March MADNESS!! and some April madness too..

I know, I've been slacking lately on the blog updating... sorry about that, if anyone actually reads this thing.  Anyway, I don't have a lot of time to write at this moment, but I will say, racing has been going great lately! I've won more races in the past few weeks than the past 2 years. Feels like things are starting to come together.

Tsali Podium

Here's the latest results, in an easy to read bullet list format for your enjoyment.

• March 11th VORS #1/Southern Classic #2 -  Shootout on Angler's Ridge, Danville VA - 4th Cat 1 30-39

• March 18th VORS#2 - O'hill Meltdown, Charlottesville VA - 1st Pro/Expert

• March 24th Belmonte Endurance Races, Wintergreen VA - 1st Open men (a course marshal sent me the wrong way and I missed part of the course, but at the time I was 20 minutes in the lead, so I'm counting it as a win!)

• March 31/April 1 US Cup East/SERC #2/Southern Classic #4 - Tsali Knobscorcher, Bryson City NC - 1st XC, 2nd TT Cat 1 30-39

• April 7 6 Hours of Warrior Creek, Wilkesboro NC - 1st Solo Men (only 7 minutes behind the winning 2 man team! :)

VORS is the Virginia Off Road Series, I'll be doing these when there's nothing bigger going on, and also should be able to complete the US Cup East/SERC series, 2 more of those are coming up later this month in Georgia.  I will be racing 2 of the US Cup Triple Crown races also. Currently registered for 7 NUE races and several more soon when I get the money to pay the entry fees. I'll be at Cohutta 100 at the end of the month and doing the US Cup/SERC #4 race the next day.. ouch. Not planning on winning that one, but I need to complete at least 8 of 10 races in the series and there are a few other ones I'll have to miss. Drive to Alabama from Ohio the day after the Mohican 100??? Probably not. Oh scheduling conflicts, you kill me.  


Speaking of which, I couldn't make it to Dragon's Tale this year due to being down in NC for the Tsali Knobscorcher on the same day, and that was very sad.. I love Dragon's Tale, such a badass race, and Chris Scott does such a great job putting it on.  There was a huge field this year, and JB came out and destroyed everyone apparently. But hey, if I had to miss a big epic gnarly backcountry 4 hour race for a little 2 hour XC race like Tsali, at least I won the thing! And, although its not my normal style of course, it was super fun and good to practice that fast flowy buff singletrack.  Apparently everyone is into these sub-2 hour short sprint XC races, so I'm giving that a try this year, but I think my real love will always be with the longer backcountry races.

Start of the 30-39 cat 1s. You can see me way in the back left behind everyone... Photo by MTBMike

The win at Tsali was especially tasty and satisfying because I had a terrible start. I got jammed in the 2nd row behind tons of guys all fighting for a good spot on the start line, and was maybe 15th or 20th getting into the singletrack. A few dropped off the sides, but we were pretty much cruising along single file in a big train at a medium-fast pace for the first few miles and it was impossible to pass on the tight twisty singletrack. Finally, I saw an opportunity on a gradual climb with some room on the sides of the trail, and stood up and sprinted past the entire line of like 15 guys. 2 were a few hundred yards off the front and I was able to catch them within a few minutes by turning myself inside out on the steep grunt of a climb in the middle of the race lap. "Shut up body, do what I tell you!" 

Andy hot on my wheels towards the end of the 1st lap -Photo ToShun Campbell

After that, it was just cruising fast and smooth. Andy Johnston and I traded pulls in the lead until the middle of the second lap when I punched it hard again up the steep climb and didn't see him any more after that. Gary Yates, who eventually finished second, bridged up to me a few miles from the finish, he was flying! He passed me and I was having a hard time holding on to his wheel, and thought my hopes of a win had disappeared. Then, either I got a crazy burst of energy or he had exploded himself in the effort to bridge the gap, either way I came back around him and hammered my ass off for the last 2 miles of the lap and got a good 40 second gap on him. It was pretty intense. On second thought, maybe this short XC stuff is alright.

Enjoying the lead a few miles from the finish :) -Photo by ToShun Campbell