Race 2 – 2011 Charlotte Winter Short Track Series

ByMike Byrd

This past Sunday was the second race of the Charlotte Mountain Bike Winter Series. I was hoping for a better result than I had the  previous weekend. The weather was colder but it was dry (finally) all week. I got to the course around 10 to watch Lexi (Jasen Taylor’s  little girl) while he raced. Watching them race got me a little excited to get going and the good news is that the riders were staying  dry and mud free.

I warmed up for about 10 minutes and I lined up on the front row. I don’t know why I do this because my plan is to always take it easy  for a lap or two. And I have a hard time getting myself to warm up. Maybe I should work on that.

The mountain bike race started and I followed one guy who just nailed it. I tried to stay calm and just stay close to him before we entered the woods.  I managed to get into the woods in second place and slightly recovered I the single track. Exiting the single track wasn’t so easy. I  immediately lost 3 places as I tried to find a rhythm.

The good news was that I was with Sonny and TJ, both teammates on the Giordana-Clif-Bar-Brica team. Sonny was running strong and TJ was  on his cross bike. We spent 3 or 4 laps working together with me or Sonny leading through the singletrack and TJ crushing it on the  pavement. I was working way too hard keeping up with TJ and eventually he and Sonny pulled away.

I struggled for a lap as I recovered and my legs seemed to come around. I managed to catch Sonny, who had been dropped by TJ and the guy  in 3rd place, and started running at my own pace. Unfortunately, Sonny couldn’t stay with me. I could tell that I was slowly getting  closer to TJ and the guy in 3rd place at the turn around.

But, with my lack of fitness I started struggling. The last two laps were hard. I lost distance to 2nd and 3rd place and was able to hang  on for 4th. I may have dropped a place, but I think the 5:30AM training classes at Cool Breeze are helping. Now I just need to get some  training in. Glad the real season doesn’t start until April.

The Bike Racer

Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the Internet. My name is Mike Byrd and this is my website. I enjoy sports, being outside, new challenges, marketing and anything that comes my way. I am the author of the blog posts on thebikeracer.com. I enjoy writing about cycling, poiltics, coffee and anything else that fits in the "My World" category. Be sure to subscribe to my newsletter to say up to date on anything new that gets posted to thebikeracer.com.

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