Keepit Real 100

The New England region has been bursting with MTB enthusiasm of late and the inaugural Keepit Real 100 mountain bike race would cap off a great 2013 for many of the cyclists in the region. Centaur Events had teamed up with the landowners surrounding Lake Keepit to bring to the area a unique MTB challenge, with one of the aspects a ride across the Keepit Dam Wall.

Arriving at the Keepit State Park we were greeted with the same warm weather they had been getting all week. We found our camp spot, with a front row view overlooking the lake, then headed to Registration to pick up our number plates and goodybag. The friendly Centaur Events crew had us sorted in no time. Next on the cards, dinner, hydrate and a sleep ready for tomorrow.
 On the morning of the event it was still incredibly warm and with a cloudless sky the sun had an instant bite when it rose. 

Local mountain bike guru David Harris was not only behind the mic but behind the tools for Bicycle Central on Marsh and was super busy in the last hours before race start. Gathering beneath the massive start/finish arch were many master of enduro mountain biking this year, 2^nd place at WEMBO Andrew Lloyd, Croc Trophy rider Pete Selkrig, Shimano MTB Grand Prix Series winner Catherine Wood, just to name a few.

It was a fast start for the 50km and 30km race with a 4km grassy double track loop to spread the field before heading towards the Keepit Dam wall and unknown adventures. At the 3km mark the lead bunch split, we were under pressure from the local road racing talent and I slipped back, staying with a small bunch of local shop and road riders.

Photo: Centaur Events

The Keepit Real course was a mixture of short on-road sections, a whole heap of fire trail, and a mass of open grass sections with just a few narrow single-track/cow-trail thrown into the mix. I stuck with the bunch till we hit the first fire trail and single-track sections, the group started to splinter. When I got to the furthest northwestern section (~15km in) along the shores of the lake I was riding solo, the others had slipped back due to the technical sections or mechanicals. Hundreds of meters in front I could see another competitor, it could have been Selkrig, but the grassy course was hard going and the competitor like a mirage on the horizon.

Have to admit the initial 30km was challenging, not only with the grassy sections but many of the climbs were super pinchy and when I ran out of gears I was hoping everyone else was too. Counter that with the fast loose descents and blind sharp corners you had to be on edge for the next obstacle.

 The 30km mark saw another turn-around point for the 50km entrants, and by all accounts the guys in front of me were all strung out. A few quick glances back would confirm I no longer had a bunch chasing me but just a few persistent riders a couple of hundred meters back. I had burned through my first bottle of fluid; riding past our campsite I was able to offloaded the empty bottle and stash the full one on the bike.

Photo: Centaur Events

The remaining 20km was different to what we had already covered in that there weren’t any climbs or descents. Initially it was a traverse along the lake foreshore before turning right and a series of dirt roads that circumnavigated the State Park, some short single-track and crossing a dry dam. From here we headed to the furthest point on this side of the lake it was at this point I looked back and saw a fellow rider just behind me. I waited just a bit so I didn’t have to ride the remaining 10km solo.

With just a couple of hundred meters to the finish I lead-out and kept applying pressure till my companion backed off and over the finish line we went, crossing the line in fourth and placing third for the Senior Male category. The shade and grass below the Bicycle Central on Marsh tents were a welcome relief after a tough 50km.

Photo: Centaur Events

Thanks to Centaur Events for putting on a great challenging event in a unique location, we look forward to more events from this team.