Full Race Report from Waverly, IA

Well, as you have seen in my previous posts, the race was MUDDY:) The above picture shows actually the splash of mud that I throw up with my front wheel, but let me start from the beginning.

Martin and I decided Saturday morning to pack up the car and head out to Waverly, IA. I had heard good things about that race and I want to get more races done this season. Even though, Martin is still not in "race-shape" did he support me and so we went on our first road trip east. We both haven't been that far into Iowa and we actually liked the country side on the first half of the trip. It is a bit more rolling hills and not as flat as western NE.
We got to Camp Ingawanis in about four hours. First thing we noticed was that it was much cooler than expected and VERY windy. We found a spot for our tent and started putting it up, well, better say, tried putting it up. We bought this cool tent-2-sleeping-bag-etc-package-deal that was very cheap, but we had to find out, that it isn't wind-proof:(
Well, before it got too late, I needed to get my pre-ride in, so I got my bike out and went out on the course. Problem was, that there was nobody around to ask, which was the Beginner course and where to start, so I just figured and went for it. The first part of the course reminded me a lot of Lake Manawa. Flat and very fast plus some creeks and that was where I got confused. The flags that I followed ended in front of that creek, no bridge, only a huge pile of soft dirt and debris....heh??? Well, I ended up finding one little flag on the other side of the creek and climbed over the pile....whatever!?! (The next morning they bulldozed it down and it was flat and smooth).
After that part, the climbing started. And I climbed and climbed and....
It also started to get dark but I still enjoyed my ride because that park is so beautiful. I saw all kinds of birdies, chased some deer and finally thought I was getting closer to the finish line. By now it was dark and I am still amazed that I rode some of that stuff in the dark. Well, M and Mr. W were happy to see me and I was hungry.
The night was stormy and we were lucky that it didn't rain then, because our tent is NOT waterproof.
Next morning it was even colder....brrrr and by the time, I changed into my bike clothes, I felt the first drops...GREAT!!

My race started at 10 am and with the race it pretty much started raining. The temperatures had fallen down to around the lower 50ies and I was glad that I had brought my leg and arm warmers.
I am telling you what. After my first few races, one in the 30ies, on in the 90ies and this in the 50ies and rain, I will sit down and make myself a race-gear-list. Covering different weather conditions. Since there is no bad weather only bad clothing:)
Anyway, they started us out on a long up-hill (I suck on those) and then we hit the single track, new trail, soft and even more softened by the rain. Jeff's
presents didn't help. Not because he is a great MTB, no because he had his camera pointed at us and he showed up everywhere...afterwards it is cool to have all those pictures but muddy smiles are hard to do...
Kristin that girl who won, is a road racer (darn roadies...) and she put out a lot of speed. I tried my best to catch her. My HR shows, I tried. My average HR was 166. That is pretty high, even for me. (My max HR was 176)And then in the second part, all those climbs got really mushy, somebody compared them to peanut butter, I don't know, to me it was more like dark chocolate fudge, just doesn't tasted as good. Don't ask me why I know:) I tried and pedaled and pushed and slided and even cursed a bit but I couldn't reach her anymore.
Still put down a good pace (almost 11 miles per hour) and made it without a crash over the finish line. The folks there were really nice and we had a good time.
I felt bad for the Sport and Expert riders, because they really got dumped on. They came out, looking like they had taken mud baths. If you go on Jeff's link above and go on his blog entry about the race you can see some mud covered racers.
Only a water hose could help them...
All in all a good experience, met lots of new people and plan to go back next year. After I worked on my hill-start:)

By the way, this picture is a perfect example to show the difference between mtbiking and road biking in bad weather. Both done this week in the rain with these shoes...see the difference???