May

    I was super excited to kick off May because Nashville had a three-day crit weekend May 4-6. It was probably the biggest weekend of racing Nashville has seen in years. We kicked things off on Friday night with racing at the Fairgrounds Speedway in Nashville with the first race of the Music City Crits Series. It was so much fun to race under the lights out there with an even bigger pack than we usually have for a Wednesday night race.

Racing underway at the Speedway

Cat. 4/5 Men Finish

     Pro/1/2/3 Men were the last to take to the track, starting just before dark. We had a bout 50 riders on the start line for a 60-minute race on the kidney bean course as it has become known. The course is flat and features a small chicane to start the loop and finish the loop as you enter and exit the main part of the paved oval speedway from the smaller inner oval. It was a warm evening and I felt it as the pace was cranked up right from the start with very few breaks in the action to rest. My stomach was knotted up from the effort after about 20 minutes.

Getting after it in the Pro/1/2/3 group.

Feeling the pain

Patrick Walle off the front.

The chasing pack led by Matt Schupp.

     I rolled into the second chicane about halfway through the race and nearly went down as my rear tire was flat. I hit the pit for a wheel and a free lap, which gave me a good rest. I felt really good after the break. The officials let me take off early so I wouldn't get pinched into the first chicane and that let me stay in a good position in the pack. I found my way to the front in the closing laps as we had a group of four off the front. I was second wheel at two to go, but then got swarmed on the backstretch. I had some legs left, but I was blocked in at one to go. I tried to find an opening on the final lap, but it was too late by the time a gap opened and I rolled across the finish line in 26th. I was bummed because I knew I missed a good chance tonight. I had good legs and let it slip away with positioning. Shannon got to come to this one so there are a few pictures from her and a short video posted below.

Another break going up the road.

The winning break

David Koonce on the front at two to go with me on his wheel.

Video: Pro/1/2/3 race footage from MCC #1

     Saturday was another good crit in Nashville at the Max Gander Memorial around Sevier Park. This has been one of my favorite races the past few years. It is a fast, fun course and run in conjunction with a festival. It was on Cinco de Mayo this year so the party was sure to be huge. But it wasn't. Rain overshadowed the day. I ended up staying home as it was a pretty stiff downpour all day long. It wasn't worth it to me to chance crashing and also fill all my parts with water. That course is a little slick under the trees on a dry day. Historically, I have not done very well in wet crits, so I felt it best to spend the day spinning on the trainer and getting ready for Sunday.

     Sunday was much nicer for the Cedar Hill Criterium just north of Nashville in Madison. It was a little cloudy with the sun peaking out at times. The temperature got up into the low-80s in the late afternoon. We were again pushing 50 riders on the start line for another 60-minute Pro/1/2/3 race. The course is a big 1.6-mile loop around Cedar Hill Park. It begins on a slight downhill with a 90-degree right turn at the bottom. You then shoot across a dam with a lake to your right before hitting a small climb. The course then drops immediately after you crest the first climb, curving left as you reach the bottom and beginning a gradual uphill. A second 90-degree right turn leads to more climbing before an exposed flat section that is notorious for headwind. Then comes another climb as you curve right, then down a screaming fast descent with a fast flat stretch at the bottom. The course rolls uphill one more time, cresting about 250 meters from the finish line for a fast downhill sprint. The big loop is not great for spectating all the way around, but it is a fun one to ride. And tough too with the climbs and wind that usually accompanies this race.

On the start line at Cedar Hill

Underway

     The start was much more mellow than Friday. There were attacks, but no really hard accelerations to close the gaps. All was good for about 20 minutes, then the pace ramped up and suddenly we weren't resting on the long downhill in the back anymore. After two laps of that, I began to feel the pain. I think my legs were still tired from Friday. I must have dug deeper than I thought at the end of that one. I fell back in the group and then the pack literally blew to pieces coming off Turn 2. I was too far back to do anything even if I had the legs and lungs to go at that point. I dangled off the back for a lap, almost getting back on coming off Turn 2 the next lap, but then I started to fade and the pack picked up the tempo again and it was over. I made only one more full lap before getting pulled even though I was in no jeopardy of being lapped. So my race was over after only 40 minutes. I was scored as 26th, which shows you how many guys got blown out. Less than half the field was left after the acceleration in the middle of the race.

Kyle Tiesler on the front

Me in the group

Walle on the attack again today.

Solo leader

Big group of food trucks at the race this year near Turn 1.

Off the back and suffering.

Video: My handlebar cam highlights from the Cedar Hill Crit Pro/1/2/3 race.

     Dina decided to do her first crit at Cedar Hill. She did the Cat. 4/5 Women. The fitness and skill level difference within the class was huge. The race blew up quickly into a bunch of two and three-rider groups. A storm was moving in so the officials were forced to shorten the race by a few laps. Dina learned a lot and did very well. She was a little slow in the corners, which is to be expected for your first crit being surrounded by people you don't know, but she held her own on the climbs for a few laps before finally fading back. She finished 11th and now has her first race under her belt. We had to sprint to the van and got loaded up just as the storm arrived. It was a wicked one with heavy lightning and high winds. It was a good thing nobody was racing when it arrived.

Cat. 4/5 Women getting set to start.

Cat. 4/5 Women take off.

Two riders in Turn 1 with dark clouds in the distance.

Dina spent some time by herself in her first crit.

Solo leader

     Two days after Cedar Hill, I had myself a little accident while working on the farm. I was driving in some t-posts to mark rows and to hold up a fence we will be using with our tomatoes this year. I got distracted for one second while using the metal post driver and raised it just a little too high. The front of the driver caught on the top of the post as I slammed it down, which tilted the post driver towards me, pounding me right above my forehead. It was about the 12th post I had put in so I was sweating and my heart rate was high. Blood pumped all down into my face. I didn't black out or anything so I think my head was good, but I had sore teeth and lots of blood. I couldn't tell how bad it was so I called my Mom and she came down to check it out and see if I needed stitches. The blood made it look worse than what it was so I washed it off with the hose before she got there so she wouldn't freak out. I didn't need stitches but my head sure was sore the rest of the day.

     That ended my post driving for the next few days and even took me off the bike for a day. I was a bit reluctant to get my heart rate up too high the next day, which was the second round of the Bells Bend Time Trial Series. I took it easy all day and decided it was worth a try for the TT that evening. I eased into the effort, not putting much into the pedals the first half. I stepped it up on the way back and everything felt good other than a little throbbing at the wound and plenty of stinging from sweat. I was pumped to log a 32:31, just three seconds slower than my time in April. I felt like I only gave 75% the first half so to still turn in a similar time means I was really going well on the return route. I did have a faster rider catch me at halfway and I was able to keep him within 15 seconds all the way back to the finish so that really helped me. My time may have been almost the same as last month, but my finish position was farther down the order in 8th as other people picked up their times this month. I used my handlebar cam so you can see what the full course looks like.

Video: My run at Race #2 of the Bells Bend TT Series

     I took a few more days off after the TT to let my head heal and also to finish up the garden prep. We were still planting after some rain to end April. It was just too wet to get all the dirt turned over. I had it done by the following Wednesday night when it was time for the second race of the Music City Crits Series at the Fairgrounds Speedway in Nashville. My legs were funky after all the time off. We raced the 180 loop tonight, which is the original course layout with two 180-degree turns each lap. I was scared of this course as I struggle with the accelerations out of the 180s and I knew my legs were off this night. But I had no real issue hanging in the group. We had about 35 riders start the Pro/1/2/3 race. I wasn't up front for most of the race, but I was solidly in the group. The race was shortened by about 20 minutes due to an incoming storm with lightning flashing in the distance and getting closer. John Carr took me to the front in the final five laps. I stayed on his wheel, hoping his pace would discourage attacks until the final lap, but the pack upped the pace with two laps to go and I got swarmed on the backstretch. I was blocked in most of the final lap and ended up 23rd. It was pretty much a mirror image of what happened at the first round. On the cool down lap, my rear shifter broke. The internals of the lever just fell apart and literally came out into my hand when I stopped. If the race had gone full distance that would have happened in the race and I would have been toast. That shifter has been clicked many, many times since I got it on my Sette in 2010.

     Highlights of my race from my handlebar cam are posted below. You can see the storm creeping in as the video progresses.

Video: Pro/1/2/3 highlights from Music City Crits #2

    The following weekend it was time to get back to the dirt. I did so with a heavy heart after finding out a friend and fellow racer, Shawn Smith, was killed after being hit by a car while road riding in Florida. The incident happened on May 8, but it took several days for the bad news to make its way to me. I just met Shawn a year ago, but he was a super friendly guy. I will never forget the first time I saw him ride. It was at the SERC opener at Haile's Trails last year. He came blowing by me after starting in the class behind Pro. He was absolutely flying on the wheel of Bob McCarty. They passed me in an open field going into a corner and Shawn literally roosted me as he sprinted out of the turn, throwing sand up in the air. I considered him a good friend just from the few times we were able to chat, like when we shared war stories from the day at the SERC race in Tsali a few weeks later. He was a huge inspiration to me. A great rider, a hard worker and a big heart, that's what I will remember about Shawn. He was always smiling, always having fun. I wish I had been able to get to know him better. You can read an article about him here.

     It's sad to hear of another rider taken too soon because of an incident with a car. The road is a dangerous place. There was a time when I questioned whether I wanted to be out riding on the road anymore. I decided that I do still want to be out there. I am aware of the risk, as we all should be. Every time you throw your leg over your bike and roll out of the driveway there is a chance you won't make it home. It's sad, but true. Please think about this before you speed, text or cut off a bike rider in your car. A wife lost her husband and a son lost his father. And it could have been prevented. Stay aware out there friends, and do all you can to protect yourself while out turning pedals on the road. We will miss you Shawn!

     The DINO Series kicked off in Winona Lake, IN on May 19. The opener takes place on a Saturday, so we took off work on Friday in order to make the long drive to northern Indiana and get in a pre-ride. The course was the same as last year, but would be run in the opposite direction. We dodged rain showers for the first half of our eight hour drive, then found some sunshine north of Indianapolis. But the rain beat us to Winona Lake. A small shower came over as we arrived. We waited it out and decided to check out the trail. It looked good so Dina and I went on in for a lap. Things were damp, but not muddy. I actually like the trail a little better this direction. It just flowed better and had the more difficult section of hills at the end of the lap. Still, it's all singletrack so there are few passing opportunities. The rain picked up on the second half of our pre-ride lap and we ended up getting soaked and splashing through mud on the way out. We had to load muddy bikes into the van as we didn't bring our rear rack. We then had to do a thorough cleaning of our machines when we got to Shannon's parents' house where we would be staying for the weekend.

The Winona Lake Bison

     Saturday morning rolled around with overcast, but fairly warm conditions. The overcast sky went well with my mood as I still had Shawn in my mind. The rain held off for us and the trail was only a little slick, not as muddy as when we finished the pre-ride. We had nine riders in Elite for a three lap race on the 10 mile loop. I got to the first turn in the lead last year, then slipped and had trouble with my new pedals and gave up the hole shot. I wanted to redeem myself this year. And I wanted to go give everything I had like I know Shawn would have done if he had been here.

     The start was the same with a short dash in the wet grass to a 180-degree left before another short dash to enter the woods on the right. I got a good jump and banged bars with two riders going into the first turn. I braked last and came out of the turn not only with my feet still in the pedals, but also with the lead. I was first into the woods and immediately started to settle into my pace. It was a like I had a pack of ferocious dogs behind me. You could hear the popping of shifting chains and the occasional rub of tires in the first few corners. I slipped wide about a minute into the race and was just able to squeeze inside of a tree that marked the outside of a sharp turn. I felt a handlebar jam my left hip and suddenly I was off the trail. Rick Mezo lifted me right off the course and took the spot. I wasn't happy about it as it seemed a bit aggressive, but it was a pretty sweet pass nonetheless as really there wasn't room to get by anyone in this tight section. He put a few bike lengths on me in the next section, but I kept him within a few seconds.

Elite riders on the start line

Video: Elite start at Winona Lake

Expert Men just after the start

Dina on her first lap

     After the first 1/4 of the lap is complete, you come close to the start/finish area and turn up one of the longest climbs on the course, which also is a bit more open. The group freight-trained me on this section. It was harder than I wanted to go at this point so I let them go, falling back to 6th with seven riders still in this front group. The group stayed together in the same order for most of the first lap. As we came out of the hillier, rougher loop near the end of the lap, we encountered more mud down by the creek and mayhem ensued. Riders were going down everywhere. I stayed upright, but lost time due to others going down. I finally moved myself up to 4th. The top three now had a small gap that I attempted to go across. Mezo was still leading over Tomasz Golas and Chris Bowman. As I came up to them, Tomasz went down. Chris was able to slip by, but I had nowhere to go and had to stop. Tomasz stayed ahead of me, but was still slipping everywhere. I had to wait for a wide enough spot to pass and couldn't find one until we popped out of the woods. I took to the weeds on the inside of the next corner and grabbed the spot as we ended lap 1. Mezo and Chris were together about 15 seconds of myself and Tomasz.

Getting a little air to end lap 1.

Photo by MoFlo Photography

     I gave all I had on lap 2. I thought about Shawn several times and tried to dig a little bit deeper. Tomasz stayed with me the whole lap. We got to within eight seconds of the two leaders, but couldn't get any closer. The gap inched back out in the final section and we were still at 15 seconds back ending lap 2. I was starting to feel it in the legs. Overall, I had no snap today and could tell I am much heavier this year than last, like 15 pounds heavier. It showed on the climbs. The wide climb that cost me spots on lap 1 got me again on lap 3 when Tomasz blew by me. I tried to stay on him, but he slowly put time into me. Over the next half lap he opened a second here and a second there until I finally slowed with cramping about four miles to go.

Chasing hard early in lap 2.

Chris Bowman was juts a turn ahead for most of lap 2.

Photo by Fat & Skinny Tire Fest

Digging deep on lap 3.

Tomasz Golas

     The front two came in together with Mezo defending all the passing opportunities to grab the win over Chris. I ended up taking fourth, 2:41 off Mezo's winning time. I gave up 1:38 to Tomasz in those closing miles despite trying to push hard for Shawn. I felt so out of shape and slow. It was quite shocking to me that I even was in the race and had a chance to battle for the win for 3/4 of the race. I was also disappointed to not be ready on a course that suits me so well. It looks like 2018 is going to be different than 2017, with me starting the series off behind this time around. I also knew I would be missing a round in June. You can drop the two lowest scores for the series overall. It takes top 3s consistently to win this series, so really now I need to finish well at all of the remaining races this year to feel like I have a shot at the title. The pressure is on.

Two leaders racing it out in the final open section.

Tomasz in 3rd

4th for me today

    I was pumped to have a lot of family there to watch. Shannon's Mom and Dad came, and then her brother, Jake, and his wife, Brooke, showed up unexpectedly. Jake took most of the photos that I have for this race. It was super cool to have them there and I really wish I could have shown them how good I really can ride, but I was off my game today. Riding for Shawn is probably the only thing that kept me in contention.

     We all went down to the shops in Winona Lake while we waited for the awards. It's a nice little town with some unique shops. I like the soda and candy shop Rocket Fizz. I like trying new sodas and they have some really interesting ones to pick from. I enjoyed a KISS Army Root Beer and we grabbed a Pickle Soda for a friend back home that is obsessed with pickles. Then we grabbed some ice cream from Kelainey's Sweet Dreams before getting our awards and hitting the road back to Elkhart. We stayed with the family until after lunch on Sunday. Shannon's Dad set the grill on fire at one point and we all had a good laugh after watching him scramble and yell, "Fire!" He has a low, deep voice and gets in a hurry for nothing, so it was like watching someone spring into action in super slow motion. All was saved though and we didn't burn down the house...or burn the burgers.

KISS Army Root Beer while waiting for the podium awards.

Elite Men podium

     The following Wednesday it was back to pavement at the next round of the Music City Crits Series. I had to resurrect my old Lemond Maillot Jaune, which was my first real race bike, bought way back in 2001 when I raced for the YMCA/Sun & Ski team. It's a steel frame with old 9-speed Dura-Ace components on it. The bike is normally my trainer and rainy day bike, but with a broken shifter on the Jamis, I had to dust it off if I wanted to race tonight. Since I was on the throwback bike, I figured I would also bring out the throwback YMCA jersey. I think there were three people at the race that had ever seen those jerseys before. Everyone else started racing after those kits were dead and gone. The bike was a bit sluggish with acceleration, but the main problem that night was me. I just didn't have any legs. I struggled at the back from the first lap and popped off after only 11 minutes, getting pulled after 18 minutes. I finished 35th. I felt like trash afterwards. I must have looked bad too because Dina bought me a smoothie at the food truck, something she never does.

Women on course

Dina raced again this week.

Warm-up in the old kit. Did manage to get my Easton wheels fitted to the Lemond.

Pro/1/2/3 group

Sticking out in the bright red and yellow YMCA jersey.

Off the back. Not what I was hoping for tonight.

John Carr pushing the pace.

Breakaway

      I followed that poor performance with a few rest days to try to find my legs. I thought maybe I just dug too deep at Winona Lake and was still paying for it. My rest days weren't full rest though as I still had fencing to put up in the garden and had to finish transplanting most of our vegetable plants. Shannon was busy too, making jams to add to our canned offerings. The jellies have done so well that we decided to make a little extra strawberry and peach jams to sell. We picked strawberries at a local patch after work and got Georgia peaches from the peach truck that rolls through town every couple of weeks. They were delicious! The peach was some of the best jam I have ever eaten.

Peach Jam

We are getting quite the colorful variety of jams and jellies now.

     May ended with a new race for me. We raced the SERC race at Enterprise South Nature Park in Chattanooga, TN. This is one of those trail systems I have been wanting to ride for a long time. It is a very unique park, formerly an ammunition plant in the 1930s and 1940s. There are bunkers throughout the woods and numerous places where TNT was stored during those years.

     The race fell on Memorial Day weekend. That made it hard to find a place to stay. Hotel prices were higher for the holiday and campgrounds were full. The only place we could find was Chester Frost Park, which required you to reserve Friday through Monday for the holiday weekend. Dina went down on Friday as she was off work, while I had to wait until Saturday afternoon to go down. The threat of rain made it so that I had to ride road before leaving home and so I didn't get in a pre-ride on the race course. The rain arrived only a few minutes after I got my tent set up at Chester Frost. Dina and I tried to hit the bathhouse right before the storm rolled in and we ended up getting caught in a downpour that lasted for over an hour. We got absolutely soaked getting back to our campsite and then spent the rest of the evening in our tents hoping we didn't get washed or blown away.

     Several more storms rolled through overnight and into the early hours of Sunday morning. Surprisingly, the course was damp, but not muddy. I rode a little bit of the 7.5-mile course and liked how well it flowed. It was looking like a fun day and not really a mudfest like I had expected. Part of the loop went through one of the old bunkers which was really cool. We had 13 riders in Elite to race for four laps. The start was on the road with a long, gradual uphill of almost a mile long to get to the singletrack.

     When the whistle blew, I was in trouble right away. Literally seconds into the race I couldn't hold the pace. I had no extra push to sprint with. I could only sit down and push at a steady speed. My legs just didn't want to go. I was 30 seconds off the back when we topped the hill. By the time the bottleneck into the singletrack occurred, I was only a few seconds off the end of the line of 12 riders. I couldn't get onto the group though and they slowly inched away from me until everyone was out of sight. We had some rolling climbs initially, then hit a long, flowing descent. I managed to get the group back in sight halfway down the descent, and actually rejoined them just as we reached the bottom. To my surprise, the group was still altogether for the most part.

Finally got the #1 plate!

     The course began to climb the biggest hill on the course next. I was quickly off the back again, but kept it steady. It sucks to not have any legs, but I do know how to best deal with a bad day so I rode steady and just tried to stay close until my legs had a chance to come around. There was another tough climb at the end of the lap before we got another fast descent back down to end the circuit. I felt weak at the top of this last climb. I could tell I wasn't just having bad legs. I was dehydrated. I felt weak all over. I bombed the descent and managed to get the group in sight again, finishing the loop just off the back of the main group and only 20 seconds off the leader. I picked up one spot and started lap 2 in 12th.

     That descent really motivated me and I started to dig a little deeper and actually feel better. I picked off several riders before the first big descent and then bridged to a few other riders. By the end of lap 1, I was up to 8th and still only 15 seconds off the leading group. They opened it up to about 25 seconds on me early in lap 3, but I grabbed two more positions and moved into 6th. I felt like I was only able to give 80% effort, but I was still in the race.

     Traffic was heavy the second half of lap 3 and I lost a lot of time. I wasn't able to make up anything on the last descent of the lap. I was two minutes back when I hit the line to begin the fourth and final lap. Then I went down hard transitioning out of the parking lot into the trail. The angle we went into the trail was a steep off-camber and it was slick. I laid it in there way too hard and the front wheel slid out. I landed hard on my left knee right on a huge rock. I also busted my elbow really good. The knee was really sore and I had to sit for a minute, giving up three spots before I got going again. The first few miles I was just limping along as my knee was killing me and the elbow was very swollen, but I was determined to finish. The knee calmed down halfway through the lap and I was able to pick up the pace again. My elbow was more of a problem the last few miles, but it didn't slow me down too much. I made up one spot and finished the day in 8th. It was far from my best day, but I'm pretty proud of how it ended. I fought hard all four laps and survived some junk legs and a nasty crash to still get a decent finish. I felt like I rode worthy of the #1 plate even if the result won't show it. I think Shawn Smith would have given me big pat on the back and laughed with me about crashing right in front of everyone.

     Dina had a better day than me, though she has been feeling a little off this week as well. She ended up 11th in the Cat. 2 Women. I had just passed her before I crashed so I was still lying on the ground when she went by.

     After the race, we headed back to the campground. It was hot and sunny now. We walked down the peninsula we were camping on and found a little place to swim on some rocks that stuck out into the lake. Later in the afternoon, Shannon came up to camp with us with some friends from work. We had plans to raft on the Ocoee River the next day so everyone came down to Chattanooga on Sunday. Jenna was the only one to stay and camp with us, while the others stayed in a house near downtown. I don't know what they got into that night, but we had a good time sitting on those rocks down by the water after it got dark, watching fireworks from the other side of the lake. We also watched raccoons raid trashcans at a pavilion across from our campsite. Some people had been grilling over there at lunch and must have left some tasty trash. These raccoons were HUGE! You could slap a trashcan and three raccoons would come crawling out. It was entertaining to say the least.

Swimming at the lake after the race.

Fat raccoon!

    It began to rain again overnight and it was a dreary Memorial Day morning. We had to pack up wet tents and hit the road for Ocoee where we met up with the others at Sunburst Adventures. I have been down the Ocoee before, but never with Sunburst. We had a great time with them. The guides were good and kept us entertained with endless jokes. We did the Lower portion of the river, which I had never been down before. The lower half does not feature as many of the large rapids, but there are more small ones in succession so it really keeps you busy with few dead spots along the way.

     We were treated to a water level that may never happen again. A portion of the river is always diverted along the side of the mountain in a flume that is eventually used to generate power. A rock slide destroyed a section of the flume and it has been under repair. Our guide said the repair work had just been completed the previous week and the flume was set to open the following day. We literally caught the last day of higher water levels. With the rain, the level was even higher, bumping the limit of rafting even being allowed on the river. It was the highest water level on the river that any of our guides had ever seen.

     Our group was interesting. We had several that had never rafted before, one the can't swim and a diabetic with an insulin pump that she wasn't sure was waterproof. I kept up with the diabetic, trying to keep her dry and carrying her extra supplies in my waterproof pockets while it poured rain on us, not to mention the splashing from the raft. Our person that can't swim jumped out of the raft in one area where it is deep enough to swim. I thought she would freak out, even with a life jacket on, but she did fine. I jumped out and swam with her for a while until it was time to get back into the boat. It was a lot of fun, especially for a rainy day. We had some lunch at the Ocoee Dam Deli before heading home. It was a super fun trip as always when we go to Chattanooga.

    Next up, June, as I still struggle to catch up! Thanks for reading!