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Rhett's Run Mountain Bike Race/ Mudfest

5/19/2010

 
Last weekend was the 11th annual Rhett's Run Mountain Bike Race in Columbia, MO. The days leading up to the race had a lot of rain and I knew the 4.5 mile course was going to be muddy. When I stopped in at Mesa on Friday, Dave Breslin said to have mud tires on the bike for the race. I  took his advice and got some better tires. I got a 2.3 Specialized Eskar in the front and a 2.25 Maxxis Ardent in the back. Both are more All Mountain tires, but they were a huge help in the race.

Last Sunday, after I registered and got my shirt, I went out and pre-rode about 1.5 miles of the course. It was muddy, really, really muddy. The trail was rocky and rooty, but there was still muddy everywhere. This was a pretty big race for the Junior category; there were nice racers. After the start, I entered the singletrack near the back. The other juniors were sliding around and almost falling a lot on the muddy grass on the way to the singletrack. On the first downhill, they all started to bunch up. Soon after that, I started passing some of them on the first climb. For the rest of the climbs on that first muddy, slippery lap, I passed the other Juniors until I was in second. For the second lap, I kept up my pace and stayed in second. I rode most of this lap with a Marathon rider who flatted earlier in the race. I crossed the line in about an hour and 10 minutes. Pedaling through 9 miles of mud felt as hard as biking 20 miles on the road. I was happy with how I did, I felt pretty good overall and beat 7 other people. Hopefully the rest of the races will be more like Rhett's Run and have more than one other Junior.
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I hate mud
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I had lots of bike cleaning to do after the race

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    Author

    My name is Ben. I love to read, hike, backpack, mountain bike, rock climb, and mountain bike race. Since there are so many great hikes in Missouri, I decided to make  a website to describe them.

    The Mountain Bike

    I ride a 2010 Specialized Rockhopper Expert 29er. I've upgraded all the original parts, went 1x9 and dropped 5lbs from the stock bike.
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    My Road Bike

    I have Willier Izoard for road riding and racing. 
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    My CX Bike

    I ride a 2010 Specialized Tricross
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    2010 Race Results

    River Trails Mountain Bike Challenge (Kansas)
    1st Junior 15-18

    Tilles Park Crit
    5th Juniors 10-18

    Delmarvelous Crit
    5th Juniors 15-18

    Greensfelder Challenge
    1st Juniors 15-18

    Rhett's Run
    2nd Juniors 15-18
    2009 Mtb. Race Results

    ICCC Castlewood Race
    5th Beginner 19 and under

    Greensfelder Classic
    5th Beginner 19 and under

    Burning at the Bluff
    3rd in Burnin Virgins  Category 


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