Jon Murray's Battenkill Report

My first ever Battenkill went about as well I could expect.  The first twenty minutes were incredibly easy, the last twenty minutes I began to consider never riding again.  I managed to once again lose the pack after a few miles, so I had to burn up a bit of energy to chase them down.  Once we got into the hilly sections, we formed a nice group.  The only issue was that the group rode a bit punchy, so instead of seeing the advantage of cruising along and picking up people from the lead, there were constant accelerations, mini attacks, only to get formed back up again in a minute or two.  For my part, I wasn't much help.  It was a lot of work for me to just match the paces and I took a few short pulls, but mainly just tried to hang in.  At about 40 miles, amazingly, I was still there.  But once we hit the dirt section prior to Meeting House, I decided it was best to let it go.  And being that my longer rides this winter spring were in the 45-50 mile range, that made sense.  I think the group in general broke up soon after, as I managed to reel in a few, and finished within a couple of minutes of the others, who also ended solo.  The course itself was tough in many respects.  The dirt slowly turned into sand, deep in a few spots, and I got to briefly relive my old motocross days keeping the bike upright as it twisted through the deep loam.  The hills, while not horribly long or steep, were repetitive, and took their toll over time. 

I did get the chance to learn a few new group skills courtesy of some helpful riders in my pack.  I also learned that if I am going to be doing these longer races, I need to do some longer rides, which over the winter can be tough on my family's schedule, so future Battenkills will require some careful consideration.  At the end of the day, I got 17th.  It was a solid placing for me.  I should note that the winning times in our group were faster than three of the five CAT 4 groups, which is interesting (and encouraging I guess too).  I also noted a 2011 defending Battenkill CAT 5 champion in the group!  He did not repeat this year though, finishing third.  Most of the race was fun, and I feel like I have accomplished something that will help me grow as a rider this year.  Bring on... something shorter!