MOUTH FULL OF DIRT : Super D's Blog: 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.