Boalsburg, PA
June 11, 2016
Probably one of our favorite races ever!Just one week after Transy-sylvania Mountain Bike Epic (TSE) Joël and I returned to the trails of Rothrock State Forest for the Rothrock Trail Mix, put on by Happy Valley Biking. This is by far one of our favorite races. The course is awesome, the post race food tasty, post race beers thirst quenching, and good awards all make this race worth the journey.
The van had recently undergone some renovations and changes to the sleeping area, so we excited to try it out. The changes were planned to give a larger sleeping platform, added storage room, and a more comfortable traveling area for Cliff. After spending the night in the van in an unmentioned parking area, we cooked breakfast on the camp stove and felt ready for a day of racing.
This race includes many of our favorite trails; my favorite trail ever Tussey Mountain is part of the race. The course is primarily single track, which we enjoy, the more rocky single tract the better. Unfortunately this year John Wert, a notoriously difficult section of trail, was not in the race due to road construction on the gravel road leading up to it. The race director put in a valiant effort to find a way around the construction; but nothing could be done, the course just had to follow the road. Now, don't let this fool you, I forgot until I was on this section of road that this alternative route is not joke. The road climb is tough!This race was a first for me, I lead from start to finish. With a neutral roll-out for the start I decided to start near the front. Looking around I saw no other women. Where were they? As I wove my way up the first section of single track up Green Shoot I could hear another women back behind me so I knew someone was there but how close or how far I didn't know. So from there on out I just rode my own race. Pushing hard and riding clean, I just kept pedaling along at a good pace. And this plan worked. I finished first woman, almost 30 minutes ahead of the second place female. Joël had some stomach issues in the beginning which put him mid-pack at the start, but once he worked through the problem he was able to work his way back through racers to finish in the top ten.
Post race libations included whoopie pies, sloppy joes, watermelon, chips, and keg after keg of Straub beer. What a great way to reward one's self after a hard day of racing. Thanks to all the race sponsors and Happy Valley Biking for putting on a great race.
-Jess and Joël