2013 In Review

I know I'm late on this bandwagon, and I have been lazy about blogging lately. Can't promise that I'll be blogging more, but I can try.

So to understand where 2013 stared, I must first recap 2012. The first half of 2012 I was on a no PT profile during my last 5 months of training at Ft Gordon, GA. During this time I gained nearly 25 lbs. I hit my all time high weight at 163 lb during that time. Once I was home I tried my best to get back in to cycling, but found it very hard to start cycling in a area that I knew very little about. In July I moved to Fayetteville, and started to get my head screwed on straight.

But as soon as I started to enjoy cycling again I had to move back to Little Rock. After getting accepted into school and moving, I was told that I could not use my education benefits the way I had planned. This started the downward spiral of spending all day applying for jobs, interviewing for jobs, and being left on the hook. I was starting to get really depressed by my situation.

But then 2013 started! What a change of course! I finial started working again, and  started back down the road to being a bicycle racer! At first it was just riding 1 or 2 hr on Saturday and Sunday. But at least I was hungry to get fast again. In late February I did my first race in nearly 2 years. The Crosswinds Classic Road 

Race down in Little Rock. A mid pack finish after only 30ish hr back on the bike was not too bad!

Then came March, I went to the Spa City 6 hr to be a pit boy for one of my close friends. Being back in that atmosphere really  reignited my desire to race long distance MTB races. After the race ended I drove to Fayetteville and found a safe place park my car. I bought my new car with one thing in mind, it had to be big enough for me to sleep in the back. That night proved it could be done, but I might need to change some things before I do it again.

Why was I in Fayetteville? To race Hells Kitchen. With maybe 50 hr into my legs this was a very bad decision. I was dropped from the pack on the first climb of the day. I pulled myself from that race, and it became my first ever DNF by choice.

In April I decided to go to Memphis for the Crank It Up Mountain Bike Omnium. This was my first time doing an Omnium on the MTB. And boy was it fun, I did not do too well but had a blast!

Thank you  Brickhouseracing.com for the photo.

In May I attended Cane Creek at Timberland. Again, very little time on the bike, but trying it out anyways.  I defiantly bit off more than I could chew.  5th out of 7, but I felt bad all day long.

 In June my unit went AT, but just before we left, I traveled up to Fayetteville for an interview. During my time in Fayetteville, in the summer of 2012, I fell in love with NWA. So with that in mind, my search for a job in NWA never ended. I was offered a position and jumped at the opportunity. Best decision of the year!

Once in Fayetteville I stared to ride a lot more! It was just so easy to go do a group rides, or ride the MTB right out my front door! It was at this time that I sat down and decided to race Skool Of Hard Nox 50. I set my mind to training for that race and never looked back.

September was a good month for me, despite my explosion atSkool Of Hard Nox. I finished that race 7th overall and only 15 min off my goal time. Then came the NWA Championships/Devils Den race. 3rd in my category with enough left in the tank to do another lap.

In mid October I bought my new bike, a 2014 Epic Comp! A review of it is forth coming. Over the past 3ish months I have put over 600 miles into this new bike, including several KOM around Fayetteville (Heath has taken them all away now).

 In November I raceAttila the Hun down in Hot Springs. I made a mess of the race and have not been happy about it.

That just leaves my snow adventures in December. And my mini "Hell Training block" I finished during the last week of the year. It consisted on 21 hr on the bike, and 20000 ft of climbing in only 5 rides!

I took a picture exactly like this (same location and everything) in 2009, only 6 months after starting to ride MTB. I'm sad I cant find that photo to do a side by side. 

So here's to 2014, and what will it have in store for me. I'm not sure exactly what will happen, but I do have some aggressive plans.  My early session goals are as follows:

Finish in under:

Iron Mountain Endurance Race                          4:45 hr

Ouachita Challenge Race                                   5 hr

Slobber Knocker                                               4:45 hr

Syllamo's Revenge                                             5 hr

And complete 7 laps at the Spa City 6 hr.

I'm throwing around the ideal of also racing Rouge Roubaix and Tour De Hills, but nothing is firm yet.

Late session was going to be focused on racing XC, but the current AMBCS schedule places most of the races on Guard Drill weekends.  So I'm thinking about looking at doing some road racing along with some more endurance MTB races. I'm currently considering Berryman Trail Epic, Skool Of Hard Nox 50, and the 100 Miler on Oak Mountain. 

Long shadows late in the year. Good by 2013, hello 2014!

As always I just need to Ride More, Ride Harder, and Get Faster.