Anyway the reason why I missed yesterdays post was simple, the season finale of the Charlotte Mountain Bike Summer Series.
I left work a few minutes early to get down to the WWC in time for the race and didnt have any issues with finding a parking spot. I even got a good view of the Southpark Cycles team van.
Also as I was getting ready I was greeted by Scott at Sun and Ski sports. I was informed that they were actually putting up some swag for some prizes. I love to hear that as right after Southpark, that is my next bike shop of choice. I always get treated good when I go there and they even fix my bike when I am there and don't have to wait. I guess that is what happens when you buy a few bikes from the place.
Also I was greeted by The Mutt who was kind enough not to take off my open door.
After getting ready and gear ready I made my way down and registered. In doing so Bart was ready to take the teams pictures. I didn't bring the camera for that. I will poach that picture when it gets posted.
I haven't done a lot of the Wednesday night races as I have been trying to save up for a wedding for me and the burrower. I felt the team needed me as we were only 4 points ahead of the Trek store in the team category. Well it turns out that everyone from the Southpark team was there and we had like 8 riders. I think that the Trek only had I believe one of them. Not fair odds for them but I will take it.
After the team pictures the races started up. There were 9 in my catagory and I went into the woods ahead of one rider. I kept up with the group until the first fireroad and then they left me. Stupid 14 mile sprint races. Not long enough for me to get my mojo going. Somewhere in the middle of the first lap the 9th place guy ended up passing me on an uphill (imagine that huh). Right about that time I ended up passing another rider in my class as well. Net gain/loss=0. All was going good until I got passed by the entire Southpark team (who is in an age group above me) right before the Toilet bowl.
The 9th place rider was following me closely throughout the toilet bowl and I ended up talking to him. Apparently he only had his granny gear. That really didn't make me feel any better that he was keeping up with me on his small ring. But right as we were going up a short climb on the toilet bowl my chain got stuck and his ended up breaking under the stress of the climb. At that point I knew I didn't have last as long as I finished the race. Thats usually how I get my points, finish the race ahead of the DNF's.
The rest of the race was pretty much without any real action as everyone finished before me and it was getting dark in the woods. The good news is that I made the finish in time to get to the awards ceremony.
Even though I didn't finish in the top 10 in my class this year to get some swag the Southpark team did end up taking 3rd place overall. What Bart didn't realize is that there was prize money associated with it. As soon as he heard that I saw the wheels turning in his head about how much beer that could buy. I don't blame him for thinking that at all. Also a few of the Southpark guys ended up finishing real well in their classes. I am unsure if there was any podium spots for them as it was loud inside the bar, but I know there were a lot of top 10 finishes for the team.
Shut up and ride
getting the swag
Doug getting his first prize bag in 3 seasons
It was a good racing season and I am going to miss just hanging out with a bunch of racers. We all know that the reason I race is for the friends I meet out there and not because I am expecting to win. Good season, good friends to race with, and looking forward to doing it again next year.
I may or may not post tomorrow depending on what the burrower has planned for me in terms of social responsibilities. Have a good weekend and the weather should be perfect, go ride.
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