Last Tuesday I drove out to Mt. Tabor Park near Dallas, GA west of Atlanta for the Six Pack mountain bike time trial. This is a super low key and old school event which is right up my alley. When I asked the guy sitting at the start table what time the race started he replied, “whenever you’re ready.” Awesome. The entry fee? A six pack of beer (or $6 for those who are underage).
The Six Pack Time Trial is actually a series of races held on Tuesday nights during the month of July. I had never ridden the relatively new trails at Mt. Tabor Park which gave me the perfect excuse to show up for the competition. After a leisurely pre-ride of the 3.5 mile long loop I was ready to race!
The big loop at Mt. Tabor Park has a little bit of everything – from fast hardpack to rocky, rooty creekside stretches and from winding, switchback trails to flat, tight pine forests where the saplings practically reach out and grab the edges of your bars. The trail also features some sharp turns to help control riders’ speed and if you don’t know they’re coming they can suck the momentum right out from your wheels. Paulding SORBA has instituted alternating travel directions on the trails and on this particular evening we raced the loop clockwise.
Right out of the gate from the parking lot I got off to a fast start on the hardpack singletrack but less than a quarter mile in I dropped my chain (not unusual for me, I’ve been meaning to install a chain retention device). The rest of the hardpack section (part of which is called “Rocks of Doom”) went smoothly except for occasionally overshooting some of the tight reversals.
From my pre-ride I knew the rocky, rooty creek section would be a challenge so I concentrated on picking the most efficient lines and keeping my tires on the ground. Unfortunately I completely lost my rear wheel around one turn and had to jump off the bike for a second time, this time jogging with the bike a bit to regain my composure.
Climbing out the creek section was tiring and even more so considering I was only halfway through the loop. It’s amazing how much pressure the word “race” adds to a ride, even if there’s no one around you! I blasted up and down through the switchback sections to the pine forest trail section aptly named “Pine Pong.”
Pine Pong is one of those trails that takes intense concentration to ride quickly. There’s a ton of wheel and body movement and any slight miscalculation could easily knock you off the bike without a moment’s notice. Early on I dropped my chain and dismounted for the third time to get things back on track. Soon after I got a bit of a scare when I scraped my shoulder against a tree but it wasn’t quite enough to toss me off the bike.
I crossed the finish line with a time of 20 minutes something which seemed decent (the time keeper asked if I had done the long or short loop which is a good sign I suppose). Initially I was anxious to find out how my time compared to everyone else but after cooling down I realized it didn’t really matter. Time trails like this are really about racing against yourself and seeing how you stack up against the trail when you give it everything you’ve got. By that measure I have some room to improve for next time but I had a blast going all out!
5 Comments
Aug 4, 2010
Aug 4, 2010
Aug 3, 2010
-Greg
http://gregridestrails.com
Aug 3, 2010
Get an NGear Jump Stop already!
Aug 3, 2010
I have an e*thirteen CRD that I've been meaning to install, our ride on Saturday gave me even more motivation to get it on!