Georgia State Championship Series #1--Farmington, GA (3/27/11)

OK....so my dad couldn't wait 2 weeks to race in North Carolina and decided that we should go up to Georgia to do the first race of the Georgia State Championship Series in Farmington. Mom has been sick ever since the last race, so it was just my dad and me on this trip.

We left right after my dad got off of work on Saturday, so we didn't get to pre-ride anything the day before like we usually do. We also missed out on the time trial. Apparently, the time trial got rained out too, so anybody who signed up to participate got extra points. Bummer.

When we got to our motel, it was still raining, and it rained until we left in the morning. We found out when we got to the park that the start/finish line and all the racers' pits were under the cover of a pavillion. That was pretty cool.

With it being so wet, my dad and I decided to pre-walk the course for the Kids 9-11 race instead of riding it. By race time, it wasn't raining anymore, but it was getting cold, and I wonder if that's why not too many kids showed up.



This is my serious mountain biker pose.

Dad decided to make a video of all the kids out racing instead of breaking it up into classes, since there weren't many there. The 3 to 5 year olds were my favorite, and the kids on training wheels were so cute, but one little guy without training wheels blew them all away. You can see the action in the video below. Video from my dad's race can be seen at mtbmike.com.



The race was fun, even though it was really wet and muddy on the trail. My jersey and pants were completely covered in orange mud. I knew my mom was going to have a heart attack when she saw it, because it was going to be hard to get clean, but I was hoping my first place finish would make up for it. :)


Because it was so cold and wet out, I didn't ride in the Juniors 11-14 class this time, but I can't wait to try it out next week in Bryson City.

SERC/US Cup East #1--Gainesville, Florida (3/20/11)

The SERC/US Cup East Series started last weekend with the first race taking place at Haile's Trails in Gainesville. It's been about a month since the last race of the Coconut Cup and I was ready to get back into series racing. My goal is to win the series for the 9-11 year olds and to possibly place in the Juniors 11-14 class.

It was a very damp and foggy start to the kids race and I got covered from head to toe in mud.

I wanted to get a good start going into the woods and I did. I got out in front and stayed there all three laps. Even though I got a little tired, I didn't stop because I really wanted to win this race. At the end, I came in first, with my friend Bryce taking second. I was really excited!

You can watch the video of the kids' race below.

This week, my friend Kyley, who was my partner at the 12 Hours of Santos, raced in her first solo race in the girls class. She did great and came in second place! We were all very proud of her.



Kyley at the start of the race. She's the one in blue.



My dad put together a special video of the girls race and the 6-8 year olds' races.

Right after the kids' races were done, I had to get ready to line up for the Juniors' 11-14 race. I was pretty nervous about this one because I didn't pre-ride the whole course the day before. We had been at the airport or on a plane from 8:30 Friday night until 11:30 Saturday morning and we went straight to Haile's Trail from the Jacksonville airport. Kyley and her uncle met us there with our bikes. I was so tired I could barely even ride it and had to bail out half way through, but my mom convinced me that I should at least give the race a try because it would be good experience racing the longer distance against older kids. So I did, and it was tough!

I started out in 5th behind my friend Trent, and with Bryce right behind me, but I think all the traveling from Colorado the day before started to get to me. I got very tired and frustrated during the second lap and couldn't make it up hills that I was able to climb on the first lap. I came in dead last (which was really disappointing!), but at least I finished the race and had a win earlier. Trent and Bryce both made it to the podium--Trent in 3rd and Bryce in 5th.

My dad and I both got first place finishes. It was my dad's first time finishing in first. He was so happy. You can watch the video of his race at mtbmike.com

In 2 weeks we travel to North Carolina for the second SERC race. I can't wait to try mountain biking on actual mountains! Wish me luck.

A Special Spring Break Edition of Mountain Bike Mike

The past week has been really exciting for me. First of all, it was Spring Break, so that meant no school. Secondly, my family and I took a trip out to Colorado to visit friends and do some skiing. It was my first time seeing that much snow and my first time skiing.

This is me on a hike up to the top of Horsetooth Mountain. Isn't the view beautiful?



Me, my dad, and my brother, Ryan at Keystone



Although nothing is as fun as mountain biking, skiing is definitely near the top of the list of my favorite things to do.