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.