2008 Padden Mountain Pedal

OK, we all know what a leMans style start is:  you lay your bikes down at some predetermined point, then you go back to the line and on the word go, you sprint to your bike and your off on a race.  That's what they do up on Bellingham for the Padden Mountain Pedal.  Apparently, they've been doing it for 16 years.  Its a great race and always brings out some good competition.  This year, Eric Tonkin came up from PDX and there were some heavy weight  Canadian World Cup Riders in for the Open race too.  And yes, everyone ran to their bikes.  OK, we didn't run, we had to skip.  I skipped like a little girl to my bike 'cause I couldn't remember how to skip.  I didn't get the hole shot either.

The course is the same one they've been running for awhile.  You start climbing less than a kilometer from the start for about 5 minutes, crest the hill, descend on a twisty section, climb a little on a very hard to ride section that, at times, is faster to run than ride.  From there, riders descend down a dicey single track with drops and hairpins and lots of roots.  A short grunt out of that section takes you to the down hill back to the start finish to do it all again. This year, we ran four laps for the sport division instead of three.  The extra length was great.  It really made the race more challenging.

I had a great start.  I jumped to the front and hung with the top three guys until the base of the climb.  I was feeling great so I figured it was time to attack.  I gave the gas and took off.  No body went with me.  I kept passing other age group people trying to put as much congestion in between me and the other guys in my group.  It seemed to work.  Starting the climb on lap 2, there was no one in sight.  I settled in and started my "don't make stupid mistakes" mantra to myself.  Lap two went well.

On the lap 3 climb, I was still feeling good and climbing well.  I pulled back a bit just to ensure I had something for lap 4 in the tank.  Coming down the back side on the descent, I managed to disregard my mantra.  Another rider pulled up in the middle of the course and didn't know which way to go to get out of my way.  I made a last second decision, went right around a tree and got through, but since I hadn't taken this line ever, I miscalculated (read dumb mistake) and went wide, washing out in the duff.  I went down, but got right back up.

The bike seemed fine but wasn't shifting well.  The next section is all down hill, so I didn't think about it until the next climb.  I went to shift, but got no response.  All I could do was shift the front dereailuer.  The rear was stuck in my 12!  My 12, that's all I had along with my 3 front chain rings and I had a lap and a half to go.  At that point, I figured all I could do was go into 'cross mode and run if I couldn't ride it.

I chugged along ridding as much as I could, but having to run a fair bit.  I wasn't overly concerned at first, but I knew if I didn't get the bike shifting, the big climb would be hell.  I stopped once and tried to help the shifting.  No luck.  I stopped in the feedzone for some help.  Still no luck!  So I began my up hill battle.  On the last time up the big climb, I ground away at what little gear options I had.  When I could hardly turn 'em.  I got off and ran.  I ran for at least half of the climb.  Crazy enough, I passed people on the run.  OK, they were still on their 3rd lap, except for one guy, but I passed 'em!

Just before cresting the top, I got passed by the number 2 guy in our group.  There went my number one position.  I managed to hold on, with some more running, until the end and kept second.  The number one guy only made about 30-45 seconds on me.

So, I guess, all in all, it was a great race regardless of the mechanical.  I still need to work on my skipping, but that comes with more miles, right?  Great thing is I managed to score some podium time for Joe Bar and brought home some beer and swag.  Anyone need a new MTB tire?

Next race is in Roslyn on July 27th.  Anyone interested in going to be my pit crew?  Come on.  It'll be hot and fun.  Check out the Indie Series website here:www.indieseries.com

Matt Clark