Shake what ya momma gave ya!

Alot has happened since my last post on this thing. So, I decided to dust of the cobwebs and bring her back from the dead! 2012 is almost over, the Mayans didn't know shit and we are all still alive, so hooray for that. Bikes are still the center my life and not much has really changed in that department. I did have a super hot girlfriend for a while there but it didn't work out so well for us. Who needs chicks when you have bikes?!

Im still wrenching at and managing the shop here in Tennessee. We actually just expanded and opened a new location is Mt. Juliet. Work was a bit crazy this summer and really got in the way of bike racing for me. I guess that happens sometimes but for 2013, it's race like mad or bust! I finally have things set up at my employer to where I will be able to be off on saturdays for racing/traveling. I'm so damned happy!

A few major points in racing for me in 2012 was a big win against Mike Olheiser in a MTB race in Chattanooga at Raccoon Mtn. He and I were the only ones in the Pro category so it was a head to head battle. I let him have the hole shot so I could study his weaknesses since I know he is a powerhouse stud on the road, I knew his fitness was top notch. I laid down my attack on the first lap in a technical rocky section and dropped him, he was over a minute behind me after the first lap. I threw down on the second lap making it even faster than the first wanting to bury his chance of bridging the gap back to me. As it turns out Mike dropped out of the race after that lap. He did Tour of Utah a week before hand and was toast I guess, Pehaps that race didn't mean much to him but to me every race is a battle, it's a war. I'm sure he won't forget me after that race, I'm certain he just thought he could walk away from me no problem so I'm glad with that result and I'll take it as a big W.

Here is a shot from that race! And oh yeah... I'm rocking the dually these days!

Another big win for me was a Pro123 crit downtown Nashville. Ive had several top 5's and a second place finish once. I'm a tiny dude, at 5'8'' and 125 lbs. I'm not exactly a stellar crit racer. But on this particular day,

I played my cards right, got in the break, pulled hard and attacked right for a solo finish to the line.

Perhaps the biggest result for me all year wasn't even a first place finish but second. The first loser. 2nd sucks ass. The Black Bear Rampage brings some big names to the table and I was honored to finish second place to Thomas Turner. I trailed him by 5 mins in a 2:30 race, never could close the gap but it never grew. Although the race was in Ocoee it was relatively flat for being in the mtns, with a little more climbing I think I could have done a little better. Anyways, congrats to Thomas and next year I'm coming for ya!

So in the shape of things to come, 2013 is going to be a big season for me. I'm turning my focus off of endurance racing and I will be racing the PRO XCT and SERC series. I will only miss 3 PRO XCT events and I'm hoping to do well enough in those to gain some UCI points to have a good starting position next year. The SERC series is a more regional but boost big name pros like Ryan Woodall, Thomas Turner, Robert Marion and sometimes Drew Edsall. I want to be more competitive in this series and really roll my dice to potentially podium in the overall standings. We shall see how it all unfolds!

I'm going to start posting more often to hopefully gain some publicity for myself and my racing endeavors.

I will leave you guys with this final picture of my racing bike for 2013 because I think it's gorgeous as hell. 2013 Specialized Epic with American Classic race 29s. Kaboom!

Thanks for reading and until next race...



Chickasaw Trace Classic

The 17th annual Chickasaw Trace Classic was this past sunday. 17 years?! Wowza, I was stoked to be a part of a race that has that much local history. Ive heard since moving to Nashville this was one of the largest participating MTB events in the TBRA series. I think their were around 265 racers in attendance, not too shabby. Chickasaw is my favorite trail in the Nashville area even though Ive only ridden it twice, once in preride and then during the race. It has a bit of everything, a technical uphill rock garden, some short steep climbs to keep you honest as well as some all out bigring sections where the limit of how fast you can go is decided by your two cylinders!

The PRO class was small but stacked with some respected guys. Dustin Greer(maxxis-wood n wave) got the hole shot and charged in the muddy corners of the first few miles of our first lap. I attacked with Craig Evans in town on an open field flat area. That attack was good enough for he and I to take the 1-2 win. I was able to hold Craig off for the first lap but he killed it the 2nd lap posting the fastest lap of the day and also bridging back up to me. We cruised the 3rd lap into the finish together with a sizable gap on the rest of the field.

Start of the race.

PRO podium, that's right TEAM BC sweeps it!

Booker MR. T!

March 11th was my first XC race of the 2012 season. It took place in Chattanooga, Tn at the Booker T. Washington state park. Typically when I go to Chatty I ride Raccoon Mtn and I was excited to ride somewhere new even though I knew the course wouldn't be as fun as Raccoon. Alot of the Nashville locals told me not to expect much from this race as far as competition and cash payout for podium finishes, and they were right. I was a little disappointed because the course was actually a freaking blast and the venue is super nice.

So I haven't raced my new Superfly let alone raced a MTB since the lock 4 six hour challenge months ago! I was stoked to see how my legs would feel especially since my winter training has been different from most cyclists training and I have done very little intensity.

Here are some pre race pictures...

This is my teammate Josh Lewis and I.

Downing a Larabar for prerace fuel and a nice solid post race dump!

My darling girlfriend and I before the start. She was a big support, she rules!

This year is my first year racing as a PRO. I'm not really super confident in my abilities as an XC racer and I prefer longer endurance events. I figured this low key race would be a good warm up for Chickasaw Trace in two weeks and a big confidence booster. Only one other PRO dude showed up so they raced us with all the other Cat 1 guys. There was 18 of us total.

The race went pretty textbook. The start had a little paved road climb that allowed me to get a gap on the field going into the woods. I love getting the hole shot and riding upfront and riding hard the first lap is my preferred way to race. I pretty much mantained that gap for the entire race. Every lap I put about 2 mins on the second place finisher. Think my total time over him was about 6:30 mins. I felt good, my superfly was legit and flawless. I just put down a steady hard effort and the legs never really felt bad. I am ready for the new racing season, so bring it!

Here are some shots from the race.

Podium Shot Courtney took, 1st and 2nd place PRO class. I'm tiny!

 Trek Superfly HT 29er at work!

 The course was actually dry and fast but a few of these made it seem like it was a mud fest.

 Butt Shot, get at me.

 This reminds me of my BMX days, love it.

Thanks for reading and all that jazz.

2012 Trek Superfly Elite

Most anyone who knows me, knows I've been racing an Orbea Lanza HT 29er for a while. It served its purpose for me, I did countless races and endurance events on it. I felt it was time to get something a little nicer, I have some big goals for the 2012 racing season and that bike was starting to hold me back. Alot of crazy good things have fell in to place for me since moving to Nashville. I have a great job and a great boss who has a deep passion for his customers and their athletic goals. It doesn't stop there, he is super supportive of my racing as well. Along with David and the help of a Trek rep Will Stoffel, I will be sporting a 2012 Trek Superfly Elite HT 29er this year.

It has been close to a month since I built this badboy up. I have already done three 5+ hour rides on it. It is really difficult to describe how a bicycle can be so freakin' comfortable and yet be crazy stiff and accelerate like a bat outta hell. This bike is just that. It is by far the nicest MTB I have ever gotten to ride. It comes with a full Shimano XT package. The new XT is phenomenal. I think Trek really has the edge over many other competitors this year by specing their bikes more than not with Shimano components. The wheels Trek spec on this bike are the Bontrager RL's which are one tier down from the top shelf aluminum RXL wheels. Some people will say they are on the heavy side but these are the most responsive wheels I have ever ridden. Although the 142x12 rear end helps! They make my Stans Crest wheels feel like noodles. I think too many riders get caught up over weight and neglect ride quality. This superfly weighs in at 23 pounds, hard to complain about that anyways.

My first A race this year is the Cohutta 100 in Ducktown, TN. I finished 17th overall last year around the 7:30ish time. This year I have a top ten goal and I know I am now one step closer with this Trek Superfly!

I will post pictures soon.
Thanks for reading.
-Kyle Taylor