Here is the story: by Hannah Brewer
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Fun course, new kit, podium finish, where do I even begin with the Whitepark Throwdown?
Since everyone and their mom already know that Whitepark is my favorite race course, let’s begin with the new kit. In case you haven’t seen it (hahaha, and we hope you haven’t), it’s CAMO
Three years ago at the Whitepark throwdown (and several races thereafter), some of the ladies started saying things to the effect of “Good race, I saw your yellow sleeves through the trees and just hammered it” , “ugh, yellow sleeves, she’s still right here” or “I saw your yellow sleeves and thought, oh yeah, I can catch her!”
After realizing how difficult it was to see some of the other riders through the trees that had darker, more neutral colored kits, I somewhat jokingly told Henry that I needed a camo kit.
After all, most of the ladies I race with have neutral colored kits:
Trek/Top Gear – Black kit,
Pathfinder of WV- Green & Black kit,
Pro Bikes- Black kit,
Ag3r - GLOW IN THE DARK kit!
It was true that Ag3r dirt riders could not sneak up on anyone in the woods.
And so began the conversation of camo kits.....
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that there was a time during the camo kit planning process that sample jerseys of hunting-style camo kits started showing up in my inbox:
No to THIS...
No to THIS....
...and DEFINITELY NO to THIS...!!!
Note to Self:
Be careful what you wish for because you just might get it.
BUT, being the master kit-designer that he is, Henry hit all of the important elements of a well-designed camouflage kit with the purpose of remaining incognito in the woods without using a traditional camo pattern. Instead, we got the green and black color scheme, the flair of something different, our purple Ag3r logo, and a modern, edgy design that says, “I’m going to Moraine to race mountain bikes not to hunt turkeys.” And this is why I love my team as much as I love racing!
Speaking of loving racing, the WhitePark Throwdown is worth all the hype. Trails were RIPPIN’ FAST, completely dry, and well-maintained. I cut into the woods right behind Nicole Dorinzi, and her teammate, Justine Pagenhardt was right behind me. If you haven’t seen Nicole race, she climbs like a goddess and flies through singletrack seemingly effortlessly. There’s no other way to put it, she is FAST. I knew I couldn’t maintain her pace, but I knew I had to work hard to keep Justine off of my back wheel.
The ladies ended up finishing the race in the same order that they entered the woods, but I had plenty of blonde ponytail sightings throughout the race to remind me to continue to push myself in order to maintain my position. To make things more confusing, Nicole and Justine look a lot alike, especially when flying through the woods – same kit and same long, blonde hair.
I never knew if I was seeing Nicole in the singletrack ahead of me, or if I was seeing Justine in the singletrack behind me....???
If you’ve ever raced Whitepark, you know what I mean – the trails wind back and forth and you often see riders at other spots on the course, but can’t tell how far ahead or how far behind they are.
Lap 1: Blonde ponytail - probably Nicole – nice.
Lap 2: Blonde ponytail -probably Justine catching me – go faster.
Lap 3: Blonde ponytail - don’t care, -go faster either way.
Lap 4: Blonde Ponytail – Henry Dimmick...???!!!
I raced well, felt strong, and finished in 2nd place in the Women’s Pro/Expert 1/2/3 Category.
Whitepark continues to be my #1 ... but I continue to be Whiteparks #2.
WV turf and fast WV ladies, I will take it!
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My Ag3r Teammate Kirk Morrison took the 1st place WIN for the Men’s Masters 55+
The verdict is, these kits work!
HiVIS is for ROADIES
CAMO is for WORMS ;)
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PS -
"Rumor" has it that AFTER the race....and AFTER the clean-up... Kirk realized that he had misplaced his car keys. After lots of looking, they were FOUND.....(in the dumpster) along with all the course marking tape!
Photos by:
Hannah Brewer
Gunnar Shogren
Other Innocent Bystanders
