A 65-degree morning was followed by a temperature crash down into the 20s. Then came an inch or two of ice, followed by a few inches of snow. It was only our second real snow of the year, which is surprising because it has been a very cold winter. The first snow only lasted a day, this made it six days before it melted away. Work was a disaster. We had little trouble driving the roads, but everyone else thought they were treacherous. The snow gave perfect traction and we never slid. I think a lot of people just like to panic. They enjoy using the snow as an excuse to not go to work or not come to therapy. We were slow at work and had time to do a little sledding behind a truck...on a snow shovel. I rode down the street standing on a snow shovel getting towed behind a coworker's truck. It was great! Shannon and I also went to my parents' house and did some sledding down the hill on the road they live on. We took a few spills along the way. I was sore as crap by the middle of the week. Totally worth it though.
Our backyard
The snow was still on the ground when we departed on Friday for Florida. The destination was Ocala and the Santos Trails for the first South Eastern Regional Championship (SERC) Series mountain bike race of the year. I was very excited to get in some riding, soak up some sunshine and return to mountain bike racing. It would be my first real Pro mountain bike race in over a year and a half! Hard to believe I would ever be away that long.
Washing the bike in the snow on Thursday. Just warm enough to be able to use the hose.
The trip down took longer than expected. Shannon forgot her helmet, which we realized only one exit down I-24 so going back to get it did not cost us too much time. Then good ole Atlanta slowed us down on both sides of town with congestion and accidents. We got to Ocala later than expected, but still had time to hit the trails. It was chilly, with the temp in the low 50s and a cold breeze blowing. I rode some of the main trails used for the Santos Fat Tire Festival that was going on all weekend, then made my way over to the Vortex Trails that were to be used for the race. The Vortex side has some freeride areas as well. There is a beginner dirt jump park, an advanced set of dirt jumps and some freeride lines that jump into the Vortex Pit, which is an old rock quarry. I played on the beginner dirt jumps for a while, then took a lap on the race course.
Advanced dirt jump line
Beginner dirt jump area
I did not like the race course at first. The loop was like two different trails. The first 3 miles were fast and all pedaling. There were many turns, but most were wide, sweeping turns with berms. The last 3 miles were the complete opposite. The trails were typical Florida quarry riding. They were tight, technical and full of steep ups and downs. There were a few nasty rock features that tested your skills and nerve. I could not get into any kind of rhythm and was uncomfortable on a lot of the technical features.
On the ride back to the car, I was following the trail arrows again from the Fat Tire Festival ride. I got to this wooden feature that was several big rollers hooked together. I pulled off the trail as some riders were coming toward me. The second one in the line of three was going too fast and got air over one of the humps. He was completely out of control going up the next hump and flew off the ramp. He shot right towards me! I had little time to react. I was pinned between the ramp and a big tree, so all I could do was push my bike out of the way the best I could and prepare for impact. I laid my left shoulder into him and knocked him down. Turns out that my check to him is the only thing that kept him from going head first into the tree I was standing in front of. We were both ok and he was very appreciative that I was standing there. I likely saved him from eating some bark. I guess training with those football players at work finally paid off! My handlebars got twisted, but a quick tune with the wrench had things straightened out. I was glad everyone came out ok.
We rented a cabin for the weekend a few minutes away on the other side of Ocala. I had stayed there before, way back in 2003 when I first came to Florida for a SERC at the old Razorback trails in Reddick. We arrived well after the campground closed. The host had left us a key, but it broke off in the lock when we tried to unlock the door. After a few minutes of asking around, we found out where the host lives. He was not home, so we waited outside the house. He came back in about 15 minutes and quickly got us a new key. It was smooth sailing after that.
View from our cabin on Saturday morning
Duck Island in the middle of the pond
It was a cold night and a chilly Saturday morning for Florida. It got down to 39 degrees. We waited for it to warm up a bit before heading to Santos for more pre-riding. I took Shannon out on some of the easier trails in the park, then did 2 laps on the race course. I felt much more comfortable on the trail today and even found a bit of rhythm in the tight section around the Pit.
Following Shannon through some Florida singletrack
Shannon
Me tackling one of the rock features on the SERC race course
We stopped periodically to watch the freeride competitions that were going on in the Pit as part of the Fat Tire Festival. There was a young kid getting major air on the dirt jumps. And we finally got to see some people launch to big drop into the Pit that I have always heard so much about. I almost signed up for the Beginner dirt jump competition, but it was starting too late and I wouldn't be able to finish it. We had to leave to be able to make it over to Daytona by 7. We had tickets for the AMA Supercross at Daytona International Speedway.
Young kid hitting the big jumps
Hip jump
There were a few BMX bikes in the competition as well
A rider does the big drop into the Vortex Pit
See our video from the Freeride Competitions below.
Video: Santos Freeride Comps
I had never been over to the legendary Daytona. They parked us inside the speedway in the infield. We got to drive through the tunnel and next to turns 1 and 2. It is unreal how high the banking is on that track! We got parked and made our way to the stands just as the races began. We watched all the Heat races, the Semis, LCQs and Finals races for the 250 and 450 classes. The track was very technical and really challenged the riders. They were trying different combinations in the jumps in search of faster lines. Some of the guys pushed it over the big jumps and got some MAJOR air. It was a cool event to see in person and cool to see Ryan Villopoto win the biggest race of the year. You can rewatch the TV coverage of the event here. A few clips we filmed are posted below.
Daytona Supercross
Our view of the Daytona Supercross
Leaving the speedway was a nightmare. There were no rules in that infield. People were driving 50 mph across the grass and trying to merge five cars down into one line. I think most of the people driving were drunk. Then outside the speedway the traffic was horrible. It took us over an hour to make it the 2 miles back to I-95. We got back to the cabin at 1:45 in the morning, which became 2:45 because this night also happened to be Daylight Savings Time. Great. Getting in the bed at 3am with a race starting at 9:30am. What a night though!
Morning came early on Sunday. We got a little under 4 hours of sleep. It was another chilly morning, but not as cold as the previous day. I felt good in warm up. I was awake and ready to go! The start was a short dash to the woods. We went about 50 meters in the grass, then hooked a 90-degree left before another 50 meter stretch of grass took you to the singletrack. The left side of the start line was full 15 minutes before race as everyone wanted to be on the inside on the first turn. I lined up late and was forced to take the outside line. I was lined up in black shorts and a black and green jersey. Since my sponsorship has been cut back, I am no longer wearing the Maxxis factory gear. I was back in black for sure.
I got a good jump off the line, but was obviously at a disadvantage going into the first turn. The riders on the inside pushed wide. I was ready for this and back off a bit, then cut inside. I had a clear shot at passing most of the group, but Regan Woodall hit the post on the inside of the turn and that shot him into my line. We came together, banging bars pretty hard. His brake lever stabbed me in my hand, right in a spot I had already tore up twice this week. The slow down put both us near the back entering the woods. We were 10th and 11th out of the 13 starters.
The pace was high in the first section, as expected. I had to work hard to stay on the back. I was surprised to still be with the group after 2 miles, and to look behind me and see that everyone else had been dropped. I was the last man in the lead group. Regan dropped his chain and that got me gapped. I never was able to rejoin the lead group. I let Regan pass me in hopes of him pulling me back up to the group, but he gapped me before I could even get back on the trail. I entered the second half of the course 10 seconds behind Regan and 30 seconds behind the group. I pushed hard on the tight section. I had found my rhythm for sure today and knew I would be fast in there. The last two days on the mountain bike really brought my confidence in my skills back up. I steadily gained on Regan and was on him as we ended the first lap. We were just over 1 minute behind the lead group, which was still intact.
Course map from my GPS
Pro start line photo courtesy of GoneRiding
The surge off the line on the start photo courtesy of GoneRiding
Robert Marion leads the Pro group into the singletrack photo courtesy of GoneRiding
Ryan Woodall leads the front group out of the Pit for the first time
Regan Woodall chasing
Me chasing after Regan on lap 1
Video: Pro start and first lap clips
Lap 2 went well. Regan gapped me again in the first half of the course. I kept him in sight and then he dropped his chain again. I went by and never saw him again. I was steady and dropped only a few seconds on this lap as compared to my lap 1 time. I caught the Junior X leader and passed him in the tight section. The group began to split up ahead. I was within 70 seconds of two riders in front of me. The Junior X leader passed me again, hooked onto the wheel of his teammate who was leading the 40-49 class. They both got away from me, but I pulled them back again early in the tight section.
Ryan leading the front group of 5
Thomas Turner and Marion running 3rd and 4th
Halfway through lap 3 and Woodall still leads the front group
Me halfway through lap 3
A rider drops down into the Pit next to the dirt jumps
Ryan leads the group by the dirt jumps
Me entering the Pit next to the jumps
Shannon told me I was gaining on the riders ahead. That made me push even harder. I overdid it on one of the rocky sections with some tight turns. My front tire broke loose in a right turn and shot me to the right. I was pedaling and clipped my pedal on a rock off the side of the trail. It pole-vaulted me up in the air sideways. The bike came down hard on a big rock and it blew my back tire. I almost went over the bar, but the stem got caught on my chest and knee. It hurt, but it kept me from faceplanting.
I fell over in the trail. My knee hurt so bad! I had to lay there a minute before I could assess the tire damage. There was no room on the trail here so I had to walk up the next hill (make that limp up the next hill) to find a spot wide enough to get off the trail. I took my time changing the flat. I wanted to be sure the tire was not cut before I put a new tube in. My knee was killing me anyway so I doubt I would have been able to ride right away. Eight minutes after it all started, I was back on board at full speed. The knee felt fine after a minute of riding.
Seconds before my flat and almost-crash photo courtesy of GoneRiding
Third place Pro finisher Michael Danish
I dropped a few spots while changing the flat, but I still had good legs. I was able to get right back into my rhythm and pass everyone back. I got back to the position I had been in prior to the flat, but I didn't get a chance to catch those I was pursuing prior to the incident. The flat sucked, but it did not put a damper on my day. This was, by far, the best race I have done in years in every way. I had good legs, I could sprint to close gaps and get up hills, I stayed consistent all day and I never once got discouraged or even worried about my position. I feel like I have been dropped immediately in every mountain bike race I have done the past three years so hanging on the first few miles today was a huge improvement. Looking at the lap times, I need to pick up just 1 minute per lap to be competing for a top 5 in these races. It was so good to be back at the GoneRiding events. Dave and Teri are great people and I am happy to be supporting them and their series. Also, it was so cool how everyone welcomed me back after being absent for most of the last two years. It was good to see all my old friends and competitors again. Mountain bikers really are a different group when you compare them to roadies. It's a group that I like better overall.
Ryan Woodall won a tight battle over Thomas Turner for the Pro win. Michael Danish was third, Marion fourth and Lewis Gaffney took 5th. I wound up 9th. Shelley Allen won the Pro Women's race over Sarah Hill and Kym Flynn. Full results are posted here if you want to see them. You can thank Shannon for all the wonderful race pictures uploaded here. There are more pictures available here courtesy of the bunch at GoneRiding.
After the race, Shannon and I did some more riding. We even geocached a bit. Shannon had never cached before. We are hoping to find one at every place we travel to this year. These were easy ones, but they were in cool places. One was hidden in a huge palm tree off the side of the trail. I did one last run on the more difficult section of the race course and then we hit the road. I got in over 4 hours of riding on race day. That makes the trip worth while.The drive home was smooth. We were tired form lack of sleep, but we made it home safe. I can't wait to do it again! next race is in two weeks at my old stomping ground of Chickasaw in Columbia, TN.
Riding the wooden humps after the race. This was the set that caused the rider to lose control and hit me head-on on Friday.
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