Interviews

2nd Place
Pro (Elite)
Senior 19-34
Chris Eatough
Trek/VW East Coast

3rd Place
Semi-Pro (Elite)
Senior 19-34
Todd Helmick
Trek/VW East Coast

1st Place
Junior X
Matt Miller
Chain Gang

2nd Place
Junior X
Alex Horwath
Chain Gang

Last Place
Sport Vet 2
Craig Shaffer
Wooden Wheels

I'm not very eloquent so I will not attempt to write a piece but I am happy to share my experiences which can be summed up in one word “torture”. Of course we’re talking about self-inflicted torture.

It’s amazing the way I can sit on my couch all winter long and think that by reading all the bike magazines, watching all the videos and buying all the best gear that it will miraculously make me a faster and more competent rider. Not so as Camp Mack proved too readily.

I looked around at the start line and there I was among a dozen or so lean and fit looking women (incidentally there were more women racing at Camp Mack than I had ever seen in NJ) with what I felt was the best bike there (my beloved Scalpel). Unfortunately, my trusty steed failed me the moment the starter’s horn sounded.

It failed me as I ground my way up the opening climb falling from a perfect third place, to fourth, to fifth, to six…all the way down. What happened? My bike was supposed to be one of the lightest XC bikes on the market? It couldn’t have been me as I did all the right things except train?!

Two miles into the race and I was wondering how in Gods name I was going to finish the first lap not to mention the second lap (2 laps, exactly 6 miles each with 2,400 feet of climbing) but I kept grinding on despite the perception that someone was dragging knives through my lungs.

I took some comfort when one of the course marshals seeing my obvious pain screamed out “don’t worry everyone else is hurting too”. There were four tough climbs, or was that five? I can’t be sure, as I really don’t count accurately when suffering from oxygen deprivation.

The course itself was a mix of fast hard packed single track, gravel fire roads, with some technical rocky downhill sections (there really did not seem like enough downhill for all the climbing we did). All in all it was a good, tough course (particularly for a season opener) without being too technical. There was a little something for every type of rider as longer as you could climb like a mountain goat.

It was my first time at a Mid-Atlantic Super Series race so I was impressed by how well the event was organized and executed. Well, that’s my two cents on the race. See you at Michaux.