We have enjoyed the past few weeks, enjoying the time before the big end-of-season races. We have been riding and playing. I've been putting in the time suffering with some intensity training to try and get my speed back before Gateway Cup.
Our kids at church are really awesome. We are still teaching the 10 yr. old class each Sunday. We promised them a pizza and pool party during the summer. We made good on the promise and had a swim day at my parents' house, complete with letting them create their own pizza. We all had a lot of fun getting water-logged and filling our bellies with pizza.
Shannon and Snoop
Pizza!
Ground clean-up crew
Shannon and I hit our 1 year wedding anniversary two weeks ago. This year has really flown by. It feels like it has only been 3 months since we were in the church mingling with family and taking pictures with every person in the place. We still had the top of the cake in the freezer. It was frozen and therefore well-preserved. But we didn't cover it so the icing was hard as a brick. It was weird tasting at first, but once it thawed out, it became closer to edible. We ate the whole thing despite the taste. I found it best to bury my pieces at the bottom of a cold glass of milk and eat it soggy with a spoon. Milk can make any stale food better.
As far as riding goes, like I said before, it's been all intensity work lately. Shannon has paced me behind the car a few times, which really helps get me used to race speed and also helps me push a little harder than I would alone. You can get your heart rate up higher without destroying your legs when you are in the draft. My max heart rate for this year is 190. I saw that number three times: twice prior to my sickness in March and once in May at Ft. Wayne. Since then, I haven't been able to go above 183. The goal of the recent rides was to get closer to 190, but I only managed to see 184 and that came on the last day of pacing behind the car. We have filmed a lot of rides lately with the GoPro. We are working on several shorts videos to make into one big one. Here's a few pictures and clips from our recent filmings.
Hammer and suffer!
Faster!
Wearing some of the paint off the bumper of the car
Following Shannon on the infamous Thomasville Rd.
A shot from the helmet cam on Thomasville
Shannon climbs the first steep hill on Thomasville Rd. It hits 23% at one point.
Video clips
Our trip to Utah is approaching. We have been planning out our day-by-day plans, which has turned out to be quite difficult. There's just so much stuff to do out there! We want to bike, hike and raft throughout the trip and Utah is just outdoor heaven. All we know for sure is that we are going to spend a few days in Park City and a few in Moab. The rest will be decided when we get there. I'm really pumped for Park City. They have several trails serviced by chairlifts. I can't wait to do some downhill riding. It will be fun to play all day, riding up the mountain on the lift rather than climbing it on the bike. I had planned to take my Racer-X, but after seeing the double black diamond trails and skills parks in Park City, I've decided to take my Remedy.
I dusted off the Remedy last week, getting in two rides with Shannon. The trail is still covered with spiderwebs, almost to the point of frustration. Plus, every little ounce of wind seems to bring down a million sticks. We didn't like stopping every 5 feet to clear a downed limb, but we did get the trail cleaned up. It was worth it on the second day when we could really rip the trail and have fun on our bikes. She has been riding my Sette hardtail to see the difference between it and the Superlight she normally rides. The lack of rear suspension was a bit harsh on the butt at first, but she's getting the hang of it now. We actually spent the day prior to the Lynskey Performance Southern Sunset Criterium on the trail, which is something I don't normally do.
Shannon riding on the trail
I felt great on the mountain bike on Friday. Saturday morning started off rough. Shannon made some sour cream and onion crackers that were delicious! I was snacking on them as we waited for breakfast to cook. We thought that the onion powder used in the recipe was made from white onions. The ingredients just said "onions." Well, it had red onions in it too. I figured that out after about 10 minutes of munching those powder-covered crackers when I began sneezing. My nose was pouring so much I couldn't even look down without it running out. It was a fine way to begin a day that would end with a big race. I hate having an allergy. It's just one little thing, but I feel so limited now. They taste so good!
We went out for a morning spin to loosen the legs before the drive down to Chattanooga. It helped clear up my symptoms, even though it turned into a tough ride. I noticed my brakes were a bit loose so I tightened the adjustment lever on the rear with about 6 miles to go in the ride. I was feeling bad. My heart rate was way higher than normal and I was sweating profusely. Shannon, on the other hand, was kicking my butt up the hills and hadn't even broken a sweat. At one point, we were doing 12.5 mph with a tailwind and I was dying. I blamed the allergic reaction and thought tonight was going to be one difficult race for me. We stopped by the mailbox at the end of the ride. As I pulled into the driveway, I heard a little squeak from the rear wheel. I got off and rolled the wheel. It didn't even make 1/5 of a turn. The brakes had been dragging since I tightened them! I have never been so frustrated and relieved at the same time. At least I knew that my body was not the problem. That brought back some of my confidence for the race. My body was feeling better after the ride, but I wasn't 100%. My stomach wasn't feeling much like food and I ended up just skipping lunch. If you know me, you know I really don't feel good if I'm skipping a meal.
We drove down to the race through some thunderstorms on Saturday afternoon. Luckily, the storms didn't follow us all the way to Chattanooga. It was a warm day, but a gentle breeze kept things comfortable. The temp got even better as the sun dropped behind the mountains for the later races. This was my first time racing the Lynskey Performance Southern Sunset Criterium. It's part of the River Gorge Omnium which includes one of the toughest road races in this region. I had hoped to do the road race this year, but it was on Sunday and we had a temple prep class to go to at church. So everything was aimed at Saturday night's crit. There is good payout for this race, so it draws big fields and some good talent. My warm-up was great. I had awesome legs while on the trainer. I even hit 184 bpm with my heart rate. That's close to the highest I have ever seen on the trainer.
Cat. 3 Men on the start line
Looking down on the descent from high above the course on top of a parking garage
Sweat drops accumulating on my top tube as I warm-up on the trainer
The race course was technical, featuring 6 turns in less than 1 km. Some of the streets were narrow and almost the whole thing was bumpy. The start/finish straight was flat, wide and fast. Turn 1 was a 90-degree right that was narrow on the exit and followed immediately by a good uphill. There was another right turn at the top, followed by a slight descent to a left turn. Then came more climbing through the next two turns, before a fast descent down to the final corner and onto the finish stretch. The downhill let you carry a lot of speed onto the flat finish straight.
Course from my GPS
Cat. 3s battling on the streets of downtown Chattanooga
Cat. 3 Men in Turn 6
We had 100 riders on the start line. I got a fairly decent start spot and was around 40th on the first lap of our 60-minute race. I did a bad job picking the right line to follow the first few laps. I got shuffled back to around 60th, mostly losing ground on the downhill. The pace was really fast, but I was comfortable. It's the first time this year that I have been comfortable maintaining 185 bpm with my heart.
Tim Hall came by me and I latched on. We started picking off riders ahead to move back up in the peloton. It was hard to pass. Turn 1 was so tight that it bottle-necked the group. I liked the outside line, but the curb was big and creeped up fast at that speed. The uphill was a dead sprint. The other straightaways were so short that it was hard to pull out and then get back in the group for a decent line through the next corner. You really needed to get a good line through the turns because there were cobbled crosswalks, potholes and manhole covers everywhere. The finish straight was wide and long enough to move up, but we were going so dang fast that it was hard to pull out of line. The course was short too, so any effort you made on the descent would have you hurting on the climb. I think there is an art to being smooth when moving up on a course like this. I need a lot more work on that.
Turn 1 close-up
There were constant attacks off the front the first 15 minutes. The U23 National Crit. Champ Ty Magner went off the front with a big attack that caused a stir up front from Team Type 1 and Kenda-5 Hour Energy. That upped the pace even more and put the hurt on much of the group. Gaps started forming way up in the field. Guys were popping off the back in every corner. I was up into the top 50 and thought I was safe from big gaps. Then a gap began to open about 10 riders ahead. I moved up on the finish stretch and had just two riders in front of me as we entered turn 1. The gap was only a few seconds, but that changed in an instant as both riders ahead of me went down and piled into the curb exiting turn 1. I had to jam the brakes, but I squeezed by on the inside, losing a bunch of spots in the process. The gap was now bigger and I was starting to panic a little. I moved back up at the end of the lap, only to be right behind another 2-rider crash in turn 1 the very next lap. This was a bigger, harder crash and disrupted the field a lot more.
Ty Magner on the attack
The back-to-back crashes totally split the field in half. There were 45 riders up front and another 30 chasing. The pace of the chase blew our group to pieces. I was still feeling good and came to the front to do my share of the work. I pulled as hard as I could, leading the hill a few times. I knew I had the legs to do something if I could get back to the main group. My pulls blew a lot of riders and our chase group dwindled down to just 10-12 guys. We were 20 seconds behind the leaders now and they were still attacking hard. Those crashes couldn't have happened at a worse time. I knew we would be pulled soon so I gave everything I had until they took us out. We made it 24 minutes before the officials pulled us out. I thought that was a bit early because we were still a half-lap ahead of them. But that's the way it goes in crits. That's why it's so important to be up front.
The winning break of three
Heart rate and elevation graphs from Chattanooga
I was disappointed to watch the second half of the race from the sidewalk. I felt too good to not be out there. I wasn't alone on the sidewalk though. Some fast guys got caught out by those crashes. I ended up 49th on the results, even with being pulled before halfway. The best thing about the race is that I survived two crashes without going down. Again, I made good reactions and kept my nose clean through the chaos.
A break of three got away and made it stick. There was a large crash with 5 laps to go that disrupted the chase and sealed the deal for the break staying away. One guy busted his nose and was bleeding all over his face. He may have even broken his nose when he flipped over the bars into the rider in front of him. There were only about 30 riders left before the crash. A good 12 guys went down. Free laps were over by then, so they were essentially out of the race. Ty Magner sprinted away from the break to win the race. After the peloton sprinted for 4th, the officials put the crash victims back on the course for a 2 lap battle for positions. There were so few finishers that not all the money spots were filled so they allowed the riders that had fallen to sprint for the last few positions rather than score them in the order they fell. I thought it was cool. The officials didn't have to do that. My race stats were max heart rate of 187, average heart rate of 181 and average speed of 26.1 mph.
Lynskey Performance Southern Sunset Criterium video
We had a great time and I am happy to see my form is finally back. We drove home after the race and got back pretty late. Shannon was snoozing before I finished unloading the car. This week has been a tune-up week to ready the legs for Gateway Cup in St. Louis. I'm so excited for four days of racing, but it looks like we may be swimming for part of it with Hurricane Isaac headed that way. Right now, the forecast is for 10-12 inches of rain in St. Louis between tomorrow afternoon and Sunday morning. Yipee. I had a great Tuesday night ride, feeling even better than I did in Chattanooga. I hit 191 heart rate! That's my best of the year. I was even able to launch a big attack with my heart rate already at 187 and then solo to win the first sprint. Things are looking good for the weekend!
The XTERRA races just make me want to mountain bike more, even though I get frustrated with mountain biking sometimes. I've been spoiled by the lack of maintenance needed for road racing. With your road bike, it's usually just a lube of the chain and maybe changing out tires/wheels to be ready for a race. If things are bad, you may have to wash the bike and maybe grease the crank or change a cassette. With mountain biking, it's always a bike wash, followed by lubing the chain and cables. That's all fine and dandy, but then you hit your derailleur and bend it or bend the hanger. Something's always popping or creaking. You have to adjust you brakes perfectly so they don't drag and bleed them so they actually work when you pull the lever. You have more issue with tires, both cutting them or flatting and also mounting them. It's usually not that big of a deal, but when you are rough on equipment and having a bad day, sometimes it doesn't feel worth it.
Last week, I had tire and rear derailleur issues prior to XTERRA Panther Creek. Tires and shifting were good this week. The problem came from my other bike. I pulled the old Titus Racer-X out of the garage for use in the Super D at Fontana. I haven't ridden the bike since February at Snake Creek Gap. I took it for a ride at home and it was a bad day. The suspension was off and I couldn't remember my settings. After getting that worked out the rear brake went out. I have had problems with this rear brake for about 3 years. My old caliper went out and since replacing it with a newer XTR caliper and LX lever, I have had nothing but problems. I did my test ride at my parents house. The trail was covered with sticks, grown up and full of spiderwebs. I got a little frustrated with the bike and trail conditions. I expected the bike to be off since I haven't ridden it, but we have worked hard on the trail. It seems 4 miles is a little much for us to maintain.
Shannon and I bled the brakes later that night and were surprised to get a firm lever feel in just a few minutes. It seemed as though we had it fixed. The Fontana Dam Jam was on the agenda for the weekend. You know it's time for Fontana when you have to make a stop by the party store during the week for short track costume apparel. We rolled out on Friday with an extra bike on the rack. I was registered for the Triple Crown competition, encompassing all three events. I was going to use the Racer-X for the Super D, then race the Sette hardtail in the short track and XC. We had to leave Friday evening because it is a 5 hour drive for us and things got started at 10am on Saturday with Super D practice. It was late by the time we hit the road and we arrived in Maryville at about 12am. We decided to just find a church and throw up the tent in the parking lot. We found a good one after a few minutes of searching and sat up camp for the night. This week we had plenty of blankets and put on the rain fly to keep the dew off us. It worked well and we actually slept good.
Camp was established at Cable Cove Campground before we went over to the Fontana Village for the Super D. Practice got started a little late so we didn't get in a full 2 hours of practice runs. I was thinking the course would be different since they had changed the race title from Downhill to Super D, but it was the same old course. We were shuttled to the top on a big trailer and then raced down the mountain on the Turkey Chute trail. There are three fairly long pedaling sections along the way down. The trail is rough in places, but overall it's more about speed than technical skills. The 4-inch travel Racer-X was the perfect bike. I raced it here two years ago and nabbed a 2nd place. It might would've been a win had I not caught 3 women pre-riding the XC course during my second run. I lost by a mere 2 seconds!
I was wanting some vengeance for that last defeat. I was hungry and ready for some downhill action! I knew it would be my best chance of the weekend for a top result. My first practice run was crappy. The trail was in bad shape. It was covered with sticks and leaves and was slick from rain during the week. I don't think anyone rides these trails any other time during the year. Also, my rear brake went out midway through the run. I was frustrated, but I hopped back on the shuttle and went for a few more runs. The brakes got better on the next few trips down, but they were still poor compared to what I like to have to be comfortable at that kind of speed. The trail was drying out and lines were forming with each practice run. There were more riders this year than I have ever seen them have for this event.
Just before the shuttle ran us up for the first race run, I tried to get the air out of my brake line one more time. Shannon and I tapped the hose and worked the bubbles up to the reservoir, getting out as many as we could before it was time to go. The race format was for two runs with your best time counting for the results. Pros and experts were scored together. There was some good talent in my group. XC riders Ryan Woodall, Robert Marion, and Victor Alber were also competing for the Triple Crown. Pro downhill racer Ryan Taylor was also on hand. I was most worried about Taylor. He is fast going down and has the legs to blast the pedaling sections. The only thing that was going against him was that he was on his heavy downhill bike. I knew I would have to beat him on the pedaling sections where his big bike would be dragging him down.
Super D course dropping down the mountain via Turkey Chute
The first run kicked off with Marion going down first. I started quite a ways back in the order which was fine with me. I wanted a few guys to go down first to make sure the spectators were out of the trail. I definitely didn't want to have another incident of catching a rider that didn't know we were racing. I had a good first run. I hit all my lines and the brakes worked well. I didn't feel super strong in the pedaling sections though. I threw in pedal strokes in a lot of the steeper sections and I think that cost me time in the flat sections. My chest was hurting at the end so I know I wasn't fully warmed-up either. Still, I clocked the 3rd best time of 3:33. I was 5 seconds behind Alber and Taylor, who were separated by just 0.5 seconds.
Taylor on his first run
I put in pedal strokes every chance I got
Up high on the berm through this turn
I was pumped for run 2. I knew I could steal out a few more seconds if I was smooth and saved a little more for the flat sections near the bottom. I was confident I could pick up that 5 seconds. Run 2 started well. I hit my lines again and carried my speed better through the turns. The course was drying out and was much faster in the turns. I was feeling good as I got close to the second pedaling section. I wasn't breathing hard and was ready to sprint my guts out. Then deja vu happened. I saw a slow rider up ahead. It was a woman out pre-riding the XC course. I yelled as soon as I saw her and she panicked, stopping right in the middle of the trail. It was on the last steep section. I was carrying way too much speed to stop and had to take to the bushes on the left to miss her. I just squeaked by her front wheel and then came that horrible hissing sound of a flat. I ran over a rock or something in the bushes and pinched-flatted my rear tire. I couldn't believe it! Another race ruined by somebody who wasn't supposed to be on course!
Taylor's second run was even better
Flying over the roots and rocks on my second run just before my flat
Andy Johnston during the Super D
The two riders behind me bettered their time and I wound up getting 5th. That bumped me off the podium and out of the money. I was so disappointed. It really sucks when you have a problem that was totally out of your hands. Ryan Taylor won like I expected. I wish I could've given him more of a battle, but it wasn't meant to be today.
Here's a video from the Super D, featuring both practice and race runs. You can see my issue with the other rider about to happen at the end. I am going considerably faster than her as I pass the camera and you can hear me yell "Rider!" as I go out of sight. Too bad it didn't get me clear track.
Super D Video
Rain rolled into the area just after the finish of the Super D. We had to rush back to the campground because we had left the rain fly off the tent. We made it back just in time, but didn't have time to get the rain fly on properly before a torrential rainstorm hit. It poured for over 2 hours. The tent leaked a little, but overall we stayed pretty dry considering.
Our set-up at Cable Cove
Fungus on a stump
After lunch and a nap, it was back over to the village for the short track. The short track takes place in the evening on the ball field in the center of the village. It's a great race for spectators because the course is very small and fully visible at all points. Here's last year's video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwHZlLTMV5w.
The course was slightly different this year. We started at the bottom of the hill and raced across the grass, onto the pavement, then into gravels before a steep grassy climb to the top of the hill. The finish line was located at the top of the hill. There was then a new flat left-hand curve around a fire pit before we made the descent back to the bottom. The left turn at the bottom was much wider and more gradual this year. I liked that because you could carry more speed onto the climb than in recent years. The grass was slick from the rain, making the corners a bit treacherous. Cat. 3 and Cat. 2 Men were supposed to be one race, but they had so many riders that they had to split them up. Cat. 3 Men went first for 10 minutes, followed by Cat. 2 Men, then Women. All Women were grouped together. Pro/Cat. 1 Men went last.
Short Track course from my GPS
Thankfully somebody else still has fun at this race
Me during practice
Practice
Practice shot
There were some good battles in the early races. The crowds had gathered by the time the Pro/Cat. 1 Men lined up. We had around 25 riders on the start line. I dressed up again this year, keeping the costume tradition alive. I was the one that started dressing up for this race back in its inaugural running in 2006. Costumes were popular for a few years, but then everybody got super serious and only I kept the costume tradition alive last year. I was pleased to see at least some bunny ears on a helmet in one of the early races. There were no other Pro/Cat. 1s that dressed up. Just me sitting on the start line in my grass skirt and coconuts. I ran the hula girl costume back a few years ago and it was a crowd pleaser so I brought it back for this year. It's my favorite because it features less clothing which helps keep me cool on a hot summer night.
Cat. 3s and Juniors on the start line
Junior rider
Cat. 3 and Junior riders coming down the hill during their race
This guy had support from his two shirtless buddies
Ready to go
The race was fast from the sounding of the horn. That's to be expected in a race that only lasts just over 15 minutes. I had a decent start, going up the hill in the middle of the pack. By the time we threaded through the turns on lap 1, we were strung out single-file over half the course. I had gambled on tire choice, going with my slick and super-lightweight Maxxis Maxxlite 310 tires. They're very fast, but also don't get much traction. I figured nothing would hook up well on wet grass so the gamble was worth taking. The lightness helped on the climbs, but I struggled in the two tight left-hand corners. The early races had worn the grass off the turns, uncovering some slick mud. There was a rut or root in the turn at the top of the hill. It was dark up there so I never saw what it was, but we were all hitting it. I was slowest in the left turn at the bottom. I had trouble getting back to pedaling quick enough coming out of the corner which kept getting me gapped. The climb up the hill the first few laps was almost constant camera flashes. It was almost blinding.
Pro/Cat. 1 Men ready to go
The Pros coming around on lap 1
Still shot from the video taken by the seatpost camera early in the race. You can see the grass skirt hanging down over the edge of my seat.
First two laps of the Pro Men's Short Track from my seatpost. Check out the shadows at the end of the video. You can see the grass skirt flying.
The group split after just a few laps and two large groups formed with a few stragglers hanging off the back. I was on the back of the second group early on. Then riders started popping off the back and got me gapped. I dangled for a while, but then nearly crashed trying to pass a slower rider. I yelled "On your left!" and he swerved left as he tried to look back at me. That cost me a lot of time and got me lapped by the lead group.
The crowd was crazy. Some were supportive, some were not. They yelled both good things and bad things at me for my costume. Some said I wasn't serious enough to be in Pro. Others seemed to think this is the clothing I would wear all the time. I think a lot of people missed the point about this being fun and a tradition. Many of the riders didn't like it either and they wanted to race me a little more aggressively than they normally would. I think that was from a combo of my costume and me being off the scene this year. A lot of the riders think I'm too slow to race Pro now so they give me a hard time during the races. That's fine with me. I have elbows too.
Racing hard in costume. Photo by GoneRiding.
The skirt was flying in the breeze
Looking down at my rear tire and cassette during the race
I was good the first 10 minutes, then faded after the near-crash. I got lapped for a second time with a lap to go, but this was voluntary. I wanted to be out of the way so the leaders could have a clear track. I wanted to be sure I didn't effect the sprint. I was happy to see Ryan Woodall win the race for the 7th time in the race's 7-year history. He's a good dude and deserves it. Good job Ryan! I ended up 21st. I lost two spots when I moved over to let the leaders go by that last lap. I was pleased with my performance considering I've been dropped right from the gun the past 3 years. I actually got into a rhythm during the race and battled with some people. My top-end is still poor, but it is improving. I hit 184 bpm on my heart rate during the race and averaged 173. We grabbed some ice cream in the village after the race and then headed back to the campground for a few episodes of Burn Notice on the laptop before going to bed. It takes a few minutes to wind down after an effort like that.
Short Track video
Sunday brought the XC race. It was the 10th and final race of the SERC series. The course at Fontana is a tough one, featuring a lot of climbing. But it is also one of the most fun. It is probably my most favorite XC course to race on. I am always destroyed afterwards, but I love it. The Pro race was scheduled for 4 laps of 7.3 miles. The course was in bad shape prior to this week. Dave Berger spent all week clearing the trails of downed trees and overgrowth. The rain on Saturday made things slick in places, but overall the trail was good.
We used the same course as last year. It begins with a steep climb on the road before turning into the woods for a quick descent followed by a short switchback climb behind the lodge. The course is a figure-8 layout with a crossing point on a gravel road behind the lodge. Once you go through the crossing the first time, the trail rolls along the side of the mountain, gradually climbing it's way up to Lewellyn Cove. Then comes a steep, rocky descent with a few switchbacks. The bridge at the bottom was out so we had to cut a new trail around it with a treacherous creek crossing that required a dismount from the bike. The trail then turns back to rolling hills with more climbing than descending. Some of the uphills are steep as you get closer to the village. Next up is a vicious gravel road climb back through the figure-8 crossing point. This climb is long and very steep. It's the leg-breaker of the course. It's followed by more rolling singletrack that is super narrow at first, then widens and gets rocky before the top. The trail dumps you out on the pavement for one last rise up to Turkey Chute. Riders then get a fast downhill back to the village, followed by a climb to the finish line. The last 50 meters before the finish line are up the final steep hill in the grass used the day before in the short track.
XC Trail Map
Pro Men on the start line for the XC. Photo by GoneRiding.
We had 9 riders for the Pro race. Junior X riders also started with us. I got smoked off the line and fell to the back of the group immediately. The pace was very fast up the initial road climb. I dropped a few bike lengths off the back before the last steep pitch, but I remained mostly in contact with the group, although I was next to last entering the woods. I could've gone harder, but I doubt it would've been worth it. I maybe would have gotten two or three positions. I'm not very good on the long, steep climbs and I knew this would be a long race so I chose to pace myself. The last few years I have been way off the back entering the woods so things were already looking better. I paced off the Juniors the first few miles, passing a few of them on the first lap. I nearly crashed once. There was a huge root ball in the trail from a fallen tree. I got hung on it and hit my man parts. I didn't hit the ground, but I did hurt myself a little.
The first time up the gravel climb was awful. It was wet at the bottom and had less gravels over the mud than in past years. The soft mud soaked up all momentum and made the lower slopes tougher than the upper. I was hurting bad the first time up. I tried to be he-man and stay on the middle ring even though I knew I could go faster in my granny. I started to feel good on lap 2 after the road climb. I started to gain on some of the other Pro riders. All was well until I reached the root ball. I was determined to clear it smoothly this lap, but instead ended up on my face. My bike was just too short for the steepness of the root ball. My front and rear wheels hung simultaneously and I went flying over the bars. Maybe if I had 29" wheels and a longer wheelbase it wouldn't have been so bad.
Coming up the hill to end lap 1. Photo by GoneRiding.
The crash ruined my rhythm for a few miles and I dropped some time to those ahead of me. Riders from the classes that started after us were catching me. In recent mountain bike races, I haven't even been able to get on pace with anyone that caught me. Today was different though. I stayed with most of them for a few miles before they would drop me. It was fun to actually be racing with someone instead of feeling like a rolling road block. I even ran some of them back down later in the race.
Me coming into view at the base of the gravel climb
Me working hard at Fontana
Riders on the lower portion of the gravel climb
A rider comes up the final road climb toward the finish line
Shannon Mathis on her way to winning the Cat. 2 Women
Regan Woodall
I was over 3 minutes slower on lap 2 than on lap 1, but I was back in my rhythm and feeling good again. Shannon fed me and reported that Tanner Hurst was just 1:13 ahead. I haven't beaten him in a long time so I really wanted to see if I could catch him. I picked my lap time up by over a minute and caught Hurst on lap 3. I ran the root ball the last two laps so I had no more spills. I managed to finish in 7th with a time of 2:52:26. I usually finish in outside of 3 hours here, so that was a good improvement. I pushed myself hard the last lap, but I wasn't all that tired after the race. That big block of long miles really has improved my endurance. Max heart rate for the day was 179 bpm. Average was 161 bpm.
Tanner Hurst
Me about to start another loop out to Lewellyn Cove
Riders on the grass just before the finish
Me passing some nice banners at the finish
And I'm done
XC Video
Now I have 2 weekends off to train before hitting another round of crits. I'll be starting with the Lynskey Performance Southern Sunset Crit. in Chattanooga on August 25. Then it'll be on to St. Louis for four days of crits. at the Gateway Cup, which is one of my target races for the year. Thanks for reading! And thanks Shannon for most of the pictures and videos posted here. She has been tearing it up with the camera and keeping me on track at home and in the races.
