Race Report: Massasoit Lung Opener

I'll preface this post by saying a mudder I am not. I had ridden this race last year and taken sixth in my division in fast, dry conditions.

It was with great trepidation that I finally pre-regged about an hour before online registration closed on Thursday afternoon. Brandon O'Neal convinced me to do it by casually mentioning something about fair-weather riders. And then Brandon conveniently pulled his back riding two days before the mud-fest. Coincidence?

Of course, there was still hope the weather would improve in the two days before the race, but alas, when I awoke Saturday morning, it was to the steady pitter-patter of rain drops outside. And the rain never stopped.

I loaded my bike up on the car and then Harry's, hoping he would do the kids race. Five of us (my mom and her husband, Cori, Harry and me) squeezed into Cori's Volvo and drove the hour plus in a steady rain. We arrived at Massasoit State Park with a half hour to spare, or so we thought. I walked up to the registration table and found out that they were starting the Cat 2 race a half hour late. I saw Pete Dunn while I was registering. He had decided to race single speed. Probably not a half bad idea given the mud it looked like we were in for out there.

The rain let up a little while I unloaded the bikes. By the time we arrived to the start area, it was coming down harder again. We ran into Karen Potter near the start line. At least I think it was Karen. There was just enough dirt to plant a garden where her face should have been, but a huge white smile was shining through. She grabbed first in the pro race. She gave a few good tips. The thing that really helped me was her recommendation to stay to the outside of the main track whenever possible.


The race went off at 2 pm. It was raining steadily and about 45 degrees. There were maybe 20 - 25 people in the 40 - 49 age group of Cat 2. The race starts up the paved park road and bank left into the woods maybe 1/8 of a mile up the road. About half way up the road I saw riders braking hard. As I passed by the outside, I saw two guys splayed across the pavement. Looked like they were okay and gathering themselves to remount and go. It was kind of funny hearing everyone cursing at the guys laying on the ground. Apparently we were supposed to be mad at them for not knowing how to ride in a pack.

The course is described as a 7.1 mile loop, although this year and last I was measuring it at closer to 7.75. The Cat 2 does two laps.

As we hit the woods I became immediately aware of just how muddy the course was. It was super greasy. My tires were spinning and sliding everywhere. In retrospect, I wish I'd run a little lower air pressure. I was close to the rear of the pack heading into the woods but gained a handful of spots in the first section. There were enough of us running tight enough, however, that we kept getting bunched up at all of the steep ups.



We finally started to thin out and caught a rhythm. It was still crucial to stay focused though, as I was sliding through much of the course. By the end of the first lap, I had taken a few more positions, but was having a hard time looking back at their numbers to see if they were in my age group.

Some of the steep downs were really difficult to negotiate. If you hit the brakes at all you'd just start sliding down at the mercy of the mud and the pitch. It almost seemed like your best bet was to hit the downs without braking and hope not to crash.

As hard as the downs were, there were a couple of super gnarly steep sections that had been nigh impossible in the best of conditions last year. Yesterday there was not a chance. I kept having a lot of trouble clipping back in any time I was pushing my bike up these. My cleats were just clogged with mud and pine needles.

I went into the second lap and picked a couple of people off pretty quick. I met up with Pete Dunn again. He'd gone off with the single speeds in the heat before me. We rode together for a stretch before I pulled away. The single speed looked pretty tough going up a couple of the hills.

Once I pulled away, I was alone for quite a while. I just tried to focus and keep the legs moving. I was definitely losing steam and my confidence wasn't great with the conditions. I managed to grab a couple of younger guys from a couple of heats before me before I started getting picked off by a couple of guys during the last half lap. I hung on as best as I could, getting passed by one last guy hike-a-biking up the last hill. I could see he was in my age group, but had to let him have it.

Once we crossed the finish line, I talked to the guy who just passed me. He seemed to think that we were around 18 and 19 out of 23. That was a pretty big disappointment, but like I said in the beginning, I'm not a mudder. Still awaiting the official results to post.

On top of having a less than terrific finish, this was the first mountain bike race I'd invited my mother to. I'm pretty sure it'll probably be her last. Standing around for glimpses of your son in rainy, raw conditions can not leave a good taste in your mouth.

Harry skipped the kids race, probably smartly so. It was just miserable out there. Funny thing is Friday was beautiful and today was absolutely gorgeous out. But, I guess you get what you get and you don't get upset.


Next race is the Glocester Grind on 5/15. Let's hope for drier conditions there!!!