MTB Provincial Championships Report

I managed to preride the course the day before the race and absolutely loved it. Fast, flowy with some punchy climbs. However, I knew right away where the selection would happen. Those short punchy climbs, while not overly difficult, would favor those who have a well developed 1minute/5minute CP. Not those who have been cranking out negligible amounts of tempo miles for the last few weeks.

On race day, I was reluctant to race. I knew I didnt do the necessary training, my mind was in other places, and I really didnt feel like racing. I generally like to race O-Cups with a mentality of preparation, discipline, and focus. I certainly didnt feel that way.

However, after some berating by fellow Guelph riders, I coughed up 55$ and signed up.

The race start panned out as I expected. Hung with the pack, and then as soon as the training component became a factor I was selected. On the hills, I just didnt have the horsepower to make time. On the singletrack sections I was flying and would quickly bridge the gap. On the second lap I started feeling good, and picked off one rider and had Jon in the distance...Then I flatted on a flat rockless field. I suspected the valve core, as it was leaking profusely from it. Meh, i didnt really want to race anyways. I stopped for awhile cheered everybody on, and then decided, what the hell, lets do another lap. I fixed up my tube, and decided Id throw down a couple more laps before calling it a day.

Then on that lap someone offered me a beer at the top of one of the hills. Not really feeling the racing vibe, combined with not having a chance in hell of getting a decent result, I called it a day. mmmmm...beer.