Conyers GSC #2

 Alright, well strapped on another number plate making this the 2nd race I've done since 2016. First XC race since prob 2014?? 

Watching the weather it seemed like Conyers was going to be primo, but it started sprinkling on the starting line! GSC makes you race your age group in your class, so I was racing 40-49 Expert but they combine all the ages, so we had a decent sized group which was nice to see.

The race started fast, decently aggressive and I was up for it(even though I shouldn't have been!), I positioned myself 2nd into the hole shot for the singletrack. A Dirt Camp kid and myself made the pass, with me still in second nearing the end of the first lap and unfortunately, I had a minor crash. I lost some spots, and not sure how many exactly but enough to make me lose where I was in the order. I marked the masters guys I knew to watch out for. I met 2 really good dudes, Jeremy and Allen, who both ended up beating me on the day. Hopefully I'll see more of them at some more races this year.

Doing my best to keep in touch, on the last climb of the first lap, a 19-29 kid caught me and Allen on the climb and we rode his wheel most of the second lap - until Allen attacked and I was able to follow, my legs felt great at this point in the race. We ended up dropping the kid, sorry dude, I forgot your name. Allen ended up dropping me too, he was simply a better rider. The rains came down on the 2nd and 3rd laps, and it just for worse and worse and harder and harder to ride. The race became more about not crashing then power. There wasn't going to be much of anyone catching any one at this point I dont think. I held onto my position for the day, we got me 6th OA and 3rd in Masters which I'm decently happy with all things considered. I need to be racing more to get that kinda intensity back under me. It's been a looooong time since I've ridden that hard. 

I won't lie, todays race kinda made me think twice about how I could perform at Marathon Nationals this year. I have some weeks ahead for some goof training, I just have to stay disciplined and know there's a large climb during that race that's a big advantage to me. I initially had thought, oh a podium at nationals will be easy if.... well no it wont be, haha. Time to get to work. The good news is Jeremy is 47 and the classes at Nationals are 40-44(mine) and 45-49(his) so I dont have to worry about him! Dude is a freak! and nice too, so that's always good to see. I'm not sure about Allen, but he no doubt could take me, he whooped my ass today.

If Nats is a mud fest, today was good practice! The bike is thrashed, but our daughter helped me wash it and changed out brake pads and put a new chain on, so we'll see how it rides again soon.

Until next time!

Hoping to race more GSCs this spring and summer if I can, plenty in June it looks like. Having them on Sunday is super friendly to folks like us that have kids! Thanks Gone Riding!

2025 Cohutta 100 NUE MTB race

 Greetings!

Welp, at this rate I post in the blog every 5-6 years. This weekend I raced in the Cohutta 100 mtb race which is a fantastically wonderful race riding in both the Tennessee and Georgia mountains, covering 100 miles and 12,000 feet of elevation gain. My buddy Kevin Conerly and I waited until the last minute to sign up knowing the week leading into the race was riddled with thunderstorms and rain. We eventually decided, it is what it is, and we wanted to race anyways. 

Now, it's been 6 years since I've raced my bike, and before that, my last race and 100 miler was in 2014! You can find that post in this blog from November 2014. Sooooo much life has happened since 2014, and the Wyoming race in 2019(also in this blog). Starting around the time my now wife and I starting dating, I was training to give the Everesting world record a go, I reckon I pushed it too hard and I have had a decade of knee issues. Blah Blah Blah basically saw a bunch of docs got a MRI and I have no meniscus left in my right knee - it's gone completely. I think it's from riding with my saddle too high for a long time. but who knows. After taking several years off completely and getting totally addicted to fishing, I have learned to manage my knee pain and inflammation and I can now nurse it if I'm smart and willing to forego riding for some yoga and stretching. Robot knee to come!

Carmen and I like to keep our personal life, personal and don't mention much about it publicly but the last few recent years have been a little difficult for us, with our starter home in Florida flooding twice in 13 months from hurricanes and the first flood happening shortly after adopting our first child, Cece. All well that ends well, we are doing swell now having sold the house and relocated to Roswell, Georgia. 

Okay, that's enough life update, I'm old and slow and rode all of 250 miles in 2024. 2025 we are back at it! So why not sign up for Cohutta 100! Here's some photos of the bike before the race and Kevin and I riding the day before: 

I've never had a bike this nice before so what a treat, insanely blessed. I don's deserve it.

Kevz at the Boyd Gap overlook. 

Yours truly adorning the overlook - haha.

This is a photo from the exact same location from last time I raced Cohutta back in 2012. I was 26 years old at that time!

Kevz and I both have children and are married now, with them in Brevard and us in Roswell, we don't get to hang out as much, but it's so special and comforting knowing we have a small but unique friend group from our time back in the southeast, we have a brotherhood and have known each other for over 1/3 of our lives now. We got a hotel in Ocoee and he raced the Big Frog 65 and got 6th! I believe he said he had a slighly slower time compared to his last attempt but with higher power numbers - so I know he has got to be proud of that effort. The conditions we pretty much a mudfest, maybe not as bad as it could be, but they weren't fast by any means.

My goal was to pace for the longhaul, and to finish without bonking. I have only been back at riding now for 5 months, so I def bit of more than I could chew here. 100s are to be feared and respected I was gently reminded. 

I dont have too much to really share in detail. I was 6-7th going into the brush creek singletrack. Gordon got the hole shot(i think). I knew I didn't need to be anywhere near him or the other fast dudes. If I tried keeping up with them, I knew I would blow up and fall apart to limp in later. I was content with the starting pace, and stayed with the front group for about 11-12 miles. The opening singletrack was a slosh to say it at best. Much slower than I remember. I planned to stop at AID #1 and I did. Refilled my bottles and went on. At this point, the leaders were gone and I was settling in for my pace for the day. About 5 more miles later Christian Tanguy caught up to me, and I was shocked. I have memories of him winning these events years ago. The fact I was ahead of people like he, and Brian Schworm was nuts. Tells me, I went out wayyyyyy too hard and turns out, I did. I had issues with my heartrate monitor before the race started, so I had to race without it, I never ride without HR, just because I "felt" okay at the start didn't mean I wasn't punching about my weight. I did pay for that. Christian and I played yo-yo for a while as I would catch up to him on the descents. Eventually, I just never saw him again, dude can climb like a goat!

I spent the rest of the day pretty much in no mans land which is par for the course for me, I have always felt like I was never fast enough for the fast dudes and perhaps a little too fast for the average, IDK who cares, I had so much fun out there. My darkest hour was definitely the Potato Patch climb. I just don't have that snap or extra gear I used to. Maybe I'll fine tune it before Marathon Nationals this year, as I plan to race 40-44 Masters. 

I was happy with how I finished, not the placement etc, but with how I felt. I finished strong and felt okay. My knee was in decent shape, but I did have some back and neck pain but that's to be expected in these events and the fact it's been a decade since I've ridding 100 miler on the MTB. 

I got to see so many familiar faces and met so many new killer nice people. The endurance MTB scene may not be as big as it used to be due to the rise in gravel racing but man, what a solid beautiful community.

I'm so blessed to be at it again and have to thank God and my family so much for their support to be where I am in this stage of my life. 

Check out these photos from post race and I'll be racing a 6 hour next weekend, so Ill post about that here soon too.

Until next time yall!

2019 Laramie Trail Epic

Greetings y'all! It's only been a few years!

This past weekend I rode in my first race since 2016, and even then, I was just doing a few CX races in Tennessee. I have been struggling with a constant knee issue for over 4 years now. I am managing it better than ever throughout alot of effort and care I've learned over the years. I basically have zero cartilage left in my right knee and barely any remaining in my left knee- it causes alot of issues, but what can you do? Life goes on!

I've been riding a decent amount this summer, more than I have over the last few years. So, I thought i'd throw my hat in the ring and race. I have a dear friend Natalie, she and her husband live in Laramie, Wyoming and during a visit- I saw the flyer in a coffee shop. And I looked over at my wife, Carmen, and said, "I'm gonna do this!". So, I did.

The Laramie Trail Epic is a 62 mile, 2 lap 31-mile each loop race consisting of an acclaimed 8300ft. of climbing, I think that is high, but the climbing is stout none the less. The coolest thing about the course was it is 100 percent dirt. Most of the race is singletrack, but there's a bit of dirt road in there too, which makes downing fluids and food alot easier, so thankful for that!

The race started a bit more mellow than I anticipated, I upped the pace a bit on the first little roller and had very little response so I cooled it back and sat on Ben Parmen's wheel headed into the woods. Ben has had a flawless year and a better guy couldn't have won this race. He is such a good rider and even though I just met him for the first time, I can tell he is a good soul. I was marking Ben's wheel because I came to race and honestly believed I could beat him. I asked a few mutual friends where he was the strongest, so I knew what to expect and well, I was met with unanimous, "He doesn't have a weakness"! Ben was so strong on the descents, I was staying with him with more ease than I anticipated but it was also catching up to me. I'm a small guy at 5'8'' 125 lbs and I was working harder in the DH than the uphill. I eventually just had to let him go. I had a feeling I'd never see him again and I was right, so a MASSIVE congrats to Ben, dude earned a great victory.

I settled into my own pace but was soon met with severe back pain for about an hour straight. I was able to slow down and stretch it out, I was doing this about every 2 mins for nearly an hour! I even stopped on a few hike a bike sections and laid down to stretch it out. Luckily, this was helpful and once I was passed by Ben's friend, John, I was extra motivated to not lose another spot! I pushed hard until the end and was lucky enough to come in 3rd overall. I can only think my back spasmed due to the fact I haven't been pushed that hard or raced in so long, I was just tense overall.

This race has stoked an old flame, so maybe Ill go out and actually train and do some intervals and race again soon! I kinda have the Kokopelli ITT on my mind, perhaps I will go for the record in September! Who knows!

Take care and thanks for reading.
I'd like to say a special thanks to my wife, Carmen for being so cool about me racing again after all my health issues, throwing out my back this past winter and my knee, etc... I only have one body and I think racing again makes her a bit nervous. But I've already come to terms with needing a knee replacement at some point anyways, might as well make it sooner than later! haha

-KAT

You're just a face with no name.

It's been forever since I've written in this damn blog. I've always struggled with this blog and for good measure, I hate talking about myself. Truthfully, I've always struggled with racing and trying to "go pro" or "taking it to the next level". Let's be honest, racing is selfish. Training is selfish. I have definitely fallen victim of putting my racing and training above all other things in my life. Most people, and a lot of these my friends, family and supporters are proud to see me take action, take chances and live life to the fullest. I had an overwhelming amount of support in my move to Colorado now nearly 2 years ago. I'm just not so sure I really care about being THE fast guy anymore. It quickly started to fade while living in Colorado, riding and having huge all day adventures on the bike rapidly became more fun than racing.



I was simply enjoying experiencing new things, things a kid from Mobile, Al would never dream of exploring. I even wanted to pursue road racing and ended up without a road bike and only owning a mountain bike for a year. It's crazy to think how quickly things can change so fast. Without risks and opportunities taken, what will we ever learn about ourselves? I learned I have lacked a major sense of balance in my life. I was blind to most anything aside from cycling. I haven't raced since Nov 22 this past Fall, and trust me, the burning desire to toe the line is in me like the brightest fire. On the other hand, I'm happy off of my bike for the first time in years. I am happy working, I'm not losing my shit if I only ride an 8 hour week. I am enjoying my company of friends and family like never before. I am no longer living for the next big adventure as if it is the blood to my existence. I have always been a black and white kind of thinker. There is a reason most elite athletes are type A personalities, I have never claimed to be one of those, but I do see things in very little grey, it is or it isn't. For the first time since I decided I wanted to be the fastest guy around on my bike, I am living my life with grey, and it has never felt so good. Letting go of the desire and motivation to constantly ride, because I will admit it, for the longest time riding was an unhealthy addicition, and that's not easy to say. I often think if I will ever be able to shake the craving for riding 30 hour weeks. Or will I now enjoy and appreciate my life all the more on the days and times spent when I am out for 100 mile rides.

2014 Oak Ass 100, Bham Alabama

I've been burning up I-65 the last two weeks. I've been between Nashville and Mobile a bunch preparing for my move back to Nashville, interviewing for jobs etc... It's been great because I was able to pre-ride Oak Mtn alot and re-familiarize myself with my old training grounds for this race. Oak Mtn is amazing. There is a TON of  good riding there, we didn't touch all of the dirt to be had there but Chainbuster's and Co. made sure to set up a killer 25 mile course we would complete a total of 4x for a sure fire 100 mile, painful race!

The race start was MUCH faster than I anticipated for a 100 miler. They started the 100 milers with the 50 milers, so while I was doing 4 laps, some of the guys/gals would only do 2. I got on the front and set a decently hard tempo hoping I could get the hole shot with ease... Brian Toone(100 miler) quickly swung to my left like a rocket, Ty Magner(50 miler) would ultimately get the hole shot. I was 5th into the woods. I wasn't sure all that were ahead of me, but I did know Craig Evans(50 miler) and Justin Lowe(100 miler). The pace was high leading into the double track fire road climb. Craig got on the front for the 3 mile climb, there was about 7 of us total leading charge behind Craig's pace. Craig's pace was perfect. He was going hard enough no one attacked but easy enough I was able to recover and attack for the KOM at the top of the climb. I went about 75% max effort with only 2 guys to chase me for the KOM, I eased up and took the KOM with more ease than I was expecting.

Ezra Lusk(50 miler and eventually winner of the 50), Gordon Wadsworth, Barnabas Froystad and myself would break away from everyone else at this point leading into the most technical section of the trail, Jekyll and Hyde. Craig would have been with us, however he ended up having 3 flats!

I led charge on J&H and the rest of the first lap. Going into the 2nd lap, I sprinted with Barnabas in-tow to get onto Gordon's wheel all while scarfing down some food. Barnabas took lead and holy cow his pace was furious! He was laying it down! Going into the fire road climb the second time, our split was actually faster than lap 1. Gordon was on a SS and Barnabas was on an Epic. Much respect to Gordon, dude was CRUSHING it on his SS. I know a lot about Wadsworth through the grapevine of his much respected and good reputation in the MTB endurance world. No doubt both he and Barnabas were stellar dudes and fierce competition.

I had a big advantage in my corner. My great friend Andrew Sorey gave up his weekend to come support me in the race. I took that advantage with a very fast pit leading into lap 3. Andrew had me bottles and food in a matter of seconds and I was off. I never actually had to get off my bike the entire race thanks to his help in the pits, thanks Sorey!!

I used the 2nd lap to study how Gordon and Barnabas were riding. There was no question they were both super smooth(smoother than me) and I only felt like I could recover on the climbs. So come lap 3, I had a gap with my fast pit and I rode the climbs as hard as I could and recovered everywhere else I could to the best of my ability trying to stay off the brakes and keeping momentum.

I had another fast pit coming into lap 4. Sorey lubed my chain, gave me a Coke in a bottle and I was off like a rocket. I started thinking I may have the win at this point. On top of the fire road climb, I had a huge sensation of fatigue that I wouldn't shake until riding J&H the last time. I really had to use the bathroom. So..... I did just that, haha. I felt much better after that! I was nervous to give up any time gap I had, but when you gotta go, you go. I was also really hot. I'm not sure I have re-acclimated to the humidity and heat in the South. I rode to the finish with my bibs off my shoulders and my jersey unzipped.

I was lucky to take the win. It was hard fought and I am very blessed with great friends and a family who support my racing shenanigans! Special thanks to John K and Chainbuster's for the top shelf event and professionalism and to Barnabas and Gordon for the killer competition and sportsmanship.

Until next time.
-KT

2014 Chainbusters 12 hour Nite Nationals

I heard about this race a few months ago. I'm not sure if it was Mike Bergen or Bec Bale that told me about it but at the time I was living in Colorado. Even though my parents live only 3 hours from Auburn, Alabama(where the race was held), I wasn't sure I could make the event. No doubt, the payout was attracting the attention of endurance racers all over the Country, I am a little bit disappointed in the turnout especially considering the professionalism and high stoke level of Kenny and the Chainbusters gang, I've raced all over the Country this year and they do it up right! I haven't lived and worked in Colorado for about 3 weeks now, I just so happened to be visiting my family in Alabama. I hit up a friend, Brian Toone to see if he was interested in a long ride this weekend and he told me/reminded me about Nite Nationals, I'm glad he did! Unfortunately, he wasn't able to race.

My parents came to support me for the race. They haven't made it to a race in about 2 years. I was super excited to race in front of them, I've gotten alot faster since they last saw me race and I love to make them proud, so there was extra motivation there for sure. This pic is prior to the start, my Mom helped me mix bottles and lay out food.

The race started at 9pm and was to end at 9am the following day. I've some good night training already this year, racing the Vapor Trail 125 which starts at 10pm and recently driving home from Colorado, I drove through the night, I knew staying awake would be a none-issue for me.

The race was help at Chewacla State Park in Auburn. The park was beautiful and reminded me of everything I love about riding in Alabama. Lush green forest, tons of water, springs and waterfalls: tight, twisty hand-built singletrack, rocks and roots, opossums, raccoons and deer were all abundant. The course was relentless, 100% singletrack, it demanded constant pedaling, there was never a time to take a break and recover,

The only 2 guys I knew would be giving me a run for the money was Eddie O'dea and Jeff Clayton . I've raced Eddie in a few NUE's and I remembered Jeff from Snake Creek Gap 2 years ago. Both of those guys are tough and very fast several hours into a race, and the first few laps are not what matters!

The race start was about what I expected. A fast tempo but not too fast. I was 3rd going into the woods and I quickly became 2nd wheel to Eddie who was upping the pace a bit. Eddie was bobbing a bit in the rocky loose turns and I was scrubbing speed and having to brake in corners, then accelerate out of them(using more energy than needed) so at the start of lap 2, I made a move to take over the pace making. No one came with me and I was alone all the way to the finish. I used the 2nd lap to 'test the waters'. I would rail corners and make mental notes of where I could save energy and where I could drink fluids, this is a VERY important part of endurance lap racing, one I think too many people oversee. From lap 3 to the 13th, I was like a machine, I would brake, bob and weeve and I would drink and act just like the lap before, trying to keep things consistent as possible.

Most of my laps were within 5 minutes of one another, I spent about 7 mins total in the pits over the 12 hours of racing. That including swapping batteries, grabbing food, chatting with my Dad, lubing my chain and an air adjustment to my fork.

I'm happy to come away with the win. This was the 1st annual Nite Nationals and I have a feeling it will grow big time in the years to come!

I'd lke to give a special thanks to my parents, they have alway been my biggest fans. Ergon International for making killer grips I can hang onto for 12 hours at a time and a saddle still comfy after 12 hours as well. Felt Bikes for making the best hardtail MTB I've ever had. And Swiftwick socks, I rocked the Pursuit 7's and they were warm and comfy all night long.

Here's a few more pics:

Right after the race, I was happy to sit down ;)

My Mom is adorable, she was cold all night long but tuffed it out!!

My bike after the race. It was very dusty.

Crossing the finish line.

Overall podium finish: 1st, Kyle, 2nd, Jeff Clayton, 3rd, Eddie O'dea

Thanks for reading everyone!! Until next time...

Pedal 50 Gravel Grinder

Ben Welnak knows how to put on a show. Who promotes a ride or a race that is unmarked, has zero aid stations and still knocks it out of the park, that dude! I really enjoy his events. Did I mention the races are free? Check out Ridinggravel.com for more of his shenanigans. It's so awesome that a FREE event can raise more money for charities than if the promoter were to charge an entry fee. Cyclists are a cool bunch.

The ride starts with a neutral roll out led by Ben. It was a good warm up for me, I was late getting there so I was thankful for that. I didn't eat at all leading up to the ride, which started at Noon. I helped a customer early this AM and was tied up and in a rush to make it, I didn't even stop for food. Bad idea really. But I guess my coffee held me over.

Shortly after the roll out, we hit this incredibly fun stretch of singletrack and double track in the Greenland open space. The pace was high and I wasn't happy with my positioning so I lit a match and passed everyone but the lead guy on a  roller. I'm glad I did because we soon opened a gap on everyone by this point. I took over pacing with Mike on my wheel, he was strong but I wanted to climb just a tad faster and make sure no one else bridged back up to us. I recognized Mike from last years Greenland Gravel race and he was super strong then, so I knew if we kept it steady, we could stay away from the chasers. Colorado is rad because you never know who you are racing and at what level most these guys race. Mike had a stocky build and was absolutely drilling it when he took pulls. Honestly, he could have dropped me early on if he would have pulled just a tad harder on the flats and false flat sections. He was climbing fast as well, but I wasn't going to go down easy.

 About 2 hours and 37 miles into the ride, I knew we had our gap. It was windy and we were working well together. I had a tough decision to make, I knew if I let things continue how they were, Mike would take me in the end if it came to a sprint or the last stretch of road(mostly downhill) at the finish. Mike was a pro roadie and apparently a very accomplished track racer, I don't have any business trying to sprint against him. I threw in some hard attacks on some rollers, about 7 attacks within 10 mins but I couldn't shake Mike and if I did, the gap was so small he would catch me on the downhills with ease.

For the next 8 miles we worked together again, taking hard and equal pulls. Mike, if he was hurting had the best poker face I've ever seen. Rock solid upper body, with no movement in his shoulders. I noticed when he would get behind me when I would pull that he would wince a bit and I knew he was hurting. I made a great move on the last climb of the day(which happened to be the steepest, reaching about a 13% max grade). I left it all out there, knowing that there was a long 2 mile downhill finish, If I were to go I'd have to commit and never look back. Thankfully, it all worked out!

Thanks to Ben and company for an awesome event. I'm stoked to hear we were able to raise over 2200 dollars for Kids on Bikes. There are such cool people in this world doing really rad things, very inspiring.