“You OK?”

I hadn’t noticed the rider coming up behind me.

“Yeah, just looking for my lung” I replied, chuckling to myself at my standard reply.

She was probably a Falcon 100 rider, on her second lap. Maybe she was a Cat 2, just catching up to me. Whoever she was, she rode past quickly, just like everyone else had.

I started in the single speed category at the Rocky Mountain State Games. We rode Falcon Trail on the Air Force Academy, and I knew what I was in for. Working on the Academy, I’m fortunate to ride
the trail as often as my schedule allows, sometimes 5 times a week.

No one will ever accuse me of being to fast. In fact, I’m probably the slowest rider I know. I don’t normally race, but I have done the State Games, and it taught me a lot about myself. Mainly that I’m slow. Going in, I knew I wouldn’t win. That’s why I was a little concerned when the race director Andy Bohlmann started the single speed riders with the Cat 1 riders. I knew there would be a bunch of riders passing me, and I was right. As

soon as I turned left out of the parking lot and headed up the first climb, riders were passing me. Most were nice, and passed as soon as there was a wide spot in the trail. I plugged along.

The hardest part for me is the section I call ‘Hillzilla’. Going counter-clockwise, it’s a fun, fast descent. You cross Stanley Canyon road, then swoop down long straightaway’s, jumping water bars along the way. Going the way we were, it’s a mean, nasty climb. I knew I was going to walk a great portion of the climb. It was part of my strategy. I figured I’d get up the hill just as fast as trying to ride it. More folks passed as I walked. I walked, I rode, and I walked some more.

As I was nearing the top, I heard a rider coming up behind me. I stepped to the side, and let him pass. I got back in the saddle to crest the hill. As I started closing in on the rider, and I saw he was having trouble
finding his gear. He became the only rider I passed the entire day. He got close a couple of times, but once I crested the ridge overlooking the golf course, there was no looking back. I cruised down to the singletrack past the golf course , reaching the finish line at an hour and thirty minutes.

My time was normal for me. I claimed dead last in my category, and that’s OK. It’s fun to race, to figure out where you can improve. I need to start going to the gym to work on my power and endurance. Squats, maybe, and leg presses. Or maybe I’ll just keep riding. That sounds more fun.