There was no time for the post-Utah blues after the trip. I took on coverage of a maternity leave at work, giving me steady work at the same place from mid-October through January. It was a good time of year to get in some extra work and I wanted the money to build up a race budget for 2016 and save for a new mountain bike. I had some flexibility in my hours so it looked like I would be able to still enjoy the Fall, which is the best time to mountain bike in our area. The trails are dry and fast, the colors are changing and the weather is finally cooling off.
My goals for the end of the season were on the dirt. I wanted to race longer-distance XC events like Race to the Canal, the Lock 4 Six Hour Challenge and the Dry Creek 6 Hour Championships. I put in some big rides, catching the local road group rides twice a week and then hitting our backyard trail, Land Between the Lakes (LBL) or Percy Warner Park on the weekends. The road rides brought on some adventures. It's getting dark earlier now, so I got in some night time and saw some really awesome sunsets by bike.
Sunset on a ride home from Clarksville
I also had one night where I got caught out by a nasty thunderstorm. It was supposed to be a recovery ride that turned into an all-out 45-minute time trial effort racing the storm. The clouds and lightning kept getting closer, but I managed to hold off the bulk of the rain and made it home safe.
Video: Lightning behind me on a road ride
The backyard trail was in great condition all Fall. We had it cleaned up nice and the whole family was out turning laps. It may have been the cleanest and fastest I have ever seen our trail. I had a lot of fun back there over the month of October until the leaves fell and covered up my perfect singletrack.
Backyard trail still shot from the GoPro helmet cam
I was able to get up to LBL and recon the course for Race to the Canal. I've ridden the course many, many times over the years, but it changes year-to-year as new additions are added when old sections are re-routed and traffic load changes some of the hills. There is a dirt bike ride up here every year in late Summer, so that always changes the trail. A lot of people don't like the dirt bikes being out there because they do make some ruts and loosen some rocks, but once those loose rocks are gone, I find that they make the trail better. The North/South Trail is long and does not get as much maintenance due to the difficulty of getting back there to do the work. The dirt bikes often find new lines around areas that need maintenance, chew up and dislodge roots that can be problemsome on a mountain bike and even form up berms in some of the corners. I found that at last year's race I had a hard time remembering the order of the hills and which hill I was actually on. And the changes brought about by the dirt bikes were a surprise. It seemed like a good idea to get in a refresher before the event this year.
A bay on Kentucky Lake near Sugar Bay
Cat pumpkin on the climb to Pisgah Bay
The pre-ride was a great ride and I had it all straight in my mind after that. The whole family went as several of them were considering doing the race. They dropped me off at Golden Pond. I rode the full 31 miles on the North/South Trail, then took the Kentucky Lake side of the Canal Loop to the Canal where the race finishes. The others parked at Birmingham Ferry and rode the eight miles on the North/South Trail, then also rode the Kentucky Lake side of the Canal Loop. We almost got to the Canal at the same time. Dina and I both wanted to ride a little more, so we decided to do the other half of the Canal Loop to get in six more miles. My Dad decided to join us as he could not let his daughter ride more than him. I got in a total of 44 miles of riding. It was a fun day on the trails and everyone had a really good time, even enjoying some pizza after the ride.
Lake Barkley from the Canal Loop
Dry, fast trail on the Canal Loop
The weekend after the recon ride was the Race to the Canal XC. I felt like I was riding good and could do well if I had a good day and rode a smart race. My leg check came on Thursday. I did a three hour road ride at a slow pace. I know from past racing experience that if I can do a three hour road ride without lasting fatigue then I am ready for a XC mountain bike race. I had some burn in the legs in the last few minutes of the ride, but after a shower, I could not tell I had ridden at all that day, let alone over 56 miles
Local riders Carson Beckett and Dustin Burkeen have been riding really well this year and I knew they were the favorites, but I also thought I could have a chance of winning if I played things right. Carson has been training with the U.S. National Team and racing with the Whole Athlete-Specialized team, so there was no doubt that he would be on form for the race in his backyard.
There were only three of us starting in the Pro/Open class: me, Dustin and Carson. With there being so few riders the promoter decided to just let us all start together, so it was the three of us with about 10 Cat. 1 riders starting at the same time. The three Pros made it to the woods first ahead of a bunch of young, over-motivated youngsters riding in Cat. 1. After just a few turns the first rider behind me crashed and blocked up the entire trail. That gave the three of us a gap over the others and we never saw them again.
Carson set a good pace early on that was making me work hard on the climbs, but did not make me have to go all-out. He seemed to be picking up the pace with each passing climb. I was up to second after a few miles, but kept getting gapped on the climbs. Dustin never tried to pass me, but I could tell I was holding him up. Carson would pry open a few bike lengths going up, but once at the top I easily closed that back down.
This went on for a few miles before we hit a long dirt road and he moved over to let me lead for a while. I was happy with that. It let me control the pace on the climbs a little more. I led until we hit the first of the really steep climbs that is always a challenge to ride. It's known as OzMoCockus and is really washed out. If you can find a good line and have the legs to get up the steep part, you are rewarded with even more climbing to keep the legs burning for the next three to four minutes after the top. If you have to walk it's even more terrible as the hill is so steep that walking also burns your legs and then you still have to ride three to four more minutes uphill once you remount. It was rougher than I expected, different even from the weekend before when I pre-rode. None of us made it around the left turn halfway up. Dustin and I walked to the top, while Carson was able remount 3/4 of the way up and ride to the crest of the steep part. He opened up a gap on us right there. Dustin took off after him as soon as we remounted, while I was a tad slower over the last part of the climb and dropped about 20 seconds before the very top.
The local duo were out of sight when I crossed the gravel road at Sugar Bay after 13 miles of racing. My Mom was there and gave me a time check. I was 30 seconds back. They were just out of sight. I caught a glimpse of them on one of the climbs a few minutes later, but then did not see them again for quite a while. The second half suits me better than the first half, so I was fine with being a tad behind at this point. I really didn't think it would be good for my legs to try to cross that gap right now. We had a lot of racing still to go. This race is 36 miles in total.
I caught a glimpse of them in an open field stretch before Duncan Bay, which is after 18 miles of racing. I was able to time them on my GPS and saw I was still 25 seconds back. So, I was matching their pace without pacing off them. Duncan really starts the part I like, so I started to gradually pick up my pace once I went through there. There's a newer section added at mile 20. I bombed it, hitting all my lines perfect. I could see dust still hanging in the air the full way down the hill so I knew they were still just right there in front of me. The following downhill I really let it hang out and was surprised to see them by the bottom. I was only 10 seconds back as we started the last climb before the road crossing at Birmingham Ferry.
We had about 16 miles to go and I was almost on them. I backed off some as I did not want to catch them yet. I wanted to lurk in the shadows for a while so they would forget about me and so I could ride my pace on the climbs. As I backed off on this climb, they picked up the pace again. I didn't realize it until I got to the top and they were out of sight on the flat fire road across the top of the ridge. I knew now that I could not wait until the final 10 miles to catch them. I had to do it now.
At Birmingham Ferry, I was again 25 seconds back. I had given back all the time I had gained in the previous section. I kicked up my pace more over to Pisgah Bay. It was a three mile stretch and I let and I went all-out the whole way. I was getting a little anxious as I came to the rooty trails around Pisgah and still could not see the two ahead. Then I caught a glimpse of them at the road crossing and was able to time them. Despite my efforts I was still 25 seconds back. I wanted to be with them by the next road crossing, which came in two miles at Hillman Ferry. The hills begin to get steeper, longer and more numerous at that point and continue all the way to the finish. I needed to be with them on those climbs. I pushed very hard in that two mile stretch to Hillman, but came to the crossing to hear from my Mom that I was 35 seconds back now. I had given it my all and lost 10 seconds. That was really discouraging as my legs were now starting to feel the effort.
I continued to push hard in the next five miles, over three steep hills which took me to the end of the North/South Trail and onto the Canal Loop with just five miles to go until the finish. My legs were really hurting as I got to the Canal. I got another time check and was now 1:10 back. My only hope now was that one of them might fade and maybe I could catch them and take 2nd.
After a few more climbs my legs were gone. I had to back down the pace and just try to get to the finish. Neither of the riders ahead faded. Carson would take the win 5:30 ahead of me. Dustin was 3:30 ahead. I clocked a time of 2:42:32, which was faster than my previous best time of 2:43:58 set back in 2007. As far as I know, that was the course record until today. All three of us broke the previous record. I may not have won the race, but I can't complain one bit about breaking the course record and getting beat. I just lost to two better riders today. In comparing my time this year to 2007, I would say this one was faster. I flatted in 2007, but still came back in the last mile to take the Pro win. If you deduct the time I spent changing the flat that day, then add in the two long additions that have been added to the course since then, I would say 2015 was my best ever. I even beat my PR on 30 out of 31 Strava segments along the course. In the end, that is what I came here to do. I wanted to have a good race and give it everything I had, while seeing some overall progress in the end. Congrats to Carson on his win and setting a new course record. You are a beast Carson!
After the race with my best riding friends. From left: Steve Wilson, me, Steve Beckett, Carson Beckett and Dustin Burkeen. Love riding with these guys! I don't get to do it near enough these days.
Our garden has continued to produce well into the Fall. Most of the local farmers have turned over their garden already, but we are still getting bowl after bowl of peppers, okra, and tomatoes. Our freezer is filled to capacity, so we gave away several large boxes full of peppers at church. Everybody loved our produce and have suggested we start selling it. We will have to check into that more for 2016. We are just glad to be able to save a little money and eat good quality vegetables that we grew ourselves.
Basil
Lettuce
Chili peppers. Great for stuffing!
Cayenne peppers
Bell peppers
Lunchbox peppers on the cutting board ready to be cooked
The bowls and boxes of produce we gave away at church
Gallons of bell peppers. They were gone in minutes.
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