Columbia #1

First CX3 race today in Columbia. Start was long and paved, I spun like crazy to stay near the front, then some really late braking coming off the pavement in the first turn carried me to third, two more passes before the ultra tall barrier (2.5 foot thick tree, mandatory jump) and I was out front on the long greasy singletrack. I kept attacking and apparently the other front runners, knowing I was on a single speed and in my first CX3 race let me go assuming I'd "come back" or fade. Through 3 laps I kept getting further and further ahead, never really sure if I was riding a pace I could maintain for 50 minutes. With three laps to go I was done seeing other riders in my race. One of my goals for next season was to win a CX3 race, so I guess I'll have to set the bar a little higher for myself.

Had maybe 20 minutes to chill before the start of the Single Speed race. Only Four of us. One guy dropped out right away and the other guys were a Pro (Jeremy Chandler, #1 in TN points series for SS and Pro) and Tanner Hall (who's always much faster than me) and since I basically left it all out there on the CX3 race, and they're both much faster than me, I just watched them ride away. They made us do 5 laps, took almost 45 minutes, definitely the hardest Single Speed race as far as time and proximity to an exhausting effort. Camera battery died, wasn't able to take any good pictures, but hopefully someone will email me one and I can post it (note: Big thanks to Ed Jarimillo who got this shot of me finishing and won the CX4 race.)

Extremely surprised I did so well as much eating and drinking as I did over the last 2 weeks. I was 5 lbs overweight on Monday, but I didn't panic and try to mash in a bunch of riding. That always backfires. One moderate workout, a few jumps, lots of rest.

Two more races tomorrow! Friend's having a party tonight, need to go and hang and play some music. It'll be essential for me to get a stool to sit on, drink only water, and leave by 10 or 11pm. Of course, life is short and I like to party. We'll just have to see how well everyone else recovers.