Creeping Along

No race this past weekend.  My grass at the house is knee high so it may have been a good time to stay home.  Still went to Jax Saturday to see my mom so I got my interstate time in anyway.  Funny how going to a race the drive doesn't seem so bad but a trip like that?  Not so much fun.

So I attempted to get my training scheduled for Saturday in on Friday.  Not really the same thing as I was still tired from Thursday but it's fun to ride on Fridays, good way to end the week.  I still think I could do more training without getting into trouble.

Sunday was a group ride on MTBs through town and down to trails on the south side.  The "ride" quickly turned into a race once we hit the single track (at least for me).  It's fun to go that hard, I miss group MTB rides, gets me into uncomfortable pretty quick.  Pizza and brews followed.  I went home and took a nap.   Then attacked the yard, that was way harder than any ride.

SERC and GSC

Points are up.  I'm in first in GSC and two points out of first in SERC.  With a Saturday short track the day before the Helen XC race I'll have two opportunities to reel him in.  Sadly there's only the two of us in the 60+ class still eligible for year end awards.  When you get this age it becomes a little more difficult to stay healthy for a whole series.

That brings me to a topic I've been dwelling on since the first race in Macon.  Yes, once again, it's the subject of my choice of race class.  There seems to be a general consensus that I may be cherry picking the 60+ base class.  I'll admit the competition has not been the level I enjoyed in Florida.  It looks like the 50+ base would have been a fun group to race with but I didn't know that back in March.  It's funny, most of the people who are sharing their opinion haven't raced a series in years.

Look, I'm doing the work.  Training between 8-11 hours per week.  When talking to the other riders in my class I get the distinct impression they're not putting in any where near that kind of time.  I'm sure when I get to Nationals I'll run into 60+ guys who have been racing expert class for years.  I just don't know of any around here.

Anyhoo, I'm going to (hopefully) collect my trophies and swag for winning the championship(s).  I'll hang the plaques in my study and in the years to come I'll look back and remember what a great time I had; CHERRY PICKING THE 60+ BASE CLASS!

Best Race in a While

SERC make up and GSC #4 (?).  Acworth Ga., short track (ST)Saturday pm with the cross country (XC) Sunday am.

Racing two weekends in a row, you'd think it would get old, but I found myself looking forward to this past weekend.  It was a family affair again, I'm so glad The Kid still enjoys going with the old people.  We left Beautiful Downtown Havana early so we could stop by Atlanta Cycling to cash in our $150.00 worth of gift cards, prizes from our (so far) successful series.  We arrived at the venue in time to make a practice lap of the XC course and a lap of the ST.  The XC trail was tight and bumpy, lots of roots with a couple of rock features to keep you on your toes.  The ST was mostly two track with a section of tight single track thrown in.  Both pretty fun.

Short Track

The yellow wave went off first in the ST.  The Kid had a good ride with first in his class.  I lined up with the rest of the white wave.  Some kids and younger girls were lined up on the front row, I have no idea why.  I led the wave until the single track where I let a couple go by me.  My class competition was way behind me.  I had a great race with the 50+ base guys, out sprinting one of them for 4 overall.  ST's are fun.  I won my class and put another point up on my rival (DD).  No rain was forecast for Sunday, which is a first time in the last two races.

Chili's

Dinner was at our regular race restaurant, Chili's.   We haven't had a bad meal at one yet.  Beer was cold, chips were salty.  I just don't know why people take babies and small children into the bar section of a restaurant.  Of course they surround my table.

Race Day

The Kid went off at 9:30.  He got a good start and was running in the top 3 on the first lap.  He cramped on the last lap but still managed to get 3rd in a field sprint of 5.  IMHO a respectable result in the 19-39 cat 2.  He didn't seem pleased but I don't think he has much to complain about.  I'm super proud of his commitment to racing bikes, I just want him to ENJOY THE PROCESS.

The 60+ class went off at 11:30.  We had 7 lined up, which meant there were a couple of new faces.  I got the holeshot and led going into the woods with one of the new guys rubbing my back wheel on every corner.  I offered to let him by but he declined, it was then I figured out he was a local and knew the trail very well.  After we pulled away from the rest he confirmed it.  I let him by when I pulled over and faked having trouble getting my bottle out.  Once he was in the front the pace slowed enough I could rest.  In the open field at the start/finish I was able to draft him, I stayed on his wheel until we hit the long open straight to the finish.  I coughed loudly to cover my downshift, stood up, and out sprinted him.  What a feeling.  You would have thought I'd won a national.  Damn I was pumped.

Anyhoo, DD finished 5th I think.  I'm not sure what this does to the points in SERC.  I needed 6 to tie him.  We'll see.  In the GSC this should give me the series, provided I finish Helen.  We got $80 worth of gift cards to Atlanta Cycling, so guess where we stopped on the way home.

I can't believe the two series are almost over.  From racing Macon in the snow to burning up in Atlanta it's been an experience.  I really thought I'd have trouble doing well, even in the base class.  I've worked hard trying to get my fitness back after THE CRASH and it's starting to pay off.   I've enjoyed every event and even grown to like the traveling (maybe not the trip home on Sunday).  Not having to do the extra lap in the sport class makes a difference on Monday.  Base class is fun!

I go into the last round in Helen one point down on DD in the SERC series and in the lead in the GSC.  There's another ST on Saturday before the XC on Sunday.  I have a pretty good shot at winning both.  

Bump and Whine

Bump and Grind mountain bike race at Oak Mountain State Park near Birmingham Al.  This past weekend.  It was, well, different.

Normally Gone Riding promotes the races in this series but they only scored this one.  The local club did everything else.  And it showed.  Let me explain.

We arrived Saturday at 1 pm.  Parking was weird with half the paved lot roped off for no apparent reason.  We set up in a soggy ditch across the road and set out to find sign up.  We being The Lovely Wife, The Kid, and myself.

At sign up I was informed I needed to choose between Cat 2 or Cat 3 for the race.  Now for the series I am in Cat 3, which was only running 9 miles, as opposed to Cat 2 which was going the whole 21 miles.  No laps, just one big loop.  Hmmmmm.  The forecast called for strong thunderstorms that night and on into the next day.  So I could take a chance and ride the 21 miles or play it safe for the points and go 9.  Again, weird.  They told me I had till in the morning to decide.

Practice Lap

"Where do we pick up the 21 mile loop?" I asked.

"Well you go down here to Froggy Back and climb up Mr. Toad, then take a left on Pretty Pony" the guy from BUMP told me.

"Huh?"

So we rode up a road for a mile, figured that wasn't right, went back to ask again, got the same BS, found a rider who showed us what he thought was the trail, and promptly ran into BL and EP coming back from being lost.

I finally found the 9 mile loop while The Kid went to ride the whole 21.  I decided to just do the 9, which turned out to be a smart move.

Race Day

Muggy, cloudy, with rain in the area, but not raining when we got to the race.  My class started with the 50+ at 9:00.  It was actually sunny and the conditions were perfect.  I started out in front but got passed on the 1 mile road climb.  With both the guys in my class way off the back I politely let the 5 50+ guys go into the single track ahead of me.  I really don't know what I was thinking as they were scoring us separate.  Needless to say the last 3 were slower than me, so it took some time to get around them.  My bad.  I finished right behind second place in 50+, BL caught and passed me, sigh.

I won the 60+, my competition for SERC didn't show up so it worked like it was supposed to.  The Kid lined up for his race with 17 others.  As soon as the whistle blew it started to rain and it rained for 2 hours.

Bump didn't call for podiums, at least not that BL and I heard, so we missed them.  They gave us our medals and a gift card, but still, it was not well organized.

The Kid had a great race for second.  I was sooooo glad I had run the morning race.  Since THE CRASH I'm intimidated by slick trail.

All in all not a bad weekend.  The Kid was pumped with his performance, especially under those conditions.  They finally did his podium at 3:15 and we hit the road, getting home around 9:30.  I am once again thankful to be able to do these races.  We go again this coming weekend.  I am smiling.