Campmor H2H Race #1, Wawayanda Spring Cleaning
by Jay Hughen on May 9th, 2008
This past weekend on Sunday May 04, 2008 my wife and I attended and competed in our my first XC event called, Campmor H2H Race #1, Wawayanda Spring Cleaning. This race was located at Wawayanda State Park in Hewitt N.J which was really cool for me because it just happens to be the same town that I lived in when I was a kid. My wife Cheryl actually told me a few days before the event that she was considering racing with me because she was encouraged by Priscilla from Mtnbikeriders.com This was huge shock to me because we had just purchased her bike and she had less than 8 hrs riding time on it.
We got up at 4:30AM to make our 3hr drive to the race. When we arrived the parking lot was filling up with riders already. We signed in, got out numbers and started getting ready for the beginner race at 9:00AM. Cheryl and I lined up and waited for our groups to go. This is where I made a huge rookie mistake! I was lined up with the wrong group. I started talking to the guys next to me and I overheard someone say that this was the 40+ group. I said, “Wait a minute! Where’s the 30-39 group?” That’s when I quickly found out that my group had already left the starting line and now I was way behind already! Everyone made a path for me to get through and I took off like a mad man. I was more embarrassed than mad. I didn’t think I had a chance to catch anyone at all, but to my surprise I was not only able top catch up, but also started passing people.
This 6 ½ mile course was not only muddy but it was full of rocks, roots and some pretty technical inclines and declines. The only thing I could think of the entire race was, “My wife is going to kill me” because I thought that this course was way beyond her riding ability, and I knew that her group had already started their race.
Black bear on the course during the experts race.
I noticed pretty quickly that I would tend to pass a lot of people in the very rocky and technical sections, most likely due to my trials bike experience, but then I would get passed once again on either the climbs or the flat sections of the trail due to my lack of endurance. I kept pushing hard and was able to finish 11th in my class out of 23 riders. I was able to finish the course in 0:56:57minutes. 11th place never felt so good.
Photo by Ginger Weismantel
After I crossed the finish line, I made a quick dash up to my car to grab my camera so I could take a picture of my wife crossing the finish line . When I got there I waited… and waited. I started talking to some of the guys around me and voiced my concern that she should have been back by now. I was about to get on my bike and do a search for her and then I saw her coming down the final hill and crossing the finish line with a big smile on her face.
She said it was the hardest thing she ever did. When she finally stopped cursing me out on the trail, she kept telling herself that she could do this, and that is when she actually began to have fun. Even though there were only three riders in her group, I was still proud that she won 3rd place in the 35+ women’s category. She pushed herself beyond her comfort zone and ended up feeling more confident with her riding ability and is now actually looking forward to racing again. She was a little embarrassed to stand up on the podium and receive her medal and two prizes, a new hat and a multi-tool kit.
We headed up to the car for one last minute photo opportunity and then headed home feeling great that we were able to experience this together, but also like we were run over by a truck.
Thanks Evomo for allowing me to share this awesome experience and to encourage others that are asking themselves if racing is for them or not.
Black Bear Cycling sponsored this event and have quite a few pictures in their gallery of this event.
http://www.blackbearcycling.com/gallery/
Additional pictures here at
http://www.pbase.com/ginger_weismantel/wawayandaspringcleaning&page=1
This is a pretty cool helmet-cam video of the 40+ sport category of parts of the course. Most of the technical sections were edited out because the video was too bouncy.
http://www.mydeo.com/videodownload.a…164&CID=185342
Loading ...
I can tell you, many times I have lined up with the wrong group! It sucks. Mostly its cause I arrived to late and the signage kinda sucks so you cant tell who’s in what group. Pretty awesome you moved your way up to 11th, think about how good you will do next time!
That’s awesome Jay! I am so encouraged that Cheryl went out there and gave it her all! She rocked it and she deserves that medal!!!! =D
PODIUM for Cheryl!!! That is awesome!
Racing really can build confidence — and getting ready for a race can encourage a newish rider to put in some serious miles as training. Have fun out there!
Great job guys! Uh oh Jay, just watch it…right after this is when Cheryl will start blossoming into a super fast XC rider. Be prepared to be shocked and Awed!
I say this because Priscilla got super good at riding really quickly!
What an awesome experience for you both! Congrats!!!
you guys are awesome! i am going to have stef read this and maybe she will be encouraged as well! and once again congratulations on your new sponsor!!!
WAY TO GO DUDE