Date: March 25, 2000
Event: Fuller VOLVO Eastern Shore Mtn Bike Championship             AMBC
Class: Master 40-49
Category: Beginner Men
Length: 18 mi.
Time:
Conditions: Sunny / Overcast last lap - 60s
Bike: Specialized FSR
Tires: Specialized Comp

Did you do anything special to prepare for this race?

I started training some in Jan. on the stationary bike and was able to get out on the road a few weeks before the race. Being up in Vermont (there is still snow in the woods now) so we are limited to what we can actually do.

In the last two months how many hours a week have you trained?

Probably about 5 - 6 hours per week.

Were you strong from start to finish?

Yes. Better than I thought I would be. It was the first time I ever raced and I didn't know what to expect. I've been riding a couple of years just for fun with a guy in the Sport class. He's given me a lot of pointers and trying to keep up with him on the fun rides probably helped a lot. Never having raced I had no idea what to expect. I told my friend, I hope I don't embarrass myself being dead last - I didn't expect to be winning it. That's for sure.

When did you put the hammer down?

I think I was about 6th going into the woods off the start. I was able to pass all but one guy within the first half of lap. There were a bunch of 30 year olds between him and I for the rest of that lap. He got quite a ways ahead of me and I pretty much figured I'd finish in second but when I got back to the start finish and we made the loop - I caught him in my eye and saw that I really wasn't that far back. So I started pushing a little harder to try to catch up to him. I caught him half way through the second lap. That felt pretty good.

Nothing really bad, no mechanical problems, but a guy did wipe out on a bridge right in front of me (which was one of the things I feared) but I was able to stop before running over him which was nice. There wasn't anything real unusual though.

It was definitely a fun course because it's fast with a lot of small ups and downs. It doesn't have any big climbs which we're used to up here. In Vermont we have a lot of hills when you go riding you are climbing some pretty big hills. I think that definitely helped being able to last longer than the other guys.

Were you happy with the way the race was run?

Yes, pretty much. The only downer was the waiting for the results. Our group had to wait a real long time. I guess they had logistical problems. All of the 40+ guys were supposed to have 1300 numbers and some of them had 1200 numbers - they had to do a lot of scoring by hand. It took a while. The only other bummer was that the second place guy contested that I passed him. We had to get that straightened out. Once I told him exactly where I passed him and when I passed him he started remembering.

If you could do the race again, would you do anything differently?

Yes, I'd try to get a better hole shot in the beginning. I'll definitely come down next year and I'll probably be a Sport rider. There will be a lot of riders in that class and I'm sure a good start will be important. No matter how good you are if you get behind too many riders there isn't enough time to get by them all.

Is there anything you would like to add?

It was a fun race and it's kind of nice to win your first one. The only problem is, it can only go downhill from here.