Super D Race!

So this past weekend, August 7th and 8th, was the Sub-9 Super D at Brown County State Park. Saturday was practice and a pre-race clinic and Sunday was the actual race. It was my first race and I was really glad I did it. Even though i had ridden the course numerous times, I did two practice runs on Saturday. For my practice runs, I was on my XCR just for kicks, but I ended up actually riding it on race day, even though I had originally planned to ride my Peace. My first practice run I rode to the technical spots and walked them to see if I could find a good line. Usually I just find a line on the fly when I ride the trails. I am really glad I walked those spots though, because on my next practice run, I followed those lines and it felt really good. For the 5.5 mile course I clocked ~30 minutes on my second practice run at close to race pace. On race day, I was nervous and made a few stupid mistakes that I didn't make in practice. Mistakes included, I clocked 28:59 for my official time which made me happy! There was also a speed trap on part of the course and I hit 26mph which was only 4th slowest through there and was as fast as the overall winner. I met some pretty cool people at the race and saw some really cool bikes. I really want to race again. It was nice not worrying about consequences and just trying my hardest and pushing myself.

I ended up not wearing the armor in the race, as you can see in the pictures, but I am going to start wearing it a bit more often when I am really pushing myself.

An update!

So I haven't posted up here in a while and I think it is time for an update and some pictures. Last monday the rear shock mount bolt on my XCR sheared in half when I pulled it out of my brother's truck at a trail head. Fortunately there was an old-time hardware shop nearby with a good selection of bolts. I gave the guy my sheared bolt and he found me a replacement within a few minutes. The new bolt is 12.5 grade which basically means it is the strongest bolt known to man for its size! I remounted the shock in the hardware store parking lot and headed back to the trail. Its holding up well!







I rode at Town Run Trail Park in Indianapolis for the first time yesterday. It is a great trail! It is fast and exciting. You can make it as easy as you want or as hard as you want with ladder bridges, some nice drops, log crossings, and even a gap jump! I will definitely head back to it in the future, and if you are ever in the area, I suggest you give it a try!







This coming Sunday (6 days from now) I have my first ever bike race! It is a Super D at Brown County State Park and i am excited. I have never been in a race so I am a bit nervous as to what to expect. I plan on using my Peace 9r SS, but I will have my XCR with me as well just in case. Even if I don't win, I think I will have a bunch of fun. I will post up some pictures and video when that is done.







Here are some pictures of my bikes because I said I would:






I couldn't seem to find a newer picture of my XCR but I will get a video up too!



This is a drop at Town Run Trail Park. Total vertical distance is about 8', but with the transition it was about 4' (when I hit it anyway).