Good To Be Home

My favorite freedom on leave, The Beard!


Well it was a enjoyable week up in MI, I was able to get a couple of rides in and while it wasn't the terrain best suited to practice for Carter's Lake it kept me from getting rusty over the week. I rode Egypt Valley which was more like the Pig Trail really fast and smooth and Cannonsberg Ski Resort which had some hills but was pretty smooth as well. They keep the trails so clear of roots and rocks up there while it might be trails it is almost too smooth that it takes away some of the challenge and definitely made the trail at Carters Lake a welcome reminder of what true Mountain Biking is. We left MI on Saturday and drove from there to Ellijay arrived about 8pm or so and checked into the Stratford Inn, nice place after I got things around for the race was about midnight when I crashed out. Not the preferred way to prepare for a race - if you can AVOID traveling 14hrs the day prior to your race I highly recommend you do so!
Race day started off normal enough, good start with a small field, 12 total riders, and the road section gave us a chance to separate prior to the single track. Started out pretty good however the lack of preride of the course and the warnings of dangerous downhills made me a little too cautious as well as getting my butt handed to me by the big hill out there! I managed to keep the rubber side down the entire race so even though I finished 9th out of 12 I felt pretty good about it considering the lack of preparation coming into the race. My next major event to prepare for will be the ORAMM which I am looking forward to, I haven't had a long epic ride of this duration in two years so it will be interesting to see how I handle it mentally as well as physically. Should be out at Thompson on Wednesday for some riding and the OMBA meeting so if your out there I Will See You on the Trail!