wow...what hasn't happened since my last post...??

first, to all my trustee followers(like 2 of you) i'm sorry for not posting since before Bump and Grind. I wanted better things to post about but it hasn't happened so I'll just give you some news starting with most recent happenings....

SERC#8 Raccoon Mtn....i love this race but it's got to be one the hardest races of the year. We do 3 laps of the extremely rocky, rooty, and technical trail which has about 1200 ft of climbing over the 12.2 miles...yeah 3 of em...totaling out about 36.6 miles and 3600 ft...all big numbers by my standards of xc racing.

I was feeling good in the days leading up to the weekend so the optimism level was high...but the BBQ ribs and chocolate cake I ate for dinner(both 1st timers b4 a race) didn't sit well on the tummy. I woke race day with a nasty upset stomach...i wasn't able to eat any breakfast...i knew that would b my downfall...and it was. Lap 1 went great, felt good and was sitting about5th and 1 min off the lead. Lap 2 saw that gap grow to the leader and i had also been joined by two other riders for the beginning of lap 3...one dude dropped us and i hung on to the other...until about 4 miles left...then up one of the last climbs and techy sections another dude caught me...Noah...he has never been close to me all year but straight passed and dropped me. I had hit the wall big time. Just had to keep moving forward...only lost 2pts to Ceazer for the overall so that was good...but I needed some extra fuel in the tank. I took 4.5 shots of hammer gel and it wasn't enough. Overall it was still a fun weekend and a great race.

SERC#7 Dauset Trails...this race was my kinda racing. course had tight sections with roots and not a bunch of long climbs. The race went great...I was never out of the top 5...the two leaders got off fast but then 4 of us took chase. by lap 2 it was down to 3 in the chase, and by the final lap it was just two of us...I took the lead going into the trails on lap 3 and never gave it back. I was able to stave off any attacks from my other guy and ended up with about 45 sec on 4th. It was a great race and lots of fun!

SERC#6 Clemson, SC...this trail is hard...lots of climbing...but fun! I had a good ride but not the strongest of the year. Because of the climbing the racers were busted up quickly and I rode most of the 30 miles by myself. I ended up taking 4th but it was a small group so no podium.

BUMB n GRIND...this was a hard one...i really had targeted this race since the beginning of the year as my "A" race. so all training was building up for this...uh, not!! i never felt good...not bad but not fresh. the legs were flat and just didn't come to play. i guess the good thing looking back was that my 2nd lap was only 2 min slower than my first...it's just my first lap was slow! My goal was 2:25...i figured it would take a sub 2:20 to win it and my goal time would be good enough for a top 3...and it would have been...too bad i was 7 min off my goal. good times anyway watching the pros race!

Only 4.5 days till BUMP!

Really super stoked! not cause it's a on the pro tour, or cause it's a kenda kup, maybe a little b/c of the UCI status, and maybe cause of the olympians, BUT mainly because the is my favorite trails in the southeast!! And the fact that i get to do it twice as fast as i can go...well that's just great!

I do have mixed emotions this year about the Pro Course that the racers will race this year...it's an abbreviated version to say the least...a 6/3 mile loop that;s going be run somehow, I think backyards up jonshon's mtn. the mixed emotion you ask? well....

1. The Pro: It's perfect for the spectators. We'll all be able to track up in the woods, take pics, yell..."go,go,go"....and we'll try to catch a solid buzz doing it. It's be a blast for me and others in that sense...

2. The Con: It BLOWS for the racers themselves...they all would probably much rather be cranking the full 17 mile loop, enjoying the kick assness of blood rock and the gnarly DH that follows...no they get this little 6 mile loop with some good single track for sure, but not the race we'll have...they get robber of the all around best trail in the Southeast!

Off the soapbox for sure....

Training has been nice and consistent. I had an extra day of rest last week due to not feeling well and lots of rain on Saturday, which stunk, cause it was going be a fun ride. But besides that, everything should be right on track. I fell rested...legs don't feel great...kinda just there...but fresh. I got two days of short intervals coming up to fire the system up again...jeah! Looking forward to Sunday!

nasty weekend

well, i was told not to race this past weekend...

so saturday when i got to the trail and hammered out my lap around the course, i decided/talked into racing the ss...justification...shorter distance, not as deep of an effort, later start time...

the course was awesome. fast, tight, climbing, descending, technical, and dry...i was looking forward to the ss race.

sunday morning we woke to LOTS of rain. ummm, scratch the racing!..now it was clear...being told not to race and then mutha nature seconding that by blasting the course with about 1.5inches of rain made it an easy decision. NO race.

while i was really bummed not to be racing it was fun to watch the race and bring a bike home that's still clean and in working order.

next up........ BUMP N GRIND.

more post leading up to it i promise.

debris

the plan was to head to the nox for a training ride on the course for rockcruscher. it was deemed that too much rain had fallen and the trails were better left alone for the weekend. after looking around i decided that clear springs was our best shot for dry trails. this was a good call...the trials were dry for the most part...a few holes but nothing to speak of.

The entrance to the trails was a different story...

the entire area is flooded...and it's all due to lack of ANY attention paid to these trails by the forest service. there is a 12ft long beaver dam is blocking it up.
A little tlc and this area would be dry and go to go again...this district sucks!

Cause there are plenty of these around and there's no reason to give them more places to hang out with us on the trails.
did i mentions debris...b making a detour around the first downed tree

there was small debris...
there was huge debris

there was super old growth that was destroyed by the storm that cam thru this place a week ago...lots of trees snapped right in half. and then some uprooted.

debris bridges...

i left the camera in the car for the last lap...i went on a different trial and the downed trees on it were worse that Richardson's creek...pretty amazing what some wind can do.

the ride itself was good...the workout was worthy of any...3.5hrs with about 3400ft of climbing. managed to keep the body working hard and maximized the HR during the ride...felt great to get on the trails and bike for more than an hr and a half...

one more day of riding to top the 4 day block off...tomorrow will be some lite recovery spin on the trace...then monday starts the new program!