Token Bikezooka Series, Race #1

Yesterday, I participated in the Token Bikezooka Series. It was the first of 4 races & was a XC Mass Start event. XC stands for Cross Country, just so you know. The race was 24km spread over 4 laps, meaning 6km/lap. I've ridden 24km on road before & let me assure you, 24km on road is NOTHING like 24km riding a mtb. A lot of climbs. Oh, before I talk about the race, the track, etc; the event was held in RRI or Rubber Research Institute. A lot of fun. Thankfully, the mosquitoes weren't so active. RRI is famous for it's mosquitoes... -_-

Anyway, the track was fun, and quite challenging. I rode my dad's Specialized Hardrock Pro instead of my Polygon Collossus AX1.0. My dad's bike is a hardtail -- only front suspension -- XC bike. My bike on the other hand is a full-suspenson all-mountain bike & heavy as hell. If you feel like it, feel free to revisit my old post where I explain the different forms of mountain biking.

The route took us to the peak of RRI & back down. We did this for 4 laps. There weren't that many flats. Those that were tended to be muddy. But not the wet, loose, messy kind. This was the kind of mud you get with well-worn ground. It's soggy, heavy, and the tires really stick to it. The mud itself doesn't catch on the tires. So there were a lot of tire thread marks on the ground. It was kind of interesting looking at all the different tires used by different riders. Hehe.

The track also had equal amounts of steep, short climbs -- really steep ones -- as well as long, arduous climbs. This applied to the descents as well. You know what they say, what goes up, must come down. Though some riders hold to the saying that what comes down must first go up. XD. On the first lap, I couldn't ride up some of the steep climbs because people had stopped and walked & when that happens, everyone else ends up stopping & when you stop, there's no way to continue pedaling up the hill. The later laps were smoother in that sense. Less crowd.

The climbs were really awesome. I was cursing and struggling, yeah, but that's XC. Sadistic little sport. The descents were a whole different story. The fast descents were fun! But when it came to the technical, steep ones, phew. Those were tough. I crashed twice. The 2nd was more serious than the first. After the 2nd crash, I was glad I could finish the race. My calf muscle hurt but thankfully, when cycling, we use our thigh muscles more often. Heh heh.

Despite me falling behind, crashing twice, taking breaks, and pushing the bike up a number of the hills, I still managed to get a placing! Hehe! I got 9th place for my category. Among the top 10 baby!!

I got a bottle cage & frame protector, both from Token. Hehehe! Next race is on 8th May. This one will be a 4-hour endurance. Yeeha. -Gulp-. I'm not sure if I'll join this one. Yeah, it's tempting... But at the same time... 4 hours? Whew. Need to train really hard for that one.