Last weekend, we went down to Columbia, TN to pre-ride the race course for the Chickasaw Trace Classic. It's been over a year and a half since my last ride on that course and two years since my last Classic race. I felt a little off, but was able put in four good laps on the 9-mile loop and grab the Strava KOM for the race loop on lap 2. The course was dry and very fast. Shannon and my parents were there too. It was Shannon's first ever ride at Chickasaw. My Mom had fun riding with Shannon and is enjoying her new Jamis now. She finally got it all set up. We also saw a few old faces that we have not seen in quite a while.
The weakness continued the next week, but seemed to be gone on Saturday. Shannon and I wanted to return to Chickasaw for one last pre-ride the day before the race. The weather forecast was for morning rain, so we tooled around the house waiting to see if the weatherman was right or not. The showers wound up missing Columbia and we were treated to a wonderful afternoon. The temperature was 67 degrees and sunshine poured over us on a dry trail. It was another great day of riding. Shannon has learned to hate the biggest climb on the loop, known by some of the locals as "Big Mama." I'm not particularly fond of it either. It was whipping my pants during both pre-rides!
I thought we had dodged the rain, but I was wrong. Showers moved through Saturday night and brought a wet and cold race morning. I made a tire change to adapt to the new conditions. I expected it to be slick, but not really muddy. The trail was very dry before the rain so most of the moisture would likely be soaked right up. The cold was more the problem for me. It was 44 degrees when we arrived at the park. That's quite a bit of difference from the previous few days that were near 70.
I had good legs during the warm-up, but just couldn't get the heart rate up high enough to feel completely ready. The cold didn't feel that bad once you got moving, but I think it definitely played a role in my heart rate struggles. We had 7 riders lined up for the Pro/Open start. Six could fit on the front row and I was the lucky one to have to start on the second row. I was also the only rider in the first two classes riding 26" wheels. It seems everyone has gone over to the 29" craze now. I had a good start and had the opportunity to pick off a few riders up the grassy hill to the woods, but thought better of it. I wanted to be smooth early and settle in on the slick course. I needed time to finish off my warm-up. So I was 7th out of 7 entering the singletrack.
Me getting ready for the start. Photo by Columbia Cycling Club
Pro start line Photo by Columbia Cycling Club
Gaps began to open on the first descent as some were ripping in the mud while others where very ginger in their line choice. I found myself 10 seconds back less than two minutes into the race. Craig Evans was in front of me and he got around a slower rider in the first field section. I tried to make the pass as well, but ran out of time before the woods and had to fall back in line. I had to wait another minute or so before I got another chance. This time I passed him, but it wasn't easy. He actually gave me a lot of room and that's the only reason I was able to complete the pass.
Apparently, the leader messed up on the first rocky climb and forced the front group to walk it. Craig and I both cleared the majority of the climb. I had to dab once right at the top, but it didn't cost me much time. I ripped the next descent and rocky section that followed. I was very surprised to see Craig and I were rejoining the lead group. It seemed too easy. Then Craig slowed a bit on a series of slick rock ledges and I have to swerve to miss his back wheel. It forced me out of my pedal and I lost a few bike lengths. That's all it took for me to lose the lead group for good. I tried hard to get back on, but just couldn't close the gap. Then the lack of thorough warm-up got me and I was forced to back off. The gap got bigger and bigger on the flat section of the course. The loop here is mostly flat the first 4 miles, then gets hilly from there. My goal was to enter the hills less than 30 seconds off the leaders. I thought I could catch them in the hills with my mud skills.
Craig comes up the first rocky climb with me just behind Photo by Columbia Cycling Club
Photo by Columbia Cycling Club
Well, they had 55 seconds on me as we hit the hills. And I did not do a very good job of using my skills. I didn't make many mistakes, but I found myself just riding fast. When you are behind you need to ride like a maniac. It has to be all-out all the time. I had difficulty on the two biggest hills and dropped some more time. The front group was four riders strong after the first lap. Next through was Jeremy Chambers in 5th at one minute back. I came through another minute behind in 6th.
My goal became to catch Jeremy. The last few years he has pummeled me at every mountain bike race and cyclocross race we have ridden together. I mean pummeled like put two minutes on me every lap. I thought only losing one minute to him the first lap was good. That's improvement. The trail was significantly drier on lap 2. It was still slick in places, but there were also dry spots where you could ride as if the rain never came. I pushed hard in the flats to keep Jeremy within striking distance. I knew he was stronger than me so I had to beat him with skills in the hills. I kept the time between us hovering between 55-58 seconds through the flats and then hit the hills very hard. I rode better this lap, giving it everything I had. But the time didn't change much. I clocked him at 50 seconds starting the "Big Mama" climb to the dump. I pushed even harder in the last tight section. My back had been hurting this lap and was really bothering me by the end of the lap. I was hurting bad as I popped out of the woods to end lap 2. Then I got another time check of one minute. I rode so hard and I lost 10 seconds in that section and made no gains overall that lap! It was again sign of improvement as we ran the same lap time, but I wanted to catch him!
Crossing the big log pile on the Black Hills Trail Photo by Columbia Cycling Club
Lap 3 did not go well. My back got worse and I began to bonk early in the lap. Jeremy moved to 1:10 ahead by the end of the first section. Then I cracked. I just ran out of steam and went into survival mode. I wanted a top 5 so bad, but it was not going to happen today. Then I saw Craig Evans taking one of the Emergency Exits out of the woods. He dropped out so I moved into 5th! I began to push hard again to conserve my position. I was caught by the leaders of the 19-29 and 30-39 class that began together two minutes behind me. Other than that, nobody caught me even with my sad last lap. I lost almost 5 minutes on my lap time as compared to lap 2, which was over a minute slower than lap 1. I think the time difference between my last two laps would have been even worse if the trail had not continued to dry out. That gave me some "free" speed on lap 3.
The payout sheet said they would pay top 4 with 7 riders in the class. Of course, I always miss payout by one. Race promoter Duane Leach made a mistake calling out the awards and said they would pay top 5. When the mistake was realized, I thought for sure I would not get money, but he paid me anyway. It was a very nice gesture by them because they totally did not have to give me anything. So I got $25, which was almost my registration money back. Sadly, that is the most money I have made at a mountain bike event in three years! Every little bit helps, especially this year. We also got wooden coasters instead of trophies. I like the different take on prizes/trophies. The unique ones are the best and the Columbia group is very good at coming up with interesting pieces. I now have engraved drinking glasses, a wooden coaster and a boat paddle as trophies from their events.
Pro Podium with me in 5th Photo by Columbia Cycling Club
We hung around for the late races. The Cat 2 and 3 races were not until 1pm. It was a big gap considering the Pro/Cat 1 races were at 9am. The weather kept getting better all day, with the sun popping out to warm things up to the low-60s by the time the next race began. The trail was completely different for them. Our laps and the wind had almost completely dried the trail. Only a few slimy spots remained. The guys had very little dirt on their bikes after racing two laps, whereas our bikes were covered after only one lap. We hung out with the Wood-N-Wave crew, walking the trails and cheering on everyone we knew.
The big log pile in the Black Hills section of the trail
Again, I got the see a bunch of old faces that I have not seen in a while. It was funny to hear everyone talk about me and how long I had been away. You go away road racing for a year and everyone thinks you quit riding. I heard all kinds of stories, everything from I quit riding, to I sold my bikes. One person even asked me how my surgery went. I was confused and told them I did not have surgery and they said they heard that's why I didn't race last year. It cracks me up how when people don't see you they think you aren't racing anymore. Check the results people! I was alive and well last year, just not racing the dinky Tennessee races anymore.
I forgot the camera both days so we do not have many pictures. I snapped a few with my phone during the Cat 2/3 races that are posted above. They are not the best quality, but they beat nothing. Also, no video this week. Full results are posted here if you want to take a look. Next race for me is the second round of the SERC series down in Conyers, GA on the 1996 Atlanta Olympic mountain bike course. I have never ridden there. It's one of those races that has been on my wish list since I began racing so I'm going to check that one off this year. Hopefully, the weather improves because as I am writing this it is snowing away outside. It's March 25 and winter is still not letting up much.
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