Going fast & having fun

Written by: Robert Neary

With the 2024 road race season winding down, I thought I’d mix things up a bit and do a late seasoncross country MTB race called the Keysville MTB Classic, Oct. 12 th & 13 th , which I had never racedbefore.  It has been on the MTB race schedule for as long as MTB racing started, and is one ofthose races all the mountain bike racers talk about.  Hence, the “Classic” designation.  I have alwayswanted to do it, so this was my opportunity.  Keysville is located in the mountains near Lake Isabella in the Sequoia Nat’l Forest, and is about 40 minutes east of Bakersfield.

 I’ve raced several XC races over the years, and was just planning on doing the XC race on Sunday.  However, I got swayed into participating in the All-Mountain Stage Race instead.  It consisted of 3 stages which started with a Downhill Race Saturday morning, and then a Short Track Race (Dirt Crit) Saturday afternoon, and then a Cross Country Race on Sunday, and they all had to be done on the same bike without modifications or weight changes between stages.  The stage race idea sounded interesting and I
wanted to support the MTB racing community, and I was excited to try something new even though it included two disciplines I hadn’t done before.  So, instead of driving up for the day to race, I made a weekend out of it, and my wife Martha eagerly joined.  

The two and a half hour drive from Ventura was a breeze, and beautiful once heading east out of Bakersfield along the Kern River.  I arrived at the venue around 1pm Friday, and was able to ride and recon the XC course and the Downhill course, so I knew what I was getting into.  The weather was great, blue skies, mid 80’s temps, and it
was expected to remain the same throughout the weekend with mid 50’s in the morning. 
After checking in at registration, I found out that only 1 other guy was entered in the All-Mountain Stage Race, and only 5 were registered for the XC Race in my Cat 2 60+ Category.  I was a bit disappointed with the turnout in my age group, but was looking forward to racing something new, having fun, and now only having one other guy I had to beat for the over-all.  
Race day, Saturday morning, I was pretty nervous waiting in line for my turn at the Downhill, even though I had ridden the course the day before, and knew exactly what to expect.  Most of the course was pretty straight forward as far as winding single track.  It had a couple technical rocky sections, one known as the “Snake Pit” with vertical rock walls on either side, and just a few inches wider than my handlebars, and narrow line rutted out trail with rock drop-offs. After reconning it, the day before, I had planned to walk that section, as it just wasn’t worth it to me to get hurt. My motto has always
been when riding a MTB, “I want to live to ride another day”, and that’s exactly what I was thinking in this situation, because I had two other stages to finish. However, when the 3-2-1 countdown started and I was off, my competitive game face racing instinct hit, and I was going for it all-out at a much faster speed I had done the day before. I was descending, and in a good rhythm. I reached the first rocky technical section, and made it through the worst part. However, with the increased speed, I was unable to maneuver my pre-planned line thru the rocks and caught a rock drop-off wrong that
sent me over the bars. I was fast to get right back up and moving again, and was quickly
approaching the “Snake Pit” where numerous viewers were watching and cheering me on to go for it! So, against my pre-decision to walk this section and better judgement, I went for it, and once again I made it through the worst of it, but picked the wrong line around the last boulder drop and ended up going over the bars sliding down the steepest and rockiest part of the course about 20 feet. I definitely put on a show for the viewers. That’s what they were there to watch and I didn’t disappoint. I was humiliated!

Once I got back on my bike, and they knew I was OK, the cheers and encouragements were awesome! I crashed again one more time in a section that was very deep
loose soil that was very different from the day before. It was caused by all the other downhillers that went before me, and all the other practice runs all the other racers had taken since my recon the day before. It was a soft crash and not as photo worthy as my other two crashes. I finished covered in dirt and dust, and bloody from cuts and scrapes which all turned out to be superficial. Amazingly enough, I felt fine, nothing felt broken. I just felt like an idiot! Despite the 3 crashes, I only lost to the other guy in my category by 15 seconds. Not bad for my first Downhill race, Ha-Ha!

With the race I was most worried about behind me, I focused on the Short Track race. I needed to beat my competitor in this event, or else the All-Mountain win would be lost because the stage race was based on a point system. If I win, I’d be tied with him going into the XC race the next day. The course was oval shaped and between a quarter to half mile in distance with sections of deep loose sand in the uphill portions, a couple obstacles ditches, one tight left hand turn that led to a fast
downhill which then led into double jump with an immediate hairpin turn at the bottom of the course. Several race categories were combined for time management reasons and to make the race fun! I was combined with all Cat 2 age categories, Open & Pro, and Jr.’s 16-18 for the timed 20 minute suffer-fest! Definitely the hardest and fastest race of the day besides the e-MTB race. Once the race started, racers got strung out pretty quickly and I could pick the preferred lines. Timing chips were utilized in our number plates to determine how may laps you completed in the 20 minutes and
the winners. I felt no ill effects of the days earlier crashes and ended up lapping my main rival 3 times. So, we were now tied going into the XC race, and the winner of the All-Mountain would be determined by who hit the finish line first.
I later got to thinking. Maybe my competitor dogged the Short Track race and was saving his energy for the XC Race. So, I was a bit worried not knowing his abilities, and the fact I gave it my all in the short track. It was my goal, and I really wanted to win the XC race, as this was the main reason for going to the race in the first place.

The race started once again with combined categories. All Cat 2
age categories started together for 2 laps of an approximate 8 mile loop with mostly single track, rolling hills, and one longer sustained fire road climb. There were also several steep pitchy short single track climbs and a couple technical rocky sections, but nothing as close to difficult as the technical sections of the downhill course. The course climbed approx. 1200ft per lap. Three new 60+ racers entered my category for this race. So, I knew they had fresh legs, but I was determined to win. I had marked my competitors at the start line by their race numbers and what they were wearing, so I knew exactly who I had to beat. The race started on rolling fire road which immediately
led to the longest sustained climb, and at the top of the climb the single track started. I wanted to be ahead of my rivals or right on their wheels at that point knowing I didn’t want to get stuck behind slower riders and that it would be hard to pass. I accomplished that! Of my noted rivals, only one was ahead of me at the start of the single track and I was right on his wheel, and the others were spread out 25 to 50 yards back. However, I never saw them again. I was now really working hard to stay on my lone rivals’ wheel in front of me, He had good MTB skills, and opened up gaps on me a few times that were difficult to close. I kept telling myself, just stay with this guy until the end, and
then beat him in the sprint.

A little past mid-point of the first lap on a straight single track descent I
was trying to close a gap that had opened up again, and my front wheel caught an edge in deep loose soil and I crashed at about 20-25mph. It slammed be down so fast into the upside slope of the single track. It kinda knocked the wind out of me, but I immediately jumped back on my bike, straightened out my saddle which got turned sideways and started chasing. I could see my rival about 100yards up the trail, and I knew I had to close that gap quickly. I think the adrenalin from the crash help me close the gap, and I was back on his wheel in very little time. However, I was now starting to feel the ill affects of the crash. My left side upper ribs were hurting from the sudden impact I had taken in the crash, and I was having a hard time taking a deep breath. On top of that, I was
now also having shifting problems caused by the crash. The chain was jumping around ghost shifting every time I got to a climb. I kept messing with the shift cable barrel adjuster and eventually found a happy medium. Not perfect, but it would have to do. With the pain and difficulty breathing, my goal at this point was just to stay on his wheel as long as I could, and I was doing just that, but, because of my injuries, I was now beginning to doubt whether I would be able to beat him in a sprint at the finish. So, at this point, I was just content on staying on his wheel, hoping to conserve my
energy, and somehow pull it out at the end.

Just prior to coming through the start/finish and the start of the second lap I noticed my rival was beginning to slow. Perhaps he wanted me to take a turn at the front, and he wanted to sit on my wheel for a while. So, I obliged, and pulled ahead of him, and
by the time we reached the start finish I was surprised to see I had a good 25 yards on him, and at the top of the fire road climb leading into the start of the single track of the second lap, I looked back and I couldn’t see him anymore. He had one hell of a first lap. Had he blown up going too hard to get rid of me? That’s the last I saw him the rest of the race. At that point, I knew I had first place wrapped up as long as I didn’t crash again or unless he was able to make a miraculous recovery. I truly didn’t know, so I kept my effort high, bearing through the pain and shallow breathing, all the way to the finish line. I thought I had won the 60+ race as I crossed the finish line, but I heard the
announcer say my name and congratulate me for my 2 nd place finish. How, could that be? After inquiring with the race officials, I found out that there was one late registrant that I was unaware of, and he was ahead of me the entire race. Hard to know, when you have several combined age group categories at the start. I was a bit disappointed, but content with 2 nd place in the XC race, knowing I’d be on the top step of the podium for the overall All-Mountain. I met a lot of nice people, had a lot
of fun, and had a great weekend!