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The temperature was 16 degrees and the air was still as racers
arrived to sign in for the first wave. Then a light breeze came out of
the south and fine snow began to fall during the warm-up laps. As the
race started, it was warm enough for the snow to be slippery. Mike
gets the UtahMountainBiking.com canopy ready for arriving team members. |
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Jason brought three bikes. I brought the mountain bike as a backup,
remembering multiple falls during the last snow race. But after
test-riding a lap and comparing speed with my cyclocross bike, I rode
the race on the CX bike. Two 307s sit side-by-side
under the UMB canopy. |
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The race started southbound along the west edge of the parking lot.
There was the initial sprint to the road, right turn, right turn, then
north along the west fence of the park. Before turning back, riders went
all the way to the road in front of the Sports Complex. Mike
Engberson and Shane Horton prepare for the start of the Men 35-plus B
group. |
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At several spots, the loop merged onto sidewalk. Two treacherous
tire-tossing edges were hidden under the fresh-fallen snow. There was
one stretch where super-slippery patches of glaze ice were hidden under
the flakes. Bruce Argyle powers the bike along the
sidewalk. Yes, that's sidewalk. |
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The trail came all the way back to the canopies, following a course
parallel to the outbound route. Mike and Shane are 1/3
of the way through their first lap as they approach the south end of the
park. |
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Now the course came to two barriers formed of bales of straw. Some of
us learned during the pre-ride NOT to put a foot on the bales. The twine
on the bales was perfectly positioned to catch your cleat and dump you
face-first into the snow. Corey Spencer jumps the first
set of bales in the Men 35C race. Corey assures me he wasn't trying to
start a new leg-fashion fad, but had simply suffered a wardrobe
malfunction. |
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Some riders learned the hard way, during the race, not to put a foot
on the bales as they jumped across. With their square contour, the
bales required a different jumping technique than wooden barriers or
logs. Joe Benson, also in 35C, gets to the second set
of bales. |
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The jump seemed to get higher and longer with every lap. By the end
of the second wave, the bales were breaking apart as riders failed to
clear them. Jason Sparks lands the second jump during
the Masters 45-plus race. |
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The snow made for fun riding. Although there were slippery spots, the
cold temperatures and frozen ground helped tires hold to the surface. Race
spectators enjoying perfect weather. |
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The race loop snaked north to the far end of the park, then came back
south along the creek. Here were a couple of tricky turns in the trees. Jason
hits part two of an S-turn in the trees. |
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After again reaching the southern end of the park (right next to the
parking lot entry), the course turned northbound for some high-speed
riding on sidewalk. Mike cranks along the curved fence
that partitions off the ball field on the southeast end of Barnes Park. |
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At the middle of the park, the route turned around some trees and
made a 180 back to sidewalk. It followed the circular sidewalk around
the fence in the center of the park. On this sidewalk were patches of
glaze ice hiding under the snow. Shane Horton reaches
the south end of the park, with the creek in the background. |
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When the course passed the north end of the parking lot, it turned
south to begin another lap. Rick Morris (Men
55-plus) cranks through the final 90-degree turn to begin his next lap. |
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One big highlight of the race was watching Jason Sparks widen his gap
over the Masters 45-plus field to take the win. Congrats, Jason! Jason
gets the top tier on the podium. |
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This was the final race of the season. The snow helped give this
last event the feeling of "hey, you're done." UMB
bikes hide from the weather while their owners are getting snowed on. |
