What, No Firecracker 50 report?

[bstrick]

I got my ass kicked. One lap wonder and not feelin' so good about it. Somebody tell me they did better. SS rigid hurt pretty good. Am I stupid? Or should I just train harder? Humble me!

[gotdirt]

i didn't race, but a friend of mine did...

he's pretty d*mn fit and quite fast, and he said it was tough (harder than leadville silver rush). he came in under 5: (expert class) but told me about a new course record by someone on a SS (just over 4: i think?). crazy. he said the course was awesome (lots of singletrack) but hard.

i've downloaded the course map and plan to ride it sometime this year (though one lap should suffice).

[sportsman]

It didn't rain!!!!!

and it wasn't dusty and loose!!!!!

SS rigid was excellent, although I wouldn't have minded a shock (or 29 inch wheels) for descending nightmare or the rocky road descent between the two way section and the ST at the end..

a few pictures from the race can be found here

[miSSionary]

I got my ass kicked. One lap wonder and not feelin' so good about it. Somebody tell me they did better. SS rigid hurt pretty good. Am I stupid? Or should I just train harder? Humble me!

Ha ha ha, same here so don't worry. I turned a 2:30ish lap on my single. Felt good about it untill I found out it was not a 2ish lap. Seriously though, we (my partner and I) did our laps in the same time and got last in our class. We felt we did good laps so no biggie, I felt great all day and had fun. Don't worry, @$$ kicked this race, first next...it's a fine line.

[edemtbs]

Ha ha ha, same here so don't worry. I turned a 2:30ish lap on my single. Felt good about it untill I found out it was not a 2ish lap. Seriously though, we (my partner and I) did our laps in the same time and got last in our class. We felt we did good laps so no biggie, I felt great all day and had fun. Don't worry, @$$ kicked this race, first next...it's a fine line.

It's all about the fun, that's what counts. Great job everyone!

A friend of mine chose this race as his first ever mtb race and he finished with a time of 6:18 hrs. - I'm so proud.

Ed E

[Flooredsubaru]

I did the shorter race. after desiding on Sunday instead of watching I might as well race. It was my first race so 5th/7 in Beginner Men 19-34 and 25th/32 out of all Beginners was not too terrable. I am thinking about doing a Team next year, then solo year after. Very Very well put on race. I loved it. The day was perfect for being on the bike.

[HOser]

Thanks, Big Ed! I really appreciate the support and advice, it really helped.

I did the full 50 miles in 6 hours, 18 minutes, and it was the toughest, most rewarding experience I've ever gone through. It was my first race, and I wasn't sure what to expect - I did my best to prepare as well as I could, and it turns out I did OK. I'd recommend this race to anyone, it is extremely well supported, and there are volunteers and spectators all over the course supporting you with food and water, and just as important, yelling encouragement. Also, I wasn't prepared for the camaraderie among all the racers - what a great group of people. Lots of friendly chatting, calling back warnings about pile-ups or muddy spots, etc. There were even several cases of people giving away their mini-pumps and tubes to other racers who needed them.

I was in Breck Sunday through Thursday - Sunday and Monday had pretty heavy rain, I was prepared for a miserable time on Tuesday, but the cycling gods were merciful, it barely sprinkled. The course was sloppy in just a few spots, overall it was firm with great traction.

I expected the start (leading out the parade) to be fun, but it was even better than I expected. I high-fived a few kids on the way, waved to my family who was there to support me, and then we were off. The course description says the total climbing was about 11,000 feet, and frankly I had a hard time believing that was an accurate number, but I believe it now, the climbs were tough. But getting to the end made it all worth it.

I raced in the Sport class, which started just behind the Expert women. I ended up near the back of the Sport pack, but followed a few of the Expert women through much of the course, and they are some smart riders. They set a conservative pace from the beginning but carried it through the whole ride. I tried to do the same, and it helped me go the distance.

Now I'm hooked to this endurance racing thing, and I've got the Firecracker 50 to thank (and Big Ed, too), and I hope to ride harder and longer in the coming seasons. Again, thanks to Jeff and all the volunteers, the F50 was a very well run and positive event, on a great course in a great town.

One last thing, big props to the singlespeed riders. I don't know how they pulled off this course on a SS, but they did - there's a fine line between the love of a challenge and insanity, those SS guys might be over it. But either way, they are tough.

[edemtbs]

Thanks, Big Ed! I really appreciate the support and advice, it really helped.

You da man HOser!! See you in Laramie, a much different course but the same good vibes and fun. After FC50 you will be well prepared for it. Good luck!

=edit= Oh, and we'll get you on a ss someday, don't you worry about that

Ed E

[silverstreak]

I raced Beginner 19-34 also and ended up in third. I thought we were all racing together since they didn't mark our legs for the different age groups. I'm kinda glad we were separated, there were some guys in the 35+ group that were close to 30 minutes faster....

I'd like to do the team deal next year also. 14 miles was kind of short and 50 is way too long for me.

[Endo King]

I races sports men team. My first time doing this race. It was a great race. Very well organized. Ditched the camelback, and hit the aid stations. The climbs, were tough, French Gulch kicked my butt. As someone else said, the camaraderie between riders was cool, the the downhill was a blast. I was afraid it was going to rain, as I had heard about all the rain previous to the race. It rained most of the day Monday when I got into Breck. Definitley worth doing again

[Soloracer]

Thanks to who ever was sitting at the end of the pavement with the wiskey shot-- it hit the spot, next time PBR please...

[sportsman]

Thanks to who ever was sitting at the end of the pavement with the wiskey shot-- it hit the spot, next time PBR please...

the whiskey shot was great! the perfect rehydration for the climb

[IttyBittyBetty]

Check it out here:

http://jesperperl.com/words/fc50/