D&Q Summer Sizzler

Last weekend I raced my first short-track (XC) mountain bike race of the season. I'd been a little bit apprehensive because in my previous experience, the short (i.e., non-endurance) races tend to be events where you need to turn the intensity level up to "incinerate" and then leave it there for the duration. That was pretty much exactly what happened at the D&Q Summer Sizzler MTB race.

The Vehicle, loaded for bear

The race was in Sewell, NJ which is just across the Delaware River from Philadelphia. The race promoters had bumped the start times to an hour earlier than originally planned, due the excessive heat warnings that were in effect. When I arrived at the race and got out of the car, I could almost feel my skin burning. Summer Sizzler indeed!

Registration was super easy. I had brought my race license since the Mid Atlantic Super Series races (of which the Sizzler is one) is now a USAC race, but wasn't asked for it. Apparently (as I suspected) the MTB folks are a lot more laid back than the roadies.

I did a couple warm-up runs up and down the driveway to the parking lot before taking my place at the starting line. I was wearing a 70-oz hydration pack filled with iced sports drink, and had been taking care to drink a lot of water to stave off dehydration. My race started at 9:45 AM, and it was already 88 degrees in the sun.

First lap - feeling great!

The starting whistle sounded and we were off, taking a quick lap around the field before diving into the singletrack in the woods. I knew from my experience at Mohican that it was critical to go as hard as possible before entering the woods - getting stuck behind people who are riding below the level that you want to ride at sucks. I hammered hard in the prologue; I don't know how many people were in front of me before we got into the singletrack but I was definitely in front of several people, and that was good enough for me. If you can beat me in the prologue, than hopefully I won't be eating your wheel for the rest of the race.

I had never set eyes on this race course before. It was extremely twisty and turny, doubling back on itself like the snake pit in Raiders of the Lost Ark. The trail surface was very dry and dusty, probably due to both the lack of rain and the fact that southern Jersey is made entirely of sand. The combination of tight turns, high speed (sorta) and loose conditions had me wiping out pretty good a little ways into the first lap. Lesson learned, and my cornering improved for the rest of the race.

I kept the throttle wide open for the first lap - I was constantly trying to pass someone, or getting chased. There were a few very short climbs, which I used as an opportunity to sneak around a few folks. By the time my eyes were about crossed from the effort and the heat, I had crossed the start/finish line and was beginning my second lap. Somebody had rigged up a hose from the side of the building next to the start/finish field, and I got a spray of cold water as I rode by - it felt fantastic.

Third lap - starting to hurt!

The second lap was a little less stressful. I went into it going hard, but eventually found myself riding alone, with nobody in sight. I kept telling myself to push, you can't relax because somebody will catch up with you. By the time I was 3/4 of the way through the lap, I began to care less - even though I had been drinking steadily, the heat had been taking a toll. I wasn't struggling, but was definitely starting to settle into a maintenance mode. When the guy I was chasing ducked off the course right before the start/finish, I knew that the heat was causing some attrition and that if I could just hang in there I would probably do OK. I got passed by one racer, he grabbed my wheel and passed me when I took a turn slightly wrong and got hung up on a log.

Coming into the third and final lap I got a very nice hose-down, and then began to pass people. I think a lot of them were stragglers from the Cat 3 / beginner race that had started earlier in the day; either that or they were people in my race that were hurting. Either way, none of them was going fast at all and they were all very courteous about allowing me to pass quickly. I began to wonder how I was doing, really. I had settled into a maintenance mode, pushing as hard as I could without blowing up. 

The sun was sizzling!

After what seemed like quite a long time, I popped out into the field and breezed through the finish line. I staggered over to a tent that was set up and pounded several small paper cups full of water - my hydration pack had run dry about halfway through the third lap and I didn't want to get a dehydration headache (those suck!). I went over to the hose and washed off all the dust and sweat that had accumulated, and doused my head for good measure. By the time I had gotten changed and had all my gear situated in the car, they had the results posted. I had gotten fifth place in my category! Out of 29 racers, I was very happy with that result. It was a tough day on a fun track, and now it was time to go cool off by kayaking.

Boating!