First Limerick Race

Drove 45 minutes yesterday after work down to Limerick forest for the first race of the Endo Mtn Club race series. Arrived at about 5:30, half an hour before the start of the race to get ready and get pre-ride of the course in. I'm familiar to the course, as I have ridden/raced here in the past. It's a fun, fast, flowy course - not really technical and no climbs to speak of. The race was a 4km loop, repeated four times = 16km.

It wasn't so fast last night though. Conditions have been very dry lately, which made the course slow. Limerick is full of eskers and sandy soil - perfect for wet weather riding - absorbs all the moisture and packs down really well, making it fast.

During my pre-ride it felt like I was riding on a beach. Some sections stopped you dead if you turned the wheel slightly. The only way to get through some of the loose stuff was to keep the speed up and point the wheel straight. I have to say I didn't enjoy my pre-ride. I even considered bailing . . . . got to stay mentally tough. Hard to do when you're a mental midget.

Race started with a good crowd (maybe 30-40 folks) - lots of kids (high school kids getting ready for the upcoming high school race being held there by some of the Endo/Brockville guys). Usual suspects were there: Peter, Fritz, young Mark and Rob. My goal at the start of the race was to hang on to the lead group on the first 400m or so down the road before you hit the long fire road stretch. Riding the single speed you get gobbled up and passed by everyone with gears on the road because you spin out; maxing out on cadence. Happened to me every race there last year. This race I was able to stay behind the first four guys.

Sat on Rob's wheel the first 3/4 of the first lap when he washed in a corner and I was able to pass him. Needed him to pace me at the start to get the legs moving. After I got by him my goal was to stay in front of him and put distance on him. Finished my first lap just over 13 minutes. The rest of the race I basically rode by myself to the end - lapped a few people on my last lap - but more or less alone. Couldn't catch Mark, Peter and Fritz (which turns out was their order of finish).

I came in fourth. Not a huge field with lots of fast guys. It was fun though and a good training session for me.
Stats: 46 min in 172-185bpm, 6 min above that, only 3 minutes below 172.
Total time: 55 min 23 sec
Will post link to the results when they come up. Cheers.