It’s July, and the second half of the Portland Mountain Bike (MTB) Short Track Series (http://www.portlandracing.com/) starts this Monday at PIR (http://www.portlandraceway.com/). Short track is cyclocross’ kid sister. The format is similar, just on a smaller scale. Participants do multiple laps on a 3-5 minute course over grassy flats for about 25 minutes. Unlike cross, though, you should be able to ride the entire course and the atmosphere, because it’s a weekday night, is more subdued. Races are also less crowded, which makes it the perfect opportunity for those new to the sport or racing. Below are a few more reasons why you should check out this great series:
It’s fun: The motocross section of the course is a rollickin’ ride over dirt moguls, punchy hills, (perfect for catching air, if that’s your jam), and sweeping corners you can rail (Note: To rail in mountain biking is to follow a steady line through a turn, which looks and feels awesome). I know of no other bike race in Oregon with a course like this.
It’s killer training. Short track is a speed workout; an extended sprint that pushes the capacity of your lungs and legs. Yes it hurts and you might feel like ralfing at the end, but in a very short time you will notice a significant improvement in your pedal strength, turn-over rate, and cardio functioning.
Short track will also teach you how to pick good lines. Most trails or tracks have multiple paths you can take, some of which are harder, easier, smoother, rougher, slower or faster than others. Having an eye for lines is a skill that takes experience and practice. However, because you ride the same loop at least four or five times in a race, short track gives you multiple opportunities to experiment with and better understand the numerous ways you can ride a single stretch of dirt.
Free skills clinics: To help newer riders hone their skills and be safe, every week from 4:30 to 5:30 pm are skill clinics, which take participants on a guided bike tour of the course as well as led them through skill drills. The goal is to teach you how to race hard but smart. Furthermore, there are three separate clinics to address the specific needs of different kinds of riders. Elaine Bothe (from the Sorella Forte team) leads the women’s clinic. Ted Byram (from Bike N Hike) concentrates on junior racers, and Ethan Furniss runs the men’s clinic. To participate, you don’t need to preregister, just fill out a series wavier and meet up with your group on the bleachers to the right of the registration table.
Women and junior friendly: Unfortunately mountain biking is dude dominated, which can be intimidating or worse, discouraging, for female and adolescent riders. However, one of the goals of this series is to increase women and junior participation in the sport. To this end, in addition to the free skills clinic, Portland Short Track offers more race categories including a single speed category for women, (the only race series I know that does this), as well as a boy and girl, ages 10-14 categories along with the more standard boy and girl, ages 15-18 categories. These additional groups mean the ladies and the youths have more chances to place and win prizes.
Just to be clear, you do not race alone with your group. Due to time constraints several skill levels are on the course at once. Start times are staggered, though, by skill level, so you do, at least, begin with your group.
It’s a great spectator sport. Since the course is short and tight, it’s easy to see large sections of the races, which are dramatic with lots of passing and jostling for position. Plus there is always some silliness like the unicycle race, or the Summer Casual Race Outfit contest, which is happening this Monday, and the Ultra-Short track team relay, which marks the end of the series.
It’s kid friendly. In addition to having extra adolescent categories, Portland Short Track also has free kiddie races on a special course. These races take place at 5:40 under the trees. Beginner kids do a short, 1-minute flat mini-loop, and older, expert kids do a more technical 3-minute loop. Trikes, training wheels, and push-bikes are all allowed.
Kids under the age of 10 can also participate in the first Kiddie Short Track Coloring and Doodling contest. Biking enthusiast and illustrator Tomas Quinones created several designs to be colored, which can be downloaded off the website (http://www.portlandracing.com/). Color them at home and turn them in at the race. Winners will be picked this Monday night.
You don’t need a fancy bike, just some knobby tires. Although I have seen folks ride short track courses on cyclocross and BMX bikes, I recommend you do use some sort of mountain bike. It does not, however, need to be fancy. I usually ride my Specialized Stumpjumper from the early 90s, which has no suspension and old-school, v-brakes. No matter, I still have a blast. Front suspension on a bike does make for a smoother ride, but it’s not necessary, and dual-suspension will actually slow you down since the courses are relatively non-technical and so hard-packed (although, if that’s all you’ve got don’t worry, you can still make it work. The one race I won was on a full squish bike).
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Are you convinced yet that this is something you need to try? If so, here are a few pieces of advice:
Pre-ride the course. Every week the course is open for pre-riding from 4 to 5:45 p.m. Generally, there is one line on the motocross section that just about everyone takes, which is why during the pre-ride I try hard to find alternative lines. They generally aren’t as smooth or direct, but knowing more lines gives me more options when I’m surrounded by riders, especially in the beginning
Speaking about passing, that is also what I am thinking about when I pre-ride the course: where are the best places to pass and where it is really tough to pass? Having a passing plan before the race will pay off big time, because short track is as much about strategy as it is about speed. Yes, being a quick rider is an advantage, but it’s not the whole story. That’s want I like most about the short track format. I don’t need to be the fastest girl out there as long as I am the smartest.
Passing and being passed: One of the biggest challenges of bike racing is passing and being passed. In general it is the responsibility of the person doing the passing to communicate with the person being passed. If someone tells you, “on your right” or “on your left,” it should mean that they have a clear line to take and are about to pass you on that side. All you have to do is hold your line. Sure you can try to move over to give them more space to pass, but you don’t have too. Remember, you have just as much right to be on that course as anyone else; being slower does not mean your race is less important. As a curtsey, if I hear someone approaching from the back I try to move over and give them space, but if that’s not possible at the moment I don’t sweat it. I should mention too, I only do this if I know the rider is not part of my category. If a competitor coming up from behind, I make her work for it.
If you want to pass someone but do not have the space you can say something to the affect of, “when you have the chance, I would like to pass.” Be careful, though, of such politeness, especially if they are a competitor. If someone says this to me, and I think they are part of my category, my response is not to make way, but rather to speed up. For this reason, I tell people if I am not in their category, so they will be more likely to work with me on the pass instead of fighting it.
Stay on the outside: Short track races start on a gravel road then turn to the left or right onto single track. The gravel stretch is not very long, which means there is a large pack of riders making that first turn, which inevitable leads to a bottle neck and some participants might be forced into a stand-still. The best way to ensure you will not be caught-up in such a traffic jam is to stay on the outside of turns in the beginning. You might have to go out of your way a bit to stay wide, but it’s worth it when you get to fly by the trapped masses.
Sprint off the start: Because it’s such a short course, if you want to be competitive you need to position yourself in the front of the pack from the start, because you will not have the time or space to make up much ground later. I am not suggesting you sprint the entire first lap, though. If you do that you are sure to blow-up later in the race. Want I am saying is start with all cylinders firing for a minute or two, making sure to stay on the outside of the first few turns. The course will become twisty and narrow and riders will be forced into a single-file formation, which should slow down the pace a bit. At this point go fast enough to hold your position, but don’t kill yourself trying to get ahead. Relax until the course open up again in the motocross section. Now take advantage of what you learned in the pre-ride and get your pass on.
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For more information on the Portland Short Track Series, including registration information, check out the website at http://www.portlandracing.com/.
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