2016 Stats

     Yeah, I know it's the end of March, but I'm still playing catch-up on the blog. I have not had a lot of time to write lately as I have been focusing hard on training and working extra to save up some dollars for traveling this season. I am ready to write about the 2017 season as it has happened so far, but first I want to put a wrap on 2016. It was a great season for me, my best in many years. It was my best since becoming an adult and having a thousand other things going on in life. I refound my focus and had a lot of fun on the bike. I rediscovered my love of the mountain bike and that has made a huge difference. Plus, I am happy with life. Racing has to be a little results-focused if you want to get better and make this sport into a job, but I have learned that results aren't everything. Bad days will happen. You take what you can get and move on. I learned how to have fun on race weekends instead of being super serious. It has made for more fun trips than ever before, both for me and Shannon. Bike racing is not just about bikes anymore. It has become about spending time with my wife exploring some new place. I also got over the frustration of not being able to get on a team or find sponsors. Once I decided that I could still do this without sponsors and started to make my own way, things have gotten much easier inside my head. There's much less frustration in there now and I am enjoying every opportunity I get to race because I know I worked hard, on and off the bike, to get there.

     Results were much better in 2016. After my first-ever winless season last year, I rebounded back with nine wins. I'd say my best win was at the SERC/GSC race in Jackson, GA. I had an awesome day there racing with Chris Lessing. I had negative splits on every lap for the first time ever. I will be honest though, none of my SERC and GSC wins satisfied me. I always got beat by someone else, like Chris or Mose Howard. I want to overall one of the big races! There were two wins did satisfy me this year. The short track at Columbus was my first-ever short track win, and the XC at Montgomery Bell where I smashed everyone on the second lap was pretty awesome. I also really felt like I had a satisfying day at the SERC in Clemson where I finished a close 2nd. It hurt to lose by a bike length, but that really was a breakthrough performance and let me know that I really could ride fast enough to win a big race. That day lead to wins later in the season.

     I was thrilled to win the SERC Series, but it didn't carry the same weight without some of the big dogs being in attendance. But I still had to earn it. There was a lot of adversity that I had to fight through with broken seats, swiveling seatposts, flat tires and crashes, and I kept chugging through it all and was rewarded with a championship. I competed for three series titles this year and ended up with a win and two close second places.

      My favorite races of the year were the Sevier Park Crit., both GSC races at Flatrock Park in Columbus, GA, the BUMP N' Grind race weekend, SERC #7 at Jackson, GA, the two DINO events at North Vernon and Indy, the Gateway Cup weekend and the Lock 4 Six Hour. Overall, I think the best all-around event to me is still Sevier Park. It was even more fun this year with bigger crowds and a better finish area.

     I had one DNF this season, which is one too many. It came at the Crossroads Classic in the Asheboro Crit. when I got way too hot after getting dropped out of the main group. For once, the officials didn't pull me and I had to pull myself to get cooled down. I know I was almost to the point of being sick and maybe even having a heat stroke, but I still hate to have a DNF! I also had one DNS after I decided not to race the DINO Downhill event in North Vernon when I realized my bike would not cut it on that course. I am not mad about that one as it was me using my brain.

     Here are stats for races and finishes in 2016:


Total Number of Races: 56

Race Breakdown:
XC: 14
Short Track: 5
MTB Time Trial: 5
Endurance XC: 1
Downhill: 1
Super D: 1
Criterium: 15
Road Race: 0
Road Time Trial: 5
Cyclocross: 9


Wins: 9
Top 3s: 24
Top 5s: 33
Top 10s: 42
DNFs: 1



     None of the above numbers would have been possible without the support of Shannon. She continues to push me at home to be my best. I don't think I live up to what I'm capable of yet, but I am getting closer thanks to her support. I also want to thank Maxxis and First Endurance for their help throughout the years. I've said it many times before, but I will say it again. These are the only two companies that have tried to help me over the past eight years and I am extremely grateful for what they have done for me. They always apologize for not being able to give me more, but I am happy with anything. Thankyou. I also want to thank Jeremy, Rick, David and the others at MOAB Bikes for helping me out. They are not an official sponsor, but they help me anytime I need it. They know the situation we are in and how hard it is to race at the top level so they help out all they can.

     Another stat I find interesting is that we passed 500 video uploads during 2016. I am now up to 515 uploads on my YouTube page. The 500th video posted was Yellowstone National Park Views, which seems fitting to have such an awesome place be #500. The videos are nothing special, but I like to share whatever footage we capture at the races and on our adventures. It may be the only time a person is able to find video of themselves at a certain race, or maybe it inspires someone to get a bike or go visit some place we have been. Of our 515 videos, several of them have been used for other purposes, like spliced into spin class/workout videos, played in bike shops and even used in a promotional video for Georgia State Parks. That's pretty cool if you ask me. Also, I am now up to over 32,000 page views on the blog, coming from eight different countries. Apparently I have some followers over in the UK, France, Russia and Germany, as well as here in the U.S. I can't believe so many of you spend part of your life reading about mine. Thanks for the support, but don't spend too much time on here. Get out and do something fun for yourself!

     I will end with some of my favorite pictures from the year. It really was a great year with lots of awesome things captured in our minds and through the lens.

Starting the year off with a cold, tough cyclocross in Nashville

photo by Bryan Bloebaum

Snowy winter in what turned out to be our last winter living on the Clark Farm

Getting down at the Montgomery Bell Winter TT Series, which saw non-winter temps for all three events

Maybe the best purchase I have ever made, this is the bike that changed everything for me. It made me love mountain biking again and allowed me to be competitive. The bike was no longer an excuse.

Fun at Tsali. I absolutely love this picture that Shannon got as I climbed to the top of the rocky island. It's on a calendar hanging on our fridge.

Rockin' it at Hamilton Creek in April

photo by Allison Dawant

Our first house!

Got tired of seeing broken things this year, like these seat rails at Winder

Wearing Shannon out on tandem rides

Hitting up waterfalls with Shannon on our road trips

Issaqueena Falls near Clemson, SC. This is probably my all-time favorite waterfall. Love the contrast of the dark rocks and the bright green of the trees.

My first short track win ever!

Cool picture of the Pro/Cat. 1 group racing at Columbus, GA

Dina at the Montgomery Bell XC

Relocated the farm this year and officially opened up for produce sales

Trilobite fossil at Muscatatuck Park in Indiana

Mud beard after the DINO mud-fest at North Vernon

Sweet mountain views on the way to the SERC race at Helen, GA

Awesome to be SERC Champ and Rider of the Year along with this lady, Kayley Burdine

Amicalola Falls, a close second to Issaqueena on my favorites list of waterfalls

Exploring north Georgia trails with Shannon.

A garden visitor. This picture is now framed in our house.

Gateway Cup, also an image on our kitchen calendar

Another calendar shot, this time from near Jackson Hole, WY

In the Tetons

We visited the famous Snake River Overlook this year

My first wild bison sighting. Now I want one...

Lewis Falls in Yellowstone National Park with a bald eagle sitting in the tree above the falls. A spectacular sight.

Old Faithful

This shot of the Midway Geyser Basin also made our calendar

Riding high above Jackson Hole on Teton Pass

Jackson Lake and the Tetons

Schwabacher Landing, maybe the most awesome place I have ever set foot

My favorite riding picture from our trip out west. Cache Creek Trails in Jackson Hole, WY.

Racing through a barn at the Crossfire CX

photo by Mark Keranen

     Now on to 2017!

Redlined

     The logging our neighbor has been doing on and around our trail is finally complete! They cut out a lot of trees. It’s a huge mess since they left all the tree tops piled up everywhere and rutted up a lot of the area while dragging the trees out. They widened a lot of our trails into access roads so we will not be using much of our old singletrack again. But the changes do make for an opportunity to redesign and make something different. We have been riding the trails here for 18 years so I suppose it is time for some change. 

     They got awfully close to my house with the logging. I could see them out of the kitchen window going right up the edge of the property line. They did hurt some of our nice wooded view, but it is intact for the most part. They just had to grab one last tree along the trail that we just added in the zone we thought they wouldn’t log. The one tree took down two other huge trees which they left laying across the trail. It took a few hours, but we got that cleaned up and have our current loop clear for riding. Now it’s time to evaluate the other land. I know we will not be using the back hillside where about half of our previous trail was located. The entire hillside is covered with debris that is 15 feet high in places. I don’t see any of that area being usable for many years.

     Our trail uses land from my house, my parents’ land and also the land of five other neighbors. One did the logging and another just bought a tractor and has been cutting “access roads” into his property. He doesn’t just clear a path wide enough for his tractor to get through, but goes so far as to dig down into the ground about six inches as he goes. He has widened our trail beyond recognition in some places. His land is now riddled with these access roads where he goes in to get wood for backyard fires. Once we realized he was doing it for firewood, we just took some of ours over to his house and suddenly the trail modification stopped. I’ll just have to keep him stocked up in the future.

     We also have a neighbor that has been cutting down cedar trees along the side of the trail. He’s disabled and wanted to walk the trail to keep his blood pressure under control so we let him go back there. I have no idea why he is cutting down the trees, but he always seem to pick the ones right on the edge of the trail and cuts them off two feet above the ground leaving a big stump. Our trail has existed with minimal issues for the most part over the years, but now it seems to be constantly changed by something going on. It's their land so they can do what they want. No matter how wide they make it or how many trees they cut down I am still very fortunate to have a place to ride right out my back door. And for that I am grateful.

     With cross racing wrapping up locally, it was time for us to start our own racing here at home to have fun and stay in shape over the colder months. Dina and I did the first race just before Christmas weekend on a cold day. December has been really cold this year and we have suffered plenty already. After finishing with the home cross race, Shannon and I hit the road for Indiana to spend Christmas with her family. We got to Elkhart late on Friday night and were up early to hit the trainer on Saturday before everyone got up. I actually got in a lot of riding this year and managed to not gain any weight at all over the holiday season, which is something I have never been able to do before.

     We made it up to Michigan to spend a day with the part of the family in South Haven and had a big dinner get-together. Shannon’s brother, Jake, has a farm in Galesburg that we were able to stop by on the way to South Haven. It was cold and snowy, but we spent some time outside playing with his goats, ducks, chickens and horses. Jake and his wife, Brooke, have a lot of animals on the farm. It’s a cool little place.

Chickens and ducks at Jake's farm

This horse stuck its tongue out for the picture

Lots of eggs for Jake to collect from the chickens

     We also made our way to Lake Michigan when we arrived at South Haven and I walked up onto the ice-covered pier. It was really cool to see how the waves and spray off the lake accumulates on the cold rails, making for a big ice wall. It doesn’t stay that cold long enough in Tennessee for us to build up ice accumulation like that.

South Haven pier

Ice build-up on the handrail of the pier

     There was quite a bit of snow on the ground during our trip, but the roads were clear so I headed out for a road ride one afternoon. It was chilly on the headwind sections and I had to plan my route with some weaving around to be able to stand being out there for three hours. I tried to get on the gravel roads that I found last year, but they were a slushy, muddy mess so I only did one of them and then stayed on pavement the rest of the ride.

Snowy views on my Indiana road ride

Snowman

The gravel roads were a bit messy

     The 7+ inches of snow on the ground disappeared in a few hours on our last full day in Indiana. Rain came in with some warmer temps and washed the snow away completely. We got home to warmer weather and visited with my family to see what everyone got for Christmas. My Dad bought my Mom a Specialized Era. It’s my Mom’s first 29-inch mountain bike and so far she really likes it. She’s already going much faster around our trail at home. I can’t wait to see what she thinks about it on other trails in the area.

     I ended the year with more cross. I did three practice races on New Year’s weekend here at home. The weather was warm, but raining so cross was the best option for a good workout unless I wanted to be inside on the trainer all weekend. New Year’s did not treat me well though, as the frame on my Redline Conquest Pro cross bike broke. I heard a ping during my ride and thought it was a spoke in the rear wheel. I got off and inspected, but did not see any broken spokes. On the next downhill, I could hear rubbing and see that my wheel was not aligned right. I stopped to check it, but couldn’t see anything wrong with the wheel or frame when I was off the bike. Next downhill, same thing. This time when I got off I twisted the wheel and then the frame opened up and revealed the crack. It was a clean break right in the corner of the rear triangle at the derailleur hanger. I’ve always had frames brake at welds, so this was a first for me. This bike is a 2006 model so it has seen more than its fair share of miles, but still I am sad to see it go. Now I’m on my old 26” Sette Serum carbon hardtail for my cross races. I’m using it instead of my Epic because it is better for carrying and I don’t mind riding it in any weather condition. 

R.I.P. Redline Conquest Pro

The break was right at the derailleur hanger and dropout

     A wrap-up of 2016 is coming next, followed by my plans for the upcoming season and a cold first race of the year at Montgomery Bell. Thanks for reading!