Like last year, I made sure to get out and help Shaun with the course. Thunder takes quite a bit more work than the standard Wednesday night series. Mostly it just comes down to driving in stakes and running tape but there is some other stuff that needs to happen too. Without any help Shaun would end up doing all himself and I had free time, so really it was about the least I could do. There is also a really nice benefit of helping with the course and that is being able to get very familiar with it before the race.
The course was pretty similar to last year, with a slight addition up on "thunder mountain," the grassy hill across the street
A big, steep, sidehill ride down and then what we thought would be a run up. It proved to be fairly ride-able back up for the faster riders, but definitely added some challenge to the course. After you got back down the hill you were in the back of big sky for some grassy corners and then through the building and back to the start finish.
I thought the course wound up pretty good, but it would be nice to add some other features like a bigger set of stairs, or a flyover or something. That all takes time to build though. The nice thing is that big sky is pretty cool about hosting us and we could build some semi-permanent/movable features if we want and just keep them out of the way in the off season when they have concerts going on.
Last year things didn't go so well for me in the race. I never really felt like I was riding at my best the whole season, caught a cold the last week of racing, and wound up dropping out about halfway through because I felt so bad. So this year this year one of my goals was to not do too much over the summer (I skipped the butte 100), get myself in good shape for the cx season, and try to "peak" for Thunder. Being up in Canada definitely got the "not too much" part down, but the reality was I drank too much beer and didn't ride enough. Then I got back just in time for wildfire season and the smoke was very bad, which kept me indoors more than I wanted. Still, I managed to pull a bit of fitness together and was not too far off where I wanted to be.
I will say that I was glad to not be racing until 8:30, because we went out to grab some dinner after the course was set up and registration done with, and some shots may have been involved. Definitely Owen's fault, and Doug's.
I showed up at around noon to watch the first couple of races and cheer on some friends, and took some pictures, which you can find here.
Then I went home and took a much needed nap. I got there in time to get in a good warm up, do some laps to see how the course had changed, and watch some of the women's race. Then it was time to line up, and I guess I was a little late getting there because I ended up on the back row. Last year the 1/2 and 3 race were done with two separate starts, and I got a front row call-up, which I was sort of expecting again (despite doing nothing to deserve one), so I wasn't really in a rush to get lined up.. This year we all started together, a group of nearly 50, which made things a little exciting. Being at the back and on the edge turned out to not be so bad as there was a pileup at the start which involved the front and center of the cat 3s. Then it's straight up the hill to the off camber descent and "run up" for more potential carnage, but everyone stayed upright. I was even able to ride up it in that big pack. My friend Austin posted a video of that bit on instagram here:
https://www.instagram.com/p/Ba1r-24nL8E/
I'm pretty far back there, but had already moved up a couple spots from the back. I kept going forward for the first half or so of the race but really didn't have any idea where I was in relation to the other cat 3 racers since the categories were all combined. But, I was riding with a group of seemingly fast racers including Evan, so I figured that was a decent place to be.
Then things started to go backwards a bit. I was happy about my line choices and cornering speeds and through most of the lap I was either gaining or not losing time. The climb up to the top was a little slow for me but I was riding the runup well which was faster. But then in one of the slow corners on the grass I felt both tires start to slide and then was on my ass. The grass had gotten a little damp in the evening and was no longer quite as grippy. Usually on grass you have tons of traction available, and at the golf course for example, it's hard to actually carry enough speed into corners to use all the grip. Add some moisture, and fairly old tires, and that is no longer the case. In all, I went down 4 times in that grass during the race, despite thinking I was slowing down after the first time. By the end I felt like I was crawling, tip toeing around corners, making sure I stayed upright. At least I wasn't alone- plenty of other guys had a crash or two. Thankfully slow speed on grass is pretty gentle so there was no damage to me or my bike and every time I was back up pretty quickly. It's still a loss of time though.. Evan and the group I was with got away, and then a few guys started catching me. Eddie got by, and then pretty far ahead, but I managed to pull it together at the end, close the gap, and get back in front of him. I would up 8th in the cat 3 field, which was ok, but I feel like I could have been a couple spots higher up if I'd stayed on my bike. Evan wound up on a second podium for the day in 5th after winning the cat 4 race, and Ivan won. Pretty good for a 14 year old.
By far the best part of Rolling Thunder is how many people are there. Including the juniors and kids, there were something like 400 racers total over the course of the day. Big Sky was pouring free beer and then all the tip money and donations went to prizes for the racers, so the payout for winning was pretty good. Missoula Bicycle Works had a bunch of tents setup along with a bbq, feeding the team racers snacks and providing support. As the day goes on, the races get faster, more spectators show up, and more beer gets drank, so things are pretty wild by the time the 1/2/3 races get going at night. It seems like there are spectators lining the whole course, cheering and yelling your name every time you go by. I even got a dollar handup at the top of the hill, although I skipped the beer and whiskey.
Here's about the only picture of me, thanks Danny
Rolling Thunder is definitely the highlight of the race season, and probably the biggest bike event in Montana all year. Have to thank Shaun Radley and Big Sky Brewing especially, because without them it wouldn't happen. I'm not even mad they ran out of beer by the time I finished racing. I drank enough of their beer for free this year anyway, and didn't feel very good after the race or the next day despite staying sober.
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