Even It Up

     The Ocoee SERC race weekend is always one of my favorites. Shannon and I just love the Ocoee area. There are trails everywhere, you can camp, you can raft and you can swim. It's always cooler down there as well so even get some relief from the heat and humidity. Shannon had to work on Friday and we were far from packed, so we decided to go down on Saturday morning instead. It was a mess of a drive through Nashville, as the CMA Fest was bringing tons of people into town. Shannon is always talking about stopping by Stuckey's to get ice cream. Every trip she wants to stop. So this trip we finally stopped. It was some good ice cream! Why is it that the most hole-in-the-wall looking places have the best food?!!

     There was just one campsite to spare when we arrived at Thunder Rock Campground. We snagged it quickly and began to set up our tent. We were half set-up when I noticed Francis Fessler was camping next to us. He's a great guy from the Nashville area. Several years ago I was stranded in Fontana without a place to stay and he hooked me up with a room in a cabin. He's into sports training and rehab like me so we get along well.

     I couldn't decide which bike would be better for this course, so I pre-rode on my hardtail. There were a few changes to the course this year, which added more fire road climbing. After pre-riding, there was no doubt that the hardtail would be faster. The trail was great on our lap. We saw a bear near the top of the mountain. Shannon did not enjoy all the climbing, but did like the descent down the Thunder Rock Express trail. After the ride, we took a quick dip in the river before dinner. The water was cold! They had already dropped the river level so you could actually swim around without getting carried away by the current.

     After dinner, I had a chance to sit around the campfire and catch up with a few friends I have not seen for a while. It's nice to see people that actually want to talk to you. That doesn't happen often at road races. I sat around with Mark Poore, Chip Purcell and Kevin Taylor. Chip and Kevin were teammates with me on the Piney Flats and The Bike Shop teams back several years ago. We got caught up on everyone's lives and swapped old race stories, mostly about something crazy Mark did. It's always an adventure when you hang out with Mark.

     It was a warm night so we left the rain fly off so it would cool down in the tent enough to sleep. That was a bad, bad idea. I was awakened by a frantic Shannon. I was totally zoned out for the first few seconds, then I realized she was screaming that it was raining. And then I felt the rain. It was pouring! We jumped out of bed and scrambled to get the cover on. Apparently, we were not the only ones. You could see flashlights bouncing around all over the campground as everybody covered up their tents. The inside of the tent got a little wet, but not bad. We got absolutely soaked trying to get the fly on. My bed was a little damp, but my body heat dried it up quickly and I was able to go back to sleep.

       The next morning, the trail was soaked again just like last week at BUMP. I checked my brake pads and saw they were almost shot. In the past, this place has eaten brake pads when it's wet. I attempted to change the pads on my hardtail and it was an epic fail. The piston would not move in the rear brake so I could not squeeze in a new set of pads. I tried to use the caliper adjuster on the lever and that also failed. Evidently, when you unscrew the adjuster barrel all the way out it disconnects the hose and fluid runs out everywhere. They could tell you that before you start adjusting. That forced me to ride my Titus instead. I was bummed. The Titus would not climb near as well.

     I didn't get much warm-up as most of my morning was spent messing with the brakes and swapping tires and pedals over to the Titus. We had a good field on the start line. Again, this week we started with the Junior X riders making for a crazy start. I had to start third row as the Juniors were not about to let us start ahead of them.

Pro and Junior X Start Line

 photo courtesy of GoneRiding

     The whistle blew and off we went. I saw a hole on the left side open up immediately and tried to shoot through it. I was almost able to pass the entire field, but then the course curved left and everybody came down on me. It forced me to check up and I dropped back in the group as we screamed around the concrete path toward the singletrack. I was content to follow Troy Adams into the woods as he is a good climber to pace off of, but he passed a rider just before the trail began and I got passed so we got separated. 

     The course is 10 miles long and begins with a two mile climb, then rolls along the mountainside for four miles. Then you climb another mile, descend three and finish with just over a mile of pavement. The pace was fast up the first climb as expected. I could not hold the pace of the front Pros. My warm-up was not even close to having me be ready for those heart rate numbers. I was still with some Juniors at the top and began to pick my way through them. They were having trouble with the mud. My 26" wheels may be slower, but mud is the great equalizer!

     I caught several riders on the flowing River Trail and actually had a really good first lap. I was feeling better the longer we went. Two riders from the Cat. 1 30-39 class caught me at the top, but I passed them back as we descended the mountain on a gravel road. I was flying on the Thunder Rock Express and quickly caught another pair of Juniors. They would not let me pass no matter how much I pleaded and I was forced to follow them down. The trail is just fast enough that passing is difficult without the person giving you a little room. Once you get towards the bottom, the penalty is harsh if you make a passing error. There are some big dropoffs off the side of the trail that would do more than just end your race if you fell off them.

     Creeping down the hill behind the Juniors caused the two 30-39 riders to catch back up as well. We had a group of five together as we hit the pavement section for the final 1.5 miles of the loop. I should have been well ahead of this group, but it was nice to have some people to work with on the road. We rotated through sharing the workload and holding a good speed. 

     The road was still wet when we reached the Whitewater Center. There's a big wooden bridge you cross to complete the lap. I was worried it would be slick as every bridge on the descent was treacherous. I was third rider in line and took it easy onto the bridge. We got about 2/3 of the way across and suddenly I felt my bike begin to drift. It felt like I was floating. Then...BAM! I was on the ground. The front wheel just shot to the right and I went down on my chest, sliding the rest of the bridge like I was coming in to home plate. I even continued sliding through the gravel on the other side of the bridge, rolling onto my left side. The guy behind me also went down. I'm not sure if he fell trying to dodge me or if he hit what I hit, but he was on the ground sliding when he impacted me in my legs and chest. All I could see was a big, ugly chainring coming right at me! Luckily it did not puncture me. He got up quickly and pulled his bike off me. There were plenty of spectators there to help me get up. One foot was still clipped in and twisted up under my bike. I got up and dusted off the gravel. I was skinned up on my left hip so now my hips are even after my crash at BUMP last weekend. I also skinned both ankles, chest, right arm and hands, but otherwise I was fine. My bike did not fair as well. My seat was broken. I pulled the rail clean out of the seat molding. I tried and tried to flex the seat enough to put the rail back in place so I could continue on, but it would not go. My day was over. Of all the spectators standing on the bridge with cameras in hand, not one of them got a picture of video of the crash. What a shame!

The busted seat rail

     I hate taking DNFs, but there was nothing I could do here. When your bike is done, you are done. I could have ridden that seat, but if it had broken that could have been a major injury. I was more mad about my clothes than anything. My favorite Fox jersey and new Giro gloves were torn. Losing good clothing is the worst thing about wrecking.

     We packed up and made the short drive home, just in time to set the tent back up again to let it dry out in the afternoon sunshine. What a crazy weekend. My recent crashes have allowed me to test many different types of bandages. I will have to say Johnson & Johnson Tough Pads are the best for road rash-type abrasions. They are meant to be left on for several days and they hold better than other brands. I have also healed faster with them. They are a bit pricey, but worth it. They can be hard to find here in Tennessee, but we have been able to order them online from Drugstore.com.

     The storms beat down our garden, breaking off our lettuce and pummeling our spinach and carrots. It rained eight straight days and the plants are now getting too much water. Spinach and lettuce don't seem to like excessive water. I have been studying like mad and think I am ready for the CSCS and Personal Trainer examss. Or at least as ready as I can be. The practice tests have crazy wording. They are more like trick questions than questions of your knowledge. I hope the real tests will not be written like that. The tests are next week so it's almost go time!