Criterium Racing in South Carolina

2011 Ion Smack Down – Charleston, South Carolina

ByMike Byrd

I headed to Charleston, SC for a weekend of criterium racing.  I left on Friday, April 15th after going for a 25 mile ride in Mooresville.  We arrived in Charleston around 6:30 and Leah and Neal arrived shortly thereafter.   We all went to dinner and celebrated Neal’s birthdays. 

I woke up early (5AM) Saturday morning to help Neal set up the crit course. We arrived at the venue around 5:45AM and started unloading his trailer to get the stage and truss setup.  Things were pretty nervous as the forecast was for major winds and rain.  We got everything setup with 15 minutes to spare.  The good news was that the rain held off and the course started drying up.

Criterium Racing in South Carolina

2011 South Carolina State Criterium Championships

ByMike Byrd

Sunday morning started much like Saturday, early.  Neal and I left the house right at 5:30AM to get to the criterium course held in Hampton Park next to the Citadel in Charleston, SC.  We stopped, got coffee and headed down I17.  There was a full moon and it seemed like we were going to drive right up to.  One of the coolest moon sets I’ve seen.

We managed to get the Start/Finish Truss and stage set up in record time.  The SC Criterium Championship is held on a flat course with two real turns.  It’s a super fast 1 mile course.

Road Racing in North Carolina

In Shape?…Maybe Not!…

ByMike Byrd

It’s been a long season so far. I don’t know if I’m in good shape or not. I participated in the Charlotte MotorSpeedway Time Trial on June 9, 2010 in the Category 3 group. I got to the track early enough to register, get a start time assigned, and then have a solid warm up. I don’t like riding a trainer so I warmed up on the small track inside the big track. I immediately noticed two things….people warming up on TT bikes not using their aero bars (which I can’t understand) and the wind. It was pretty obvious that we had a big headwind going all the way down the home stretch between turn number 4 and turn number 1. It was the most wind I had experienced in the 3 years that I’ve been doing the TT.

Getting into skin suite at time trial

Race 2 – 2011 Charlotte Motor Speedway Time Trial Series

ByMike Byrd

May 11th, 2011 was the 2nd race of the Charlotte Motor Speedway Time Trial Series held at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.    I met Jasen at his house, loaded up his car with our time trial bikes and headed down to the Charlotte Motor Speedway.  My start time for the time trial was 7:45pm so I had plenty of time to warm up.  I put my Cervelo P3 together, pasted my number on my speedsuit and managed to get about 5 laps on the track before it was closed for the race.

Tree Shaker Mountain Bike Race

2009 Tree Shaker Mountain Bike Race Fort Mill, SC

ByMike Byrd

The Tree Shaker 12 Hour race in Fort Mill, SC was my last ‘race’ of the year. Anything from here on out will be for fun.

Last year, my team of Neal Boyd, Scott Streuer and myself took overall honors in the 3 person team event. This year, TJ Wood took Neal’s spot as Neal had timing responsibilities.

The forcast was for wet weather but thankfully, we only had a few sprinkles throughout the day. TJ took the first lap, me the second and Scott took the third lap. The first lap always seems to be the hardest as you are trying to go fast, learn the course and not blow yourself up for the rest of the day. I had a great first lap and was looking forward to a good day.

Mountain Bike Racing Short Track Series

Race 5 – 2011 Charlotte Winter Short Track Series

ByMike Byrd

Yesterday was the last race of the Charlotte Winter Short Track Series.  5 straight weekends of mountain bike racing with basically one trainer ride a week (on Tuesdays).  Once again, I was hoping for a good day on the bike after a long day of officiating the day before. On Saturady, I officiated 3 Division II lacrosse games and woke up on Sunday pretty sore because I don’t run much anymore – well never run anymore. 

Race Across America

Race Across America 2007

ByMike Byrd

Most of you know that I returned to San Diego to participate in the corporate Race Across America 24HR corporate challenge a week ago Friday. I had a great time and wanted to tell the story.

I arrived in SD on Friday and my brother picked me up. We went to JT’s new store (Moment Bicycles in Point Loma) because I wanted to check out JT’s store and I had forgotten my helmet and needed a new one.

Sea Otter Class Logo

Sea Otter Classic 2006

ByMike Byrd

I attended the Sea Otter Classic this past weekend and raced the Masters 30+ Cat 5 Circuit and Road Race. If you haven’t been to Sea Otter, I recommend going at least once. Riding the Laguna Seca Racetrack is great experience. It’s a tough circuit race that climbs 300 feet per lap in about a ¼ mile with the 2nd half of the climb being much steeper than the first half. Riding the corkscrew is like being on a roller coaster ride, you feel as though you are riding straight down a mountain. A fellow competitor’s computer said we were going 47mph by the time we hit the bottom of the corkscrew turn.

Shoot Out at Angler's Ridge Mountain Bike Race

Shootout on Anglers Ridge

ByMike Byrd

Andy Good and I headed up to the ‘Shootout on Angler’s Ridge’ on March 13th.  Andy raced in the Sport 50+ class and I raced in the Sport 40+ class.

My race had about 25 people in the class and it was good to see some familiar faces in the lineup.  I was on the front row of our group which seemed like a good place to be until the Race Director called ‘role’. By the time my name was called, I was on the 3rd row for the start of the race.

Mike Start of Charlotte Winter Short Track Series

Race 1 – 2012 Charlotte Winter Short Track Series

ByMike Byrd

Sunday was the first race of the Charlotte Winter Short Track Series hosted by Charlotte Sports Cycling.  Everyone was fearing cold weather but somehow Neal ordered a beautiful January day.

My race was at 12 but I arrived early to set up the Cool Breeze/Trek Bike Store Team tent with Sarah.  My first race of the day was the Sport 40+ class.  I lined up on the 2nd row feeling confident that I could get a good start.  I was joking with my buddy Wayne when the race started.  I usually don’t have a problem getting clicked in but missed my pedal but managed to keep my momentum and eventually get clicked in before the first turn.

24 Hours of Dark Mountain Wilkesboro, NC

24HR Burn Challenge in Wilkesboro, NC 2009

ByMike Byrd

Another 24HR Burn Challenge in Wilkesboro, NC has come and gone. We (mostly Mike) put together a team consisting of me, Mike Levine, Ashley Drum, Jasen Taylor and Shannon St. Claire (Brushy Mountain Bicycles). John from Cool Breeze Cyclery was our mechanic. Mike rented a sweet RV fifth wheel for us to set up camp – or really so that he could have A/C and a shower. (Which Ashley made the most use of all weekend). Mike went up on Friday night to reserve our spot and set up camp. We definitely had the best spot as we were overlooking the lake and trees on the opposite side of the lake – and got to watch every racer finish his/her lap. Fortunately he was in the RV when the big storm hit on Friday night that would have an effect on the rest of the weekend.

Mike Byrd Owner of thebikeracer.com

Race 4 – 2011 Charlotte Winter Short Track Series

ByMike Byrd

I was hoping for a good day on the bike after last weeks successful race.  The racers were sure that the course was going to be a wreck as it rained pretty much all of Friday and most of Saturday morning.

I was able to get to the course a little earlier than normal and actually get about 25 minute warm up with some sprints to get the legs going.  They were a little sore because I reffed two lacrosse games in Chapel Hill on Saturday.  But I did feel good in the warm up.