More Grindin' Than Bumpin'

     May ended with the BUMP N' Grind race weekend in Pelham, AL, near Birmingham. I have not done this race for several years now. It was always a great XC event. Now it has been made into a full weekend full of races. You have the Air Downhill, Turn & Burn Short Track and Super D events all on Saturday. Then the traditional BUMP N' Grind XC takes place on Sunday. Riders can do all four races and compete for the Omnium title.

    The last time I raced BUMP, it was a Pro XCT event in 2010, when I was still in PTA school. It was my first year racing Pro and I got hammered. We had about 100 riders and I had to start at the back. It was a slow train the first lap and I was probably 10 minutes behind after just 1 lap of 5. I wound up getting lapped on my fourth lap and never got to do the last lap. That year they raced the Pros on a stupid short loop that was "spectator friendly." I think it was more "rider and spectator boring." Almost half of it was pavement! And we did not get to go through the infamous "Blood Rock" section where the spectators always gather. Since then, I have not been excited about this race. But now we are back to using the old loop, plus some new sections. Race distance is now back to over 33 miles for the XC.

     To be honest, the only reason I was going was for the gravity events. I absolutely love racing downhill and Super D. You get to do more jumps, more technical sections and go much faster! I know I have not been riding enough XC to be ready for a big XC race. I packed all three of my bikes. I would likely need my Remedy for the downhill, hardtail for the short track and Titus Racer-X for the Super D and XC.

     My parents wanted to go and offered to take their camper and new truck. My Dad was wanting to see what kind of gas mileage he could get with the new truck on a longer trip. It takes us about four hours to get to Oak Mountain State Park where the race is held. We drove down on Friday night, getting there just after dark. The roads were wet from a recent shower. I was hoping the trail wasn't too muddy as the Air Downhill was taking place early Saturday morning.

      There was no official downhill practice on Saturday. I had never seen the trail and I wanted a few practice runs. I wasn't sure what to expect. It is an "Air" downhill, which could mean big drops, or big jumps or that it's not even really a downhill course. I got up just after daylight and jumped on my Remedy to ride the 3 miles over to the course. The ride over on the road was a good warm-up. Then I climbed a fire road that parallels the downhill course, taking me up to the start area. The first run was a little scary on the jumps. It was a much smoother course than I expected. There wasn't a root to be found. Some of the berms were massive which was good for carrying speed. There were several double jumps, most were made like tabletops so there was not much penalty for coming up short. The scary part to me was launching some of the blind ones where to takeoff blocked your view of the landing. I climbed the fire road again and took a second run before it was time to go to registration and pick up my packet.

       The family was all loaded up in the truck and picked me up at the road, drove me to registration and back. My Dad joined me for my next ride up the hill and ran the course with me. The third run turned out to be my last run before the race. I was a bit more comfortable now and starting to learn most of the sections. I wanted to memorize the upper part and be ready to carry my speed into a small uphill section that came halfway down the hill. I figured the race would be won there.

     I was scheduled to be the third rider to start, but neither of the first two were at the start when race time rolled around. So, I was the first rider to head down the hill. I don't like going first because often there are people on the course that do not realize the racers are coming. I dropped into the course off a big wooden ladder drop and drilled the first few berms. Then I almost had a massive crash on one of the blind jumps. I hit the face of the jump a little too hard and it caused my rear suspension to rebound extra hard. Combine that with more hang time than I expected and things got scary in the air. It really is amazing how much faster you go in the race and how much higher/farther you jump. I was rear-end high flying through the air. I was bracing for impact as I just knew I was going over the bars. But somehow I rode the front wheel about 15 feet and the rear came back down. I got it back under control just in time for the next jump, which was a step-up double into a left turn. I got squirrely on the takeoff and was sideways going into the turn, but the tires gripped and I shot out of the corner like a rocket.

Me during my run

     The next few turns went well and I entered the pedaling section at full-gas. I rode as hard as I could up the rise, then sprinted back up to speed as the trail declined again. I got rear-end high over another jump near the bottom, but not as bad as the first time. I was a bit slow through the last hairpin turn, but I hit the line in 2:56:00. I also tied my highest heart rate of the year hitting 184 near the bottom! Then the waiting game began. There was talk of giving us a second run if time permitted, but all the riders were taking their sweet time getting to the start line. The starter was not enforcing the start times at all and it wound up costing us a second run. It was almost time for the start of the Cat. 3 Short Track when the last rider finished, so we did not get a second run. I had no idea where I finished, but I was guessing that the big mistake early in the run had cost me the win, maybe more. We have a brief Air Downhill video posted below.

Air Downhill race video

     While we waited for downhill results, I took a run on the Super D course. I took the Remedy down the first time. Shannon and Mom decided to ride down too. We were cruising along the fairly easy section at the start, when I bit it in an off-camber right corner. It was one of the slow-speed crashes where Hulk Hogan was hiding behind a tree and jumped out just in time to body slam me on the ground. It freaking hurt! My right hip took the brunt of the fall and I got lots of rock rash from the rocky dirt. My lower leg and hip were chewed up like road rash. I couldn't believe that just happened! I cruised the rest of the way down just trying to collect myself, then I changed bikes and made a second practice run, this time on the Titus. The course had a lot of pedaling early, followed by a trip through the treacherous Blood Rock section, then down a fast descent with some scattered rocks and roots. The Titus was much better suited to the course, especially with all the pedaling.

     After the second run, it was time to check results and get ready for the Pro/Cat. 1 Short Track. Downhill results were up and I got 2nd! I was pumped until I saw the time. I got beat by 0.7 seconds! So close! That little mistake did cost me the win after all.

Pro Air Downhill Podium. Brad Perley on top. Me 2nd.

     I changed out of my baggies for the short track. It was going to be 20 minutes of speed and pain! The course was laid out by some psycho who clearly was not going to be racing. We began on pavement before crossing a ditch into a wooded area for a quick downhill that featured a small creek crossing at the bottom. The creek had become a mudhole by the time our race started. Then came a sweeping right turn in the gravel before you twisted through some pine trees on a wide, rooty trail. Another pit of mud awaited before more pavement. You exited the pavement to the right over a big dirt pile, then got a slight second of flat trail before you hit a massive climb. This climb was ridiculous. It was long and super steep the whole way up it. And the soil was rather loose, making it difficult to stay out of the saddle. Once at the top, you plunged down a steep, twisty descent and made a 180-degree left turn through a ditch full of leaves back onto the road to complete the lap. It took about 2 minutes to make a lap, which leaves little time for recovery before having to scale the mountain again.

     I started near the back of the group. It was mostly made up of Pros and Junior X riders. The Juniors started fast and mixed in with all the Pros. I don't like starting with the Juniors because they take too many risks to stay up front. On the start, we nearly had a big pile-up crossing the first ditch. I had to take action and shoot to the right, almost getting run into a wooden post. That put me near the back on the first lap.

Pro/Cat. 1 Short Track Start Line

Me (right) in traffic up the hill the first lap

      Everybody went up the hill well the first time, then you could see the damage as we started lap 2. People were blowing up all around me. I was trying to get through the traffic, but had another setback when the rider in front of me crashed on one of the gravel turns. I almost had to stop to get by him. That left a big gap in the line that we were never able to close up. It became two groups on the course. The front group had about 6 riders in it, then came a group of about 8 that I was in the middle of.

Me again on the hill

Carson Beckett in the front group

Topping Turn & Burn Mountain

     I finally worked my way through my group, but I was still losing time to the leaders. I couldn't push it through the corners as much as I wanted. I chose to run my Maxxlite 310 tires, which are super light and super fast, but offer minimal help with traction. The front group was down to 4 now. They were Air Downhill winner Brad Perley, Ryan Woodall, Carson Beckett and Tristan Cowie. I was working hard to catch the two that had been dropped from that group.

Brad Perley leads the front group on the twisty downhill

Perley in front

Still chasing

     I got lapped at 2 laps to go...or at least what I thought was 2 laps to go. Apparently, the official had told the leaders 2 laps to go the lap before, then told them 2 to go again the next lap as they lapped me. I was almost up to the rider in front of me and was timing it so that I could catch him on the last lap and attack him up the hill. When I came through to get what I thought was 1 lap to go, he was just a few bike lengths ahead of me. He sat up as we crossed the ditch, so I attacked him right then. He had no answer. He looked blown. Actually, he was done. He had been told the right amount of laps to go. So I hammered an extra lap for nothing. I finished 7th on the final results, even though I think we should have gone one more lap.

Tristan Cowie leads

The front four: Cowie, Woodall, Perley and Beckett

Carson had a great race

The hill is really hurting now

The leaders roll through the wooded section and mudhole

     The biggest load of crap was that the leaders were thinking like me. They were in a group looking at each other when they came through to get 1 to go...but actually the race was over. They were confused and decided to race it out anyway, with Ryan Woodall getting to the line first. The official was arguing with everyone saying that he made no mistake and even wanted to fight a guy that questioned him. It was a big old mess. He refused to take the order of the rider sprint as the results and instead paced everyone by how they crossed the line the lap before. It was crap. At least Ryan had managed to just cross the line ahead of everyone that lap, so he did get 1st either way. I felt bad for Brad Perley though. He had crossed the line 4th that lap and maybe would have been better placed. It was more important to him because he was battling me for the Omnium title and every point matters. I was just hoping this wouldn't effect the outcome for either of us when the final points were tallied on Sunday.

     Our Short Track video is posted below. You can hear the official tell the leaders they are done and you will clearly see that they are not racing for the line. They had no idea that was the last lap.

BUMP Turn & Burn Short Track: Pro/Cat. 1 Video

     After the Short Track, I cleaned up my bloody leg and then headed up to the Super D for two more practice runs with Carson. It was fun riding with him. He showed me that you can in fact pitch around a 29" bike just like a 26". I have now seen it done. We resurrected an old line through Blood Rock that was much faster and safer, though getting to it was a bit difficult as you had to jump up and off-camber bank in the middle of a rock garden. Momentum was going to be key to hitting that line. Steve Wilson originally created the line back in 2009, and he and I were the only ones I had ever seen hit it until today when Carson rode it.

     I was worn out by the time we started the Super D. It had been 10 hours now since I first threw my leg over the Remedy this morning. I tried to prop up my legs before the start, but that only lasted a few seconds as fire ants came out from under the leaves and bit me on my right arm. The fatigue of the day really showed on the opening section of the course. I could tell I was too slow in the pedaling section. I just didn't have the energy left. My arms and shoulders were very tired and that made Blood Rock even more challenging. I hit the line Carson and I had practiced and it worked well. I got booed by the crowd back in 2009 when I used it. This year they cheered, which was much nicer to hear than boos.

     I ripped the bottom section, but it was too little too late. I wound up 4th out of 4 in the Pro class, some 21 seconds off the top time, set by local rider Omar Fraser. Carson finished 2nd overall, just 0.61 seconds off of Omar! Carson is riding so well right now. The kid has the skills to pay the bills for sure. Omar was allowed to start while leaning against a tree with both feet clipped in, while the rest of us had to start with a foot down. I'm not trying to start any controversy here, but that could have very well saved him 0.61 seconds. Just saying. Brad Perley got 3rd in the Super D and so is leading me in the Omnium with just the XC to go.

     After the Super D, we headed back to the campground for dinner and the oh-so-fun first shower after road rash. It always burns the first time you get it wet, and you have to pick out the dirt from all the wounds. I always seem to find one or two more places that I didn't know were torn up. Being skinned up and bruised makes for a rough night of sleeping. I definitely won't be sleeping on my right side for a while.

May Preparation

     May is usually a month full of racing. It seems like every year we shcedule races every weekend of May and the best month of Spring usually is little more than a blur. Not this year. We only had races the first and last weekends of the month, leaving us more time to get things done at home and prepare for what is to come, both on and off the bike.

     I took advantage of my new schedule to log in some monster rides. I got in several 70-90 mile rides that were just brutal with hills. I went on a few roads that I have not been on in years. On one particular ride in the Joelton area, I rolled upon the set of a movie. Who knew they filmed movies in Joelton, TN? And who knew they were filming a movie about Chattanooga in Joelton, TN? They had fake Chattanooga City Limit signs on the road I was climbing. It's another reason not to believe what you see on TV. I have no idea what the movie was called or about.

     On these brutal rides I have been pushing myself hard to break my own personal records for the climbs or different stretches of road. I've chased Strava KOMs and gotten a few more. I've also pushed hard behind the scooter. Shannon is getting better at pacing me. She is getting more steady and giving me a better workout. I even sprinted the against the and almost beat it once. I have to cheat a little and set the sprint up on a slight uphill where the scooter can't accelerate as quickly. I'm trying really hard to get my max HR up. I've been in the low-180s for the early part of the year. Four or five years ago I was hitting 193 in the sprints and winning them. I believe that I will need to see at least 190 now before I will start winning races again.

    Our little garden is in the ground and looking good! We planted our same two plots as last year, plus made a climbing fence for beans and peas, and added a huge plot next to the house for bigger plants. Here's how the farm looks so far this year.

The upper plot is producing some lettuce, spinach and kale already

Green beans and peas getting started on the fence

The bush in the backyard is blooming

So we never had an iris bloom at our old house. Last year we got one flower. This year we have a bunch!

    Studying for the CSCS exam is going well. I'm getting plenty of time to read. It is almost an overwhelming amount of material to go through. I'm pacing myself well though and should be ready to test in June.

     With no races on the agenda, Shannon and I took the time to support a local tour ride. We went to the Little River Ride in Hopkinsville, KY, which is not too far away from us. The ride is raising money to continue building a greenway through Hopkinsville. I have ridden this ride three times previously. The last time I rode it was two years ago when Adam Queen and I broke away from the start and hammered into the wind by ourselves the whole way. This was Shannon's first-ever tour ride. Actually, it was also her first ever group ride too. My parents came with us. They rode with Shannon on the 30-mile loop, while I did the 60 option. It has been a warm Spring so far, but not this day. Blackberry winter was definitely here. It was 43-degrees when we got to the starting point!

Shannon was a little chilly, but still excited for her first tour ride

     I got hooked up with a group of 12 or so after mile 5. My favorite stretch of the whole loop comes after the first rest stop. The road becomes curvy and has a lot of short hills on it. It feels like riding a roller coaster in spots. Apparently, I hit it a bit hard and cut our group down to just four, with one dangling off the back. I went back to give the guy a draft and pulled him back to the group. He was an older man on an old-school steel frame bike with toe clips and down-tube shifters. The wheels looked stout enough to handle being put on a dump truck. I was super impressed that he was hanging with us rolling 23-25 mph. He lasted a few more miles, then fell off as the climbs got bigger.

     It was windy on the flatter second half of the loop. We took turns on the front, but I was getting bored. I didn't want to attack everyone and drop them, so I just did longer pulls than everyone else until we got to mile 50. I figured it was close enough to home that I could light it up without feeling bad for dropping someone. I took a turn at 30 mph for a few minutes. The guys laughed as I drifted back after my pull. One even called me "Rocket Man." There was no laughing the next time though. I pulled at 30 mph again, this time up a slight grade. One guy fell off the back. I did two more pulls cranking as hard as I could, shelling another guy. A triathlete from Clarksville hung with me all the way to the end. He looked to be the weakest rider in the beginning, but definitely was the strongest at the end when it counted. The route wound up being 60.1 miles and we completed it in 2:45:09 with a 21.8 mph average speed. Shannon turned out to be the strongest in her group and had a great ride. She enjoyed the flatness of the 30-mile course. Afterwards we got a lunch of hamburgers served up by the club volunteers. It was a fun day on the bike and a good workout.

       There's a new weeknight crit. series in Nashville this year. It's the Music City Crits Series, promoted by Michael Edens. He is a great guy and really will put on some good races. Edens has stepped up after the cancellation of the NashvilleCyclist.com Summer Crit. Series. Tim Hall was forced to cancel his series due to parking changes in Nashville. We raced at LP Field in the empty parking lot before. Now the lot is being used by employees of the State Capitol. Their parking lot was demolished to make way for the new Nashville Sounds baseball stadium. It will take all year to construct the stadium. After it is finished, the employees will park in the parking garage being built with the stadium and we can have LP again. Until then, we thought weeknight crits were done around here, but Edens has saved the day with his series taking place at the Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville.

     The series will be 12 races long, mostly happening on Wednesday nights. The first round was rained out as we had some nasty thunderstorms move through the area that afternoon. It was reschedule for the following Thursday. Rain and strong storms were again a threat, but we got the races in without a single drop of rain. There was lightning in the distance, but it never came close to the Speedway.

     I will have to admit that I was not excited to race the Speedway. In my mind, it would be boring. But again, Edens saved the day, coming up with a course configuration that was very fun and fast. The finish line is located on pit road, going in the opposite direction as the car races. The race course has a left 180 to start with. It is wide, but still sharp. The 180 takes you from pit road onto the front straightaway of the main racetrack. We then roll through turns 1 and 2 of the track and go down the backstretch into turn 3. From there, we dive down onto pit road, then hang a left onto the small racetrack in the center of the Speedway. Again, we are moving in the opposite direction than car racing. The transition from pit road to the small track makes for a quick left-right chicane. Then you fly down the backstretch of the small track and end the crit. course with a sweeping 180-degree right turn back onto pit road. It is a cool course and I instantly loved it once we hit it at race speed.

Maybe this map from my Garmin will help you better understand the layout. Going counter-clockwise...just like NASCAR.

Women dropping onto pit road

     The early races were fun to watch. I got in my warm-up outside the track and was surprised to have good legs. I was so stale on Saturday at Little River and I did a tough sprint workout yesterday. I did a morning spin to check the legs and they felt ok. And they were still good in the afternoon as I easily hit 180 HR in warm-up. That's rare for me.

     We started on the front straightaway of the big race track, on the actual Start/Finish line. That was a good starting point for us. I really didn't want to start the race with a 180. We had over 30 riders for the Pro/1/2/3 race. We were shortened to 50 minutes due to the other races running behind. The pace was fast early, as expected for a local shoot-out race. There were some big dogs in attendance, including many Cat. 1s. It was a good workout for me. I missed the break that went off in the first few laps. I attempted to bridge, but I had no acceleration tonight. I could push hard, but couldn't sprint to save my life. The group was content to just ride after the break went clear. The only big name that missed the break was Ryan Sullivan and he didn't seem to care. I took a few big turns on the front, just to make sure I got in a good workout. Mark Miller was doing the same thing. It was fun to be on the Speedway. I didn't realize there is some slight elevation change along the track. It's slightly uphill on the front stretch and through turns 1 and 2. The backstretch is then downhill. It's also a little rougher than I expected and the banking is much steeper than it looks from the grandstands. I felt like we were flying down the backstretch when we were doing 32 mph. I can't imagine doing it in a car at 160 mph.

Crash at the finish of the Cat. 4 race

Me leading this little group under the lights

     The break lapped us at the 35-minute mark. John Carr was in the break and I did my best to help him in the finish. I tried to tow him to the front in the closing laps, but we got separated. The final three laps were blazing fast. We flew down the backstretch the final lap and took the chicane a little faster than I was comfortable with, but I stuck it out and held onto the back of the line that sprinted for the win. The chicane was scary at times, but once I figured out there was no penalty for overshooting the exit I began to push it more. There's no wall on the outside of the turn, just grass and a small rumble strip that you can run right over.

     Tim Henry took the win out of the leading six riders. I was third in the sprint of the lapped riders, giving me 9th place on the night. John got 5th. I was pumped to get a top 10! We averaged 25.0 mph in the lapped group for just over 51 minutes. The last lap was the fastest lap all night and it also saw me hit my highest heart rate of the season at 184. It was so awesome to get to finish under the lights. I just love night racing!

    We spent Memorial Day Weekend in Indiana as has been our tradition in recent years. I love going up and visiting the family. Even more I love getting to race in front of them at Ft. Wayne. Well, this year the Ft. Wayne crit. was cancelled. I was disappointed, but it made for a much more relaxing weekend. We got to spend more time with the family and I got to do more exploring on the area roads. The highlight of the weekend was getting some mustard made by the Amish as the local bakery. Yeah, I'm a sauce nerd. We went to the flea market in Shipshewana on Memorial Day. There's always a bunch of Amish riding bikes in this area. They are usually on basic bikes, but I saw an Amish guy on a carbon Cannondale painted up like the Cannondale Pro Cycling Team. He may be the Amish Peter Sagan.

     I finished off the last week of May doing a little time on my mountain bikes. I have been riding all of my bikes to be ready for BUMP N' Grind next weekend in Alabama. They are having an Omnium this year, featuring a downhill, short track, Super D and XC. I am interested to see if I can still be a threat in the gravity races. It will be a good tune-up for my skills for MTB Nationals that are coming in July.

Carolina Racing

     One of these years I am going to do all of USA Crits Speed Week. It begins with Athens and Roswell, continues during the following week and through the next weekend. I never have enough off days to do anything more than the two week sets of races. This year I was off, but I am far from fast enough to justify spending that much money on pro races. I would get shelled in a matter of minutes. Not to mention that one of the midweek races was cancelled this year (Hilton Head, SC). That's a lot of travel expenses for what turned out to be only one race during the week.

    I did some sprint workouts during the week to work on my leg speed while also recovering from three hard races in Athens and Roswell. Shannon continued our streak of trashing equipment when her derailleur mysteriously shot into her rear wheel. She didn't shift or hit anything so I don't know what caused it. I was right behind her when it happened. It was like the ghost of that guy that hit me at Athens hit her! It twisted her derailleur hanger beyond repair, but thankfully for my wallet, the derailleur was fine and no spokes were broken.

    I was also happy to see my weight continue to decline. I had struggled with it in March, then miraculously hit my goal weight for Anniston on the day of the race. The weight went back up after Anniston, then was low again the day before Athens. Now I weigh in for Spartanburg and see the lowest weight I have seen in four years! What good timing!

     We skipped this part of the series last year to save money. I love the course at Spartanburg and the race atmosphere there. It's probably my all-time favorite race venue. It's where I did my first-ever Pro crit. three years ago. I was so excited to go there this year after missing it last year. About an hour into our trip we realized we had packed the cooler and then left it sitting in the middle of the kitchen floor. So we made a quick detour near Knoxville to a Walmart and bought more food, drinks and even a new cooler. This cooler was not a planned purchase, but it was much nicer than the cooler we have at home. I think it was just meant for me to have a new cooler today.

     Even with our detour we arrived in Spartanburg on time and I got in a great warm-up for the Cat. 2/3 event, scheduled for 40 minutes. I had a great race, definitely my best race of the year. I stayed attentive and pushed myself really hard. I felt a bit squirrely at times and nearly caught a few wheels. I think I was just pushing too hard and being too aggressive. Sometimes it is hard to concentrate on your line when your eyes are crossed from the effort.

Group strung out coming off turn 4 early in the Cat. 2/3 race

Turn 3 with the fair in the background

Me staying near the front in the green and black today

     I stayed near the front despite the high pace. This race was just a tad slower than the Amateur Finals at Athens at 26.9 mph average speed. A break of two got away and we wound up racing for 3rd. Tristan Cowie went off the front of our group with 2 to go. I tried to move up with a lap to go and found myself on the front of the pack as we took the bell. That was NOT where I wanted to be. Nobody would come around until the backstretch. The first surge came up my right. I jumped right onto the wheel, then the guy sat up. I touched my brakes and then got swarmed on my left. I just can't seem to time these finishes! I wound up losing a few spots out of the last corner as I did not have much left to sprint with. I finished 13th, which is still my best-ever Cat. 2/3 finish. Of course that was just outside of the money spots. I was pumped to have finished in the top 15 and been at the front on the final lap. At least I am getting involved in the sprint now.

The break gets a gap in the shadow of the Denny's Headquarters building

Group spread out in turn 2 as nobody wants to pull

The break passes some bike art on the backstretch

The group

Break of two stuck it to the end

Me in the line hammering hard near the end of the race

    Apparently, I am addicted to pain. I signed up to do the double. I lined up again that night for the Pro Men's race. We were scheduled for 70 laps. I knew I had good legs, but how many bullets had I used in the 2/3 race? My goal was to make at least 35 laps. I set that goal long before I knew how fast we would go. Those guys can lay the smack down at the start of a race! I way underestimated the whirlwind we were about to create around the tiny half-mile course. It was full-gas from the gun until the finish. I blew up on the fifth lap. Shannon said riders were already popping off the back on lap 2! I hit 34.0 mph down the cobbled frontstretch the lap I came off the back. My legs were not tired, I simply could not produce the speed necessary to hang with those guys. With such a short course, it is only a few laps before you are lapped and pulled. I think I completed 10 laps total before I became a spectator. From my vantage point, the pace never slowed all night. We have a short video of the action posted below, followed by the full live broadcast of both the Pro Women's and Pro Men's races. After the race, we headed over to Gaffney, SC and prepared for the next day's race.

Our race video which includes the Cat. 2/3 finish

Full broadcast of the Pro Women and Pro Men

     The Gaffney races were scheduled for Saturday afternoon, so we went exploring for the morning. I took Shannon by the Premium Outlets so she could shop while I studied my CSCS materials. We were again staying at the same hotel as the Garneau-Quebecor Professional Cycling Team. They have the mechanics that speak no English. All we could do was nod at each other in passing. I got a great deal of studying done before the race. I usually can't focus on anything other than the race on a race day, but today I was relaxed. Again today, I signed up for the double, Cat. 2/3 and Pro Men's races. Somebody check my brain.

     The Gaffney Criterium course scared me. It was just a big hill. The rectangular course went up the hill to turn 1, turned left, went across a slight false flat to turn 2. Then we screamed down the hill to an off-camber, 90-degree left before starting to go up to turn 4, which was another 90-degree left. Then it was all uphill through the start/finish to turn 1. It reminded me of the Sandy Springs course I dislike so much, only Gaffney is not as steep of a climb or as tight of a course. Finishing this race would be a tough task for me. It would definitely be my biggest test of the season.

     I rode the 50-minute race smart. I tried to stay farther up in the pack and away from the carnage that the hill was sure to produce. I got gapped once as the field was blowing to pieces from the high pace. For the first time in a long time, I was able to put my head down for a lap and close the gap down, then hold the wheel. I made the big selection!

Cat. 2/3 riders ready to go

Riders were constantly attacking and then looking back to see what damage had been done

I'm in black and white today sprinting on the left side of this picture as we climb the hill

Me pushing hard

What's this? Me on the front?!! Yes, closing a gap for the first time in a long time.

     Out of 45 riders, only 21 of us were left by halfway. Again, a break stole the show, this time with three riders in it. We sprinted for 4th. I was getting tired and wound up letting a good finish get away from me. I was not at the front of the group with a lap to go, so I just followed wheels and tried to make it through turn 3 without crashing. I was last in the line coming off turn 4 and clipped off one rider to take 20th. I had too much left in the tank though. I should have attacked in turn 2 and tried to go for a top spot. Even with the difficulty of the course and the massive headwind that ravaged us up the hill every lap, we managed to average 24.9 mph for the full race.

The group comes up the hill

Me in the group starting the downhill

I'm hurting here. Got to get on that wheel!

The break that won. They dropped the third rider in the final laps, but we did not catch him.

    Unlike last night at Spartanburg, my legs were feeling the burn between races. I was hurting when the Pro race got away. My goal was to last longer than last night, which would be difficult on a tough course such as this. The pace was wicked yet again. I got gapped when Bissel-Giant rider Mac Brennan had a mechanical issue on lap 4. I bridged the gap, but once I got there I couldn't hold it and off the back I went on lap 5. It was crazy the difference in speed. We were barely moving through turns 1 and 2 during the Cat. 2/3 race, whereas I was braking through turn 2 in the Pro race. I was pulled after 8 laps, but with a longer lap that made me equal on time to last night's race. The was 8 laps of ouch! I was a fan favorite while off the back. Everyone could tell how hard I was working and they really urged me on until I got pulled. There was a group of guys that recognized my Fox jersey from mountain biking. They were wearing moose antler hats and cheering for the mountain biker, even offering to get me a beer after the race. Too bad I don't drink. Chocolate milk would have been great though! Or a root beer!

Following Mac Brennan just after the start of the Pro race

It was strung out up the hill

An Athlete Octane rider was inflicting the pain on the climb

I am about to blow like a can of biscuits

Pro Men finished under the lights

    Our race video is posted below. There was no live coverage for Gaffney.

Gaffney Criterium video

     It was nice to see the peloton hurt before the race was over. The pace really dropped at the 45-minute mark and you could see pain on some of the faces out there. At least you know they're human. The Bissell rider I mentioned earlier, Mac Brennan, well he went off the front solo in the closing laps and stuck it. That ended Dan Holloway's streak, as Dan had won all four of the Speed Week races this week. Holloway took 2nd and the series overall. Then he flew out to California the next day to race the Dana Point Grand Prix...and won that too. What a week for Holloway!

     After the race we went to one of my favorite places to eat: Cook Out! I love a straight American hamburger and a good thick milkshake. Cook Out knows how to do them and their prices are cheap for us low-budget bikers.

    Speed Week was over, but another race remained. The NoDa Grand Prix was taking place on Sunday in nearby Charlotte, NC. I had heard this race had the speed, rider turnout, crowd and atmosphere that rivals Athens Twilight, so I had to go see. We caught a church service in Gaffney before heading toward Charlotte. We were late getting to the race after getting caught in some heavy I-85 traffic.

    I will not lie, I was very disappointed with the NoDa GP. The crowd was good, but the racer turnout and the course were not. The course was tight, difficult and a little on the dangerous side. It began with a downhill to turn 1, which was a 90-degree left. That was followed quickly by a 90-degree right onto a long straight into a headwind that began to descend near the end of the straight. You then hit what was known as "crash corner." It was narrow and blind. Definitely a good place to crash. After "crash corner" was a long, uphill backstretch that lead to the final two corners and a downhill sprint to the finish. It was definitely going to be a strung-out kind of race.

     Only 25 riders were on the line for the Cat. 2/3 race, scheduled for 50 minutes. It was fast the first lap. My legs were suffering up the climb. The second lap was slower and I settled in. I was thinking this would not be so bad, then it got fast again. The headwind down to "crash corner" was really tough and it began to wreak havoc on our group. Gaps started appearing. I had to close one up the hill and then I blew up coming out of turn 2, into the headwind. I only lasted 12 minutes, but I was far from the first one off the back. My legs just were not as strong as the previous two days. I plugged along for a few laps before getting pulled at 20 minutes. I finished 19th. Only 11 riders finished the race. We were averaging over 25 mph when I popped off the back. On a course like that, 25+ mph will blow a group apart. And it did. So I was told there were over 70 riders in the Cat. 2/3 two years ago and 45 last year. I'm guessing the riders don't care too much for the course either. I think a wider, less technical course would attract more riders and make for a better race. NoDa is a great area. They just need a great course to go with it. It's a race I will not go out of my way to get to again.

Cat. 2/3 start line was sparse

And we're off! I'm on the right in the orange and black kit

NoDa Grand Prix Video by Tricia Coyne

http://vimeo.com/94513124

     The weekend ended with a smooth drive home. We hit Cook Out again, this time in Shelby, NC. I tried their Cheerwine float and it was great! Shannon's Mom and Dad were at the house when we arrived. They were going to stay with us a few days while passing through on their way to Memphis to visit Jared and Emily at UT Memphis. I was supposed to be off work on Monday and had planned to spend the day with them, but I was called in to work at STAR AND to do a cookie dough delivery! Jessi had flight problems on a trip to Dallas and got stuck an extra night. I worked the morning until she was able to fly back to Nashville. Then it was off to Nashville for cookie dough. It was the last delivery of the school year so I couldn't pass up on some fun, easy money. I got home that night just in time to do a little fishing in our backyard pond with Dad Toney. He cooked up a few Bluegill for a late dinner and kept telling us about some monster catfish he almost caught. Oh the fish tales!