25 Hours In Frog Hollow!

This was my second ever solo 24 hour event. This race falls on the day of time change so we "fall back" an hour and the race is actually 25 hours long. The race was in Hurricane, Utah. The course was freaking awesome! Pure desert mountain biking. The course was a 13 mile loop with about 7 miles of double track(which was mainly climbing) and the rest was singletrack. The singletrack was a treat every lap. The "jem trail" was a fast and flowy downhill that had me grinning like a kid every lap no matter how bad I was suffering. It is now seriously one of funnest downhills I've ever done. I would say the last 10 minutes of the lap was the most difficult of the course, it has short and steep full effort climbs and several rock gardens that required alot of energy use and it seemed like I would barely crawl through that section every lap at 3mph, I probably would have been better off to walk like most others were.

I didn't have huge expectations for this race. I was expecting good competition however in endurance events like this, you are your competition. ANYTHING can happen and I challenge everyone who has never raced a solo to do so and live one of the best experiences you'll ever have on two wheels. Riding through the day, watching the sunset, cruising through the peaceful night then having the incredible sensation of the powerful sunrise to brighten your spirits, it is truly a spiritual event riding your bike all day long. After all, most no one does any activity for a solid day.

My friend and BOSS Jonathan Davis let Richie and I take his Ford Transit down to the race. He has this rig so pimped out. Sleeper on top, Sleeper inside along with a cook station and full electricity. It was a luxury and a huge aid to our pit camp. I wasn't sweating the race too much once we arrived, I was calm and collective. I prepared my bottles in the morning over breakfast, made sure I had plenty of food options near our tent and I hung all of my clothes on the railing of the tent for easy access at night. My only goal was to keep moving, I wasn't wanting to waste much time pitting but it's needed fo sho.

The first lap was a little faster than I initially probably should have been going. Everyone was smokin' fast so I found a comfortable pace, studied the course and settled in. My heart rate was super high, so I knew I was well rested and I knew it was going to be a good race right off the bat. Richie(who was racing DUO with Josh) said it best and I caught myself saying this over and over all night in my head, "24 solo's are an eating contest, not a bike race". Eating isn't as much of a problem for me as much as downing liquids, I had an idea to remove a bottle cage from my bike and carry one bottle in my pocket. I absolutely HATE bottles in my pocket. So that was the demon on my back the entire race to remind me and to force me to drink and get the weight off my back! It worked well. First lap time was 52 mins, one down, 24 hours to go!

My second lap was 55 mins long, my third 60mins including a short pit stop. By the third lap I was up into 3rd place. The other two guys ahead of me were killing it. Almost XC pace, I reminded myself to not get caught up in the ego trip, save the juice for nightfall when everyone else get sleepy and grouchy. My first mistake came just at sundown, I went out on a lap(lap 8, I think) thinking I could beat the dark. WRONG! I got caught in the dark about 3 miles to the pits. I literally almost rode off the mesa before the last downhill and totally would have died, it was some scary shit but I survived. FYI, the sun sets fast in the desert. And when it does, it gets cold fast!

Luckily, I love night riding, so I was anticipating nightfall. By 1am I was in 2nd place and had already traded a few attacks with 1st place but he was faster than me in the rocks. Around 3am I ate some veggie soup and I swear it made me a new man, I turned two 71min laps back-to-back after that soup. I was able to catch and fly by the 1st pace dude. I was now in control of the race.

I had extra motivation knowing he'd be gunning for me and chasing me for the win. I was eagerly awaiting the sun to rise. As it peaked over the mountains and the clouds lit up blue I wanted to stop. It was such a beautiful sight. This is a damn amazing world we live in and I cannot believe some of the things I get to see because of a bike ride!

After sunrise, I was full of energy and with the possiblity of setting a new course record, I was cookin'. It was going to come down to the wire and that it did. At the end of my 20th lap(260 miles down!) I had to do my next lap, including pit time in under 66mins. I rode a 56 min lap, 60min with a pit stop). It literally destroyed my body. I was out of the saddle on every climb, constantly pushing that extra gear I didn't think I had. But I knew I could do it. Solo's are all about believing in yourself. I wrapped up the win with that effort and the 22lap was up for grabs if I wanted the course record. No other solo rider made the cutoff time of 25 hours. I cruised an easy 22nd lap to end a total race time of 26:18. 286 miles later, I was done.

I was in such a deep zone in that race it's difficult to look back and reflect on much other than the drive I had to race as hard as I could. I feel so blessed to be able to ride how I do. This race was dedicated to my Uncle Roy. I used to love riding bikes with him as a child. Roy was mental challenged. He was my best friend and he was my motivation to beat that record.

Thanks to everyone who made this event happen, I know it cannot be easy and it must take hella organization. To sum up an amazing weekend, my teammates Richie and Josh won the mens open duo race as well. They freakin' smoked it, no one was even close. Way to destroy it 92FIFTY'!!

The course was crazy dusty and my throat is taxed from huffing all that desert air.

Check out the condition of my bike.

Got caught in my first snowstorm on the way back to Colorado, luckily Richie drove!

Overall Mens Open Solo

Josh and Richie crushed it!

Thanks for reading, If I find more race pictures I will add them later!
-kyle

Greenland Gravel Grinder.

Today was the Greenland Gravel Grinder in Monument, Co. Just at the base of the mountains, this event offers alot in a 50 mile punch. We had gravel, pavement, dirt so hard it might as well be pavement and a huge and awesome suprise was the SINGLETRACK! The singletrack was my favorite part. Ripping fast and flowing singletrack at 18mph on a CX bike rules. A huge thanks to Ben Welnak and RIDINGGRAVEL.COM for hosting the event.

This event was underground and grassroots, as many of you know, my fav style. The tempo of the group was about what I expected at first, steady and hard. It wasn't until we took this left hand hop-over  a fence thingy to singletrack that the tempo got XC paced! It was so much fun. The group quickly blew apart and before I knew it, it was just me and this guy named Mike. Mike was on a MTB and had a motor! 15 miles down and we had no one is sight behind us. We took a right hand turn off a paved road section that lead to gravel but not before a train Xing came to stall us! We lost 2 minutes and 2 guys were now in sight behind us. This next section of road had the longest, if not 2nd to longest climb of the route, maybe a 400ft climb. Mike was having difficulty keeping up with my pace(I think losing time to the train mentally screwed him). I had to decide to take off and try for a solo win, or wait for him and the other 2 to bridge up. So I waited. I am secretly very competitive and I had a very hard time holding back. The course was not marked. I didn't know ahead of time, so all I had was a ghetto cue sheet and no GPX file in my Garmin.  I have a problem with getting lost, It happens all the time, I'm an idiot.

So our group of 2 became 3, the 4th dude couldnt hang and quickly got popped. About 15 miles to the finish I saw a climb on the horizon, looked at my cue sheet and said screw it, I've ridden this hard, I'll throw in an attack and see what happens. I quickly got a gap over the two guys and was riding strong, I had great legs today. So with only 2 turns left on the course, I missed a left hander on E Best Rd to take me back into town. I was pissed. I should have had the patience to wait until I knew where I was to attack those guys. I wasn't prepared and it's no one's fault but my own. I was convinced the turn was wayyyy back up the road I descended on. I stopped once I figured out I was lost and used my phone to GPS myself back into town... and yes, I rode on I-25!! First time in my life I've ridden on the interstate. It ruled! I backtracked just a bit and rode a few extra miles and still hung on for a 3rd place finish. I really wanted the W but there will be more races. Better make damn sure I'll have that GPX file in my Garmin next time! Great route, Great people and Great venue, perfect Saturday.

In true Kyle fashion, I tackled on some extra miles after the race. 

To ease my frustrations with what should have been a win, I decided to climb up Mt. Herman. It was a beautiful 2,100ft climb out of town into some amazing sights and snow at the top of the summit.

Vapor Trail 125... and how I am still alive.

As I write this post, I'm sitting here trying to think of funny & witty remarks to close in on my experience at VT125. Point blank, I just can't. VT is a race you have to do for yourself to experience the beautiful pain that makes this the best worse race of my life.

I'm sure most others were well prepared for this race. I'll be honest here, I'm from Mobile, Al and have spent the last 2 years in Nashville, Tn.... I had never even heard of the VT125 until I asked Jonathan Davis if he was racing the Park City P2P race in Utah. He was all "Nah, man I'm racing Vapor!" In the back of my mind I was trying to figure out why he wasn't doing both being that he races alot of the NUE stuff. Well, I was soon to learn the answer to that question as I thought I too could race Vapor. No big deal right?

VT125 is my kind of event. Grassroots, backcountry as hell, and tough as nails. To relate to all of my friends back home, this event is like Snake Creek Gap on steroids served on a platter by a serial killer. Vapor is 125 miles in length, you see no same trail twice and after the initial climb out of town, you never sit your chamonix below 9k ft until the descent back into town 106 miles in. The race starts at 10PM and serves up a whopping 20k ft of elevation gain.

Vapor was a many of first for me. Even struggling with altitude in Park City, PC only topped out at 9200 ft. Vapor hit 13k ft and most the race was well above the highest point in PC. I also raced with a backpack. I have never ridden my bike, let alone raced in a backpack. Perhaps that makes me crazy here in Colorado. With a race like Vapor, you must be ill prepared. I suited up my backpack with the following: Knee warmers, a vest, a multi-tool, 2 extra spokes(I had one recently break so I was paranoid), an extra water bottle, food, a rain jacket, 2 tubes with nec. flat repair gear, arm warmers, a light-weight LS jacket, and my cellphone. My backpack is a standard Dakine almost school style bag. Prob wasn't the best thing for me to use but it was all I had and I swear that sucker was 20 lbs.

The race start was a neutral roll-out out of town until we hit a dirt road climb. I sat in the top 8 comfortably. JD mentioned it was a slower stat than normal so perhaps thats why I felt as such ease. I was in for the long haul. I didn't really want to "race" this event yet ride it, enjoy the aid stations and the  beautiful scenery around me. Until about hour 2 I was in race mode. I am competitive by nature and awfully hard-headed so I gave it what I had. I lost alot of positions and time on the first bit of singletrack, the Colorado trail. I was sitting 7th into the woods, and maybe 18th coming out. For me, the trail was gnarly, let alone to ride at night for the first time. Rocks were everywhere, lots of off-camber turns and there is no soil here, loose gravel on hardpack dirt. Not something I'm quite used to riding on yet. It was here only 2 hours in the race, I thought to myself, "what the hell did I get myself into?"

I cleared that section of 12 mi singletrack in 1:40. From there til about mile 50 was all uphill topping out at 13k ft. 20 miles of steady climbing! Paradise for me, I settled in comfortably, using my headlight on my helmet from time to time to gaze at what was around me at 1am in the morning. My favorite part of the climb was around Alpine Tunnel, an old mining facility and railroad used back in 1910. Huge rock faces everywhere and it was about here we climbed out of tree line. It was raining earlier so I had my rain jacket on. I stopped to take it off before the infamous hour long Hike-A-Bike came I had been dreaded yet equally embracing. I actually rode alot of what most people hiked to be honest. I don't really have any experience hiking with my bike so I opted to ride when I could. near the top is too gnar to ride(and impossible). I threw my bike over my shoulder and hiked for a solid 30 mins to reach what seemed like the top of the world! It was probably around 3:45am at this time. I was beat. 50 miles, 8800ft of ascent so far and the hiking absolutely killed me. This was the first time in the race I thought about quitting. "Cut your losses, you're new here, you're from sea level, no one knows you, you can't even breath walking up stairs" is what I kept telling myself. I soaked in the amazing sights, and charged at the 9.5 mi descent down Canyon Creek. To some, that descent might be easy, it took me 1:20 mins. Let alone at night with limited sighting and apparently I suck at riding the rocks here, I heard a loud bang from my rear wheel as the wheel locked up on me. I had broken 2 spokes. I was able to stop and fix the spoke I broke on the disc non drive side without removing the wheel or anything from the bike. So I hopped back on and within a mile of more downhill noticed my rear tire was getting soft. As a bike mechanic, I should have noticed the broken spokes pierced through my tubeless tape. So I had no choice but to tube my rear tire. With 75 miles of rocky hell to still ride through, I was quite upset but ventured on in high hopes not to pinch flat.

The sun was started to come up, In races like this or 24 hour solo's there is nothing more beautiful than watching the sunrise and feeding into the energy this amazing world can give to you. I got to change yet another rear flat(damn tubes) before the 9.5 mi climb up Monarch pass reaching a high elevation of 11,375 ft. This is where my race completely ended. I was done. Toast. Beyond tired, beyond frustrated with my bike and I wanted that 20 ton backpack off my shoulders dammit! I think I posted the 3rd to slowest time up Monarch Pass on Strava. I blew apart like never before. I was nauseas, light-headed and even vomited twice up the climb. I walked my bike the last mile. I had zero energy to pedal my bike. The next aid station could not come soon enough, I was going to quit.

I stopped to put on arm warmers at the top here. I also obviously took pictures. It was then, I decided to continue to push on. I knew my limitations, I knew I could ride hard, I could breath only the shortest of breaths, but I was going to cross the finish line. And with the aid of a nice cold Coke at the next aid station, I push on.

To be completely honest, the rest of the race was a massive blur. I was thinking the entire time, I would end up needed some sort of medical aid. I was sick to my stomach, walking my bike when I couldn't climb and suffering like NEVER before.

Jonathan had made mention that the climb up Starvation Creek was the last long climb of the race and where most everyone if not already blows up. I was mentally prepared for the climb. It's funny to look back, it was only yesterday. But it was such a blur, such a blur that if I didn't have a GPS record, I would even ask myself if I finished the event. I almost have no recollection of riding my bike. I was dancing with the devil. I do remember a super fun descent down the Monarch Crest trail that brought me out to the highway I would then ride back into town on. But that's it, that's my story on Vapor.
The hardest day I've ever had on a bike, I think my finishing time was just under 18 hours.

All the mechanicals, dizziness, and vomiting aside... it was a great time. A sucker for punishment, I know I am. But I will never forget the feeling of hiking up to 13k ft at 4am, the sweet mountain mist or looking down the mountain and seeing the lights of other racers 2k ft below me mid-night and saying a prayer for them as they have to climb up that beast as I just did. I pushed myself further than I ever thought I could have in this event. I will be back next year, and I will RACE it. My only tipping advice to any of you, unless you want the hardest day of your life, don't race Vapor until you're acclimated to some high altitude riding. But IT IS possible to finish!

Skyway Epic

In a lost of interest racing a few XC events thus far, I made a last minute decision to toss SERC# 5 at Conyers, Ga to the wayside in favour Skyway Epic in the beautiful Talladega National Forest in Alabama. I really hated to miss out on this race last year. I dig endurance races and really think I fair better at them than cross-country.

So the low down on Skyway... It's a 60 mile race, consisting of 5100ft of climbing. The races starts with about 9ish miles of sweet single track on the Slyaward trails. You finish on the same single track but the distance is cut in half, so there is about 15 miles of singletrack total, leaving 45 miles of double track/service roads and just pure nasty, epic, muddy goodness. This race is awesome because it can favour anyone from a roadie to the die-hard mountain biker.   

Start of the race, me getting the hole shot...

Knowingly, I was in for some good competition, my race tactic was simple. I wanted the hole shot. I wanted to drill it from the gun. And so I did! I knew there were some strong roadies in the bunch, so I worked my strengths and kept the pace high in the single track dropping all but one guy from Florida who ended up flatting 4 miles in. I had a decent gap coming out of the Slyaward trails. At this point so early on in the race, I thought to myself... "do you really want to try and solo this entire race, TT style?!" but lost all my hard work when Brent Marshall(nice dude & race director) came flying up to me in his truck to tell me I missed a turn. As it fans out, the chase group consisting of about 8 or so behind me missed the same turn, so we were all chasing new founded leaders on the trail at this point!

This was my biggest fear. In a group, on none technical terrain with Brian Toone, Jafer Beizer, Jacob Tubbs and Jamie Alexander. Those were the only guys I "knew" of that were strong guys anwwho. I don't think any of them really knew who I was or feared me as a top contender.

Before the Skyway climb came there was a few short-steep sections on the double track and I immediately attacked to dislodge the group. I did not want but a few of us at the top of the Skyway climb, if that many. Only Jamie Alexander and Brian Toone were able to react to my acceleration. We worked well together to the base of Bull Mountain. Jamie was starting to suck wheel and not pull through. I was frustrated simply because I didn't want any free rides when Brian and I were digging deep to maintain our gap over the chase group. What was surprising was Jamie, when he did pull through, was strong as shit! I was starting to fear him more than Brian. After the race I learned that Jamie had been sick all week. I can't believe he was riding as strong as he was with that being the case. Very Impressive. 

Brian and I ended up dropping Jamie. It was here I knew, baring no mechanicals, it was going to be he and I to the finish. We worked well to keep a sizable gap. Climbing up to the KOM on top of the Skyway, our pace slowed a little... I think Brian wanted the KOM as bad as I did. I have always heard stories about Brian Toone, as he is a bit of a "legend" in the area. I doubted myself in being able to take him on top of the climb. We discussed splitting the cash for the KOM  and still sprinting for it anyways. I think this showed his class. Brian is a remarkable cyclist as well as a great competitor and smart tactician-er. I'm a lot more competitive than I lead on. In all honesty, if I had thought I could have gotten the KOM, I wouldn't have agreed... but I thought he would beat me, so I agreed to the deal. There was a bit of cloud cover on the mountain and we thought the 200m to KOM sign was the top. And we were wrong! I barely had him at this point but took one last dig and ended up taking it! 

Jamie ended up catching us at the halfway point of the race. I was off my bike after a dropped chain and he flew by me. I was in awe! Although I think Brian and I could have ridden a little harder, I was underestimating the talent of the racers behind us! We could tell Jamie was hurting so we really hit the rest of the race hard. In fear of continuing to drop my chain I climbed back up the top of the Skyway all big ring, maybe that helped keep the pace high?? I don't know, Brian is a freak and climbs like a goat. 

After the big descent, I really think we were both starting to observe how we were going to drop one another. It was clear no one was going to catch us. I tried dropping him on the long downhill and never got  big enough of a gap were I felt comfortable hammering down with hopes of maintaining that gap. It was all rolling hills with gravel until the last few miles of single track. 

One of many attacks from Brian Toone...

I knew all I had to do was stay with Brian until then. It seemed like any bit of a slight grade there was, Brian was accelerating and lifting the pace. I was hurting bad! He threw in some killer attacks but I wasn't giving up so easily. Brian made me earn this victory attacking me a total of 8 times super hard. I was able to muster up enough fuel and kick up the pace entering the single track that I lost sight of Brian, taking the win! And I hard-earned one at that!

Men Overall Podium... 1-Kyle 2-Brian 3-Jamie

Comradery after a hard days work!

I never once thought I had the race in the bag. I was confident in hanging with Brian but didn't expect the win. I love epic battles like this. One on One, a chess game with mental and physical pains. I know Brian wanted the win as bad as I did and I commend him for a hell of a race!   

SERC #2 Bryson City, NC. (Humble bee tuna)

There was a time once, long long ago when I once thought I was a fast mountain biker...

Then came SERC #2, Tsali, North Carolina...

Tsali was a blast. I learned so much and made every moment count. I feel very blessed to be a part of the MTB community. It is inevitable, you will have bad races, but when you do, you can always count on your friends!

In all honesty, Tsali was not a bad race for me. Everything was spot on. I felt good, my legs were good and I cant say anything really went wrong. I got beat by 9 other racers that were better than me. I'll try and run through the race the best I can from memory even though I was cross-eyed and seeing red for 2 hours straight...

I was upset with myself at getting to the starting line late and I was forced to start 2nd row. Tsali had 24 pro riders, I knew position was key in this race but oh well what can ya do? Gun goes off and the hammer drops. The start was a 200ft gravel climb leading into a wicked fast downhill that was doubletrack leading into a 120 degree turn to even more downhill but on singletrack. My heartrate was so high from fighting for position on the climb the downhill was hardly any recovery and that's the story for the entire race. I felt like I never stopped pedaling once for the entire 2 hour race. I was top ten heading into the singletrack and had arguably the best wheel to follow on the DH in all of the PRO field, Tristan Cowie(hope I spelled his name right). I remember him from Mellow Johnnys because he whooped my ass there! Tristan can freaking fly DH and we bridged back up to the lead group in no time with his effort. I burnt all my matches trying to stay on his wheel on that stretch of DH and by the time the overlook climb came, I was spent. It was there, THAT soon in the race, I said bye bye to the elite group of guys in the front. On the last half of my 1st lap while in No Mans Land, Cory Rimmer bridged the gap up to me and it was great having some company. Turns out Tristan was never too far ahead of us and we were determined to bridge back up to him. Starting the second lap and riding up the gravel I pushed the pace with Cory in tow. I lit my last match too soon. Cory was able to come around and get on Tristans wheel and I watched them ride that same DH stretch together away from me just like in the 1st lap of the race. That pretty much sums up my race, I rode the entire last 16 miles alone until one last guy caught me in the last mile of the race(Omar Fraser). It sucks not being fast enough to hang with the top dogs but just fast enough to hold off the chase groups. Gotta start somewhere! Needless to say, I need to work on my downhill and power output.

Tsali is a powerman's course. Momentum and flow will do you best. I averaged 15mph in a 30mile XC race which is the fastest race I've ever done to date. I'll take this 10th place finish with a grain of salt. There is some killer talent in the southeast and I am just blessed to race alongside them in the PRO field!

This is a pic of Cory and I in hot pursuit.

I did manage to pull out a podium on Saturdays Time Trial Race. It was a 4.5 mile effort with little climbing and alot of flowy DH. 

Thanks for reading. Next up is SERC #3 in Winder, GA.

SERC #1 Ocala, FL.

I want to start off first by telling everyone how incredibly blown away I was by the MTB scene in FL. For a state that has zero mountains, I am beyond impressed with the community of racer's there. Ocala has 70 miles of single track leaving from 2 different trail heads all within about 1 mile of each other with Santos alone. It was cool as hell watching little kids hitting dirt jumps with moms and dads chillin', grilling food and just the whole scene was amazing, it is now NO WONDER at all that FL produces some amazing talent in cycling. These kids have an impressive exposure to the sport that I only wish my hometown or even Nashville had.

The race was on a roughly 6 mile course. The pro's did 4 laps. The course was fun with 50% of it being flat and crazy fast with bermed corners and the other half super technical with tons of ups and downs with rock traverses and 180 degree turns. 

I had a bad start, ONCE AGAIN, dammit! I had this huge bodybuilding looking dude to the right of me at the start that has a fast start and cut me off so it delayed my goal of top 5 into the woods even more so. Kudos to him, he did great! 

The start of the race was probably one of the slowest starts I've ever experienced in any race, ever. 100 milers and all. Everyone seemed content leading into the tech section with no yelling or jockeying for position. I was 8th or 9th into the woods and I was itching to make some moves forward.

Sorting through the yo-yo effect that comes with racing tight and twisty trails, I was able to place myself in the top 4 towards the end of the first lap. I was feeling good and ready to heat up the pace on the 2nd lap without all the traffic, my legs felt awesome and I knew that with a course like this I could potential negative split every lap. 

Starting the second lap, I was able to get in front of Chase Dickens(american classic/xpedo/maxxis) just as we headed into the woods from the feed zone. Hammer down! I was railing through the flat section much faster than before on the 1st lap. Leaning into some of the sandy corners, I noticed while using my rear brake (corner traction) that the lever was getting soft on me. By the time I hit the technical mix of the trail it was as if someone cut the line on my brakes. My lever was completely gone and useless! My first thoughts were about the recall Magura just had with the brake levers. My front brake was working fine. I have had my fair share of bad luck in races, flats, chain issues or whatever but...

I then made the decision to finish the race. Not only finish but still race. I took little risks. I want to podium in this series at the end of the year and I won't get very far DNF'ing. My second lap was still faster than my first. I pushed through the sections I knew I could, and hit the punchy stuff full bore. I rode more conservatively where I knew crashing would be more at risks and only managed to fall off my bike twice.

Aside from the crashes my lap times were still consistent with a 25,24,25,25. 

I was very pleased to hold down 4th place and still compete minus the setback. It was still a tight race. I finally feel like I am coming along with a better attitude towards racing, I love to ride my bike and I got to do just that. A positive attitude and determination will pay off, you just have to push through the bullshit! 

I called Magura today at work and have a new rear brake in transit. I always talk to Corey and want to make it clear, they have excellent customer service and great brakes. Shit happens and in a sport with equipment that is constantly pushed to its limits, you can't expect for everything to be perfect 100% of the time.

I had a terrific time in FL with great competition and great company. Can't wait to do it all over again in 2 weeks at Tsali!

Here was the PRO podium from the race.

Thanks for reading!

Pick Your Poison XC TBRA#1

This past weekend kicked off the Tennessee mountain bike season with Pick Your Poison XC in Chattanooga. I did this race last year and expected the same outcome in attendance but boy I was wrong! The race nearly doubled in size! The local MTB scene has little turnout compared to the SERC series but the new race director Michael Long did great job advertising and the race boosted huge talent in every respected category.

Word on the street was the race was going to be ran backwards. I have only ridden the course once and that was racing it last year. I'm getting super old and my memory was faulty on what the trail was like anyways, so I wasn't sweating the direction change like some of the locals. I knew with what little rain we've had the course would be fast, I do remember the trail had/has very little technical sections.

Onto the race...

The pro open field had 10 guys in it. Stout for a TBRA race and I was pumped to race some dudes I knew nothing about. Spring break was going on and we had a dude from Cali and two other guys from Ohio racing with us. It's pretty easy to stalk race results on USA Cycling and these dudes are pretty legit so I was stoked to race against them! Along with my teammates and friends Matt Schupp and Billy Wood, I knew this race would be killer.

The start had a pretty sweet "S" downhill curve into a grass field that led into the woods. The S turn I thought was straight ballin', I loved railing that corner every lap. I had a bobble at the start clipping in and thought I'd get a bad position on the turn however I was on the inside so I hit the accelerator and took the line sharp and help 3rd wheel into the woods.

From the gun we were haulin'! I don't know the guy that got the hole shot but he was a big dude and had good power but he faded pretty quickly. About 5 mins in we were all yelling at him to move over, which he did. I was then sitting in 2nd. Sean Leader, my buddy I traveled to Mellow Johnnys with was in the front now pushing the pace. He was riding strong, hitting the punchy uphill kickers hard but bobbled on a rooty downhill right-hander, my heart rate was kickin' and I didn't want to settle in. I took that opportunity to cut around and take charge of the lead, immediately picking up the pace a bit. I rode steady and maintained a small gap over the field on the remainder of the first lap, around 30 secs or so.

I always love the second lap. After the first lap you get a better feel for the course and know where you can push the limits and also where you can recover from hard efforts. I tried not to think about the race behind me and kept things smooth and consistent. I'm sure everyone was attacking the hell out of one another which gave the advantage to me if I could keep it smooth and hard paced for the next two laps! The course had very little climbing which does NOT suit me however, there were a few BMX style pump sections that I love racing on. I played to my childhood bike riding strengths and held on for the win!

Yeah, I'm tiny! So what!

To give you an example of how fast the course at Booker T is, I maintained an average speed of near 15mph for the race. For an XC race, and 100% single track that's rare in MTB racing to my experience. Everyone had a great race. My teammates did rad as well. Billy got 4th just missing the sprint for 3rd. And Matt rode to a strong finish for 5th.

I'm super pumped for the racing season, I cannot say it enough! My #1 goal this year is a podium position for the overall in the SERC series. This race gave me great confidence going into the first race of that series March 24th in Ocala,FL.

Congrats to everyone I know that raced! You are all AMAZING and keep the hammer down!
Holla at cha boy!  
-KAT

MJC PRO XCT #1 (Fear the Beard!)

I don't even know where to start with this one. Simply having the opportunity and chance to race in the PRO XCT field is amazing. I've never been one to live a life of "woulda coulda shoulda". If you want something to happen, you make it happen. Saturday I stood aside 61 other competitors all gunning for their best performance in what was the hardest race effort of my life.

Billy, Sean and I took Sean's sweet-ass Mercades Sprinter van to Texas for stop #1 of the Pro Cross Country Tour, the Mellow Johnnys Classic. Located west of Austin at Flat Creek Ranch, the first race of the season promises a shit ton rocks, cactus and all around fun racing bikes.

I'll keep this post short and sweet, this weeked was one I will never forget! Photos are in no particular order, I'm just lazy.

1k to go sign, lil stinger of an uphill that led into a cattle trail on the ranch that was a fast section with one uphill rock traverse before the finish line.

Shreddin' some Downtown Austin fun after the race. Downtown Austin is INSANE, plus they have an arcade with free games if you drink...

Billy soakin' in the VIP lounge area the day of preride. Incredible scene seeing how the top riders are treated. None of seem to take it for granted which is cool. But must be nice!

Little butt shot action of me preriding one of the uphill rocky sections.

No shortage of rock and dust in Dripping Springs, TX. I was beyond please with my bike setup for this race. It could not have been any better!

The race has TONS of spectators. Had a few dudes heckling me for my Aviators and beard. Needless to say I was the only pro rider wearing aviators and rocking a beard, but that's just how I roll! This was taken after the race, so much dust in the beard!

My buddy Andrew Sorey and I always do this before big races. Helps with motovation when you go to deep, dark and lonley places in races when all you wanna do is die, you're riding your lungs through your chest and you look down and dig even deeper!

Anyone who follows professtional cycling should know who this is. We ran into MTB national champ and USA Olympian Sam Schultz downtown after the race, what a great dude! With him was also his teammate and current U23 national champ Russell Fitzenwald.

Bad shot, but this is the inside of the Sprinter van. Traveling in this things was a dream! Huge thanks to Sean Leader!

I make this blog more for myself and reflection of past experiences so if anyone reading has any questions or comments you can add me on FB or message me stuff at KYLEADAMTAYLOR@GMAIL.COM

I really appreciate everyone reading. It's funny how alot of my friends asked if I won this race. HA, simply put, NO. I did not. I started in 47th position and finished 34th moving up 13 spots. I am beyond satisfied with the outcome. Of course, I'd love to do better. I will keep grinding it out and eventually I'll get a better starting position and maybe some sponsorship.

All in all, the race was a success. I'm so pumped to continue this year in high spirits and race my heart out to continue up the ladder in this sport I love so much. It will take alot of sacrifice and hardwork but I am game more than ever! I've had a piece and now I want it all!

Thanks for reading.

-KAT

Decisions, decisions...

Race Season is upon us all...

You can smell the hard work in the cool brisk winter air as cyclists of all shapes and sizes prepare for "the race season". This winter has been great and I've been fortunate and had the best base training ever. Not that my racing history is extensive but anyways, last year I thought I knew what I was doing preparing for the race season but I really feel I'm prepared now, better than ever. I have had an amazing off season full of logging base miles/hours and now it's time to go fast!

Everyone has races they want to do, love to do and so forth. One thing is for sure, I will be going after an overall podium finish in the SERC series, that being said I will def do 7-8 SERC races without a doubt. I also want to race a few PRO XCT events as well, these races are the bigs! I never would have thought I'd be fast enough to tow the line with the best in the country, but here I am and I want to test myself and all the effort I've put into my training. A few of these races cross paths with some good local races and it's tough making the call. PRO XCT races will cost me alot of money/time in travel and etc. I have no real sponsorship to speak of. I work at a bike shop and earn very little money. For every dream there is sacrifice. The first race in the PRO XCT series is just outside Austin, TX and is called Mellow Johnny's Classic. Its a UCI c1 level race and promises a huge turnout with all the best in attendance. The date for this race is less than a month away and is also the same day as Snake Creek Gap. Right now, I'm sitting second overall in the Snake TT series with a decent cushion back to 3rd place by about 20 mins or so. March is the last race and I would expect everyone's times to greatly improve, meaning if I don't race the March race, my January time of 2:47 will compete with those in March. That's a toughy! I really want to race it again, I am in better shape now and really feel I can improve and at least beat Thomas Turner's January time. I fully expect him to come out and destroy his January time as well. It's all just a gamble...

 All that said, I've decided Mellow Johnny's is more important. I need to gauge myself and see where I am at going into XC season. I will not get the push I need racing Snake Creek. I will completely get my ass handed to me in Texas and that's what I need.

I want to wish the best of luck to all of my friends going after the coveted belt buckle at Snake Creek and all those just going drop the hammer! Make me proud and kill it!

2013 Snake Creek Gap, the January Edition.

The Beautiful Pinhoti trail system.

Holla from the hills of North Georgia!

2013 Snake Creek Gap TT was this past Saturday. For those of you that don't know what Snake Creek is, I'll give you a brief run down... Its a 34 mile mountain bike race with a time trial format. Sending racers out in 20 second intervals to conquer their best result ascending over 5,000 feet of climbing and racing over the best singletrack the Pinhoti trail system has to offer! And oh yeah, it gets progressively more challenging leaving the most difficult rock gardens for the last few miles when you're at your weakest.

This was the first time I have had the chance to do this race but I'll be honest, I was well prepared having ridden the course several times prior. My friends and I frequent North Georgia to ride the Pinhoti trails all the time. I had a goal in mind for this race, there is tough competition and I signed up for Money Class hoping to make a podium spot. Typically, the Man himself Thomas Turner(Jamis Bicycles) wins this event with a low 2:40ish time. Smokin! My goal was to get in the 2:50ish range.

We arrived at the Dry Creek Trailhead at what we thought was plenty of time to get a head start from all the other racers. Everyone on our team wanted to be some of the first to go off, advantage being that you don't have all the "trail traffic" passing all the slower racers that start ahead of you. Well, no such luck for us. The line was already massive and some racers were already leaving!

We got geared up/bundled up, said our best wishes to each other and the race was on!

And as if a 30 degree start isn't cold enough..... try this...

Being this race is in January it's cold as balls. The most talked about part of this race is a creek you have to ride across 10 mins into the race. It's deep. It's cold. And it's gonna suck for a few miles after you ride through it! On the double track climb after the creek crossing, I probably passed over 50 riders. All of them very polite with my eagerness to pass with every second counting in a TT. I encountered my first and only real issue with the race on the first singletrack climb, it was bottle necked with over 30 people and everyone walking. WALKING! NO! I had no choice but to throw my bike over my shoulder and pass how I could. I've ridden this climb in training several times and I lost major time due to the pile up. I keep my nerves under control. Reached the summit and started the gravel road descent to Pine Needle Hill. The race has a "half-way" point. The first half of the course is super flowy and way faster than the last half so I rode conservatively passing as safe as I could. My mentality was to conserve energy for the last half, especially the last 8 miles, because those are the most technical and will suck the life out of anyone with weak legs and soft lungs. I reached the half way point somewhere around 1:15. YES! 5 mins under my goal time, I was stoked and keep my head down with a bright attitude for the hell that awaited!

The last half of the race starts with a 2.5 mile climb with some steep pitches. The trail basically continues to climb until you dump out into a double track/gravel road climb about 1.5 miles long that then enters the last singletrack section of the race. Get your food in here because you can barely drink in the last hour of the race if your objective is to hammer. It's rock city! This was it, I conserved all I could anticipating this section. with about 5 miles left to go there is a sections called "the wall". Fear by most and conquered by few. However short, it's steep enough it's hard to walk up without a 200+ HR. I kicked it into low gear and climbed the wall with 2:20 on my clock. Right on schedule for a 2:50!

I think it was the fact that I had most of the team just behind me, I really expected a few of them to catch me at this point in the race. It gave me extra motivation to hammer down. I felt great and cleared the last few miles with confidence.

My official time was 2:47. just under 3 mins slower than Thomas Turner. I'm ecstatic. Hard work and training really does pay off. This race was a gauge for me. A test to see how my season my go. It's early in the season to be digging so deep, but it's nice to know that without any intensity training I had this good of a result. Right now, I'm sitting 2nd in Money Class and I'll be back in February to hopefully beat my January time!

Anyone looking for a sweet ass back country MTB race. The Snake is it! Great trail, great support and great fun!

Thanks for reading!

Cheers!