Third Time’s A Charm

I’ve mentioned before that I was “un” “retiring” from XC lap racing.  I wanted to give the Southern Classic Series another shot and see what could do.  Sure, I got burned out back in 2012 when I last raced in it, but maybe I wasn’t in a good place mentally or something.  Who knows.  With a lofty goal of doing the whole series (after missing the first race), I kicked off my “un” “retirement” yesterday at San Lee Park in Sanford, NC.

Up at six a.m. to feed the pets, I started having second thoughts.  After a stretch of warm weather here lately, I woke up to below freezing temps.  I really just wanted to crawl back in bed.  I didn’t though, and after loading up my stuff I hit the road.  It was cold.

 Brrrr

As I headed E/NE away from Charlotte, I saw the temps drop down to 22 degrees at one point.  Resiting the urge to turn around, I starting thinking about what I would wear during the race.  I knew that I would warm up quickly, and with a little over two hours of driving time I had plenty of time to go over everything.  As I got closer, I started to get nervous.  I hadn’t “competed” in XC in about three years, although I did race in one last year just for fun.  I told my nerves to shut up, and suddenly I was in the parking lot.

I walked up to the registration area, grabbed my number plate, and started getting dressed.  I ended up with a light DeFeet base payer, arm warmers, knee warmers, and my really cool new Trail Ninja socks…

I was pretty chilly, but spinning around the parking lot and up and down a big hill started warming me up pretty good.  Soon, it was time to line up.  That’s when the nerves really got to me.  I looked around at my competition and wondered why I was there.  I got that negative shit out of my head and started going over my plan…

“Don’t get caught up racing.  Put in a good first effort, settle in, and don’t worry about chasing anyone down.”

When it was our turn to start, we sprinted up a big, steep hill.  With only one gear, I had no choice but to fly up it until I could find a spinny pace.  While I was doing that, I realized that I was out in front.  Shit.  I didn’t mean to do it, but it worked out that way.  Suddenly, as the hill crested, one guy shifted into a bigger gear and flew by.”

“Don’t chase him down.  You can get him later.”

I didn’t listen to myself and immediately took off after him.  The road leveled out and I was spinning my ass off.  With my heart rate through the roof, I entered the woods first, with second place (and everyone else) right behind me.  I knew I was gonna blow up after that effort, so I kept pedaling and waited for the inevitable.  I was still working hard, and building a small gap. 

Suddenly, I felt really good.

My heart rate slowed down, my breathing evened out, and I felt like I had a ton of energy.  I put the hammer down, and after each switchback climb I could see that I was pulling away from the group.  Entering the first technical section, I cleaned it and added even more of a time cushion.

I knew that I couldn’t keep that effort up.  The crash was coming, and I started to worry about when it would.  So, I just pedaled harder, figuring that I would use what I had while I had it.  The funny thing was, the harder I worked, the quicker I recovered.  I cleaned a few more rocky sections, mashed up some climbs, and sprinted away on the flat, twisty sections.  I saw no one from my class, but I was passing others that started ahead of me.

Who the hell was I?  Why wasn’t I dying out there?  I was working hard, and feeling better as the day went on.  After finishing that first lap, I felt even better.  I concentrated on building a bigger gap, and trying to be careful as I rode my rigid bike over some of those nasty rocks.  About halfway through the second lap I started to worry.  Did I take a wrong turn?  Am I now in last place?  Why the hell am I feeling so good?

Who gives a shit.  Keep riding.

Up the last big set of climbs (Charlie’s Mountain I think) I was hammering knowing that I was almost done.  That leads to the Mega Jump section, which is like a cross between Warrior Creek and a big ass pump track.  I flew through there, hit the jumps and even doubling a few.  I was on the home stretch, and before I knew it I was at the finish line.  I was confused, so I asked the race officials where I placed.

“First.”

I was shocked.  Really.  I know I’ve been working a little bit on my fitness, but I didn’t really expect to win or even get on a podium this season.  But I did.

After a day of working hard and getting the shit beat outta me by rocks, I took home a pretty cool rock of my own.

And I won a Maxxis Ikon.  Rad.

This was my third race there.  The first two back in 2011 and 2012, I got third place (and smaller rocks.) It’s been a while since I’ve been on a podium, and honestly this one felt pretty damn good.  I worked hard, rode smart, and walked away feeling pretty good.  What a way to start the season.

I dunno.  Maybe it’s a fluke.  I got lucky.  Whatever.

Who gives shit.

I had a blast out there. The race organizers did a great job, the course was fun, and the people were pretty cool. It’s good to be back. I know it's not always gonna be this good, so I'm enjoying it while I can.

Too Fast

Not me.  The weekend.  Where did it go?  I put in a ton of extra hours at work last week, so when I got home Friday night I was exhausted.  I did a whole lot of nothing until passing out after one beer and a documentary on Netflix about dams.

The next day was more of the same.  I cleaned up around the house (it was raining outside), played guitar, and hung out with my little buddy Carl.  He was happy to have me there.

I eventually left the house to go guitar shopping, and after playing several models I came home with nothing.  So, it was back to Netflix for more documentaries.  This time I had a pint of ice cream while I sat on my ass.  Sorry, no photos.

Not a very productive weekend, I know, but Sunday was a little different.

I woke up early, but I was still tired from my weekend of nothing (and hell week at work I guess.)  I eventually got my shit together and hit the road to do something I  don’t normally do…

Pre ride a race course.

So that means I’m racing again, right?  Yes.  I’m coming out of cross country retirement to once again race in the Southern Classic Series.  Why?  Who knows.  I think maybe I just want to see what I can do, and if I can do it.  So that being said, I wanted to do a little course recon before my first race at the end of the month.

I took off for San Lee Park in Sanford, NC.  I hadn’t been there in a few years (since I last raced there), and I wanted to see what kind of gear I should run.  I was on a geared bike the last time I was there, and I remembered it being pretty difficult.  I no longer own a geared bike, so when I showed up at the trailhead I was prepared to struggle…

And wait.  The trail didn’t open until 1:00 p.m. due to the previous day’s rain.  I ended up in a group ride put on by my pal Josh, which consisted of a bunch of folks that wanted to see the “new and improved” race loop.

Photo credit:  Josh Miller

After the first big climb, I was starting to think that my gear choice was perfect.  My next worry was the rigid fork, since the last time I was there we had to ride over some of the rockiest shit I’ve ever seen.  Well, this new loop cut out a lot of that, save for a small amount of totally rideable stuff.

The group was pretty big so we stopped a lot.  It was fine, since I wasn’t out there to race.  It was also nice to be in a social setting on my bike again.

They didn’t cut out all of the super tech stuff.  Every once in a while we’d run up on some “difficult” sections, marked by some very creative signage.

Nothing there was too difficult, aside from the rake and ride stuff that was pretty prevalent.

That actually, uh, sucked.  I kept hearing that new trail was “cut in” and it just needed to be ridden to make it better.  That’s not what I saw.  It looked like poor design followed by lack of effort.  That’s not really anything new though.  The two years I raced out there I saw the same thing in a few spots.  That must be how they do it out there.  I guess I shouldn’t complain, since they cut out most of the difficult stuff so the racers can have better “flow.”

Oh great, here we go again.

Nah, I won’t let it get to me.  I can ride a good bit of tech stuff, but that doesn’t mean that’s all I have to ride.  If they cut some out and replace it with raked off shortcuts to avoid difficult sections, so be it.  It’s not my call, and I certainly don’t have to race it.  I'll probably bust my ass on a small root anyway.

Alas, I do plan to race, and I have no goals other than to put all I can into the upcoming season.  This might be fun, if I can keep my head in it this time.

No, it will be fun.  Whether I like it or not.

Who gives a shit. 

Almost The Same As Last Year

After leaving the house before the crack of dark yesterday morning, Lunchbox and I headed east towards Sanford, NC for another day of racing. Once the sun came up, it pretty much rained the rest of the way there. That made me think that the trail conditions would be the same as last year.

Was I ready? I dunno, but I had no choice.

I got there with plenty of time to warm up. When the time was near, we all lined up at the bottom of a hill. My group was one of the last to go, so I had time to think about my strategy. It was pretty much, “Don’t take off too fast up that stupid climb and wear yourself out for the rest of the race.” When the race started, it didn’t take me long to forget that.


Photo Credit: Lunchbox

As I was powering up the climb, I looked back and saw that I was in first place. I didn’t mean to go that fast, so I backed off a bit and let two guys go by at the top. It was too late though. I had put out too much effort and my lungs knew it.


When I hit the singletrack, I was all over the place. The trail was slicker than fresh dog shit, but I don’t think that was the problem (at least at first.) Since I couldn’t seem to get any momentum, I saw 4th place catching up to me. I saw that it was my pal Todd, so I decided to let him by. I kept him (and the other two guys in front of me) in sight for a while, and planned to make my move later. It was a twenty mile race, so I had plenty of time.


Just then, I passed the first place guy like he was standing still (okay, he actually was standing still for some reason.) That meant that I was in third place, and I could still see the two guys ahead of me. But, shit was about to change in a hurry.


Not even three miles in, and I had the first of what would be many crashes. It happened when I rode over a rock structure/garden thingy, and got all excited about my rad rock-clearing ability. Suddenly, a slippery log came out of nowhere and threw me violently to the ground. All 230 pounds of me hit the ground like a sack of potatoes, and I was stunned. I kept waiting to get passed while I slowly regained my composure, but for some reason I didn’t. I got going again, but things would never be the same.


I crashed a lot more after that, but none of them were as bad (but they still hurt.) After one lap though, I think my wreck total was around six or so. Nevertheless, I was glad to see Lunchbox waiting near the trail exit.




One lap down, and my legs felt good. The left side of my body was aching from the crash, but I had to suffer through one more lap. I took it a little easier this time, but that was probably because my technical skills were almost non-existent. I slipped on the littlest of roots and rocks, and clipped trees that were nowhere near me. I felt like a complete mountain biking newbie.


Even though I was taking it easy, it still didn’t stop me from crashing. I fell on the dumbest shit, and I wasn’t really gaining any ground on the two guys ahead of me. After a ton of crashes (and a really long second lap), I saw Lunchbox waiting for me again.




The photo is blurry because he had to jump out of the way. I was out of control and ready to be finished (and I almost ran over him.)


After over twenty miles, and about a dozen crashes later, I was finished. No one caught up to me, so I finished in third place. Just like last year, except that this time I made it in time for the podium ceremony.




It was a long day on a very tough trail. I enjoyed it for some reason, but I haven’t figured out what that is just yet. The trail wasn’t in the greatest shape, but it wasn’t too bad, either. I was pretty much dead at the end, and I still hurt as I write this. I really enjoy pushing the limits though.


Oh yeah, I got another rock.



The season is here for sure, and I’ve reached my goal of “one podium trip per season” already. Now I can take it easy.


Bullshit. It’s time to get to work.

Ready To Rock

This weekend, it’s time to get my race on once again. I’ll be traveling over to Sanford, NC to “compete” in Bouldergeist, which is race number three in the Southern Classic Series. The venue is San Lee Park, and this will be my second year racing there.


I honestly don’t remember much about the course, other than the fact that it seemed to have a shitload of rocks somewhere in the middle. It was cold outside and the trail was wet, so I had a difficult time out there. I even crashed once and slammed my hand into a tree, resulting in painful swelling and difficulty holding on to my handlebars. It didn’t matter though, because it was my first podium finish for the year.


I seem to remember that it started out kinda fast and flowy, with a few punchy climbs thrown in for good measure. As usual, I took off from the start a little too fast, and ended up burning out pretty quickly. I spent the rest of the race trying to catch up, but that never happened. I think I only finished a minute or so out of second place, with first not far ahead.


Since my memory of the trail isn’t too great, I took to the YouTube to see if I can find some kind of trail footage. And wouldn’t you know it, I did.


The Internets are amazing.


Anyway, check out this video from the trail at San Lee Park.




Hmmm, not as bad as I remembered. I guess I should be okay, especially since it should be much drier and warmer out there. I’ll try not to take off so fast from the start, and I’ll sure as hell try not to break my pedal again.


Speaking of breaking stuff, I made a little boo boo when I was adjusting my handlebars da udda day. I over-tightened on of my stem bolts, and stripped the stem. Shit. A new stem had to be ordered, and I’m hoping like hell that it will be at the B-43 Worldwide Headquarters by the time I get there this evening. I’ll get it installed (hopefully without breaking it), and probably get out for a shakedown ride sometime on Saturday. Maybe it's time to invest in a torque wrench.


If I can’t get the shit right (or if the stem doesn’t show up), then I may end up riding the single speed for the race. That should be torture, I mean fun. Hell, maybe I can just borrow the stem from the SS as a temporary fix. Decisions, decisions.


Yeah, that’s about it. I’ll be back Monday with a full race report.


In the meantime, I’ll be getting ready to rock.