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| Bryce had to have a bike there as well! |
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| Mark is on the Big Sky Cycling Team, 4th from left |
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| Rori watching racers go by |
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| Rylie was excited to race in the kids' race before it started but once it was going , she was not happy. They did 6 laps around the infield and it was tough, especially on the grass with her heavy bike that is made for pavement. She finished and passed the other girl in the race. |
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| Rori did one lap on the kids race and Dad has to help on the grass. |
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| Mark rode really well and we even won prizes this year. See the report below. |
The Bohart Bash was kind of my big race this year. It's held outside of Bozeman near the Bridger Bowl ski area. Bohart is one of my favorites because this is where I first raced a mountain bike several years ago. Being my first race I had some things to learn. First thing I learned was that I had no idea which category to enter. Yeah, I was both a first-timer and a beginner to racing, but this wasn't my first time on my bike. Plus, if I was driving all the way to Bozeman I was going to do the 15 miles. I felt like I was clearly a Sport Cat 2 racer. The second thing I learned was I wasn't a Sport Cat 2 racer.
The race was 3 laps and midway through the second lap I ran out of gas, bonked, hit the wall, all of the above. I didn't get off and walk, but as slow as I was going at some points I might as well have been out for a stroll. Eventually I made it to the finish and out of nowhere some guy came swooping in and challenged me for dead last. As you can see in the photo below it was close. He got me by half a bike length.
This year I've ridden more and trained harder. I felt like I was ready for Bohart. Teammate Jesus Salazar was there as were fellow Helenans Scott Herzig and the Beckners. In the past, Helena has been well represented. I've raced here with Dexter, Joe Hamilton, Frank Gonzales, the Proctors, Melinda and Deb Morrell and we usually make a good showing.
The start is a Le Mans start (not sure on the spelling, we had a running start to get to our bikes, we did not practice our breathing technique). The course has several segments where you wind in and out of the pine trees and over roots. It's not particularly difficult and can be a fast part of the course. There are also a few well placed hills that are deceptively tough. They're in the sun and suck the energy from your legs.
I had a good first lap passing several people and not getting passed once. Actually, as we veered off the road at the beginning and onto the single track things got tight and crowded. One gal decided she wasn't going to wait to get by anybody. She jumped off her bike, threw it over her shoulder like a cross race and ran by me and some others. She made it a few spots in front, but I was able to get by her about half a mile later.
I felt strong in that second lap and caught another Bozeman racer. He was good on the downhill but slowed down in the trees. I passed him just before we went into a twisty tree-lined shady section. I think he was a little miffed I slipped in right in front of him. Whatever. He just rode too slow in the technical areas. I pulled away and thought the guy was off for good, but he showed up again on the downhill just as we made the turn from the second lap and started the third. As we again entered the trees I pulled in front. This time I put my head down and really hammered it for a mile or so. When we came out of the trees the dude was gone. It felt good to be the one dropping some riders. I've been on the other end of that way too many times.
I finished fast and stopped my Garmin at 1:22. A new PR at Bohart! I was sure to double-check the results and made sure I was on the list this time. I finished fourth in my age group 19-39 and about sixth overall in the cat 2 race. I won a huge bottle of Hammer gel. I'm going to have to start eating that stuff for breakfast to get through the bottle.
Landon Beckner smoked the field and won the cat 1 race. His dad won the masters division and Scott Herzig took third in the cat 1.
My girls were able to ride in the kids race around the infield by the start line and despite their bikes they did well. It was a fun day at Bohart.
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