. I'm kind of sad to hang up the xc bike for a while, but cross is ridiculously fun and it will be xc time again before I know it.

In a quick little side story, one of my friends and racing buddies, Ryan Heerschap, had me build him a super light racing wheelset and he debuted them at this race. He rode them to a 2nd place finish, 2nd in the NJ State Championships, and locked himself into 1st overall in the H2H series. It was so rewarding to play even a small role in an athlete's achievements. As an aspiring race mechanic, it's exactly this feeling that I hope to share with all of the racers who I will be assisting in my future.

Nice job, Ryan.