Chattanooga

SERC #6, Nature Trails, Chattanooga Tn. 

 An awesome place to race.  7 miles of sweet single track.  We didn't get to pre ride the course on Saturday since there was another event at the venue.  No matter (at least not to me).

You can always tell an old guy from behind.  Boney arms and all.

We rode at White Oak Mtn. on Saturday, which was another machine built trail system.  Well worth the visit.  I hope to go back again.

But damn I look good from the front :).

Race Day

Only three of us on the line for the XC race Sunday.  As I pushed through the Juniors I heard one of the parents say "60 plus?  They should get a trophy for just showing up."  Ageism at it's best.  I really hate the looks we older riders get, kind of like we're cute for just racing.

Anyhoo, one of the guys in my class was new to the series.  He looked pretty fit so I didn't want to give him a chance to get to the single track ahead of me.  In the OMTP she has me practice a one minute charge from a dead stop, then settle into my cross country pace.  Seemed to work this time as after the one mile paved start the other two were no where in sight when I turned into the woods.

As I started to catch the Clydes I looked behind me and saw New Guy only a few turns back.  Oh yea!  I thought, now we have a race!  He stayed about the same distance back as we started the second lap.  I made a decision to not look at my Garmin and just go as hard as I could stand for the next 3 miles.  Turns out I can stand more than I think.  I ended up beating him by a little over a minute.

I really felt good.  I was able to concentrate on the trail ahead of me (most of the time) and actually race ahead.  Oh sure I got tired, and my legs and back were talking to me, but I was going about as fast as I could for that day.  It certainly helped that I was enjoying the trail.

He keeps rolling the crash dice and he'll come up snake eyes one day.

The Kid

He managed to salvage a 3rd in his class.  A couple of crashes took some of the fun out of it for him.  At the speed those guys are going he's going to have to concentrate more.

Hmmm, short and a beard must make you fast.

Looking Back

The second place guy in my class (went by the handle of Smoke) didn't stay around for podiums, turns out he was a local and rode those trails all the time.  Dave (race organizer) forgot to do our podiums so we staged a sit in.  It may seem a little silly for old men to get a medal and stand on a box but hey, it's all for fun anyway.

Old guys protest being last at podiums.

Once again I'm super fortunate to be able to do this at 62, heck I'm surprised I still want to do this.  But I do, even the training (except for the indoor trainer, I kinda hate that) and the gym work.  I will admit to getting burned out on the gym stuff lately but I just need to mix it up some more and not let those morons get to me.

I'm dropping Bump and Grind this next weekend, it wasn't much fun last year and it looks like I should be okay in SERC.  Then it's Acworth for the GSC and SERC make up, then Helen for the finals in both series.  Followed by nationals in July.  I may even do the Florida series, who knows.

Broken

I was so looking forward to a couple of long MTB rides this past weekend.  Everything was looking good until Friday evening.  As I was finishing up a lap of Root Bug the Cannondale started creaking, bad.  I could feel the top shock mount vibrate every time it moved.  Not a good sign.

So I had to ignore the group texts about rides for Saturday and headed to HG as soon as they opened.  Seems both the bearing and the shock mount were toast.  Of course no one would keep something like that in stock.  Cannondale wasn't open on Saturday so I would have to wait till Tuesday to find out if I was going to be able to race the following weekend in Chattanooga.

Note to self: just go ahead and replace ALL the bearings on the race bike on an annual basis.  On my moto if the top shock mount bearing failed I replaced the bottom also.  Just makes sense.  My suspension needs servicing but that would mean taking the bike out of service for weeks, don't need that here at the end of the season.  So I came up with a solution.

New Bike!

I know it's a rationalization but I really need two MTBs.  After all, most of my friends have two (at least).  So after shopping I settled on a Santa Cruz Tall Boy.  Kind of a mid grade build, nothing fancy.  I can race it if I have to.  Mostly it's for something different and to keep hours off the race bike.  I am selling my road bike and one of Blakes' MTB.  Plus his road bike (I'm keeping the money, he doesn't know this yet) and hope to recoup most of the cost of the new bike.

Racing?

It looks like the shop will have my race bike ready Friday.  Just in time for me to race it in the rain Sunday.  I really like the trail in Chattanooga, it drains well and is fun.  Blakes' going so it will make for a fun weekend.  Plus we have Monday off!

My fitness is good.  My weight finally started to come back down (I'd still like to lose some more).  I had my bi-annual physical and everything was good except for my cholesterol, which was up just a little.  Not enough for meds but enough for her to scold me about my weekend beers.  

Some things just make life fun though.

Off Weekend

Well not quite.  I still traveled one day to see my mother.  I am tired of looking at the interstate through the windshield.

I managed to get most of my prescribed workouts in last week despite missing all day Sunday.  I was short on total time on the bike by :30 and missed a core workout and a yoga session.  Well when I type it out it looks like I missed a lot.  Those yoga deals (2/ week) are the hardest to make time for.  It's just :20 each so I don't know why I avoid them.

Odd thing, my weight is up, and staying up.  I've started cutting further back on intake but it's not showing on the scales.  Sad, I was planning on losing a couple of pounds before nationals in July.  Now it looks like I'll have to be satisfied with getting back to regular race weight.

Grandpa Shawn

That's what Blake and his friends called him.  He was killed on his bike last week by a distracted driver.  Very sad and very upsetting.  He left behind a wife and 13 year old son.  

Blake rides those roads all the time and it terrifies me.  I've always felt that the punishment for distracted or stupid driving should be harsh if you kill or even injure someone.  From my years of riding a motorcycle on the road I have developed a keen hatred for dumb ass drivers.  Mainly because if they were to hit me I would have come out on the losing end, much like a cyclist.

Bicycles have even less of a chance than motorcycles.  They are very slow, very small, skinny tires, no power, and for some reason some drivers think they have the right to disobey traffic laws when it comes to bikes.

I'm not really sure that harsher punishment would change things, look at drunk driving.  

Anyhoo, my road bike is for sale.

God speed Shawn.

Happier Days

This weekend I plan to be at home the whole weekend!  The weather looks questionable but hey, there's always Munson.

I've been fantasizing about a camper van for racing and eventually retirement.  Kinda cliche huh?  They are damn sure expensive but I'm intrigued.  Winnebago Travato 59g (I think) is what looks like the best deal for the money.  The Lovely Wife doesn't seem as pumped as I am though.

Blake is staying in Gainesville for the summer.  That's the hottest place in the state this time of year.  

Got some blood work done this week for my physical next week.  I feel great and I'm very healthy, still, I worry they might find something.  I haven't had one in a couple of years.  Wish me luck.

Dauset and Some Weird Stuff

SERC #5/ GSC #4, SERC Time Trial on Saturday

Just The Lovely Wife and I on this trip, Blake decided to stay in Gainesville to celebrate the graduation of some of his friends.  If he wasn't in a 5 year program he'd be graduating.  Seems like I just took him to orientation last week.

Under the weird stuff heading, we had our credit card hacked at the Pilot station in Albany Ga.  Luckily I have an app that shows every transaction as soon as it goes in.  We returned to the station and confronted the clerk who claimed to know nothing about it.  Anyway, I canceled the transaction and had the card stopped.  Albany is a piss stain of a place.

Gone Riding had marked a great trail for both the XC and the TT.  It's another perfect setting for a race.  Even though my competitor isn't very competitive I ran at the TT hard.  Finishing 15/45 with the second fastest white wave time.  We headed for dinner at French Market in Locust Grove.

TT pic, I'm so fast I blur the camera

After a very pleasant dinner (not quite to Chili's standards but nice for a change) we went looking for our hotel.  I had made reservations at a La Quinta but upon arriving we couldn't find one, anywhere.  I called and the clerk explained they had been bought out by Holiday Inn and were now under that sign.  Okay.  So we check in, get to our room, and the AC isn't working.  There was only one person working in the hotel, he was super nice but was way overwhelmed trying to check in people and get us another room.  Finally after an hour we got into a room with working AC.  My campervan fantasy is looking better all the time.

To add to the hotel deal there wasn't any coffee ready in the breakfast nook, took them 15 minuets to get some.  All the while my fellow man was walking around in his PJ's with his little bedroom slippers sliding across the floor.  Disgusting.

XC Sunday

Clear and cool with a steady breeze.  Good trails to warm up on.  Not a very big turnout.

I got a good start and paced myself, I was a little concerned after the TT on Saturday, thinking about cramping.  I didn't have any issues except that I must have hit my derailleur as half way through the second lap the bike started ghost shifting (Marcus at Higher Ground confirmed this today).  There was a fair amount of climbing and the trail was rough as Red Bug in spots.  I enjoyed it more today looking back than I did Sunday.

Anyhoo, I beat Stan by 5 minuets, passing all the 50+ and Clydesdale's in the process.

Who thinks David's awesome?  Raise your hands.

We managed to make it home without anymore weird stuff happening.  I'm writing this on Tuesday and I'm still a little tired.  There's 3 weeks until Chattanooga, I'm ready for a weekend at home.