App State race weekend

So the APP State race weekend consisted of some of the best and worst trails weve rode all season. That’s because they were some of the best to ride but some of the worst to race.

We started the weekend Saturday at Beech Mtn in the emerald outback with the temps in the 30’s. We were scheduled to do 2 laps of the five mile course which is a bit longer than our usual races. At the start we headed up a fire road before hitting the woods. I remember from last year how tight the woods were so I tried to stay up front on the fireroad but ended up going out to hard only to round the turn and see there was about a huge climb to get to the woods. I tried ti settle in but I was redlined all the way up the hill. I only go into so much detail because by the time I got to the woods I was tasting blood from the cold air and altitude and it ended up taking the whole rest of the first lap to recover from that first climb. The trails up there are the nastiest rootfest iv ever rode. Its not the annoying rooty mess like here in the middle of the state but instead its just a bunch of steep drops and climbs covered in roots that make for fun technical climbs and really tech downhills. The only problem was that as I said I enjoyed riding it but I couldn’t ride it fast on my rigid bike I just kinda had to pick through it. Anyway at the end of the first lap I had settled in riding with a guy from Virginia but was no where near a decent spot. So the second lap I stopped even trying to race but instead just enjoyed the ride. I dropped the Virginia rider pretty early and just bounced and picked my way back to the finish line.

That evening brought the short track but honestly theres not much to say about it. We started I immediately went to the back and stayed there the entire race. Im not sure why but I literally had nothing .

Sunday we headed down the mountain to the brand new rocky knob trails. There are only about 3 miles up there so far but I cant say enough good about those trails. They are in fact rocky with several nice rock gardens but overall its just really fun and really fast. I talked with the head trail builder who was there to see the race and it sounded like once they were done this will be one of the better loops in the area to go along with the trails in wilkes about 25 mins away making it an even better weekend riding vacation spot. The racing once again came second to the riding but began with a time trial and then ended with a timed super d. I don’t have the results for either but im sure it went to someone who could bomb the downhills a bit better than I could. The trails really just reminded me of my favorite trails at home in wilkes with a lot more rocks thrown in for good measure.

I suppose that will be my last mountain bike race of the season as I skip out on the conference championships. Honestly Iv been getting physically and mentally drained as the season goes on and as a result slower and slower. I don’t have the time to do much other than study and as a result my fitness has taken a hit.

So what on the horizon? Id like to hit up my first cross race this fall before hanging the bike shoes up for the offseason. Maybe well get a mtb race season summary soon…maybe not…