The following weekend brought the eighth race of the SERC Series. It would be my first trip to Desoto State Park in Ft. Payne, AL. This race carried a 15 point bonus for all starters. That usually means it is one of the harder rounds of the series. My original plan for this weekend had been Indy Crit as that is one of my favorite races, but with me leading the SERC Series I had to make the decision to skip Indy. There was also a local race scheduled at Lock 4, but it was cancelled due to flooding we were having from the rain storms that had plagued our area all week.
Shannon and I both had to take a CPR course Saturday morning before we could head to Ft. Payne. I'm never very excited to spend my Saturday morning in a classroom, but the class was actually pretty fun. We took it at CPR Nashville and had a good instructor. It's hard not to have fun when the dummies have googly eyes glued onto them. The whole time you are doing compressions the eyes are jumping up and down. Even the infant dummies had crazy eyes.
My infant dummy had some crazy eyes
Shannon and I laughed through the whole course. All we could think about was an episode of the show "The Office," where they did a skit about a CPR course. It is posted below if you need a good laugh today. We may not have harvested any organs in our class, but we had a great time.
Video: CPR Training with "The Office"
We went home after the course, picked up some new brake pads and hit the road for Alabama. Thankfully, the only thing I destroyed in the DINO mud was my brake pads. Upon arriving to Desoto, we went for a hike to the Azalea Cascade. It was a short, disappointing hike. Apparently, north Alabama has not been as wet as middle Tennessee. There was no water flowing in the cascade. It was nothing more than damp.
Boardwalk trail out to Azalea Falls
Azalea Cascade was not cascading today
We camped at Desoto in the primitive campground to keep it cheap and convenient. After we got our tent set up, I put on my new brake pads and then took a lap on the course. I rode the loop fast to open up the legs and also to race both an incoming thunderstorm and darkness. The course did not have as much climbing as I expected. The park is located on top of the massive Lookout Mountain and you stay on top of the mountain for the loop. The big challenge on this course is rocks. They are everywhere. It feels a bit like Hamilton Creek in Nashville because some sections are so rocky it is hard to find a line and even harder to get into a rhythm. I tend to do well on this type of course, so I was pretty happy with the pre-ride.
I had good legs and managed to get out before the storm with just a little daylight left. By the time I got inside the tent, the storm hit and our new sealant was tested. This rain was brutal and the tent was no match. It was raining so hard that Shannon and I could not hear each other to carry on a conversation. The tent began leaking overhead almost immediately. It was not just misting on us this time, it was dripping in multiple places. After a few minutes the bottom of the tent had a puddle in it and my bed was soaked. I could feel a river of water flowing under the tent as well. We were on a little bit of a hill and the water was run-off was coming under the tent like a river. I think we would have floated away had we not had the tent staked down.
After 45 minutes of torrential downpour and no end in sight, we decided to make a run for the car. I grabbed my wet pillow and plopped into the front seat. We ended up sleeping there as it rained most of the night. It was the best sleep I have ever had in the car, but I still woke up stiff and with a sore neck. We drained the water out of our tent and rolled it up. We have had a hell of a time camping this year. We've camped in the tent four times. The first time we got a crazy windstorm in the middle of the night at Ocoee, then the other three times it has rained and leaked on us. I think this tent has made it's last camping trip.
The race began under cloudy skies. The rain had stopped, but the damage was done. The course was wet and very slick in places, but it drained well so standing water was not an issue. It did, however, make the rocks that much harder to ride. The race course was seven miles long. It began with a small downhill with lots of roots, rocks and drops. Then came a nasty climb. It was steep with lots of roots to negotiate and several choices for lines. You then crossed the main road through the park near the "improved" campground. There was a rock garden upon re-entering the woods, followed by another technical climb. The course then smoothed out with no rocks and minimal roots for almost two miles. This was the fastest part of the race course and had little elevation change. You came back by the start/finish area near the end of this section, making the loop very spectator-friendly. The next section came near the primitive campground. It contained a downhill with several difficult rock gardens, followed by some twisty singletrack with lots of corners. You crossed the park road again before the last climb of the loop. This climb had several switchbacks and lots of rocks on it. Once you topped that climb, it was gradually downhill to the finish. Again, not much room for a sprint here as you pop out of the woods into a sweeping left turn in the grass and across the main road yet again before a 50-foot sprint in the grass to the line. Pro and most Cat. 1 classes were scheduled for four laps, which was going to be a tough day on such a busy course.
Pros and Cat. 1s on the start line
photo by GoneRiding.com
We had five Pro riders on the line. It wasn't a ton of guys, but better than the two we had in Jackson. The start was a short dash on the pavement before a sweeping left turn in the grass that took you into the singletrack. I was slow off the line and getting my feet clipped into the pedals, but I still made it to the woods in second behind Kyle Ellis. We flew down the first technical descent. Kyle pushed it up the first climb. He made me work hard to stay with him, but it was worth it when we got to the top with a gap over the other riders. It looked like they bottled up and maybe weren't able to ride the full climb.
Kyle kept a steady tempo after the road crossing at the campground. I felt good, but was having trouble staying with him. He started to pull away from me on the next climb. At the top of this climb, Spencer Whittier came across to me and then passed me on the following flatter sections. I didn't feel tired, but I could tell I was not having the best day. I just didn't have that extra power when I needed it. I couldn't hold onto Spencer's wheel and he pulled away before the rock garden near the primitive campground. I struggled the rest of the lap, dropping 45 seconds to the two leaders who were now together. Eric Nelson was also getting close to me, racing hard with the charging Cat. 1 19-39 guys. I thought the Cat. 1s started two minutes behind us and were catching me, but they actually started just 30 seconds back and really had not made up any time on me. I didn't realize that at the time and it was a mental blow to see them coming so quickly. On top of that, my neck was really bothering me. It was tight from the night in the car and the rocks were not helping it to relax. My eyes probably looked like the eyes of those CPR dummies when I came out of the woods on that first lap.
Kyle Ellis leading on the first lap
Me chasing in third
Kyle Ellis and Spencer Whittier out front. Pictures were a bit blurry today with the dark conditions.
Still chasing
Somehow, I got into a little bit of a rhythm starting lap 2. It's amazing how a technical section can turn your day around when you hit it perfectly. Suddenly, I started to feel better. I was racing for a podium at this point, figuring the leaders were too far gone. I worked hard to pull away from Eric Nelson, who was chasing with Cat. 1 leader Pete Edmondson. Halfway through lap 2, I saw Spencer ahead. Kyle had pulled off again. I couldn't believe I was catching Spencer, I just didn't feel like I was going that fast. I chased after him, but couldn't close much more than being able to see him in the longer sections. He still had 12 seconds on me at the end of the lap. It was so hard to get those 12 seconds back, but I finally got across to him halfway through lap 3 as we began to get into lapped traffic. I wanted to go by as soon as I got to him so I could attack the next rock section, but I dropped my chain immediately upon getting to Spencer's wheel. It was frustrating to give up all the time I had worked so hard to get back. It gave me a shot of adrenaline and I set out after him even harder this time. We had pulled away from Eric and Pete, so I had nothing to lose at this point. Kyle sometimes fades at the end of the race, so I knew there was a chance I could even get to him for the win.
Rock garden after the campground road crossing
Troy Tucker in the rocks on his way to a win in Cat. 1 50+
Nathan Haslick
Kaylee Burdine crushing the Pro/Cat. 1 Women's race
photo by GoneRiding.com
Mark Poore in the toughest rock garden near the primitive campground
photo by GoneRiding.com
I was much faster than Spencer through the rocky descent behind the primitive campground and got him in sight again. As I did, he stopped on the side of the trail. He had dropped his chain! I guess that made us even now. It took him a little longer to get his back on and I went by and put 10 seconds on him. I pushed as hard as I could the rest of the lap to pull away from him and then set my sights on Kyle. I was feeling pretty good at this point. I still didn't have the power I had at Jackson, but I wasn't tired yet and my neck was no longer bothering me. The gap to Kyle was a big one to make up in one lap. He was now leading me by two minutes. I would need him to fade for sure if I was going to make up that much time.
I rode very hard the first half of the final lap. The time check I got was positive, but with half a lap to go I was still 1:50 back. I needed to cut off more time than that to have any kind of chance. Kyle did not fade today. He said he knew I would be coming and he did not want us to come in together like we did at Clemson. I dropped my chain again near the end of the lap. I have never dropped a chain on this bike, but it happened twice today! I guess that just shows you how rough this course was in places. After that incident, I just played it smart to make sure I hung on to second and increased my points lead. I actually ended up losing 35 seconds to Kyle on the final lap. So Kyle grabbed the win, I took second and Spencer hung on for third just over a minute behind me. Nathan Haslick took fourth. That gained me two more points in the SERC Series overall, giving me a 12 point lead with one race to go.
Kyle topping the final climb on his way to the Pro win
Me nearing the top of the climb
Pro podium
Pro/Cat. 1 Women podium
SERC Series Pro Leader's podium. Been the two of us up here for five straight races now.
Below is a short video of the racing at Ft. Payne. It is mostly clips of the start, but there is also a clip of Pete Edmondson navigating the rock garden near the main campground.
Video: SERC #8 Clips
After the race, we decided to explore the area since this race was so close to home. There are several waterfalls within Desoto State Park. The Little River Canyon National Preserve is also nearby. I wanted to spin the legs a little more so I rode toward Little River Canyon, eventually stopping at a small ice cream shop in Ft. Payne called Mildred's Parkway Ice Cream Shoppe. This place has a huge selection for such a small place and had the best prices I have seen on ice cream in a long time.
The weather shifted right after the race, turning from cloudy and dreary to sunny and humid. We got to enjoy sunshine for the rest of the day as we explored the Little River Canyon from numerous overlooks and short hikes along the Little River Canyon Parkway. We found a fossil at one overlook thanks to the help of a park ranger. Ever ranger we encountered was very nice. They were the nicest staff I have ever seen at any park. Even the people that were driving through the park seemed much nicer than the typical tourist. Everyone talked to you and drove like they had some sense. It was nice to see.
Little River Falls from an overlook n the Little River Canyon Parkway
We saw Little River Falls from the overlook first, then later hiked down to the falls. They were a bit crowded for my liking, but still cool.
Rocks at the top of the falls
Looking down the Little River just below the falls
The Hwy 35 bridge is just above the falls
View from the Lynn Overlook off the parkway
Hawk's Glide Overlook
Canyon View Overlook
Calamite fossil at the Canyon View Overlook
The canyon is a really cool natural feature that you would never expect to see in Alabama. You are still on top of Lookout Mountain here, so it is a canyon located on top of a mountain. The Little River flows through the bottom of the canyon. If you drive the full parkway, including Hwy 275, it gets pretty intense. The road gets rough in places with some really steep pitches. There is one place where you go down a very steep hill to cross a bridge over a creek. The road is made of rough concrete and looks like a boat ramp. I was glad to see it didn't end in water because I don't think we could have stopped the car on this kind of slope. It was one of the steepest hills I have ever seen.
Eberhart Point Overlook
My favorite overlook was here at Crow Point
Another great canyon view from Wolf Creek Overlook
The parkway also features a boulder field where a mushroom-shaped rock with a needle-eye hole in it splits the lanes. The boulders are huge and there is a trail to walk through them. You can also walk on into the median to see Mushroom Rock and crawl through the needle-eye like I did. The story is that this rock was to be pushed aside to make room for the highway, but the workers refused to tear it down, eventually proposing to preserve it between the lanes. Their request was granted and the rock became a feature of the parkway.
Mushroom Rock Boulder Field along the parkway
Mushroom Rock
From the other side with a view of the needle hole
Shannon looking through the needle-eye
Had to do it
We got lost at the end of the parkway, but eventually found our way back to Desoto State Park. We hiked to a small waterfall behind the lodge, which was dry. Then we hiked to Indian Springs Falls which was barely running. Our last stop came at Desoto Falls and we were treated to some good flow here. This waterfall is pretty cool as the water drops into a huge gorge. No cascade here, just a vertical drop to the bottom.
The small Indian Springs Falls
Desoto State Park Lake, which isn't in the state park
Water flowing to Desoto Falls below the dam that forms Desoto State Park Lake
Desoto Falls
After our exploration, it was pretty late. Knowing the drive home was shorter than our usual trips made us stay a lot later than we normally would when out exploring after a race. We found a good area though. Northeast Alabama is one I would like to come back to. I saw a lot of good roads to ride on. There was a lot climbing, good views and little traffic to be found. Our late drive home was helped out a little by a spectacular sunset that treated us to many different colors for nearly an hour.
Started dark red and orange...
...got lighter with some bright blues...
...then ended with some bright orange.
The Wednesday after Ft. Payne was another round of the Bells Bend Time Trial Series in Nashville. I finally had good legs and got in a proper warm-up. It was a really hot night. I didn't think it affected me that much, but after looking back at some of my numbers I do believe it slowed me down. I clocked my second-best time ever at 31:54. That was 23 seconds off my PR. I was actually ahead until the final climb, then I kind of blew up from the heat, dropping 35 seconds on the last climb and descent. I finished 7th in the Merckx class, which is about where I always finish these TTs. I have one more chance to better my PR at the final round in August. My Dad and Dina also raced again this month. Dad finished 17th and Dina took 3rd. I snagged a few pictures after I finished of the riders that started later.
Brett Garretson finishing his race
The tandem duo of Jeff and Andrea Lane
Two ladies racing it out for the line
Dina finishing her run
I was hoping to hit the Bells Bend Short Track race the following night, but it rained and I decided to stay home. They ended up having the race, changing to an all-grass course which makes it easier to for me to skip as I do not enjoy a boring all-grass short track. Dina and Dad went. Dad raced the Cat. 2/3 and finished 6th. Dina took 2nd in Cat. 3 Women and now leads the series overall at the halfway point.
Cat. 3 podium at Bells Bend ST #2, Dina in second
photo by Bells Bend Short Track Series
I now have a weekend off from racing, then it will be on to Helen, GA for the SERC and GSC finals. I am hoping to have my best race of the year there so I can try to win both titles. It'll be hard to do, but I know I can do it if I have a good race. No mater what happens, I am happy just to be in position to have a chance.
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