Methow Mountain Challenge - Podium

I love riding in the Cascades: the lush forests, the rich greens of the moss and trees and the technical, rootey, greasy, muddy, twisty riding, but I grew up riding in the Rockies: Dry trails, wide open sections, rocky technical trails, lots of climbing and fast down hills. I can't get enough of that kind of riding. When I get out on the trail someplace like the Methow Valley, I realize I miss those days of riding back home in Montana. The one thing that I notice first in the experience, is the smells of the Ponderosa Pines, sage, dust and lupine. All these aromas come alive when the sun beats down on it all and as you ride through mile after mile of trail you become aware of the changing micro climates: shaded creek side trails, open range sage down hill or miserably long climbs with the waft of pine trees to spur you on. Those are things we just don't have on the wet side of the Cascades. I guess I was feeling at home in the Methow.

For those of you that haven't gotten out to ride in this race, I suggested you make it a priority next year. The course is great and technical and hard but keeps you interested with beautiful vistas and crazy fast down hills. (here's a link to the map: http://www.indieseries.com/map_methowcourse.jpg)
This course has everything you'd want for a race. Couple of highlights of the course: an 18" wide trail that was super exposed. If you screwed up and went down, you'd be swimming in the lake 20 feet below. STEEP climb at the top, but a wicked downhill that was ultra fun and a great prize for making the climb. Climbing, lots of it. Did I mention there was some climbing?

My goal for the day was top ten to gather points to hold my meager 10th place in the Indie Series. I was also hoping, secretly, that high fuel prices would keep some of the fast guys at home. The race started nearly on time. We went off in a ball of dust. I jumped out and stayed in the top five for better part of the first section. The first 45 minutes of the race was rolling terrain with some technical sections and one grunt of a climb that lasted for about a kilometer. I was just trying to settled in to a good rythm and save something for the big climb. We rolled through the start finish to go for the long climb. I then noticed I lost my water bottle. Good thing I had a second in my jersey. I took two cups of water at the feed zone.

The big climb is just that. 5 miles of climbing greeted us on a mix of single track and road. Let's just say I'm glad I rode Cayuse pass last week. My legs felt ok. The trail just kept going up and up. I did manage to pass several people in this section, but didn't know where I sat overall in our group. At the top, the trail gets super steep. I found that running was faster than riding. After the race, one of the guys chasing me said I dropped him while running that section. Hmmm....call it early season cross training?! I was just glad to get back on the bike and head down hill. Tricky in spots, but certainly fast, the down hill truly was a prize after all the climbing. I'm confident I hit 40 mph in one section. Full suspension was a good choice on the day.

With one more short climb and a twisty downhill, we were back to the finish. After it was all said and done, I pulled off a third place finish. I was certainly happy with that! I never did see the top two guys until I hit the podium. They were fast. And for all my efforts, I got a six pack of beer. Pretty sweet.

The loose, rocky conditions certainly suited me and the fast, technical downhill didn't hurt either. I gotta get back to Winthrop to ride and train. The weather is great. Dry conditions prevail and the warm temps make it pretty easy to get out. It isn't Montana, but it sure was a lot of fun.

OK, next race is Padden. Anyone want to join me?

-matt