Snotcycle 2010 Race report

Report by Petr Minar, team CALEVA / SEAVS Racing.
SNOTCYCLE (Presented by Plum Grove Cyclery); Saturday, January 30, 2010
Place: Leesburg, VA

As almost every race by Plum Grove Cyclery, the Winter MTB race Snotcycle 2010 was sold out. Winter enthusiast and hardcover mountain bikers came to have a good time racing and socializing after the race around the big bonfire at private farm in Leesburg. Almost 300 racers showed up overall. This year race course was 8.1 miles and CAT1 racers did 3 laps, CAT2 did 2 laps and CAT3 one lap. The weather was pretty snotty- cold- below freezing, around 10 AM started heavy snowing and the trails became really slippery and tested every biker's handling skills. Racing in freezing conditions can be fun but also very tough... One has to not only properly dress with many layers, warm (and heavy) winter riding boots, gloves and face protection. But there are other challenges too, such as freezing water bottles and camelbaks (mine froze after first lap out of 3) or derailleurs packed with snow and ice that will not shift properly. CAT1 race had 36 participants and started at 10 AM. My objective for this race changed dramatically a day prior to the race. On Friday, before the race I was going to pre-ride the course and instead ended up in the bed with hot tea and medicine to knock down the shivers and temperature. I did get some rest and the next day morning I was OK to come to the race. Not 100% ready but OK. Since the precondition my objective was to finish and try to have a good time. Race started with group start in the open field on the farm and quickly headed into the woods. Leesburg course is not very technical but plenty of bumps and sharp turns. There is very limited elevation. In my view a full suspension bike is a better choice for this course due to bumpinness of the course, but the field was probably split 50/50 with fulls and hardtails. I did ride a hardtail but next time I am bringing my full. After first lap it started snowing and trail became quite slippery. This is the time my drink in the bottle froze too. I do not race mountain bikes normally in the winter and was aware my drink could freeze in the bottle but I was hoping by drinking frequently and shaking it often I could prevent it - what a mistake.. After first lap I did get last sip of almost frozen drink which meant 2 laps without water. Not fun... (Some tips for winter riding: insulated water bottles may help and also another trick is to wear you camel bag under the top layer (or two) of clothes. To prevent camelbak hose from freezing use the insulated hose or blowing the air into hose and keeping all the liquids in the camelbak helps). So considering all the challenges with not feeling 100% , frozen camelbak, not knowing the course, coming in the 11th place out of 36 gave me satisfaction. The race was won by the Pro Jeremiah Bishop who surprised all the racers by showing up.