Tim's Tavern

National Championships was a Blast and I am very happy with my results !  I did  three events Cross country, super-d, and Short track!  Cross Country was the first event and for the first time it was dry at Mt. Snow.  They changed the course a little this year and I wasn't trilled to say the least.  It was made less technical in the begining and favored the really stong climbers.  I am a good climber but am a really capable rider and the tech stuff helps me out at this venue.  The start was really fast and the pace was brutal but after the first lap I was sitting in the top ten and was feelling really strong.  I really thought I could hold the pace but the heat and the pace was starting to wear on me by the third lap and I had to really back it down to recover.  Dave started to pull away from me I had him in my sights the entire race till then then Ben passed me like I was standing still!  He was looking really strong and ended up in the top ten.  In the last lap I got some pop back but it was to late to get back in it and ended up 23 out of almost 70 semi-pro's not to shabby.

 

Next up was Super-D!  I was really excited for this race and was riding a really cool Trance X0 5 inches, front and back.  I didn't get to practice prior to the race so I woke up early and got up there to geet in a run to pick some good lines and only made it  like a quater mile and pinch flatted!  Should of been tubeless but it's a demo bike from the shop.  I ran the bike to the top and no one had a tube so back down to the bottom on the lift to fix my broken bike.  By the time I got back to the top they were waiting for me and I got stuck in the second row with a lemans style start that wasn't good.  Off we go running with our bikes up a hill and I feel something rubbing my back It's Adam Craigs front tire!  He had his bike on his shoulder giving it hell so I figured what a great idea.  He jumps on his bike just ahead of me and took off like a dirt bike I slammed into  my pedals and followed but had no chance Matching the Olympians insane power!  I got stuck in the back pack entering the first section of singletrack and Adam managed to get onto the lead group.  We came out of the singltrack onto a doubletrack climb and I watched Adam pass the rest of the field like he had a motor on his bike and i managed to get around a few more but the lead pack was to far ahead to bridge to.  I ended up 14th in the Pro Super-D not to bad for having a bad start!  I really wish I would have put my Garmin on the bike for this event I think I achieved speeds in excess of 50 mph!  In one section coming off the double track into singletrack I bottom the 5 inch fork multiple times trying to slow down for the woods!  Next time I think a 6 inch Moto will be in order!!  At only 28 Pound I think it will be a great Super-D machine.

 

The last event was Short Track and I was really Hoping for a good result.  It is quite a chore just to sty on the lead lap and not get pulled in this event and I managed to stay on and ended up in 18th place and not far of the leaders at all it was really hard and I am pretty confident if I had been better rested for the event I might have had a podium in me I was about 10 beats of my max and 162 bpm versus 175 in the XC race.  But I was just happy to stay on the lead lap and beat a bunch of really fast guys that got me in the XC race

My weekend started off on Friday and I went to Cleveland to meet up with Lauren to ride Mohican state forest!  No matter how many times I ride this trail it never ceases to amaze me it is truly incredible and is getting better and better as the trail runs in.  Lauren did her  best time ever at 2:40 minutes about 20 minutes faster than her previous best.  She is riding really well.  After an amazing day on the trail we retired to my favorite restaurant MELT!   I miss it alot the food is awesome! 

 

This is where it gets totally crazy, I had to work at the bike shop at 10 am so I got up early and drove to Pittsburgh to work and asked my manager Chuck if I could get out a little early to race at Vultures Knob.  He said " Are you F---ing nuts"  but said if we were slow I could go.  At three it was slow and he told me to get out of there and that I did.  Back to Ohio I went and another 40 dollar fill up.  These gas prices are insane!   I am really glad my car is small and gets good gas mileage I average around 33mpg not bad considering how heavy my foot is.

 

I arrive at the Knob with about 20 minutes to spare and get suited up for the start.  It is kinda neat showing up to races where your not expected and seeing the reactions of your fellow racers.  There were some really fast guy's lined up for the start and the course was DRY!  This is the first dry race I did all season!  I was a little worried at the start about how hard I rode the day before at Mohican as I did not expect to get out of work early and get to race.  At the call we were off and Brad got an awesome start from a trackstand I fell in close behind him in second and we got to the single track in fast order.  I could not believe the speed Brad was going through the woods it was all I could do to stay on his wheel and in the first lap he got a little gap on me and never let up.  Steve was right behind me for a while and must of had some issue but soon after in this crazy new section I don't really like much he bridged back to me and passed me in the furnace.  I grabbed his wheel for the rest of the first lap but was already feeling a little tired from the crazy fast pace being set by Brad.  I was pretty sure Brad was on a mission to beat me from the moment I saw him at the start.  For lap 2 I decided to try to set a hard pace I could maintain the rest of the race and hold off the rest of the guy's back there, but that Whitney Jones who has been living in Colorado going to college there decided it was a good day to stomp me, caught me and let me know who was faster.  This all after he tried to tell us all he wasn't in shape at all.  All kidding aside Whitney is gonna be a really fast dude if he starts training for real.  He proceeded to drop me and I ended up in 4th place.  Not to bad after riding really hard the day prior.

 

I gotta give props to all involved in setting up this race series the turnout was awesome the trail was in great shape and the after party was a blast.  There was a huge bonfire and beer from Sierra Nevada and a lot of good friends.  What more could you ask for at a mountain bike race?

 

In the morning it was back to the bike shop in Pittsburgh.  Holy shit that was a lot of driving!  So I am at work and Brian Parker says he is coming up with an I- nine wheel to put new bearings in, cool.  We fix his wheel and he says " anyone riding tonight?"  sure I say why not.  So off to Frick Park we go 20 miles and 2400ft. of climbing later he asks if I want to go up to Kenerdale and camp out with a bunch of friends and ride on Monday.  What the hell why not?  We drive to Brian's about 45 minutes away and he drove the rest of the way up the the camp.  We arrive to a super cool A-frame cabin in the mountains and are greeted by a super bunch of guys and one girl all hanging out in the hot tub.  Jason the owner jumps out and takes us in to the giant pot of pasta and meatballs.  This stuff was so good I ate three plates of it.  I drank a beer and we all retired to bed to get some rest for the day of riding in the morning. 

 

We wake up in the morning and the gracious host he was Jason made and awesome breakfast eggs, pancakes, sausage.  From there it just got better the trail was less than a mile away and we rode to it in a big pack of giddy, silly mountain bikers.  These trails are absolutely beautiful, there is everything from the 12 creek crossings to super tech rock gardens, fast nasty downhills, mile long climbs, and logs lots of them not cut out of the trail.  How about that a real mountain bike trail, not a manicured NORBA course with a bunch of people complaining that it is to technical.  Anyway this place is super cool and I can't wait to come back and ride it again.

 

Four days of riding and close to 100 miles of offroad riding including a race.  Hope that sets me up good for the Mohican 100 this weekend