Our first shipment to TerraCycle
We attended a wedding for our friends, Austin and Emily Clark, on July 2. Austin has been a friend of mine for a long time. We grew up together. Our parents have been friends for years. His parents have Clark Farms, the place we lived from 2012 until last year. I was so glad to be able to see him marry Emily. I remember seeing her riding the tractor many times on the farm and I always thought she was a perfect fit for Austin and the Clarks.
Their wedding was supposed to be outdoors on the family farm that Emily grew up on. It was out in the middle of nowhere near Ashland City, TN. We had to do some serious dirt road driving to get back to the farm. It was my kind of place! Some nasty thunderstorms came through the area just before the wedding was set to begin. Trees were knocked down, the farm lost power and some of their decorations were destroyed. They decided to move things indoors, but then the skies parted just in time for them to flip the plans back to outdoor. There was a lot of grumbling from the crowd and some of the family members. It was annoying because we were all there for the bride and groom. I think we should all want them to have the wedding they planned. I never understand why everyone gets so offended about how someone else has a wedding. You have had or will have your day. Let this one be for Austin and Emily.
It was a bit foggy when we made our way to the field. It was a laid back, country type of wedding complete with Carhartt pants on the groomsmen, lots of people in the crowd with guns on their hips, the echos of gunshots in the distance and coon dogs lying around watching the proceedings.
Fog in the field, but the outdoor wedding was a go.
The sun came out just in time
One of several coon dogs roaming around during the ceremony
Austin and Emily about to become one
Mr. and Mrs. Clark
The power never came back on so dinner was a challenge. Emily's family worked hard to take all the food to someone's house. They were able to cook it and still get it back before everyone was starving. It was good country-cooking food. They had green beans, mashed potatoes, mac & cheese and fried chicken. Instead of a traditional guest book, Austin and Emily chose to leave a Polaroid camera and a photo book. Everyone in attendance added their picture, including me and Shannon. They always talk about how much I eat so I made sure to have a chicken tender in my hand when we took the shot. After everyone finished their pictures, I found some extra film and a few things lying around to make a funny picture for them to see when they finally had a chance to look at the photo album after their honeymoon. I hope they know at least one person really enjoyed their wedding party despite all the difficulties.
Shannon and I on the top left of the guest photo album. The rest of my family on the top right.
This is what happens when you leave a camera next to a hay bale steer and lasso. Somebody had to do it!
Added to their photo album
The party afterwards was supposed to be in the barn, but there were minimal lights running on a battery as the power never did come back on thanks to all the trees being down in the area. We tried to do a tunnel of sparklers at the end of the night. The idea was to get a picture of Emily and Austin running through a tunnel of bright sparks, but I'm not sure if they ever got a clear shot. All I saw was a lot of smoke and people getting burned, but it was still a lot of fun and a cool idea.
Congratulations Austin and Emily! I hope you guys enjoyed your special day and didn't let the weather and grumbling people take away from what is truly an awesome thing. I know that our wedding was the happiest moment of my life and I hope it was same for both of you!
The second weekend of July brought the final round of both the SERC and GSC Series in Helen, GA at Unicoi State Park. Saturday brought the SERC Short Track, followed by an XC on Sunday for points in both series. The final round can't be dropped for either series, so Helen is always an important weekend for anyone involved in the series overall. I am out of contention for the win in the GSC Series, but third place was still a possibility. In the SERC Series, I had mathematically clinched the title already. Dina was leading both series, but the GSC race was a close one so she needed a good race on what would be a tough course for her.
Helen is a fun place to visit. Shannon and I had a great time exploring the area here last year and couldn't wait to take Dina to see a few of the places as well. We came down early Saturday morning and got check in at our rental with our friends we met last year, Steve and Penny. We then headed over to Helton Creek Falls near Blairsville. It is a nice waterfall that is easy to access. The hike takes about five minutes to see both the lower and upper portions of the falls. With it being the weekend it was a little crowded. There were a lot of people swimming. We didn't get in the water, just took some pictures and enjoyed the sights. The trail was beautiful and provided us with a hollow tree stump to play in. We even saw a bear along the trail.
Upper Helton Creek Falls
Dragonflies were everywhere around the falls
Lower Helton Creek Falls
Awesome trail to the falls
This hollow stump was big enough to get into. Dina couldn't wait to get in there.
I did something a bit different. Off to Wonderland!
The trail bear. We had the bear mask we bought in the Smokies earlier this year on the trip to the SERC race at Tsali so we used it for some funny pictures. We got several interesting looks from other trail users.
Bear crossing the road along the Richard B. Russell Scenic Byway
Dina decided to skip the short track since she had a big lead in SERC. She wanted to save her legs for the XC on Sunday, so it was just me racing on Saturday. We got there at 3:30, which should have been plenty of time to get ready for what I thought was a 5:00 start. Turns out the short track was at 4:00. The webpage for the race had notes at the bottom for both series and I had read the start time for the GSC Short Track in Acworth, not the SERC Short Track in Helen. It was my bad. Luckily, I realized the start time before it was too late for me to get my bike ready and change.
I had just enough time to get changed and take a single lap on the course, which was a bit different from last year. There was another event being held near our race, so the course was shortened a bit. We still started on the gravel road, but instead of following it over the creek and behind the treeline we turned left into the grass before the creek and crossed the entire field before turning left onto the XC course and up the tough Helen hill to the finish like last year. I thought I would like this course better because it would be less time for people to sit in on the gravel road and also less tactics to be played out. My plan was just to start slow and allow my body to adjust to the effort before I really gave it 100%. That's hard to do in a race that is only 15 minutes long, but it was my only choice with the two minutes of warm-up I had.
Short Track course map from my Garmin
Yellow Wave group on the start line
The first lap was easy and I settled into the line in about 10th spot. I held back up the hill again on lap 2 and that got me gapped a little, but I was able to easily get back onto the group. The pace kept getting faster up the hill with harder accelerations out of the finish cute. After a few laps, I was holding back because I was blowing up. The shorter course turned out to be much harder as the hill came that much quicker. There was a lot less rest on this course. After yo-yoing a few times I finally blew up and had to basically just ride the rest of the race. I faded to 3/4 of a lap behind the leaders by the finish, but did manage to pick up one spot to end up 9th overall and 2nd in Pro. They listed me as Pro winner, but Spencer Lowden races Pro and he took third overall so he should be the top Pro on the day. Harrison Klapheke and Dustin White battled for the win with Harrison coming by Dustin the final time up the hill for the win. Those two are battling for the SERC title in Cat. 1 19-39 and came into the weekend separated by a single point. Harrison's victory tied the series going into the final XC on Sunday. No matter where they finish, the first one to cross the finish line on Sunday out of the two of them will be the SERC Champion.
Me starting to fall off the back behind some gaps a few laps into the race
Made a pass, but the gap was too much for me to close before I blew up.
Chris Lessing leads the front group
Still chasing
The front group
The leaders after topping the hill
Eventual race winner Harrison Klapheke
Dustin White and Chris Lessing on the attack.
Justin McMurrer leads the chase
Harrison joins Dustin and Chris up front
I rode by myself a lot today
Michael Edens on the hill
Mose Howard
Last time up the hill today.
Yellow Wave Short Track podium
Video: Yellow Wave Short Track at Helen
Dina and I went for a pre-ride lap of the XC course before heading back to the apartment for some dinner and rest time. Then we were back to Unicoi Sunday morning for what would likely be the toughest race of either series. We saw another bear on the way down from Hogpen, possibly the same one as this guy was lanky too.
Dina in the Unicoi woods on our XC pre-ride lap
Some sections were like a tunnel through the forest
At the creek crossing
Dina blasts the water
View from Hogpen Gap on Sunday morning
Low clouds over the valley
Our second bear sighting of the weekend
We were scheduled for three laps on the 8-mile loop through the Unicoi forest. It was the same course as in past years, starting on the gravel road and turning right onto doubletrack to start the first climb. There was another long climb before a fast descent to the deepest creek crossing I have encountered on an XC course. Lucky for us the rain missed this year so it wasn't over your hub like last year. Two more major climbs await on the back loop before a big descent back to the creek. Then a smaller climb takes you back toward the finish for one last kicker in the field to the finish line. It is definitely a climber's course and rewards the strong rider more than the one with skills.
I knew the start would be fast so I was ready. Both Dustin and Harrison like to start fast so I figured they would go out hard and start exchanging blows early on. My goal was to latch on to the battle and try to get away from the rest of the Pro riders early. It was a fast start indeed and the two I expected to take off did just that. We had a sketchy moment on the first gravel road as the gate before the singletrack was not open. Everyone managed to get the speed down and get singlefile to go through the posts off to the side of the gate. I benefited from the slow down and moved to third just behind Harrison and Dustin.
Pro and Cat. 1 19-39 classes underway
photo by GoneRiding.com
Dina in the Cat. 2 Women on their start
photo by GoneRiding.com
Harrsion set a solid tempo up the first hill. By the top, the rest of the field was falling behind and the three of us began to pull away. I felt fine on the first climb, but the next time the terrain turned up I began to lose Dustin's wheel. Harrison was faster than him descending so a little gap opened up and Dustin just powered across it on the next uphill. I do not have that kind of power and couldn't follow him. I chased hard and ended up going into the red zone before the second climb. I was starting to blow up and my legs were not feeling very good, so I backed my pace way down. Before the top of the climb, the entire field came past me. I went from off the front to off the back in just a couple of minutes. I didn't panic though. I knew I needed to hold back now to be able to race hard for three full laps.
I started to get going a little more on the last long climb of the lap and caught one Pro rider ahead of me. There were only three of us in Pro today so this pass moved me to 2nd, but still behind the entire Cat. 1 19-39 group. Chris Lessing came blowing by at one point before the end of lap 1 on his way to the Cat. 1 40-49 win. He was really flying today. Harrison and Dustin were locked into battle the entire lap, putting two and a half minutes on me in just over half of a lap. I was 35 seconds back from the Pro leader, Spencer Lowden, after lap 1.
Harrison and Dustin start lap 2
photo by GoneRiding.com
I worked hard on lap 2 to get to Spencer. He pulled out to 38 seconds halfway through the loop. I pushed really hard on the climbs, but the gap got bigger instead of smaller. That gap was over 1:30 by the end of the lap. I did not want to be series champ without winning a single race so I gave absolutely everything I had in the tank. The legs were sluggish today and the tank did not contain enough to cut into his lead a this point. I was beginning to think he was gone for good after how much effort I put out on this lap.
Shannon was at the creek crossing for part of the race
Dina ripped the creek crossing again today
Ending lap 2 with my number plate falling off
I can't remember who took this photo, but thanks and I apologize for not being able to give credit.
Mose Howard was just behind me starting the final lap riding in second place in the Cat. 1 40-49 behind Chris Lessing. I may not have had much strength to climb with today, but I was steady with my tempo and was able to keep Mose behind me. Having him back there made me keep pushing hard. I think we actually got faster in the second half of the last lap just riding off each other. With a mile to go Shannon was in the woods yelling to tell me that Spencer was only about 20 seconds ahead. He heard her too and was able to pick up the pace just enough to hold me off by about eight seconds. I wanted to catch him so bad, but it just wasn't meant for me to get one this year.
The battle for the Cat. 1 19-39 title came down to the wire as I think we all expected. Harrison and Dustin chiseled away at each other the entire race. Dustin was able to slip clear in the final miles to get the win and the series title. Harrison put in a great ride to take second in the race and series. He is just 16 and I'm sure he will win a lot of championships if he sticks with mountain biking. Justin McMurrer also put in a great ride, closing down to the front two in the final lap to finish just seven seconds off Harrison in third place.
Pro podium
On the final SERC Pro Series Leader's podium with Pro/Cat. 1 Women series champion Josselyn Gutierrez. She asked me to do a Charlie's Angels pose with her while on the podium. Luckily, I haven't seen that photo circulating around the internet yet.
Dina had a tough day on this course as she is not the best climber, but she is getting better. At the beginning of the season I don't think she could have made two full laps on this course. She not only made it today, but finished fifth, which was good enough for her to win both the SERC and GSC titles!
Video: SERC/GSC finals in Helen
Video: Yellow Wave awards at Helen. Turns out somebody did get the Charlie's Angels pose. Too bad you can't see the awkward look on my face. It made Josselyn's day so all is good!
Video by GeorgiaMTB
We cleaned up in the cool creek that flows near the start/finish area before heading back to the car to get changed for the series banquet. We got back to our car to find a busted bike rack. Somebody tried to turn around behind us and hit our rack, breaking the wheel tray off the back mount. There was a ton of room to turn around so I'm not sure what the person was doing. They did leave us a note and offered to help us out if we would find them at the banquet, but I didn't try to find out who it was. They weren't from our area so they really couldn't help us get our bikes home and there was no way to fix the wheel tray. I tried everything I could think of to fix it, but the tray was destroyed. Luckily, we had packed light and we managed to moved some our trunk items to the back seat and put Dina's bike in the trunk. It made for a crowded ride home for Dina in the back of the car, but at least we got everything home.
The lodge hosted the banquets for both series immediately following the race. It was a fun time getting to hang out with friends and getting to see what they look like in normal clothes. We were seated by teams at the table. Since everyone from Tennessee is on a different team we all sat together as "Team Tennessee." We met a family from Murfreesboro that has raced the whole series this year and we had never seen them before. Dustin White didn't have anyone to sit with so we adopted him to Team Tennessee. He and I have become good friends over the course of the season. He is even more of a friend now that I learned he is a huge Florida Gator fan like me and has spent a lot of time in Gainesville. My finish today was not enough to move me up in the GSC series so I ended up 4th in the combined Pro/Cat. 1 19-39 standings. Dustin ended up with the GSC championship over Justin and Harrison.
Our end of the table during dinner
photo by GoneRiding.com
Dina atop the Cat. 2 GSC Series podium
GSC Pro/Cat. 1 19-39 podium with Dustin White on top.
photo by GoneRiding.com
They almost forgot to do the Pro podium for SERC. To be honest, I was nervous about getting up on the podium at the banquet. I won by default this year as the only one that tried to go for the title. After people told me I didn't deserve to be on the podium or have the leader's jersey following the Conyers round, I didn't know the reaction I would get for winning. It made me feel a lot better when people started yelling that they forgot to do the Pro podium before I even had a chance to say anything. It wasn't as exciting to win as last year because I didn't have to battle anyone this time around, but I fought through a lot of bad days this year. I guess this one had a different kind of rewarding feeling. I got a lot of cheers on the podium and congratulations afterwards. It's nice to feel some love from my southeast friends. SERC and GSC Series results can be found here.
Dina on top of the SERC Cat. 2 Women's podium
SERC Cat. 1 40-49 podium with Mose Howard grabbing the title. Dustin White was a stand-in for Chris Lessing, who took second place overall.
photo by GoneRiding.com
Dustin White topped the SERC Cat. 1 19-39 podium as well, with Harrison and Justin swapping the other two steps from GSC.
photo by GoneRiding.com
Josselyn Gutierrez was the Pro/Cat. 1 Women's Champion of the SERC Series
photo by GoneRiding.com
Not my best picture, but I promise I was a little excited up there on the Pro Men's SERC podium
photo by GoneRiding.com
My hardware as champ
We got some good swag in our podium bags. The winners all got hoodies with "2017 SERC Champion" printed on the back. They were nice enough to give me a different one than what I got last year. This one was a nice red Specialized zip hoodie, which I love. It fits great, is super warm and goes well with me riding an Epic. I also got a certificate for some Industry Nine Hubs to go with my cash winnings. Dina got a nice hoodie and some awesome goodies. Harrison got a certificate for Xpedo pedals and offered it to me which was super nice of him. He said he already has plenty of pedals and knew I was riding Xpedo. I only have one set so it will be nice to have another set as a spare, especially when cross season rolls around. Thanks Harrison!
So that does it for the SERC and GSC season. It was another fun year of racing all over the south on some of the best trails around. We hope to be back next season and see more riders in the Pro and Cat. 1 classes. There are a lot of great riders in the southeast and I hope some of them will give the series a chance and help it grow to the prestigious series it should be. Thanks Dave, Teri and Austin for putting on such great events!
