Bump N Grind 2009

I was on the fence about riding Bump N Grind, but I kept hearing such good things about the trail and race. So, at the last minute, I decided to go with teammate Eric Nicoletti and his wife Anne. We ran into a few snags and 'in-garage mechanicals' that delayed our leaving Atlanta until about 4 PM on Saturday. I had never ridden the Oak Mountain trails where the race was taking place, but Nico had and he told there was nothing to worry about.

We were staying at Nico's buddy Phil's house in Homewood, just south of downtown Birmingham. I had never been to B'ham before, but I liked the little bit of it that I got to see. When we arrived at Phil's house, he and his fiancee Katherine, had a spread of snacks all ready for us. As we munched away on pita and hummus, Phil took a giant pan of chicken breasts out to be grilled. While those were cooking, he pulled some homemade paella out of the oven and got some asparagus ready to grill. If this sounds like a lot food, it was.

All this food wasn't just for us though. Phil had several more racers staying at his place. Three women from team Vantaggio/Specialized: Kym (Pro), Amanda, Emily, and their coach Mark. Jamie (Pro) from Motor Mile Racing was also staying. As we ate we talked about bikes and racing. These ladies were serious! Emily is only 16, but she has a National Champions jersey and years more racing experience than I do.

After dinner we continued to sit at the table and talk until Katherine brought us all big bowls of ice cream with fresh fruit! I have never been so pampered before a race, I felt like we were staying at a B&B for mountain bikers.

Phil and Katherine's hospitality didn't end that night. They woke up at 5 AM on Sunday to make all of us pancakes and eggs before we left for the trail. Apart from the getting up super-early, this was the easiest pre-race morning I've had. I just had to get dressed and chew.

We got to the trail early so Nico and I could register and get our numbers. We missed the deadline for online registration, which made the race a little pricey ($55 for 34 miles), but lesson learned. Nico and I threw some gears on his normally SS Santa Cruz Chameleon before we left town, so Nico would be riding his first Expert race. We were warming up, spinning casually up a half-gravel half-paved hill, when Nico busted into a wheelie and began to ride ahead. Everything was gravy until he tried to shift and let go of the rear brake (a crucial component in the world of wheelies), and looped out onto his back going a good 20 MPH or so. He scraped up his palm pretty bad and his butt even worse. There was just enough time to hit up the first aid tent before our race began.

Our category only had 10 people preregistered, but there were over 20 on the line. I saw a couple familiar faces from other races around the Southeast. The gun went off and I got a solid start. I was second going into the first bit of trail that wound through the park. 'Sweet,' I thought, 'I can keep this pace!' After a couple minutes we hit an open section and everyone started sprinting! 'No, slow down! Come back!' I didn't let everyone pass me at least, and when we hit the woods I was in 8th and Nico soon caught up to me in 9th. For a long time our group was together on the singletrack, resembling a pace line with how close we all were.

After a bit, the trail dumped us out onto some sandy doubletrack. Once again, it became a sprint fest and I couldn't hang on. I lost track of my position at this point. I kept the lead group in sight all the way back into the woods and was chasing down a couple of the guys in back. After some more delicious trail with some big-ring mashing opportunities, Oak Mountain's infamous climb was before me. The climb goes straight up the mountain on a Jeep road with loose fist-sized (and larger) rocks.

I definitely lost some time here on the first lap. My stomach was feeling queasy and I couldn't catch my breath. Andy Johnston passed me early in the climb, so I knew Nate Sibly wouldn't be far behind. Soon after Nate passed me Nico did as well. I was really slipping. At the top of the climb, the local Subaru dealer had volunteers handing out bottles of water and Gatorade. They also had tanks of water to spray you with if you wanted, which I did. Soaking wet and starting to cool off, I felt much better.

After the relentless climb, the road rolls easily along the top of the mountain. Then it begins to point downward and speeds were pushing 40 MPH. After a couple miles that flew by we made a hard right back into the woods. There was a nice rocky section at the turn. Everyone had been telling me about Blood Rock and how gnarly it was. I assumed that I had just ridden it and thought, 'That was a little technical, but nothing special. Definitely not deserving of the 'Blood Rock' moniker.' About 20 seconds and several super tight switchbacks later I was looking down a super rocky and rooty section flanked by onlookers on either side. 'Ahh, THIS is Blood Rock.' I was right behind someone now and we were going so slow I had to track stand in a couple spots. I chose a bad line on the last little bit that had me riding off a jagged drop, but luckily the clearance of my 29er wheels allowed me to escape without dragging my chainring across the top of the rock.

The trail was super fast and super rocky, lots of people were flatting (including Nico). You could only point your bike, hang on, and hope you didn't hit any really pointy rocks. Fast, swooping singletrack is my forte, so I soon started catching riders. At this point I couldn't tell who was in what category, but I didn't care, I was just happy to be passing anybody.

I sprinted through the Start/Finish and hit the trail full steam for lap number 2. I was feeling much, much better and more confident knowing what to expect. I rode smoothly, remembering which lines to pick. It was much easier to see the trail since I was no longer in a group, so I was really able to open it up on the descents. On the big climb I found my Zen gear and spun to the top. This time I was actually passing people instead of getting passed! I originally wanted to make top 7, so I could get paid, but my new on-the-fly race goal was not to let Nico catch me. Changing a flat takes some time, so if Nico was able to get it fixed and then catch me, I would be demoralized.

The Subaru folks were there again to hose me down and cheer me on. At the top of the hill, I finally caught a guy I had been chasing for quite some time. I rode right on his wheel for a minute or two to catch my breath before mashing away. I remembered where the singletrack turnoff was so I made an effort to pass everyone I could so no one would be in front of me for Blood Rock. This tactic worked out as I had Blood Rock all to myself. I took it much faster than before (still not really fast, this thing was tough!) and remembered to avoid the big drop at the end. The crowd congratulated me as I rode off.

Now I was concerned with just riding smart. I was having a much better second lap and didn't want to ruin it with a flat. I mashed out the last few miles and sprinted for the finish. I heard someone screaming my name as I crossed the line and wondered who it was. Turns out it was Nico! He ran up wearing jorts and a sun hat to congratulate me. His spare tube wouldn't hold air so he had to walk it out on the first lap. Boo!

After changing out of my soaking wet kit, I found Anne and Nico in the shade. Nico and I popped open a few Fat Tires and waited for the pro races to begin. Crenshaw soon rolled up and we staked out a nice spot on the singletrack to watch the women's Pro race.

In addition to Kym and Jamie from the night before, there were some big names in the women's Pro field. The race was awesome, with the Luna team ladies controlling things from the first lap. On the last lap, teammates Catherine Pendrel and Georgia Gould had blown the field apart and were battling it out for first. The race ended with a full-on sprint. Pendrel (ranked No. 1 in the WORLD!) eked out the win against her teammate! The third Luna rider, Katerina Nash, came in shortly after to cement the Luna podium sweep.

The Pro men's race was no less exciting. With a field of over 70 it was sure to be crazy. Big names like Adam Craig, Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski, Geoff Kabush, and Todd Wells were there, along with local pros Thomas Turner, Sam Koerber,and Ryan Woodall. The men's race finished in a sprint as well with Sid Taberlay taking the win.

I ended up 12th out of the 18 that finished in my category 13 minutes off 1st, 34 miles in 2:34. I'm really happy with my second lap, too bad I didn't do as well on the first.

I had a great weekend and even though the race was a little expensive, I'm glad I went. Seeing the pro men and women race was inspiring.

Big thanks to Phil and Katherine for opening there home and fridge to us.

Results here:

http://www.bumpngrindrace.com/assets/files/bng2009.txt

A pic of me on the approach to the gnar:

http://www.photoreflect.com/pr3/orderpage.aspx?pi=03TC00BL0B0008&po=8

Lots of great coverage here:

http://www.cyclingdirt.org/videos/coverage/view_video/235096-us-pro-xct-...