Cross the Harpeth

     The end of the year is always a good time to wind down, do some things off the bike and spend time with people you don't get to see very often. Having an injury gives you even more time as you are forced to reduce your volume, though I spent considerable time stretching, massaging and ultrasounding the right gastroc. We got to attend our friend Misty's 40th birthday party, organized by my good buddy Keith. He set up one awesome bonfire, complete with plenty of good fireside snacks. It was a good chance to catch up with bike friends that don't race as much as me so I don't get to see them as often as I would like. And we met a few new friends.

Keith's massive bonfire as taken by Keith

     We have been busy at church as well. The nursery keeps us busy on Sunday, but I really like being in there. I never would have thought that before we got this calling, but the kids are really great. They are very entertaining and even though they may have bad days where they scream and cry, I find they are much less drama than the adults.

One of many entertaining moments in nursery. No, she wasn't pushed into that container, she sits in there almost every week.

     We also had our annual Festival of the Nativity in early-December, which is a fairly big Christmas event in Clarksville. The festival features music, a live nativity, and displays of nativity sets and pictures of Christ. People from all churches attend, some donating their family's nativity sets. I like to walk through the nativity sets and see the differences in the design. With so many military families living in Clarksville, we usually get quite the variety. The sets come from all over the world. The church leaders take the festival very seriously, as it is a good opportunity for the community to see our often misunderstood LDS church. There are still a lot of people out there who think Mormons don't believe in Christ, which baffles me considering the name of our church starts with "The Church of Jesus Christ." It's also a good missionary opportunity as there are always attendees there that only go to church around this time of year.

     Shannon and I were in charge of costumes for the live nativity. I was a little disappointed with some of our adult volunteers this year. It was some of that adult drama I mentioned earlier. Some of them forgot the times they had signed up for and missed their time to be on stage. They then showed up later and were upset with us because we didn't call to remind them of their time. It kills me when people can't take responsibility for themselves. I should not have to call you and remind you. You are an adult. You picked your own time. You should be there. Of the people that did go on stage at their appointed time, some of them seemed to be getting bored with the live nativity. They have been volunteering for several years and apparently wanted to change things up on stage and wander the rest of the church building. When we tried to round them up, I was amazed at the reaction. Nobody felt they should have to stay on stage if they didn't want to. That's fine, but don't sign up for the live nativity if you don't want to be on stage for the live nativity! One adult said we should be happy with whatever they did since they were volunteers and not being paid. I could not believe that from an adult, let alone a fellow church member. I don't feel like we should set a bunch of rules and take the fun out of it, but we should be a good representation of what our church stands for. There's my rant for the year.

     After the Clarksville Cyclocross Challenge, I put in some good mountain bike rides at home and at Land Between the Lakes on the Canal Loop. My Mom has been busy keeping our trail clean and putting pumpkins around the loop to entertain us. I started putting our old Halloween pumpkins on the trail several years ago and now we do it every year. It's just a fun way to get a little more use out of the pumpkins and add some color to a now dull trail of brown leaves. She even added captions to a few of the pumpkins.

     I made two trips up to the Canal Loop. I was still limited with longer rides as the gastroc was still getting aggravated around the three hour mark., so I continued working on harder efforts of two hours or less. On the first trip to the Canal, I rented a bike from Wood-N-Wave. I have yet to ride any other wheel size than 26" but I am more than ready to upgrade to a new bike. My 2007 Titus Racer-X has seen better days. I had hoped to get a 29" Trek Superfly FS, but they sold the demo bike just before I got there, so I took out a 27.5" Trek Fuel EX9 instead. It was bigger and heavier than any XC bike I will buy, but it was a good chance to feel out the bigger wheel size and completely different cockpit set-up the newer bikes have. My Mom tagged along and we had a good ride. I did a lap with her to set up the bike and get in a warm-up, then attacked a lap to see how fast I could ride this bike. The trail was great and provided us with an awesome ride. We even saw an eagle sitting in a tree along the edge of Kentucky Lake.

My steed for the day, a Trek Fuel EX9 27.5"...with an eagle in the background.

Mom climbing early in our lap

Lake Barkley

Barkley Dam in the distance

Bridge over the Canal. The trail passes right under the bridge.

Ate some leaves near the end of my fast lap. Misjudged a tree with the wider bar on this demo bike.

     A week later, we went back to the Canal. I had a bit of a chest cold and was coughing a lot, but I wanted to try to run a fast lap on my Racer-X for comparison. I had liked the way the Fuel handled the descents, but it seemed slower on the climbs. I've never really liked the suspension design the Fuel uses. I tested one when they first came out over 10 years ago and found it to be a tad sluggish coming out of corners and when sprinting than other bikes I rode like the Specialized Stumpjumper FS, Santa Cruz Superlight and Titus Racer-X. My Trek Remedy is the same way, but I don't mind the sluggish handling so much on the bigger bike as it is more geared toward descending and taking bigger hits. The Fuel's suspension has been tweaked over the years, but it still has that same sluggish feeling to me. I did like the way it jumped though. The lower cockpit handled better than I thought and the wider bar was nice when flying through the air over roots or drops. I also couldn't tell any changes in the handling with the bigger wheels, which is a complaint I hear often when people change from 26" wheels. Now I want to get on a 29er and try that out.

     I again did a warm-up lap before going all-out on the Racer-X. I saw another eagle, this time on the Barkley side of the loop. I've never seen an eagle before this year. Now, I've seen three since September.

Lake Barkley near Nickel Branch

   
     The trail was in worse shape on this attempt as compared to the week before. A big storm had come through, bringing heavy rain and strong winds. There were piles of leaves on the trail, it was still a little slick in places and there were several trees down. I moved what trees I could on my first lap, but the trail was definitely harder to ride on my fast lap. Still, I was almost two minutes faster than the lap I turned on the Fuel. When I reviewed the lap on Strava, I was surprised by what I found. I was actually 2-3 sec slower on the climbs on the Racer-X, but faster on the descents and the in-between sections. Not at all what I was expecting. It was a little confusing, but in the end I know the Racer-X was better. The hunt for a new bike continues...

Sunset over Kentucky Lake at the end of my ride at LBL

     I was really pumped for cyclocross after Clarksville. I had a lot of fun and realized that I need a lot of work on my cross skills. I talked the rest of the family into doing a practice cross race like some of those I did last year. The race was over at my parents' house on a course that was extra-hard due to moles making the yard very soft. I felt like my skinny cross tires were knives cutting deep into the soil. After 30 minutes the soft grass sections packed down and then became fast and fun. We had a good time out there making laps together. My skills improved much in that hour of hammering.

     Two weeks after the Clarksville, it was another chance to test the gastroc healing at the Cross the Harpeth race at Harpeth High School in Kingston Springs, TN. It was a close race to home, taking place in the southern part of Cheatham County, which is the county we live in. The race benefited the new Harpeth High School Mountain Bike Team. It's great to see a mountain bike team in Cheatham County. I never thought I would see the day when that would happen.

     I was pulling double duty again at this race, this time having the last two races of the day. Pro/1/2/3 was up first for 60 minutes of pounding around a short, but very technical course. There was a little something for everyone on this course. It had pavement. It had off-camber grass. It had a dirt road, a big dirt pile and some twisting turns. There were numerous transitions from grass to pavement and back. Three dismounts awaited the average rider. One came on a pair of full-size barriers. The second was a long concrete staircase. The third was a small set of wooden steps made of cross-ties that was rideable by a few of the riders with skills. I liked the technical nature of the course and the fact that it did not have too many long, power stretches that I usually struggle on. I had not won a race all season and badly wanted to get one today. I've raced steadily since 2001 and have never had a season without a win. I couldn't let the streak die today without at least putting up a heck of a fight.

Tight, twisty course for Cross the Harpeth

Riders in the earlier races

Paul Carter on his way to 7th in the CX 4/5 race

photo by Summer Kapanka

     I knew it would be difficult to win the Pro race, but I gave it my all anyway. I hadn't lost any weight in the two weeks since the last race, but I had at least leveled out. I stopped the bleeding. The gastroc injury had forced me to cut back my training time, but that was not the cause of my weight gain. I was eating like a horse with no restraint. I got that under control and things began to mellow out.

     I had a bad start in the Pro race and was near the back after the first turn. I got blocked in the first time up the concrete stairs and found myself last after we remounted. I didn't want to be back this far, but I knew I had to stay smooth and let my skills take me back up through the group, which they did before the first lap was over. I steadily gained spots on the course's technical descent, on the run-ups, over the dirt pile and at the barriers. I had the dirt pile down today, jumping it like a spine in a skate park and carrying a ton of speed from it into the following descent. I was also able to ride the small set of stairs, but they were a challenge. I hit rim on them several times and was lucky to get through this race without a flat.

Pro/1/2/3 start

photo by Summer Kapanka

photo by Summer Kapanka

Travis Werts leading Andy Reardon on the stairs early in the race

photo by Summer Kapanka

photo by Summer Kapanka

Andy Reardon and Shannon Williams

Travis Werts

Me hopping the small set of steps

Justin Lowe riding the steps

Andy out front with Shannon Williams

Tricky dismount for the stairs. Sweeping 180-degree turn on pavement after slightly muddy grass. This turn put me on the ground once today.

photo by Summer Kapanka

     I got into a good four-rider battle for 4th halfway through the race. I battled with Zdenek Fiebinger, Justin Lowe and Alistair Sponsel. These guys pummeled me at Clarksville, so it was a big improvement just to be battling with them. I had 4th at one time, then crashed on the pavement before the concrete stairs and gave the spots back up. After killing it over the dirt pile and then through the barriers I was back to 4th a lap later. For some reason today I was absolutely flying over the barriers. The spectators said I was the fastest through them by far and that just kept motivating me to push it more to help get a gap over the other three.

photo by Summer Kapanka

photo by Summer Kapanka

photo by Summer Kapanka

Andy dominated today. Here he is negotiating the dirt pile.

Shannon Williams

Travis Werts

Putting the pass on Z on the dirt pile

From the other side

photo by Summer Kapanka

photo by Summer Kapanka

photo by Summer Kapanka

photo by Summer Kapanka

photo by Summer Kapanka

     Justin made a surge a lap later and brought Alistair by with him. I got held up some in the technical sections. Justin had a gap before I could repass Alistair and I had to chase him down. I flew across the gap, coming into the barriers full-speed. It was the fastest I have ever come into a pair of barriers. Maybe it was a poor decision caused by severe oxygen debt, but I tried to take the barriers without braking. I just knew I was going to crash as I dismounted. It was kind of a surprise when I cleared the first one and my right foot touched the ground. That is when I realized I did not have time to put my left foot on the ground again before the next barrier. It took all my strength to rebound enough off the right leg to clear the second barrier, but I pulled it off. I cleared both barriers with only two steps!

     When you are going that fast, the remount is also difficult I discovered. I tried to mount my normal way and totally missed the bike. I jumped up and the bike just flew right under me. I landed on the back wheel and then ate some serious dirt into the next corner. I almost pulled the whole thing off! I guess you need to jump forward to keep up with your bike at those speeds.

     The crash took me back to 6th and I never recovered back to where I was. Justin was long gone and it turned into a duel between Alistair and myself for 5th. I passed him, then he passed me back. It happened over and over for a few laps before I started running out of steam and made one too many mistakes. The lack of fitness took its toll, but I also gave up a lot of time with little mistakes like the two crashes and several misses of the pedals after remounts. I definitely need more backyard practice sessions. Alistair's long legs were propelling him up the stairs with ease, while I struggled with my out-of-shape legs. The last five times up the stairs almost saw me cramp up in my hamstrings and glutes, but somehow they made it to the end without locking up on me.

Over the barriers

photo by Summer Kapanka

photo by Summer Kapanka

photo by Summer Kapanka

Andy way out front alone

Travis running 3rd

Shannon

Travis with his game face on

One of the times I was ahead of Alistair Sponsel

photo by Summer Kapanka

photo by Summer Kapanka

Travis through the weeds

Bleeding a little after my crash on the barriers.

photo by Summer Kapanka

The grass carousel at the bottom of the hill

photo by Summer Kapanka

     I made one more run at Alistair on the last lap, but came up a few seconds short at the line. It was a very hard-fought 6th place. This may have been one of the most fun races I have ever done. I really had a great time racing with those guys. We all passed each other so many times! It had to be exciting for all those watching.

Alistair in front now

Justin Lowe and Travis Werts heading toward the finish

     Needless to say, I was destroyed after the Pro race. My legs were toast, my back hurt and I was bleeding from both sides of my body after the crashes. But I had to pull it together. I had 30 minutes to break the winless streak. It was going to be a tall task on this tight of a course with my over-geared singlespeed. We started with the Juniors again like at Clarksville. It was a mess into the first turn. Most of the Juniors beat me there as it was hard to get my big gear turning off the line. I was in traffic for the first few laps and by the time I got clear, the leaders were gone. All I could do was try to hold onto 4th place for the final half of the race. Paul Gates was gaining on me the last two laps and made me earn that 4th place finish.

Singlespeed, Juniors and CX 4 Women on the start line

photo by Bill Clark

First lap up the stairs

photo by Summer Kapanka

Kyle Tiesler doing a super high lift while leading into the barriers

Alistair now in SS

Zach Lowe getting through the barriers

Cayce Tiesler and Michael Edens had a great battle for the SS win

photo by Bill Clark

Kyle Tiesler leads the Junior class and stays ahead of his dad, Cayce, and Edens

Me and Arvin Jansen went back and forth for much of the race

Running the steps on the singlespeed

Edens was the only rider I saw all day that rode the barriers

photo by Summer Kapanka

Tammy Richardson

Arvin and me

Cayce leading Edens and Kyle under the moon. Edens would end up grabbing the SS win.

Paul Gates

photo by Summer Kapanka

photo by Summer Kapanka

photo by Summer Kapanka

     I was exhausted by the end and coughing up a lung from the recent sinus issues. I didn't get that elusive win today, but I did take away a lot of positives. My fitness was better and I had no pain in my gastroc. It was very tired and trying to spasm by the end of the day, but there was no pain at the attachment point.

     Thanks go out to Shannon, Dina, my Mom, Summer Kapanka and Bill Clark for the photos. I may have missed some photo creds in there somewhere since it has been so long since these were posted and I got them from so many people/sites. I apologize to anyone I missed and send them a big thank you as well! We also shot some video which is posted below. The camera did a great job of picking up all my coughing, spitting and blowing. The mic on this thing can be sensitive!

Video: Cross the Harpeth action

    That wraps up my race season. I'll post some bike stats from the year soon. I'm slowly getting caught up with my blog posts. Next up is the Christmas season and start of 2016.