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Recap of McDowell Race on 2/7/2009 (by Brian Willess)
This was a great race. The Cat 3 (Beginner) Men's route was one outer loop (long to tech, to sport), and one sport (long to sport) for a total of ~13 miles.
I had a great start, I was riding in 4th place once we hit the single track exiting the parking lot/starting area. The 1st place rider was leaving us behind, but we kept pounding. The 3rd place rider passed for 2nd, and I followed him on the pass. So I was ridding in 3rd. At this point it was head down, ride hard! The two riders ahead of me pulled away, but that was OK, I was riding 3rd! I quickly caught up to the back of the 30 - 39 group (they started 2 minutes before us) and was very aggressive in passes. As soon as I was within 10' I would announce "passing on the left", even if I did not have room to pass. As soon as I had room I went for it. I only had a couple of close calls, but I was apologetic, and everyone was nice about it. 
(Start of the Race, Team mate Dino hot on my tail)
On the tech section there is one small climb with a 18" bolder you have to clear. I was able to carry enough speed up the climb to clear the rock. Everything was going really well, I kept passing riders, my heart rate was very high, but my legs stayed strong, I was not hurting too much. One section of the trail gets rocky, it's on a fast section (slightly downhill). At some point I got a pinch flat, I felt the front end get mushy, looked down and saw that I was about flat. I cursed very loudly, and stopped and almost ran into a nearby cholla cactus.
I repaired the flat as fast as I could (~2:45), while many riders went by. I got back on the bike and continued to ride as hard as I could. I was able to re-pass a hand full of riders, but never totally made back my spots. I ended up finishing 12th out of 30 riders in my class. If I subtract my repair time I would have finished 4th in my class.
(Riding hard after the flat, packing out my bad tube)
Things I learned in this race.
- I don't need to carry very much water. I switched from my large camelback to my small one and had lots of water left over at the end.
- I hate flat tires! Everyone tells me I should go tubeless, but I know that I can repair a tube flat in a couple minutes. So my compromise is that I'll be running slime in my tubes from here on out. I think that today's flat would have self-repaired if I had slime.
- The start is the most important 45 seconds of the race. Be on the front line and go for it.
- Be aggressive on the passes, announce intention to pass as soon as you can, then find a place to make it happen. Many times the rider being passed would get off the line and let me pass. Any time waiting to pass is lost time. Always say thank you!
Overall a great race day! I'm looking forward to the next race at Estrella Park.