Our garden is getting out of control at this point. The extra water we have had this summer is making some of the plants grow bigger than I have ever seen. Tomatoes and okra are well over my head now. You can actually hide in between the rows. I've enjoyed picking what has been by far the best quality produce we have ever grown. I'm still giving most of the extra away, but I have sold some too. One guy bought almost 13 pounds of chili and habanero peppers to make his own seasoning. I was pretty excited about that! He asked me to grow him some other types for next year. That opens up new doors with the farm. We are going to try to take requests from people that make their own homemade sauces, seasonings and rubs. It makes it easy for them as they know they will get exactly what kind of produce they need for their recipe, and easy for me as I know I grow the things people want and am guaranteed to sell them.
The garden in the bright sun
Getting deep in here
Banana peppers hanging everywhere
Bowl of poblano and habanero peppers. Love me some stuffed poblanos!
We have had plenty of bugs to fight off this year. I'm sure I've said before that damp crops are what moths like to lay their eggs on. It has rained so much that pretty much every evening has been prime for egg-laying. Those little eggs hatch out munching caterpillars. They seem to come in waves, but so far I am winning the war. I've had some help from plenty of frogs, lizards, several praying mantis and even bats. Got to love the natural pest control!
The week after Crossroads was not only a time to catch up on picking veggies and mowing grass, it was a race week as well. There were two midweek races. Wednesday night brought the fifth and final race of the Bells Bend Time Trial Series for this year. Thursday night was the third round of the Bells Bend Short Track Series. There was also another Bells Bend Short Track race the following Sunday. It was a whole lot of Bells Bend this week!
I took a different approach to the TT this month, focusing more on being smooth and controlling my output rather than just riding as hard as I possibly could. I started a hair slower and settled into a nice rhythm. I was 15 seconds behind my target time at 1/4, 1/2 and 3/4 distance. I had something in the tank for the final climb, but it wasn't enough to beat my 31:54 from July. I hit the line seven seconds slower at 32:01. It was a much more comfortable effort, but it was slower. I'm still a long way from going sub-30 minutes, which is my ultimate goal riding Merckx style. I took 5th place tonight, which is my best result of this season. Most riders appear to be logging slower times with each passing round, so maybe I am doing better than I think just to stay consistent. Dina took 2nd in Merkcx Women and Dad took 15th in Merckx Men. Both of them set new PRs with their time.
The next night I did my first ever Bells Bend Short Track race. It was a better course than I expected. It was mostly grass, but there was a worn-in dirt path throughout most of the course. The loop also featured many more corners than I anticipated. It was super dry despite a lot of rain recently. It rained Thursday morning in most of middle Tennessee, but the park managed to stay dry. It made for a very fast course.
Dina had a good race in the Cat. 3 Women, taking 4th after a crash in the one tiny bit of singletrack that was quite tricky with two dirt humps and a tree that hung out on your left. That tree thought Dina was doing great and decided to high-five her handlebar sending her to the ground. Dina is leading the series overall with one race to go. Dad raced also and took 10th in the Cat. 2/3 Men's race.
Dina in a chase group during the Cat. 3 Women's race
Race #3 winner Kaitlyn Benavides
Gracie Pendleton. She raced well tonight, but ended up having a hard crash that ended her Cat. 3 race.
Mary Helen Brown
Dina
Tami Kuper
I had a great race in the Pro/1/2 Men despite not feeling very good before the start. I felt heavy and sluggish. I think I had a few too many tortilla chips at lunch and was holding water like a big sponge. I got started in the back, but worked my way up to fourth by the end of the first lap. Scott Marx started very fast and was off the front with John Carr and Harrison Klapheke chasing. I couldn't get by them as there was not much room to pass when we were going so fast. The course appeared wide, but when a rider is in the middle of the mowed line and leans for the corner, his body and bike take up all of the clear area. The corners were so close together that there was no time to jump out of line on the straights and complete a pass.
Pro/1/2 start with Scott Marx leading
John Carr chasing hard at the end of lap 1
Me in fourth
Drew White
Jameson Simms
Dave Richardson
I was thinking about how to make two passes when John sat up and moved over. He didn't want to pull Harrison around and Harrison didn't want to pull John. They both moved left and gave me the hole I was looking for on the right. I put in a big dig to get away from them and then set my sights on Scott. It took me two laps to get to him, but I was able to cross the gap. I sat on him for 2/3 of a lap, then attacked on one of the small uphill straightaways. I was expecting him to jump on my wheel, but he didn't. Once I realized I had gapped him, I hit it hard for two laps and opened up a 17 second gap. Then I backed down to a steady pace until the final lap when I hit it hard to use up what else I had left in the tank. I rode a strong race and took the win, but I know it is still not as good as I rode back in June. I'm getting my speed back, but I still have a ways to go. It was a good sign for next weekend's State Championship at Lock 4.
Scott Marx still leading
Me in second now, Harrison Klapheke in third
John
Jameson
Scott and me together now
Harrison back behind John
Out front by myself now
Scott
Stopping the watch on the finish
Pro/1/2 Women's podium
photo by Bells Bend Short Track Series
Pro/1/2 Men's podium
We were treated to a beautiful sunset after the race and podiums. Below the pictures are two videos. The first is clips from the race, shot by both me and Dina. Then comes a video of my race from my handlebar cam. It was the first time I have ever run a handlebar cam on my mountain bike. Other than getting in the way of my number plate and requiring Cayce Tiesler to help me modify the plate, it worked out well. It was much smoother footage than I expected.
Dirt tan
Nice evening between the hills
Sunset on a beautiful summer evening
Video: Clips from Bells Bend ST #3
Video: Footage of my race from my handlebar cam
I chose not to go to the last race of the short track series on Sunday. I wanted to work on sprints and some longer intervals rather than just slamming 20 minutes. I also didn't want to miss church for such a short race. I just got a new calling to the Sunday School Presidency so I wanted to get started with that and learn what I am supposed to do in that job. I was a little sad to be taken out of nursery as I have gotten to like those little kids. Luckily, Shannon is still in there and my new position only requires me to work half of church so I can still go get drooled on by my little friends for a while each week.
Dina and Dad did go do the final race of the series. Dina finished 2nd and lost the series in a tiebreaker. That seems to be the theme for the Greers this year. Dad raced twice, finishing 9th in Cat. 2/3 and 4th in 50+. He finished 14th in the Cat. 2/3 series.
Cat. 3 Women's podium at Bells Bend Short Track #4
photo by Bells Bend Short Track Series
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