Event: Iron Hill

Name: Ransom Weaver

City: Philadelphia

State/Province: PA

Country: USA

Age: 34

Place: 1st

Category: Expert

CLASS +/or Age group: SR 2

Team: Guys Bicycles

XC Race Bike: Cannondale CAAD 4

Tires: IRC Mythos xc

Conditions: dry

Email: weaver@lrsm.upenn.edu

How was your fitness level going into this race?

Rested; I'm just restarting some base training with a view to preparing for CX season.

Were you happy with your position going into the singletrack?

Yes, I was behind Nick Johnson, Romolo, a FSVS rider and Marc V. and we formed a little group going away from the rest.

Were you strong from start to finish?

It was a good day to not go to hard at the beginning; I felt well within myself for the first two laps, even after I left Nick and Romo.

When did you put the hammer down?

Then after 2 laps, Joe Fritsch arrived saying he'd started 2 minutes behind! He looked to keep right on going, but after a couple of surges he slowed considerably on one of the climbs. I left him really by just continuing my pace as before he had come up. I wasn't really hammering till the final run into the finish when I saw a rider whom I took to be Joe F. coming up on me; after burying myself to keep a good gap it turned out to be a SR I.

Did you have any unusual problems?

No flats today, thank goodness, but I had decided to put on a new middle ring and chain; riding it all day Saturday at Jim Thorpe had revealed a tendency to drop off the middle ring under hard going, but I thought it would wear in. After half a dozen dropped chain incidents in the first lap, including a couple where I was standing under acceleration only to be pitched onto the bars when the chain came off, I decided it was big ring all the way. This worked fine with the little ring being used on the two steep sections.

Were you happy with the way the race was run?

The course, water stations, super online results, music and announcing were all fantastic. Thanks Paul Incognito, Bryant and everyone else involved.

Did you have any interesting experiences during your race (exchanges with competitors/spectators)?

If you went fast enough through megadip, it could elicit gasps from the crowd there.

Anything you would like to add?

Many thanks to Guys Racing and Bart at Cannondale. And if you need a great auto mechanic in Philadelphia, check out Dave at Incognito Auto in Chestnut Hill.