Rung By the Bell

     The hectic nature of September continued as soon as we got back form Huntsville. I had a full Monday of physical therapy, then new job training on Tuesday. It wasn't a new job, just more responsibilities I would taking on. I was offered a new position within the fundraiser company I work for on the side. The new job would be entering all the fundraiser forms when the students turn them in. We just refer to it as "keying." It's an easy job that can be done from home. The schools mail the forms to your house and then you type them into a spreadsheet. The finished spreadsheet then is emailed to our owner who orders the product and sets up the delivery. They said I had two weeks to get an order keyed from the time it was mailed to me. I was excited to do it because I could do it any time of day, meaning I could ride at any point of a day I wasn't doing physical therapy, or ride after work when I did do physical therapy. My keying could be done at night. My Mom would be helping me with this new job in addition to our jobs of delivering the products, as sometimes there are so many orders coming in that it takes two people to keep up with the load. We would also be stuffing the envelopes the kids take home when their fundraisers first start. We have always used a company to do that for us, but they went up drastically on their charges to stuff with some fancy machine, so we took it on by hand. It got us both more money and saved our company about 40%. I am always looking to make extra money to help me get to bigger races, and it would be nice to have a back-up job in case I ever reach another drought in the physical therapy world where I can't find work like what happened last summer. I also hope one day when we have kids that Shannon can cut back to working part time and this would be a great supplemental job for her to be able to do from home as well.

     I had to drive out east of Nashville to do my training. I picked up on it right away. It's not hard at all if you know anything about using Excel. The work started immediately. We brought home stacks of papers to begin stuffing into the envelopes. Two days later the first orders were arriving to be keyed. At this same time, Shannon and I were working on getting the farm back under control. Peppers were coming in heavy. I was picking two five-gallon buckets of hot peppers a week. We had a big order coming up the next week that we were working towards.

     We were also trying to decide what to do with those off days we were now stuck with. We definitely wanted to take advantage of having a week and a half off work, but we no longer had any plans. I didn't want to got to Texas now. That was really only ever a plan because we were having to go to Dallas for the class. We had scrapped all Missouri plans, so weren't really ready to go there now with only a week to prep. I wanted more time than that to hunt down good campgrounds and all the awesome trail networks in northwest Arkansas. Shannon and I discussed some other options we had lower down our list of trips to take one day, like running the Atlantic coast from Richmond down through Florida, and exploring Virginia. She mentioned having a friend in Washington, D.C. we might could stay with if we wanted to go there. We slowly started leaning toward a D.C./Virginia trip. Her friend, Kaleb, was open to hosting us for a few days and showing us around town. Add in that I then found some super cheap tickets to the NASCAR race in Richmond and it was set.

     We had one weekend to pack before the trip. I had to pack around farming and racing as it was a double-header race weekend at Montgomery Bell State Park just 45 minutes from our house. If you have read my blogs in the past you will know about my love-hate relationship with Montgomery Bell. I have had some of my best performances there, and also some of the most disappointing bike days of my life there. I am fascinated by Montgomery Bell. It is a technical, rugged and all-around tough trail. There are roots, rocks, layers of slick pine needles and plenty of short, steep climbs. And in the summer time, it is blazing hot in those pines. There is no getting lucky at Montgomery Bell, you have to earn a win in those woods. If you come into any race here off your game, the Bell will find your flaws and show them to the world. Rusty skills or being a bit on the heavy side for climbing that might cost you a minute on any other course, will cost you five minutes at the Bell. I just love all the variables and how difficult it can be to put everything together at the right time on the right day.

     With all the busy happenings lately, riding had kind of taken a back seat. As a result, my legs were all over the place. Some days I felt good, but more often I felt like trash. What I have learned this year from my dismal DINO performances was that inconsistent training leads to inconsistent performances. Saturday I actually felt pretty good in my warm-up for a short 3-mile time trial to kick off the weekend. The course for the TT is a fast one, with a lot of pedaling early on as you run the first part of the Perimeter trail. It is mostly flat with some gradual grades. Other than a few corners at the beginning, it's not overly technical, but there is some skill required when you are hitting it at top speed. About halfway through the run, the trail crosses a tabletop bridge and then begins a short climb, followed by a long descent. There is a small climb in the middle of the descent. Once at the bottom, there is a creek crossing, then you climb all the way to the finish up a real climb. The challenge of this course is that you have to go hard on the pedaling first half, but you can't blow up as you have to crush the climb to the finish to have a chance at winning.

     It had been a few years since I raced the TT, but I remembered it well. My tactic is usually to go 90% on the first half, sprint the small hill in the middle of the descent, then destroy myself up the climb to the finish. I felt super good when I took off. I could tell I was flying and it just motivated me to go even harder. I rode super fast to the descent. I could tell I needed to back it down as my stomach was really hurting from the effort and the heat. I tried to catch my breath on the descent, but I still wasn't ready for the small climb when I got to it. I felt like I gave it 80% up the small hill, but I was still dying. When I reached the creek crossing I knew I had screwed up. I was completely maxed out as I approached the final climb. It takes about two minutes to get to the line once you begin climbing. Ten seconds into the climb I was blown up and soft pedaling. I was crawling by the time I could see the finish. I tried my best to hang on, but it was obvious I was going way too slow. My lungs and legs were shutting down on me. Too much intensity on the start for such a hot afternoon. My time showed exactly how the effort felt. I finished 4th out of four in Pro/Cat. 1, coming in with a time of 11:00. That put me 43 seconds off the win. I have run sub-10 minutes here before so I was not happy with this ride at all. Harrison Klapheke had started behind me, which probably contributed to me going out too hard, but he too had trouble with the heat. Harrison ended up 3rd, just 4 seconds ahead of me.

     Dina was the only woman in attendance today, so she nabbed a win. She turned a 13:43, which I thought was a really good time for her. After the race, we hung out with Mike Taglio for a while. Mike is such a great guy and one heck of an athlete. We have know him for a long time. He worked with my Dad when I was a kid. Mike was a stud runner back in those days. Once he got older and swapped over to cycling, he became a stud on the bike too, still cranking out races at 75 years old. He plans to do the Leadville 100 next year.

Mike, Dina and me after the TT

photo by Tammy Richardson

     Sunday started early as I had a church meeting that I really needed to be at before I hopped in the car and drove down to the Bell. This year the XC course would be run in reverse. The loop has minimal flow in this direction. We rode it Saturday after the TT and if confirmed all my suspicions that this race would be brutal. The climbs are harder going this direction. They are steeper and have more roots hanging out as people have been descending these hills since this trail was first made.

     We were scheduled for three laps on a loop that is roughly nine miles long. We started with a short burst across a field to a hard left around a tree. Then it was about 50 more yards of grass to a road crossing and into the singletrack. It is all tight trail the rest of the lap with the exception of the 30 seconds of grass to the finish line. Passing is difficult to say the least.

     The loop in this direction begins with a long descent, going down the climb that finished yesterday's TT. We had the first creek crossing at the bottom, then a short uphill before more descending. Then things get real following a second creek crossing, the one that I crashed on when it was frozen in the Winter TT last year. After that crossing you go up Heartbreak Hill. It descends back to the creek immediately and then begins climbing the stair step hills up toward the North Slope. We then get a short break before a series of climbs and descents. You go up Chain Reaction, down Gnome Climb, up The Esses, and then down Charlotte's Ridge before you get a bit of rest as you flow parallel to Hwy 70. Then comes a major climb up the Moguls. Fortunately, we would take the side route up the Moguls for this race rather than the main way up like the Winter TT uses. The tough section known as "Tommy's Revenge" follows before another steep and rough climb up to the Back Blue trail. I like the flow from that point to the finish despite there about three more climbs to get you back to the tabletop bridge and onto the Perimeter Trail to fly back to the finish. Gauging your effort would be key on this course.

     Dina had the first race of the day and I missed her first lap due to my meeting. I actually got there a bit later than I had planned and didn't get in my full warm-up. I was a little slow getting up to speed on the start and found myself entering the woods in 3rd out of four starters in the Pro/Cat. 1 group. I was really hoping for more riders, but a lot of people were plain scared of this course. Harrison had been unable to start due to not feeling well. Chase Peeler was sure to be my toughest competition. I knew he was strong after he beat me at Lock 4 back in July. Chase got the holeshot. The first technical section is just seconds into the woods and I bounced my chain off as soon as we hit the first root. I had to stop to put it back on the chainring. The clutch on my rear derailleur was stuck and it took me some effort to get it to unlock. I lost a good 30 seconds before I was able to get it on and get myself rolling again. Not how I wanted to start my day.

     I didn't panic. I knew this race was far from over. As quickly as things went bad, they went good again. One rider flatted on the first creek crossing so I got one spot back. I caught 2nd on the next climb and went right by him. I could see Chase up ahead and was able to easily bridge across to him by the bottom of the first descent. He then crashed in a turn and suddenly I was in front. That went well!

     I settled into my pace on the opening climbs. Chase was on my wheel until we hit the climb up Chain Reaction. Some of the exposed roots on the steepest part messed him up, giving me a small gap. I tried to stay steady, but I know I picked the pace up while he was off the back. My legs felt a bit funky and I was not climbing well, so I knew I needed to pace myself to make three laps with so much tough climbing. But I just couldn't help myself with the gap I had been given. Chase caught back up to me fairly easily as he was climbing better. He made another mistake on the next climb and again I got a little gap. He came back across a little slower this time. The same thing happened up The Esses, but this time he didn't come back across. When I realized the gap was staying the same, I punched it hard over the top and down Charlotte's Ridge. I know that trail and the following Green Trail so I tried to open it up on him. I was out of sight as we raced next to Hwy 70. I hit the Moguls climb hard and then disaster struck. Just as I came to the top of the climb, I flatted. My front tire exploded. I got off to find a giant cut from the rim all the way up the sidewall into the tread. My day was done for sure. I have no idea what caused the cut, but obviously something sharp was in the trail, probably something metal sticking up. I looked for it, but never found anything.

     I was off the bike for over a minute before Chase came up the climb. I could not believe how much of a gap I had put on him in such a short amount of time. I was so bummed to be walking out of the woods. I was in front and maybe rolling towards my first win of the year! I could really use a win after how the last few months have gone. I don't want to end the year with a goose egg in the win column. The other rider that flatted was also out of the race. Only Chase and Jeff Barber finished the full three laps. The Cat. 1 40+ class also saw only two riders finish out of five starters. It was a tough, tough day on both bodies and equipment.

Chase Peeler starts another lap at Montgomery Bell

Craig Battinelli on his way to finishing 2nd in the Cat. 1 40+ class.

     Dina was still in the woods when we started so I didn't get to hear about her race until I had hiked out of the woods. Turns out she took the win in Cat. 2 Women!

     My Dad raced in the Cat. 3 races later in the day. They shortened the course a bit for this wave of races. They completed the first downhill, then turned left onto Back Blue, skipping all of the super steep climbs and the most technical sections. It is still a tough loop though with three climbs coming on Back Blue in the middle of their four-mile loop.

     We watched the start, then jumped into the woods for some viewing of the action. Back Blue gets close to the first creek crossing so we were able to watch them come through the hills about halfway through the lap, then see them hit the first creek crossing starting their next lap. Most of the classes did two laps.

Holeshot!

Junior racers rounding the first turn

Keyton Rush leading the Cat. 3 19-39 group towards the woods.

Cat, 3 40+ riders in the woods.

Dad in about 3rd at this point.

Presleigh Jennings

Zach Lowe on the first bridge.

Nolan Long on the bridge with Matthew Edens not far behind. These two are always together.

    Pops had some stiff competition with both Paul Carter and Chris Beck being in his race. Both are fairly new to mountain biking, but they are super fit and would do well on the climbs. Paul in particular has been flying lately. None of them had a great start and were buried back in the group of 10 Cat. 3 40+ riders. My Dad moved up quickly, coming through the midway point of the first lap in 2nd, with Chris in 3rd and Paul a bit further back in 4th. Dad managed to get to the lead by the end of lap 1. Paul was just seconds behind him in 2nd as they crossed the creek early in lap 2.

Paul Carter midway through lap 1

Zach Lowe

Dad on the first creek crossing of lap 2, now in front.

Paul was in pursuit.

Chris Beck

     Paul closed the gap on the next climb and then took the lead just before halfway through lap 2 as my Dad began to fade. Paul was getting better all the way to the line, pulling away to beat Dad by 1:38. It was a fun battle to watch and a great way to end a day on the trails.

James Stanford leading Cat. 3 19-39 with half a lap to go.

Keyton Rush was in pursuit and eventually passed Stanford for the win.

Paul Carter now leads the Cat. 3 40+ class.

Dad in 2nd chasing Paul.

     Next up, I'll write about our trip up to Virginia as we started off with a visit to Monticello and Richmond. Thanks for reading my belated posts!