1st place in Single Speed Category (4th fastest time of the day)
I went to this race because it is one of the hardest (most technical) races in our area or maybe even in the entire country! I went to this race to prove to myself that I can handle it, like a real mountain biker. I went to this race to get better, because my technical abilities are my biggest weakness.
I had a great time! This race was just crazy. There were huge rocks, medium rocks, little rocks, roots, water crossings, cliffs, and some stuff that was just so crazy that I had to dismount and run but that I know some of the best guys were probably riding. It was a true challenge and I loved every second of it.
I do not recommend this race to anyone who is new to the sport. Practice for a year or two and then do this race to see what you are made of. I almost never crash, because in general I err on the side of caution over going fast, but at this race I endo'd (went over the handlebars) 4x and crashed more times than I can count. It was hard for me to type on the keyboard at work today because my right hand is swollen. Oh man it was a fun race!
Lance, who I train with, and I drove to the race together. Both of us had aspirations of conquering this race that had (in previous years) conquered us. We were equipped with Maxxis Ikon tires with extra Exo Protection. They only weigh 570 grams and they are crazy durable. Neither of us got a flat, which is an incredible feat at this race where flats are abundant!
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| Maxxis Ikon with Exo Protection! |
At the start there were about 15 or so SS racers. The geared racers had a 1minute head start on us, it was my goal to catch as many of them as possible. There was a long stretch of gravel road before we hit the trail. Montana Miller took it out crazy fast on the gravel and separated myself, Topher, and Lance from the rest of the group instantly. It was only the four of us when we hit the trails. The first section of trail is a crazy rocky climb that is very long. I was going too fast and I had to dismount / remount 2x on this trail but luckily the other guys were having as much trouble as I was.
Eventually another racer from the group that started 1 minute behind us (geared 45+) passed us. I thought he was a SS at the time so I was quick to get on his wheel and in doing so I got a sizeable gap on the rest of the SS racers, leaving Lance, Topher, and Montana to battle it out. When I realized that the guy had gears I relaxed a bit and I was happy to have gotten away from the SS field.
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| Lance crushing the climb |
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| sunglasses worked great! |
From there I picked off a few of the geared guys who started ahead of me and was pretty much riding solo for most of the race.
I ended up finishing right behind the 4th place geared racer (Kevin Campbell) from the category that started 1 minute ahead of us, that means there were only 3 guys (Rob Spreng, Brandon Draugelis, and Keefer) who had a faster time on the course! Oh man I have a lot of work to do. Those guys are just so much better on the technical rocks than I am, I will get better and hopefully I will be closer to their times next time we race on a course like this!!
Lance finished 3rd in the SS not far behind Topher who placed 2nd! So happy for him! He crushed it!
Next race is Wild Cat 100 on Saturday. My first NUE of the year... oh man!
killer race! i miss michaux already...
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