Boggs IV aftermath

This weekend was AWESOME with a capital MAD CAT. Our team had a blast and kicked butt to boot. 4 podium finishes and 28 MAd Cats entered in the race.... 28! This has to be the largest showing of our "pride" at any given event.

Most of us met up early on Friday morning at the shop and caravanned over to Boggs. We got set up and did a pre-ride get a feel for the wonderful trail conditions. The course could not have been in better shape. Super tacky, no dust, no mud. PERFECT! The weather was even better, hitting the upper 60's/low 70's and very little breeze. We partied a little that night and got up early to post our pits near the course.

Let me preface this next part with the fact that I wanted to complete 9 laps. I did 7 last year and was in much better shape this time around.

The start came fast, so fast I almost missed it. I guess next time, I'll listen to which group leaves first.. :-) I jumped in right at the start and headed out. I held back on my energy, knowing fully what the day had in store, but somehow still pulled out about a 48 minute lap, followed my another, then started to taper. On lap 3, I couldn't stop thinking about pop tarts and food in general, then made the mistake of eating a whole salami sandwich and pop tart before lap 4. My lap time slowed and I started to develop a headache, which I believe was from the nitrates in the salami (common trigger occurance for me, but I didn't think about it in my depleted state of hunger).

By lap 5, I had a fully developed tension headache that was not going to disappear. I stopped, rested, ate, and re-hydrated to no avail. I ended up pulling out and taking some vicodin to ease the pain. A few hours later, I was good... but the race complete.

I'm pretty disappointed in myself for not thinking about the salami trigger, but oh well... it tasted good in the moment. I had a great race despite the early finish and am looking forward to next year already. I think I'll opt for quiche next time around. :-)

That evening we witnessed the awards, won a few things in the raffle, partied and hung out by the fire. Chad facilitated a "chubby bunny" contest to see who could fit the most marshmellows in their mouth. Yvette won with something like 14 I think? Crazy!

This morning (Sunday) we packed up and headed out around 10 to get home and clean up. Awesome, Awesome weekend, that could not have been better (maybe a little minus the salami)! There's nothing better than a good camping weekend with bikes, friends and good weather!

Now we look forward to many fun Wednesday eves at Prairie City.

Peace.. Papa.

Boggs Blog

Here we go, another round of Boggs mountain, an 8hr mountain bike race near Cobb, CA. It's an awesome event, with awesome people and good times. The course is sweet and makes me feel like I'm on a carousel ride, coming around each time for that big brass ring..."thank you sir, may I have another!"
This year, I'm feeling much stronger, but who knows how my butt, hands, feet and neck will do. Being on a bike for 8+ hours can literally be a pain in the butt, but somehow we find a way to enjoy it.
For me, the weekend is all about having fun and being with cool people in a cool place. I'll try my hardest to get 9 laps in this year, but I really just want to have fun. The bike is dialed, my legs are pumped, the heart is strong... so bring it on!

I'll recap in a few days, or post from the campsite.

peace.

-M - Papa Cat

Me? a Roadie?

I've finally done it. I got to add a knotch into my dirty MTB belt today by competing in my first road race. I've been racing MTB since 1997 and am a mountain biker at heart. I've been hounded for over a year now by a friend/team manager/"roadie pusher" to do a road race, and today was the day of christening. I chose the Bariani Road Race near Zamora and it's a 10 mile course in the foothills north of Woodland. It's a great course, fast, scenic with a couple little short hills. I raced the Cat 5 Elite men's group and we had about 50 riders in our wave. We did 3 laps.

Lap 1. We started just after 2pm and headed out. The pace was mild, averaging about 21mph (or should I put that in Km?) :-). I stayed in the main pack, pretty comfortable throughout the whole first lap, and it seemed pretty easy.

Lap 2. The pace picked up as well as the wind, followed by slight sprinkles and a little hail. The wind blew the main group all over and we spread out to avoid each other. About 1/2 way around #2, the course turned south and the group gathered back up in front, leaving a few stragglers to try and catch on. That's when we got the hail. Once a bunch of us fell off the back, it was hard to regain the speed needed to catch up to the main field. We fought it for a bit, but the KOM towards the end slowed me and a few others down.

Lap 3. I chased and then caught up to one of the stragglers and passed him, giving him my wheel for a few miles, then got a blast of energy and started hammering my top gear out of the saddle for the last 3 miles. I passed 3 other riders and one latched on for the finish. I turned the final corner and knew that this guy was going to sit my wheel long enough to regain some energy and try to pass, so I unleashed what I could and pulled the whole way through the finish. He didn't try anything, and it felt good.

All in all, I had fun. I do like MTB and CX much better, but I'd do another road race. The feeling of sprinting down a country road at 30+ mph attempting to catch a few riders has it's own little bit of serenity that I can find value in. Maybe someday I can lead a breakaway to a win...

papa cat.