It’s Almost Gone

And we’re still here.  Surviving the apocalypse wasn’t such a big deal after all, but it turns out that this year was.

My 2012 season started out strong at the Winter Short Track Series in January:

I threw in a couple of extra races on the single speed, posted my fastest lap times out there to date, and even battled through a knee injury to finish fourth overall.  I did all that while carrying an extra twenty pounds of “offseason” weight. 

In February, I took a road trip with Dicky, picked up a new sponsor, and took my single speed to the mountains for the first time. 

March kicked off the Southern Classic Series, and my first race in the series started off quite shitty.  I broke a pedal at the beginning of the race, and somehow managed not to finish last.  The second race of the series was also in March, and despite crashing multiple times and being out of shape I managed to get on the podium.

April was good and bad.  At the beginning of the month we had to say goodbye to our Rottweiler (it still makes me sad to think about it.) That sucked.

The good:  Lunchbox and I did our first Urban Assault Ride together.

It was fun as hell, and we even made a video about it:

I also got to race in the 6 Hours of Warrior Creek.  Although my mind wasn’t in it, I still had an okay time.  That place is pretty rad though.

May was full of races, including the Catawba Riverfront Classic (which I won a few years ago.)  I had a decent showing, but missed the podium by one place.  We took a trip to DuPont, and having a nice relaxing ride in the middle of the season did me some good.  We also did the Mayor’s Ride for Bike Charlotte, and I got in a bunch of miles that month (mostly social, but whatever.)

June, I got to race in another Southern Classic race at Uwharrie.  Once again, I narrowly missed out on the podium.  It was fun and all that, but I was wearing down fast.  Also, I did my first ever endurance race on a single speed.  Eight hours of suffering was pretty cool, and I even finished in the top ten.  I was really starting to love the single life.  I even went on a fun road ride with D-Wayne.

In July, I got to test my love for the single speed thing by making a trip to Vermont for Single Speed USA.  It was a full weekend of riding bikes, drinking, and driving all over the place.  I have some memories there that will stay with me forever.

August got me right back into the Southern Classic Series, and I was ready for that shit to be over.  I was worn out, beaten, and even broke my frame, but managed to somehow slide into second overall for the series for the second year in a row.

Lunchbox and I took a trip to DC too, and got to ride skateboards through the city.

September was pretty much the end of my season, so I started riding more for fun.  D-Wayne and his posse came down from the Triad and we said goodbye to an old friend…Poplar Tent.

I also took a trip down to FATS in Augusta, GA, suffered a concussion in the parking lot of one of our local trails (dumbass), helped with a Dirt Diva skills clinic, raced in the Georgia State Single Speed Championships, and took a demo ride on some killer bikes with Lunchbox.

October was our Take A Kid Mountain Biking Day, and I even “raced” one more time in the 6 Hour Grind on the Greenway.  It wasn’t a great race, but it pretty much fit the rest of my season.

In November, I started spending most of my time at our local gem BYT.  In the middle of the month, I turned forty.  As a gift to myself, I acquired the Death Virus 2012 which kept me off the bike for a while.  Luckily I recovered, and got back on the bike. 

December saw me doing more trail work than actual riding.  Between putting in time at our local trails and also at our “new” trail, I’ve logged many hours of digging in the dirt.    Luckily, I’ve also been able to get out quite a bit for some night riding.  The new trail is coming along quite nicely, and when it’s done I’ll have another place to break shit and crash repeatedly.

So yeah, that pretty much sums up my year.  It wasn’t great, but I didn’t have any high expectations anyway.  I’ve logged almost 1,400 miles this year off road, and with any luck I’ll add a few more this weekend.  My goal was 1,500, and with everything that went on I guess that’s not too bad.

Well, I suppose all that’s left is to wish y’all a Happy New Year.  Hopefully next year is a lot better for me…and you (if yours sucked.)

I’ll see y’all back here next Thursday.