Womble Race Report- Bigger, Longer, Uncut

The CARVE Dirt Squad had an overall great time last weekend at the annual Womble Mountainbike Classic.  Ed, Jeremy, and the whole OCC team did an outstanding job organizing and preparing the race.  My weekend started with a two hour ride on Friday afternoon to “knock the cobwebs off”.  On Saturday, I met up with Wes Wright from Bell & Co. and Spun about 45 miles on the Dirt Roads out at Lake Winona.  With my legs sufficiently prepped, I headed towards Mt. Ida; accommodations courtesy of MikeF.  Awake at 5:00, due to the early Category 1 start time, we ate breakfast and headed to the Race registration at the Hwy 27 Fishing Village.  Registration went well with the exception of having to borrow some cash from Frank, (Thanks!) after  forgetting my checkbook.  The race started about 8:10 in a “Mass start” format.  This years course was lengthened by about 6 miles from previous years.  About half of that was on the Main fire road paralleling the trail.  I started about 15th wheel in a group of maybe 40 total Cat 1’s.  I focused on staying out of the wind for the entire portion prior to the Womble trail-head.  I went into the woods about 10th place following Zane Jeffers who was going plenty fast for me.  The fast guys had already built a pretty good gap right behind Noah and Frank who pretty much rode away from the rest of us on the first climb.  My Heart rate was high but fairly stable and I settled into a pace slightly higher than comfortable.  Zane and I came upon Greg Churan, caught our breath and quickly moved past.  Coming down off of Mauldin Mountain, we caught Robert Mooney who looked as though he wasn’t too keen on the technical nature of the trail.  He pulled over and let us through.  From that point on it was always in the back of my mind that he might catch back on once we got into the middle section;  especially if I started fading at the end.  I didn’t see him again until after I finished though.  The Womble doesn’t favor weakness in any aspect of performance.  Fitness, Handling ability, and Equipment are all equally challenged.  In fact, it tends to find any weakness and exploit it.  Both MikeF and ChrisK got victimized by the tire shredding nature of the trail, while many others succumbed to the numerous climbs.  By the foot of Mauldin, Zane had gapped me by about 40 feet and still looked strong.  The next thing I know, he was stopped with a flat.  That was a shame as he seemed to be riding well.  I spent about 20 minutes riding alone when I began hearing someone behind me.  Jonathan Sebring for ACF pulled up and around me which shook me out of my lull.  I followed him for a bit and we came upon Chuck Emmons who was running in First place 30-39.  Chuck and Jonathon started pulling away on a slight up-hill section and I thought they were gone for good.  Coming up on a relatively flat but very choppy section I caught sight of them both.  I’m on a Cannondale Scalpel while both Chuck and Jonathon were on Hardtails.  I reeled them back in  noticing that they were really bouncing around due to the rough trail surface.  We stayed together trading the lead back a forth until we came to the final climb up Reed mountain.  They both gapped me by about 30 seconds at the summit and held it to the end.  I was relieved to discover that the second climb had been taken out.  That’s what I call responsible course routing!  In the end I finished second to Richard from ACF which should be no surprise.  The interesting thing is that relative to past race time splits I ran him closer than ever.  My confidence was really strengthened as the past two races have been somewhat mediocre for me.  I’m actually looking forward to Hobbs and of course, Burns Park.  I’d like to thank everyone who showed up and encourage you all to make the next few races.  CARVE can take back that dang Team Cup!  Thanks for reading, Scott

CARVE SHORT TRACK WORKDAY

Congrats on all the good finishes at Hobbs this past weekend.  Please remember our CARVE Short Track Paydirt day this Sunday from 10 - 6.  We probably won't need you the whole day, but we do need you!   

This is an awesome opportunity to make a big impact on our local racing scene- getting this short track ready means short track racing opportunities at Three Legged Dawg, Carpe Diem, and a fall series.  This is the day your voices count- it's our only paydirt opportunity and chance to get it in shape.  A bad turnout for the workday means no short track racing at Burns this season.

Not only is this eligible for series credit (first place finish points!), but it counts toward reimbursement payout!  Lunch will be provided, along with a bunch of Thank Yous!!  Please bring any and all tools you have.

Thank you!
Sarah

2010 AR LIVESTRONG BIKE RIDE and PATIO PARTY

CARVE 2010 AR State Time Trial Championship