Feb 09
2
Bladder? Bottle? Bladder? Bottle?
As I was preparing for the Hari ng Daang Hari race that was what was running through my head. The bladder would enable me to carry more water, a maximum of 2 liters, but it would also mean I would be carrying more weight with me than necessary. During my trial runs I would only bring a bottle, so that’s what I settled on. I pedaled all the way to the race track (car’s down) so I didn’t have the option of bringing the hydropack for the just-in-case scenario.
A few minutes after arriving and saying hello to friends, with quite a lot of friendly banter going back and forth — almost all of my friends were surprised to see me serious in joining the race as only a few knew about my semi-preparation — I proceeded to the registration tent.
First category to run was the Kids Category. A kid representing the South Cycle bike shop won, but it wasn’t surprising as his dad is a hardcore downhill rider and I’ve seen him coach the kid. Good work.
Next up was the 200-pound category and the Ladies category — running simultaneously. And it looked like there was only 1 entry for the Ladies!
Doc Riz entered this category. This is also his first race. Everything was running smoothly until he reached what we call The Wall (part of the track, not the infamous Wall at Timberland) — a steep uphill climb of about 15 feet (estimate) right after a sharp right turn. Untrained participants and riders who tried out the track would lose momentum during this uphill climb, with threats of flipping backwards. With a hometown advantage Doc Riz has already plotted his line of attack, but then another competitor was in front of him. Nearing the top the other guy broke his chain. I’m guessing he shifted too late, already climbing. Expertly gaining momentum while exiting the turn Doc Riz was running smoothly uphill, then the other competitor’s chain broke and Doc Riz had to swerve to the right, hitting the other’s handlebar with his, effectively stopping his climb. He had to push his bike up a few more paces before he can mount and ride again, but precious seconds have been lost and the other passed him by. This incident brought out quite a loud reaction from yours truly, but nothing can be done.
Batangas Mountain Bikers (Photo by Marvin Tejada)
Next was the 18-29 category. This was dominated by the Batangas Mountain Bikers (B.M.B). Approaching the halfway point of the whole track the pair of B.M.B. riders already put a gap between them and most of the other competitors, with only a couple more trying to keep up with them. But as they crossed the starting line after the 1st lap the others were already dropped. The pair kept riding together, obviously helping each other out. Another good race by the B.M.B. They killed the competition!
Waiting... watching... (Photo by Marvin Tejada)
Now they were calling the 30-39 category riders. Togs, Migs, Gerry, & I are in this category. If only Jun was here there would be 5 Backout Boys in this category. My acceleration was still slow. As soon as Jingo of Cycling Zone started the race and let the riders go I saw and felt all the other riders suddenly shoot out in front. I was near the front but I was overtook by half of the competitors as they suddenly used up a burst of energy to bring themselves up front. I let them be as I know we’ll be doing the track for 5 laps. The track being tiring I needed to conserve my energy and pace myself. This will enable me to overtake some of the racers in front of me later on in the race.
A strategy Doc Riz & I talked about was to keep my distance from the riders in front of me when climbing the bumps. There are a lot of dips/steep bumps and some riders stop right at the top before going down as the steepness and sharpness of the dips are surprising to first-timers. So I let them go ahead of me, I was urging them to use up all their energy during the first lap and maybe I can rank relatively high, hehe!
With that strategy I was able to ride the track the whole time, the whole 5 laps. I never pushed, I never dismounted, which is an OK personal achievement.
During the first lap, on the easy part of the track I was able to catch up with Gerry. Not knowing if he has ridden the track before the race I was giving him small tips, urging him on to gain more momentum for the upcoming obstacle, cheering him on to pace himself. Approaching the first steep climb on this section, going towards the Fernbrook church
, I told him we needed more momentum, I kept on shouting, “Faster, faster, faster!” to no avail. He kept to the same pace, only spinning faster just a wee bit. Because of this I needed to slow down and watched him climb, almost fully stopping. With him over the lip I put more power on my cranks and spun faster and almost just rolled uphill.
On top of the climb we were almost neck-and-neck, then I blurted, “I TOLD YOU! MOMENTUM!” and I got a grunt in response. I kept to his tail and he surprised me he was pedaling too slow for my comfort. I was wondering what the hell was going on. I know he’s stronger than me in terms of riding energy… did he exert too much effort at the start that he’s now using the relatively easy tracks for recovery?
One characteristic of this track was if you stop pedaling you will slow down, and quick. Even on the flat surfaces your momentum will be broken down once you stop pedaling. That’s why continuous pedaling is important, just as important as pacing yourself as there are no real sections you can use to recover.
Upon noticing Gerry slowing down I called out to him, “Ger, right side,” and he goes, “Go,” so I start the attack to overtake, then noticing he wasn’t moving left to give me room! He was staying in the middle of the track. What the hell? Then he swerved to my line abruptly but quickly correcting his steering. This caused me to steer to the right and see my front tire and feel my rear tire go over the track division — I WAS OUTSIDE THE TRACK!
Slowing down I went back in the track and stayed behind Gerry. From this point on until we reach the area just before the start/finish line the track is quite narrow. First the uphill U-turn going back, then before the uphill turn flattens out the track off-cambers, overtaking here would be crazy. Then little bumps and dips but still no opportunity to overtake. I just keep in pace with Gerry. Then another sudden climb just like the previous one where Gerry didn’t listen to my momentum tip, so I had to fall back and give him room, just in case.
Reaching the final turn going back to the start/finish line I hugged the turn and started my overtake on Gerry. I told him I’ll go ahead and to keep to his own pace to conserve energy and off I went to the first left turn and mound of the track.
On the 2nd lap there was this one competitor way ahead of me in a white shirt. Slowly I noticed the gap between us growing smaller. And smaller… and smaller. I think I have a chance, I thought, but still keeping my pace. Only giving out small bursts of energy to catch up, but not really planning on it. If I catch him and overtake him, good. If not, no real harm done.
One of the energy sappers of the track is the uphill U-turn that leads to the off-camber section. I noticed Mr. White Shirt’s spinning to slow down during this turn, helping me shrink the gap between us. As I enter the turn I shift to lighter gears. On the off-camber section I could have touched my front tire with his rear. I let it be. I see him struggling with the pedals, struggling on his saddle. I knew he was tired. As soon as the track flattens I fall back just a little bit, preparing to overtake, then I inform him of my plan, “Left side, sir,” then I start accelerating. He then turns his head, checks how near I am, then he starts pedaling faster! He didn’t want to give up his spot! I had to laugh inside as it was pretty obvious he’s much more tired than I am… this also pissed me off. So I keep to his rear, just maintaining a safe distance just in case he crashes or suddenly stops. After the bypassed hump (too steep for mountain bikers to go over in a race) the track widens but after this short downhill section we reach the last right turn going to the start/finish line. No chance of overtaking in this turn as he was using his momentum to go faster and there was loose, powdery soil on this turn. I didn’t want to crash.
As the track straightens out and before I go under the START banner I put more weight on my pedals, but only a little. Just enough to overtake Mr. White Shirt but not enough to unnecessarily expend too much energy that he’ll overtake and put me behind him again.
As I turn for the first mound I take a quick peek behind me and he continues to struggle on this very slight uphill climb at the start of the track. I smile… I call out to him in my head, “Sucker…”
I had my fair share of overtaking and being overtaken… but more of the former, I think… either that or I just have very good ( 
) selective memory.
The race was fun. The track, as I said before, was tiring. It was a good test of stamina and endurance. No real technical sections, but that was a welcome relief. If the tracks weren’t tiring to run through I would be disappointed with the lack of technical areas.
As I cross the finish line on my last lap I swerved to the right where my friends were waiting. More encouragement and congratulations were said, and I start to rest, talking with friends, old and new, all of us supporting each other, whether we had bikes in tow or not, whether one raced or not.
After around 10 minutes of resting I bid farewell to my friends as I had work to do. My food stub went to Doc Riz, maybe to add more pounds to his weight (he looked like he was the “narrowest” competitor in his category, the 200-pound category ) I retrieved my shirt from Rodel, another one of the Backout Boys, and off we went and headed home.
It was a satisfying day — a mountain bike race in the morning, rest in the afternoon, easy and quick work at night (same-day pay!). Time to really rest and recover.
* Special thanks to Marvin Tejada for the pictures!Did you like this story? Buy me a coffee!
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Nice Craw… You did it……4th place..Keep on pedaling in preparation for the next race.
Grrr! LOL!
good job bro. anyway where’s gerry? he. he. he…
Thanks! He’s somewhere at the back HEHEHEHEHEHE!
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[...] hood was up I noticed) and I recognized it as Jingo Hervas of Cycling Zone, the organizer of the Hari ng Daang Hari [...]