Greenway Challenge Course, deux

Days later than I intended I finally went out for a ride on the Blackstone River Greenway Challenge mountain bike course. The course is somewhere up in Massachusetts, roughly 45 minutes by car from here. The trail is partly newly cut singletrack, partly double track access road, and partly wide, rooty, rocky stuff that is what I imagine the access roads will someday become. The new sections are soft so I hope it doesn't rain on race day. Lots of pungy sticks where the trail builders cut brush and saplings. The trail is lots of fun though! Despite my initial interpretation of the map, there are no sustained climbs or super-tech sections but many twists and turns and short, punchy climbs. Each time I felt like I was going to die (or puke), the trail would level off or turn back down hill. I'd agree with the trailbuilder who said that the mountainbikers would like the course, but I don't think his idea of technical is the same as mine. This is tech-ish, but all rideable and not that scary.

I wasn't sure how to pace it so I went out pretty fast. My time was under an hour, but not by much (next week I'll time myself more accurately). There are very few places where one could pass another rider, though. This might be interesting on race day, what with a hundred-something other people out there. On the bright side, all those riders will berm out some of the turns, allowing higher speeds. Most of the passing lanes are at the beginning, the middle by the sewer plant (again, why is it always about the poop?), or at the end. I'll have to ride accordingly. The tricky bits are concentrated in the last third of the course, complicating my strategy.

Remember, it's crucial that we DOMINATE!!!!