2012 Thule Urban Assault Race

Dang! After locking my door, I had just realized that the key I put in my seat bag was for my car... but that was a problem because I drove my truck and just locked the door! My helmet, shoes, and water bottles all sat inside the cab. For about 20 frenzied seconds I thought, how am I going to race...there is no time to ride home and get my spare key...dang it all. The dreaded Urban Assault curse strikes again!

Then I took a minute to think and devised a plan to break into my own truck. About 30 seconds later, I had managed to force entry into my truck, which was a bit disconcerting in itself. Luckily it was not a busy street and I had obviously just locked myself out. Crisis averted.

 

I rolled in from Oregon Hill, down the dirt access road, and past the race start/finish in the Belle Isle parking lot. Soon I was headed for the registration tent to pick up my race packet. There were many vendors and interesting display/demonstration tents set up, and at the time I wished I had a chance to check them out. Once at the registration tent I met up with Eric and we got our packets. Soon a familiar crew of Design Physics racers coalesced next to the Tredegar Ironworks visitor center. We all were getting ready and wondered why we were told to pin our numbers on the front of our Jerseys? Plassman don't care, and on the back of the jersey it went.

Bright sun baked the Belle Isle lot and I was glad there was a huge water cooler set up. Racers started filtering in and I got a chance to catch up with the rest of the DPR gang. Our kits looked great and a strong contingent of our team got ready to race.

The expert field lined up and I took position next to Tom. The race announcer took note of all the local teams represented and also noted the local heroes and pro racers in the start chute. As the national anthem rung out, a train was passing by overhead. Then, Wayne Goodman gave the start command and we were off!

The race unfolded quickly with some furious trail riding on the North Bank. By the time I made my way across the Nickel Bridge, my position in the expert race stayed mostly the same and I rode with alone with a gap in front of me and a small gap behind me.

Several key areas on the trail had cheering spectators adding to the excitement. Several times I would hear familiar voices cheering me on, but I was so focused that I would not know exactly who they were. Only watching my GoPro video revealed all the folks who were just a blur, including whoever was dressed up as Mickey Mouse in a Hooters uniform...? I loved the energy those folks gave me as I rode through.

In Forest Hill Park, just after passing the school and headed to the rock wall step up, I clipped my right pedal on a root and arced over the bars at high speed. Ouch! After a few seconds, I picked up my bike, turned the front wheel around, back to facing forward. One racer slipped by me while I adjusted my GoPro to point in the right direction again. Then I got right back on and returned to racing. It was not until later after the race that I noticed some sore ribs and all the patches on my body where I had taken a beating.

The second lap of the race was fast and really fun. For me, no major incidents took place and I really enjoyed crossing the finish where I talked with Tom about the race.

As all the riders filtered in I spoke with my team mates and gathered war stories of the day. Tom had suffered a crash and his bloodied fore arm bore the marks. Paul was in a daze and explained he had taken a tree on head first, yikes! Lots of other great race action was had by all the DPR racers.

We had some great results and represented our team and sponsors well.
Sonya   2nd Sprt
Lisa      5th Sprt

Byron   1st Beg  19-29
Craig    4th Beg  30-39
Matt     3rd Sprt 19-29
Erik      4th Sprt 30-39
Damon  11th Sprt 30-39
Jason   13th Sprt 30-39
Dave H.15th Sprt 30-39
Jim       3rd Sprt 40+
Joe       2nd Expr 19-29
Jeff       4th Expr 30-39
Tom R. 4th Expr 40+
Paul     9th SS

Full results: http://resultsarchive.active.com/pages/displayNonGru.jsp?rsID=128479