I came looking for Mammoth Enduro flat tire redemption, I left still looking.
I decided on doing the DH race as apart of the Fat Tire Festival just a few days before the race. I saw that the race was 2.7 miles long (on the longer side for downhill) and word was that the course offered lots of technical terrain. Word was right.
I decided on doing the DH race as apart of the Fat Tire Festival just a few days before the race. I saw that the race was 2.7 miles long (on the longer side for downhill) and word was that the course offered lots of technical terrain. Word was right.
I saw a few all-mountain bikes, but a downhill bike would definitely have had advantages at points on the course.
This shot shows a snip it of the rock section that the race started on.
I did multiple practice runs on both Saturday and Sunday. Picking lines through the rock garden was helpful. There were many spots where the lines over boulders looked like they just dropped off, when in fact they had a nice slope of rocks on the backside. On the other hand, there were boulders with absolutely no rock slope and usually gave you little room to turn if you did come sailing off. I did this once and learned my lesson after endoing over.
After .25 mile this section my arms and hands were tired!
This shot shows a snip it of the rock section that the race started on.
I did multiple practice runs on both Saturday and Sunday. Picking lines through the rock garden was helpful. There were many spots where the lines over boulders looked like they just dropped off, when in fact they had a nice slope of rocks on the backside. On the other hand, there were boulders with absolutely no rock slope and usually gave you little room to turn if you did come sailing off. I did this once and learned my lesson after endoing over.
After .25 mile this section my arms and hands were tired!
On my last practice run I was feeling dialed in. Then I went to hop on my bike to get some water and my rear tire was flat. Turns out I had a small sidewall tear. I was able to get the sealant to reseal the tire, but I didn't trust it to hold on the course so I put a tube in. I will be honest, for the next hour or so before the race I was worrying about pinch flatting. Not trusting the tire on this super rocky course. My other options were limited.
I started the race behind the other girls in my division. We were spaced one minute apart. By the time I cleared the rock section I had caught one of the girls. After about 1.5 miles I had caught a second girl. Then bad luck struck again... FLAT.
I wanted to not believe it. I kept riding a little ways and then decided until I get a rim sponsor, I need to get off the bike ASAP to avoid denting my rims.
After putting a new tube in and CO2'ing up I took off at a medium pace, careful to not really rampage any rocks. I couldn't finish at Mammoth, so even though I'd be minutes off the time I wanted, I still hit this dropper and crossed the finish.
The view atop of high camp Squaw Tram. Lake Tahoe is slightly visible, there is still some smoke in the air from the Rim fire.
-Amy Morrison