Race Report: Buck Hill and MNMBS - Tree vs Shoulder

Before I get to the title of the post, I will start with Buck Hill.

I arrived at Buck Hill at 5:40 after a 5 1/2 hour road trip from Omaha. I did NOT have the fork on the bike yet so there was a bit of scrambling before the start (Thanks John for pickin up the fork and getting me registered while I assembled my bike in the parking lot, haha!). 6pm: 30 minutes before the race start I get the bike together, number plate on, and head out for a quick warm-up. The first time on a full rigid bike was interesting...and not too bad! I entered the Advanced class (4 laps) and got off to a great start.

My legs needed a good lap and a half to loosen up but I was feeling good. I kept a steady pace throughout with a few hard efforts to test out some climbing power - which turns out I'm still lacking. I did hold back efforts slightly in laps 3 and 4 to keep some in reserve for Saturdays MNMBS race, but it was hard because I really love these Thursday night races! ...and I was really excited to finally do well at the first MNMBS race...finally!

Just kidding. The race was horrible as usual. Don't get me wrong, the event itself is awesome! Always a great turnout and the MN series volunteers do a spectacular job! I just never get along with this trail and there are always excuses every year, one day I'll learn..rgiht? ...the 4 lap race at Buck a day earlier was not the best idea - or I should've held back more...nutrition was not my usual...the thunderstorms that broke up start times...I've had some trouble in the heat lately and 80 degrees and sunny after a few hours worth of HEAVY downpour did not help. Then I also hit a tree just after completing a pass and nearly went down - although, I did hit it hard enough to warrant a quick stop on the trail to make sure there were no dislocations.

I was just rattled and all over the place. That was at the beginning of lap 2...for the rest of the race I had to just ride around. My shoulder was not immobile, but hurt enough to let me know that carbon rigid forks are not the hot ticket after a tree altercation. My legs felt weak throughout the race - not like the previous couple races where I felt better and faster as the race went on. Oh well, I guess...it is what it is.

Sunday I picked up some new..."parts" ;) ...more on that later. Then helped John complete his badass NRS and we went out for a lap around Murphy. This was an excellent recovery ride. I'm feeling this weekend today though. I need to get some more task specific workouts in...and longer endurance times. Hope everyone else had a good weekend of riding or racing!!