September 18, 2018

MORE Peninsula Run 2018

This past weekend round 6 of the MORE series took place on a peninsula at the Lake of the Ozarks. Camp Sabra is located in Rocky Mount, MO… Let’s just say there was some truth to the name of the town. MORE is a two day event and most races I will race three different classes. I remember enjoying this property the year before and was super excited for this race.

During my practice lap, I just could not believe how many loose rocks this place had! It was insane. A lot of the trail is on the edge of the giving riders plenty of opportunity to see some up close views or as one rider did last year, plunge into the lake bike and all. Overall, the trail flowed well with a good mix of things but did not have many places that were not brutal.

Saturday, I race in the Sportsman Intermediate class. For the first time all year, I had a decent start and was towards the front of the pack.. The first ¼ mile was zig zag trail through the cabin area. Suddenly, there was a sharp right corner behind one of the cabins. It was only wide enough for one bike to fit (single file line), to the left was a concrete retaining wall about 6 feet high and then to the right was the cabin wall. Literally, the entire class (20 riders) were piled up like a herd of cattle trying to get through. I lost 4 or 5 positions right there. At the end of the first lap, I was in 11 and by the end I found some good lines and passed into 9th. Overall, I felt really good on the bike but it sure was hot.

Saturday afternoon, I race Ladies A. I was the only lady signed up in that class so I just tried to have fun!

Sunday, I race in B on the long course. The trail was the exact same as Saturday’s race just more beat up and loose rock. I had another decent start putting me into 4th. I stayed in that position for the entire first lap and part of the second. I was feeling really good but started to notice I had no traction. I was not for sure what was up until I had a mishap on a hill falling back to 7th. I happened to look at my tire and noticed I had no knobs left! My first thought was, what the he!!, I guess this is my problem. I was not very thrilled about the situation but quitting over a bald tire was not going to be an option. I sucked it up and continued on. I made one pass and another guy quit so I ended up finishing 5th.