Prescott Punisher Result - NO DNF!

3rd time's a charm. I finally finished my first MTB race of the season. My goal was to be Cat 1 by this race, but that didn't quite work out. I did end up winning the Cat 2 race though. I'll take it.

The Prescott Punisher took about 1.5hrs and had, maybe, 2k worth of climbing. The temp was cool in the high-40s, but fresh at 6k ft elevation in the pines. I heard plenty of details about the course beforehand, but nothing beats a pre-ride. Fortunately, I did squeeze in one lap prior to the race. Great move! The course had a couple of medium-ish climbs and lots of little pops. I'd say it was an exercise in cadence and shifting. As in, high cadence and lots of proper shifting. The course was loose and dry.

I got to the trail head in 3rd position, waited for the first 3min, then surged to the lead. I got a pretty good gap going into the first downhill section...then took a crappy line and had a super subtle crash. Fortunately no injuries or bike issues! 2nd place passed me, but I was right on his wheel. Coming up to some traffic from other waves of racers, I took advantage and surged again. That was that. I road the second lap faster than the first, but had some mechanical issues on the third lap. Coming through the feed zone prior to the final lap, I noticed my front fork air was getting low. Typically if this happens it goes dead flat. I decided to go for it anyway. Charge the climbs and keep it upright on the descents. Fortunately, the shock held enough air & firmness to finish off the race. Phew. I would have been mucho pissed with another DNF.

I am really loving the bike right now. Road. Mountain. Whichever. Let's race. I want to move up to Cat 1 on the MTB to test my luck, but the next race is on the same weekend as the first big Xterra of the year. Vegas....which is what I am training for after all. So, yeehaw. Let's do some Vegas off road triathlon. I hear there is some serious climbing on the bike and the run. Uphill is my friend