Taconic 909

pixychick

pixychick

JORBA: Ringwood
JORBA.ORG
The 909 race is pretty far north for south Jersey folk, but it is a pretty awesome course and well worth a drive. ... one of my favorites! Not super technical but fast and swoopy, not unlike Steweart but a more hilly and more true single track.

https://www.bikereg.com/Net/18679

Also, rumor has it that H2H is allowing 2 drop races since Mountain Creek was added. So if you missed 2, you are not out of the hunt yet! 😀
 
I signed up for this one, but I've never been there. Any one have an address to type into the old GPS?

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Well, I'll start off the Taconic 909 race re-cap. Entered in the CAT 2 40-49 class chock-full of speedy riders. I finished near the back which I expected, but I finished, didn't crash, and felt pretty wiped out at the finish so I left nothing out on the course. Course and trails were super fun, dry and had great flow. Nothing technical on the course, only two climbs that got the heart rate up a bit, real smooth flowy trails the rest of the way. 90% was single track so that was nice to see. The few fire roads offered some relaxing - sorta- just meant you had to push harder to get to the next ST section.
Had a great time - saw a lot of familiar faces and met some new racers that enjoy this sport. Good times!

Mark
 
Yes, some great racing at 909. Since my win at Nationals, I have been in a mental chill mode, but have found that I have been feeling like I am better shape than I thought. I have a brand new Pivot 429 which I raced XC for the first time yesterday. I felt great, and the bike felt like I was cheating, it rode so nice. This bike just goes, uphill or down.

I had a great race leading my class and running just behind the pro women. Then I clipped a tree with my handlebar at high speed near the end of the last lap. Luckily there was no serious damage to me or bike and my teammate was close behind to help me get up and on my way. I was able to ride in without and major problems, but I already knew I would be sore the next day. So it was a good race for me, but I may be off the bike a few days to heal up.
🙂
 
Recap: First ever race for me. Headed up early (out the door by 6 am) for Cat 3 30-39. The scenery on the drive up to this place is incredible which made the hour and 45 minute trip from NJ bearable. Didn't pre-ride the course and I typically ride alone so I had no idea what to expect once things got going. Downed a GU about 10 minutes before the race and had eaten a bowl of cereal right before i left so i figured i had enough to get through one lap. The start was a bit clusterfuckey as they started all riders in all Cat 3 19-39 at once which caused a bottleneck at the singeltrack entrance 0.1 mile down the road. hit some technical climbs right away but felt really strong and passed a couple of riders having trouble. Realized right away that i was pushing it way harder than i typically do but said f*** it and kept pushing. Went OTB on the first descent after someone checked up right in front of me. Was pretty exhausted when i hit the fire road climb and got passed by a couple but managed to pass a few myself. At the top, I got on the wheel of someone from Somerset Bike Team?? and stayed with him through a killer descent that went on forever - really enjoyed this part of the race. He took off at the next little climb. at this point I felt like this :drooling: and hiked a bike like 100 feet of a more techincal portion - passed someone who was having trouble with his front wheel. Was alone for most of the flowy portions towards the end of the race but managed to pass a few more riders before coming out and up to the finish - strava clocked 53 minutes on 6.7 miles. Saw a lot of riders already finished. a few others trickled in after me in my age group so i know i didn't finish last but havent' seen results yet. Great experience and only regret is not racing sooner. . Looking forward to doing it again in a few weeks if possible.
 
anyone see any results?

As they had electronic timing you would think we would see results.

Anyone take pictures of the Cat2s results?
 
Here's a picture of Team Campor at the Taconic 909.

Sorry it was so far away and low res...
 

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Recap and Video

Here's my race recap.
I posted some video of the race at: http://youtu.be/xJKFvs2C-ek

It was a perfect day for racing at the Taconic 909 on Sunday. Sunny day, low humidity and a fun, fast race course.

I raced Cat2:40-49. I started the race pretty far back. There was a fair amount of traffic entering the single track and for the first mile or so until things opened up on the carriage road climb.

I felt pretty good at the first major climb and moved up a few spots. After the single track, I caught a guy that I knew was in my group and we flew down the downhill section, passing a few riders on the way (02:45 into the video). Lots of fun.

I spent the rest of the first lap trading places back and forth with a few guys from my group. Each of us let the other guy pass when it seemed appropriate. I managed to get ahead in this small group going into the second lap and had created what I thought was a pretty good gap.

Near the top of the first climb in lap 2, I realized that one the guys I was racing earlier had caught me. We raced downhill. He stayed right on my tail. We got out onto the carriage road and I knew we were starting the big, second climb of the course. We exchanged a few words of encouragement, and off he went up the carriage road climb. He climbed away quickly enough that I thought for sure that would be the last I would see of him until after the finish.

Soon after I crested the big climb, I caught a glimpse of the yellow jersey I was chasing off in the distance (06:00 into video). That gave me just enough juice to push hard enough to catch up.

When we got to the bottom of the downhill, there's a small stream crossing and a few rocks. The guy ahead of me had a little chain / chain ring flub and I rolled around his right side.

I entered the last section of single track ahead. I tried to push hard enough to put a little space between us, but trying to save just a little gas in case we ended up in a sprint at the finish.

I finished the race 7th out of 20ish racers, just ahead of the guy I was racing all day. For me, it was a great, fun race. It was awesome to have a group of riders of similar skill and fitness level to race with for the whole two laps.
 
Nice re-cap and Great video Tom!! Really enjoyed wathing some of the best single track trails with great flow. Great job on your finish - I finished near the back 20ish in same Cat, had so much fun on these trails so I'm still smilin!
 
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