Glocester Grind: Bona Fide Beat-Down

Dirty legs but you've got some place to go?
 Just put pants on.

Where to begin...  the only part of this race experience that I feel is worth bragging about would have to  be my final lap.  I went a little hog-wild and managed to finish that lap in a significantly shorter amount of time than the first three; I know this because I was staring at my watch for most of the race, and Mike, who was timing my laps, missed my finish because he thought he'd have enough time to pee based on my previous laps.

Also, you may be wondering why I was staring at my watch rather than the perilous terrain that is the Glocester Grind...  I had somewhere to be (Skyler's singing club scheduled its performance for 2pm - I made it).

The one, the only, and the wicked hard core Karen Potter

There were four of us at the starting line.  That may seem like no big deal, but that was a stacked line.  Mo Bruno-Roy, Crystal Anthony, and Karen Potter surrounded me, and I knew it was going to be a challenge to hang with them because they are (1) super freakin' fast, (2) wicked powerful riders, and (3) experienced racers - seasoned to perfection.  I kept them in sight for as long as possible, but it was quickly apparent to me that my legs just didn't have pop or push.  Failure to do openers the day before a race is a sure-fire way to make your legs feel like they are made out of play-doh on race day.  Play-doh is fun - just not when your legs are made out of it.

Photo courtesy of Rob Paton
This was one of the cleaner mud holes.

Karen and Crystal were out of sight first, and I kept Mo in sight until somewhere in lap 2... then I lost her.  I knew I wasn't that far behind, but when you can't see anyone, it's much easier to forget that you're supposed to be racing.  Good thing I remembered to do that on lap 4.

I hear that there were a lot of flats, crashes, and busted derailleurs, but I was fortunate enough to finish with everything in working order.  It's been a few years since I've raced that course, and there have been some changes - it is running in the opposite directions now and there is a section of trail that goes straight through an area that has been clear-cut by loggers.  I enjoyed the heck out of the super bony terrain and all of the brutally technical rock gardens, but the mud holes suck.  My kit was almost spotless while my socks and shoes were completely caked with thick black muck. Yeah, it was the driest that course has ever been, and it was my kind of super techy course, but GEEEEEEEZ!  If I'd wanted a mud treatment for my feet, I'd have gone to the spa!  Just kidding; I don't "spa."

Anyhow, I guess I ended up finishing third because Crystal crashed pretty badly.  I'm not sure what the times were, and I don't know if there were prizes.  I finished the race at 1:18, and was on the road to Skyler's gig at 1:30.




Big thanks to EFTA for putting on such a killer race.  I'm happy to have survived and enjoyed it.  My bike is finally headed to DAS for what I like to call the "I keep my bike in the swamp when I'm not riding it tune-up." Make sure to check out the DAS Racing Blog to hear about Donnie D's adventure on the singlespeed today.

The mayor of DAS  himself - Donnie D