Time to cross the finish line on 2019. This was the race I never thought I would finish! Geez, I have been slacking at this blog thing. Better late than never I suppose.
Total number of races was lower this year at 27. That's 15 races less than 2018 due to budget restraints. I climbed on the podium less times at six appearances, but three of those were on the top step. I was pretty proud of the wins at the DINO Challenge Short Track and the 6 Hours of Blankets Creek. Both had some serious competition. I had just one DNF this year, which is still one too many. That one was due to being sick leading into the Three River Rumble weekend. I hated to quit, but I got dropped only a few miles into the road race and barely completed one lap. No way I had the juice to do two more laps alone. I am also proud of my 5th place finish in Cat. 2 at the Tennessee State Criterium Championships. That was a fast race and it was great to be battling for a good finish at the end. Crits are so fun when you are in good shape!
Please support the companies that supported me this year! Shout out to Maxxis, MOAB Bikes and First Endurance for their help. Thank you guys!
As always, I want to pick a "Race of the Year." I take everything into consideration for this designation. I look at the turnout, competition level, course, race promotion, prizes and overall level of fun that me and my crew had at the event. This year I give the award to the Utah Crit Series race on the flat course at the DLD in West Valley City, UT. What a fun evening that was! The course was a blast and the competition level was smokin' fast! The race is put on by a great group and they thoroughly welcomed me as an out-of-towner which doesn't always happen when you race in new places. Sure, there was no payout for this weeknight training race, but the fun level far overshadowed that detail. Gateway Cup was again a top event as always, with the DINO Series race in Winona Lake also sitting high on my list of faves this year.
Here are the stats for races and finishes in 2019:
Total Number of Races: 27
Race Breakdown: XC: 7 Short Track: 1 MTB Time Trial: 0 Endurance XC: 2 Downhill: 0 Super D/Enduro: 0 Criterium: 14 Road Race: 2 Road Time Trial: 0 Cyclocross: 1
The remainder of October and most of November 2019 was a disappointment as far as riding went. I was busy with work and didn't have much time to ride. What rides I did manage were solo. It seemed nobody wanted to do our group rides anymore. I found myself out there alone most weeks until the time change ended the group riding season. The pride of the group has almost completely ruined this local fun ride. Everybody wants to ride with the front, but they want the pace to conform to their fitness. Dropped riders complain about and badmouth the faster riders. Slower people get dropped and end up riding alone as nobody will wait for anyone else to form a chase group. Because of all this drama, riders across the speed spectrum stopped coming. A second ride started up in a flatter part of town and many of the riders started to go there, or just stopped group riding altogether. I miss the old days of the Wednesday night ride at Exit 1. We hammered each other, but always regrouped. It was a great workout for the fast guys and helped the slower riders get better because they had more time with the group. I have tried and tried to do it this way on our Tuesday ride, but just can't seem to get anyone to give it a try.
Dina managed to get a few days off work at one point in late October. We put in a couple of longer days on the road. On the first ride I took her to Ashland City and introduced her to some real climbs. I found her breaking point on a steep hill where she had to get off and walk at one point. She was not happy with me! We had to cross a main highway that was being paved right as we returned to the car. Somehow my chain got wadded up as we shot across the soft pavement. It instantly snapped the derailleur hanger. Good thing we were within sight of the car.
Hwy 49 bridge in Ashland City
Tough climb up Dry Creek Rd
This hill is awful. Dina can confirm.
Broken derailleur hanger
After replacing my hanger we took another ride into southern Kentucky, riding up to Fairview to the Jefferson Davis Monument and back toward Tennessee.
Monument sticking up in the distance
Jefferson Davis Monument
Words to live by. We obeyed.
We took in the All American 400 at the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway, the first time I had been able to go to this race in years. They do two late model races for the 400, bringing in top drivers from all over the country. It was a really fun day and beautiful weather. I love that track and hope they can keep it open long into the future.
First race underway
Crash on the backstretch
Legendary short track racer Bubba Pollard got the win
Second race going green
Training wasn't great leading into the Tennessee State Cyclocross Championships at Cross the Harpeth. I had this one circled on the calendar as I always ride well at Harpeth and was excited for the State Championship to be held there, but I just didn't get to prep the way I wanted to this year. It felt very similar to the lead-in to CX Nationals in Louisville last year. I didn't get to do a single cross race before Harpeth rolled around. The mountain bike is usually my choice here, but it was a no-brainer this year considering I hadn't been on my cross bike at all.
I wasn't on good form at all, but I still had a decent race, which really irks me even more because I know that I could contend for the win if I had been able to do my training. We had a solid group of 13 riders that started the Pro/1/2/3. The pace was crazy high the first lap. I was in the middle of the group after the start. The group quickly split just about 1/4 of the way through the first lap. Six riders got a gap. I was behind the split by a few spots. I couldn't have gone with the move anyway. Those front guys just had too much speed for me. I rode my steady pace and salvaged the best finish I could. I ended up 7th, which effectively was the best of the rest behind the front group.
In action at Cross the Harpeth
photo by Tami Kuper
photo by Steve Smail
photo by Steve Smail
photo by Steve Smail
We closed out November with more farm expansion. We started offering seeds pulled from our own veggies this year. I started harvesting seeds to save us money and breed in the characteristics we want for each variety. I have no idea if anyone will want to buy any of our extras, but I will be putting them out there this winter and into the spring. Shannon also tried out a new jelly. A neighbor gave us a few mint plants earlier this year and Shannon used them to make Mint Jelly. I don't care for mint in anything, but the jelly is actually pretty good. And it's green!
Peach Ghost Pepper seeds
Mint Jelly
Turkeys off the side of the trail at home
Finally built our sliding barn door that covers the door to the laundry room we built shortly after we moved in
The year ended with me finally getting back to steady training at the end of November and the entire month of December. I also got in the weight room and started working on just being a better athlete in general. Our annual Thanksgiving training camp was a bit of a dud. None of the family wanted to join this year. Thankfully, Shannon got outside with me at some point most of the days to give me some company. The third day was heavy rain. I wasn't very motivated to get out there, but ended up having a great time. The leaves protected the trail. I got slick conditions without any trail damage or coating my bike in mud. It was perfect!
I finally got a smart trainer! Shannon upgraded me to a direct-drive Tacx smart trainer for Christmas. I hate riding indoors, but a smart trainer is a game-changer. I was immediately having a blast with the real-world videos provided by Tacx, and quickly had a Zwift membership. Of course, I was racing after just two days on the new toy and having a great timed despite getting aboslutely destroyed. I am already getting in better workouts than I have ever had on the trainer before. I am pumped to be on this thing for the rest of the off-season. It is so cool to be able to finally see my power output and get to work on my FTP.
We ended the year with some night riding to visit the Christmas light displays around Pleasant View. We did this last year and it was so fun we want to make it an annual thing. Shannon joined me for a chilly, but fun ride to get the season's festivities fully underway.
We headed up to Indiana to visit Shannon's side of the family for Christmas. I got to work with Shannon on Christmas Eve and even got done early enough to ride my way north toward Indiana. I made it 60 miles up to Hopkinsville before she picked me up and we drove into the night to reach Elkhart.
Tunnel of trees on my Christmas Eve ride
Saw this guy near Clarksville
Geese overhead
Lots of birds on today's ride
I only got in one ride while we were in Indiana, but it was a great one on Christmas Day. The weather was cold, but sunny. I found a few gravel roads to explore in the middle of the ride. On the way back, I saw a temporary service road that had been constructed across the farm fields to allow for trucks to drive over the soft fields to replace power line stands. The plastic road was just too good to pass up. I hopped on and ended riding a couple of miles through some random farm bumping my way over to the next paved road. It was an oddly fun ride to wrap up 2019.
