I fee lame for not having updated this as soon as I had intended. I picked up a second job (which I will go into later) and I just haven't been on the computer nearly as much, but for good reason.
First, I will talk about the Super D on August 28th. It was hot. Really hot. The trails were also extremely dry and dusty. I did two runs or so with my brother during practice (as he hadn't really ridden the course much before) and felt good. I was giving myself cues as to where to raise and/or lower my seatpost for the climbs and to bomb the downs. I was really glad I did this so that I wouldn't have to really think about it during the race. My WTB Wolverine tires were feeling good and my suspension was spot on. My runs felt great and the Hammerschmidt was feeling fly.
On race day, I was lined up behind my buddy John, for whom this was his first race. He is pretty fast and we are more or less equal on skills. 2 minutes after he took off, I was up. I started off rather slow, or at least that is how it felt to me (when doesn't it?). Once I got going, I relaxed and started to get into the groove. The first 2+ miles are downhill, so my post was low and I was set to bomb. I made it through all the rockgardens just fine and was feeling good. After the last mean switchback, I was too far off to the right and lost traction and ate shit on the side of the hill. I got back up and kept going though. After the race, I heard several guys did the exact same thing where I did. Once the climbing came up, I felt extremely slow, but I was pounding away in 8th and 9th gears so I must have been cruising. The last part of the course is straight bombing zone and that is what I did. The last switchback is a good spot to watch and there were quite a few spectators. The got a treat. I took the turn fast and leaned in to it hard. Well the course was even dustier than practicebecause of everyone riding it. I washed out and hit hard, backrolled and was up instantly and trying to save time. Passed the finishing gates and tried to let the adrenaline settle. A bike medic followed me out and asked me if I was ok. I was, just scraped up on my left leg.
Once results were in, I found out I came in 4th in my age group (19-29) with a time of 25:40 (3 minutes and 19 seconds faster than last year!). I was pretty happy with it, considering I fell a couple times. John finished 2nd in our age group with a time of 24:32. So I had gained 52 seconds on him despite my falls. I was pretty pumped. It was the hardest I have ever pushed myself and it felt great.
So the new job I picked up is with Jimmy John's as a delivery rider. I am absolutely loving it. I get paid to ride! Last week I pulled in 146 miles in 6 days! I am riding my Schwinn SS and it works well. Two days ago, I took a turn too fast and hard and washed out. I skidded about 15 feet around the turn and into a stopped truck. I dented the truck a bit, but the driver was cool about it. I tore up my elbow pretty badly and my should has some nice abrasions. My jersey took some damage too. It was a very busy intersection at 1:30pm. I just hope it was as cool to see for all of the people around as it would be in my head.
That is it for now. I just wanted to update a bit!
