Hwaseong Circuit Race 화성교통안전대회

Last Saturday I did a 40km circuit race at a car testing track in Hwaseong about an hour west of my house.  The course was flat 5km oval and we had 8 laps.  I was in the men 20-40 mountain bike division.

My teammate Yeon Deok and another rider Hyeong Mo Lee were the 2 other fastest riders in the race.  I knew Hyeong Mo would attack so I made sure to cover.  He attacked on the first lap but was reeled back in every time.  I countered one of his moves and got in a group with 3 other riders but we weren't going fast enough to stay away.  Hyeong Mo caught us and immediately attacked.  I knew eventually he would get away so I jumped on his wheel and after a few hundered meters we had a pretty decent gap on the pack.

My teammate Yeon Deok was sitting in and the chase was pretty disorganized.  Because the course was soo flat and long we could see the pack behind us but at one point we had a pretty large gap.  We worked together until 10km (2 laps) to go and then Hyeong Mo started attacking me.  I wanted it to come down to a sprint so I just kept jumping on his wheel.  After 5 or 6 hard attacks from him I was getting pretty tired.  Going into the last 2km I thought it would come down to a sprint.  He saved his best attack for last though and was able to gap me by about 5 seconds or so going into the last km.

So I picked up my fourth second place finish of the season.  I was still pleased with the result because I'm not sure I could have done anything differently to win.  Hyeong Mo's attacks were extremly strong and I'm not sure I could have even beaten him in a 2 up sprint.

Another rider from the pack attacked and took third while my teammate Yeon Deok won the field sprint for 4th.  There was also a TTT after the road race but my team didn't have enough interest from our members to race.  We also had one girl (Michelle) in the race and she won the women's road bike division in a photo finish to pick up her first win of the season.

This weekend I'm doing my first 100km mountain bike marathon.  The course looks pretty brutal and I'm looking forward to an epic race.


지난 토요일 나 화성 교통안전대회탔어요.  나 남자 A 그룹으로 탔어요.  나랑 연덕형 같이있었어요.  코스가 8바귀이얐어요  1바귀 5키로 그리고 게속 평지았어요.

시작했을때 어택 좀있었지만 다 못갔어요.  나도 한번 해봤지만 우리 2키로 정도 타고 팩 다시왔어요.  2번재 바귀에서 이형모 형 어택다다했어요  우리 빨리 50미터 앞에있었어요.  그다음 20키로 같이 다렸어요.

8키로 남았을때 형모형 어택시작했어요.  나 다다할수있었지만 너무 힘들었어요.  마지막2키로 에  형모형 너무 힘이쎈 어택했어서 나 못다다했어요  한 10초정도 뒤에 2등했어요.  그리고 연덕 스프린트이겨서 4등했어요.  1등하고싶어지만 이번은 잘탔어요.  우리 팀 미쉴 누나 도 너무 잘탔어요  포토 피니쉬로 1등했어요! 

이번주말에 나 100키로 박달재 대회탈거에요! 너무 힘들거같아지만 재미있을거에요!

Muju Resort Mountain Bike Race: 2nd Place again!!! 무주 대회: 또 이등했어요

Last Saturday I raced the Sam Chun Ri Muju Race. The race was held at one of the biggest ski resorts in Korea, Muju Resort and the main sponsor was SamChun Ri which is the biggest chain of bicycle stores in Korea (There is basically one or 2 in every single town). The atmosphere was similar to the NORBA National Series races which I did a few of when I was a junior. Lots of people and vendors as well as a whole range of races (XC, Downhill and 4 Cross).

My race was super short at just 12km but the course was pretty brutal. It started with a 1km or so climb up the ski hill which was super bumpy and rocky. After a descent with some single track it climbed back up the ski hill for another kilometer before descending to the finish. I ended up second in my age group. The winner was a really strong Korean rider who is an excellent climber. I could see him the whole race but he kept pulling further away from me on the climbs.

I really enjoyed the race. It was a lot of fun to race on a more traditional XC style course and watching the downhill race was a blast.

After coming back on Saturday I decided to go for a long hike Sunday with a few friends. We did a mountain ridge that I had been wanting to hike for a while. I parked my car at the base of the mountain and we hiked it all the way to the nearest town (about 7 or 8 miles total) and then took a taxi back to my car. It was a really nice hike and I found some forest roads that I need to come back and explore on my mountain bike.

This weekend I'm racing at a car testing track. Its a 40km road race and I'm entering the Mountain bike on the road category. Hopefully I can break this streak of second places (this is my third of the year) and get a win!

지난주말에 나 무주 대회탔어요! 무주 대회 너무 재미있었어요. 옛날 미국 전국 시리즈 NORBA Nationals처럼 다운힐,크러스컨투리 랑 포 크로스 다있었어요! 내대회 좋았어요. 나 2등했어요. 일등 하는사람 계속 앞에 볼수있었지만 업힐 너무 빨리 타고있어서 나 못 다다했어요. 코스 마음들었어요 너무 힘들지만 미국 스타일 코스이얐어요.

대회끝나고 일요일에 친구들이랑 등산갔어요. 우리 코스 백암 구봉산이얐어요. 내차타고주차했어요 4시간 정도 등산하고 백암신내 왔어요. 택시타고 주차장 다시 갔어요! 코스 너무 아름다웠어요 그리고 새 자전거 탈수있는임도 두개 찾았어요. 나증에 산악 자전거 타로 다시 갈거예요!

이번주말에 나 교통안전대회신청했어요. 나 MTB 타로 신청했어요 우리 팀 TTT 타고싶은사람이없어서 TTT 못타요. 무주 대회 이번 시즌 나 3번째 2등하는거 이야서 이번주말에 꼭 일등 해볼거예요!!

Incheon Rally Race Report: 2nd Place! 인천 랠리 리포트: 2등!

On Saturday I raced in the Incheon Rally. I did the mountain bike category. The course was 35km or so with 4km of dirt road through a construction area. It was an out and back lollipop so we did 2km of dirt on the way out and 2km on the way back.
The race started out with a lot of attacks and but I knew nothing would stick until we hit the dirt. I went into the dirt in 3rd place behind Hyung Mo Lee(2nd place at the Tour de Korea and a super strong rider) and my teammate Ji Haeng. Hyung Mo set a brutal pace and after the dirt we had a decent gap on the rest of the group. Unfortunatly my bike was having some problems and the chain was skipping and jumpint like crazy. Also Hyung Mo and Ji Haeng were pulling so hard I could barely keep pace just drafting!
Going into the dirt again I knew Hyung Mo would attack so I stayed on his wheel but when he attacked going into a gravel pit I couldn't grab it. He had about a 5-10 second gap going back onto the road on me and Ji Haeng. We chased hard and with 2km to go I asked Ji Haeng to give it his all. I would attack with 400m or so to go to try to pass Hyung Mo but I came up just a few meters short at the end. I was really hoping to get a win but second and third place for my team is still great. I was also just happy to finish the race with out breaking my chain since it was skipping so much!

This weekend I'm racing at Muju resort in what is supposed to be the biggest mountain bike race in Korea. It has XC, Downhill and 4 Cross racing. I'm looking forward to testing myself against the best mountain biker racers in Korea and to racing on a more American style course.

지난주 토요일에 저 인천 랠리 대회탔어요! 나 산악자전거로 신청했어요. 코스가 35키로 정도이얐어요 그리고 4키로 정도 임도있었어요.
시작 부터 어텤많이있었지만 임도에서 제일 힘들부분 같았어요. 임도에서 나, 지행형 이형모형 같이 앞에갔어요. 임도 끝날때 다든사람 다 없어졌어요.
내 자전거 체인에 문제좀있었어서 타기 힘들었어요. 앞에서 못 나와서 그냥 지행형 형모형 다다했어요. 임도 다시 탈때 형모형 어텤 해볼거같았어서 잘뒤에 붙었지만 Sand pit 에서 일어버렸어요. 지행형이랑 같이 해봤지만 못잡았어요. 마지막이키로에 지행형 앞에 너무 열심히 달렸어서 나 400m 에서 스프린트시작 하지만 형모형 일초 뒤에 피니쉬했어요. 포디엄이렇게 나왔어요 형모형 1등 나 2등 지행형3등.
1등 하고싶지만 2등도 괜찮았어요. 체인 안 불어졌어도 다행이얐어요! 이번주말에 나 무주대회 나가요. 너무 재미있을거같아요. 한국에서 찐자 XC 스타일대회 타본쪽없어요! 그리고 한국 제일 잘타는 산악자전거 선수들 다 나올거야서 재미있을거같아요!

Upcoming races! 곧 하는 대회!

This past weekend there weren't any races but I got a lot of good training in.  Friday after work I explored a new mountain bike trail I had been wanting to ride.  Its a dirt road to the top of a mountain that is used for para gliding (jumping off the mountain with a parachute!).  The forest road up was great and I figured there would be a nice single track downhill but all of the trails I found were either too steep or too rocky to ride.  The road ended up connecting to another forest road loop I like to ride though and I rode that down and back home. 
Saturday I rode together with Aaron, Chuck and Luis from the Osan Air Force Base.  We got a good 4 hour ride in with one nice climb.
Sunday I did a 3 hour mountain bike ride on two of my favorite trails in the area.  The first has a long steep forest road climb up through the Yangji Pine Resort(where I ski usually) then has a 6km long section of awesome technical single track.  Next I rode south to Munsu san which has a nice 10km double track loop around the mountain.  Both of the climbs were brutal (forest roads with over a 10% average grade for 2-3km each) but have great downhills.  

I needed to get some good training in because I've registered for races each of the next 4 weeks.  Next Saturday there is a 40km circuit race in Incheon that should suit me pretty well.  The next week I will be racing the XC race at the Samcheon Ri Muju race.  This is supposed to be the biggest mountain bike race in the country.  It has a full slate of racing with XC, Downhill, and 4 cross.  Most of the mtb races here are marathon style (one big loop with mostly double track) but this one is more traditional XC with a 6km loop and some single track. 
The next weekend there is a TTT in Hwaseong about an hour from my house.  I did this race last year too.  Its held on a 5km oval used for testing cars.  Not the most interesting course but a good place to hold a TTT. 
Finally the first weekend in June I registered for the Bad Dal Jae 100km mountain bike race.  I've never done an mtb race this long before (except one 12 hour race when I was 16) and I'm really excited.  Typically long races like this aren't really my thing but I think just riding the course itself will be an accomplishment. 
I'll post here again after the race in Incheon this weekend!

지난주말에 자전거 많이 탔어요!  금요일에 학교끝나고 새 산악자전거코스 타봤어요.  용인 파라그라이딩장 가는 임도 탔어요  힘들지만 정산 너무 아름다웠어요!  정상에서 탈수있는싱글 찾아봤지만 타 못타는거이얐어요.  다른임도 타고 금오리까지 탔어요. 
토요일에 미국 항군 친구들이랑 4시간 도로 탔어요.  언덕 한개 어러갔어요.  일요일은 혼자서 내가 좋아하는싱글코스 탔어요.  양지파인 올어가는임도타고 6키로 정도 재미있는싱글타고 묵리 임도 코스 도 탔어요.  둘다 힘들지만 재미있었어요! 
다음주 부터 대회 다시시작이야서 훈련 많이했어요!  다음주토요일 나 인천래리 mtb 로 탈거예요!  코스 내스타일 이야서 잘타고싶어요!  그다음에 나 삼천리 무주대회 탈거예요.  무주 타본쪽 없지만 미국 대회 처럼 있을거같아요.  5월26일 교통 안전 TTT 도 탈거예요!  마지막신청 하는것 박달재 100키로 산악자전거 대회 신청 했어요.  월에 나 킨 코스 잘못 탔지만 이것 너무 재미있을거같아요!  인천 대회끝나고 여기에서 리포트쓸거예요!