SERC/US Cup East #4/GSC #3--Winder, Georga (5/1/11)

This weekend's race was huge for me, because it was a combination SERC/GSC race and whatever points I earned went toward 2 different series, so I wanted to really place well. Our friends, Dave, Stephanie, and Kyley, came up for the race too. (If you remember from a couple of my other posts, Kyley raced with me in the 12 Minutes of Santos race and then did her first solo race at SERC #1. Her uncle, Dave, raced in the Base 30-39.)

Anyway, my mom, dad, me, Dave, and Kyley pre-rode the course on Saturday. We took our time, because Kyley is just starting to ride the harder trails, but she did great. Some of the climbs were kind of long, but the downhills were very fast and a lot of fun. My mom said she liked this course the best of the ones she's raced on so far. I liked it a lot too. There were some really cool down & ups (we call them whoop-de-doos), a creek crossing, and a few bridges to make it interesting. Plus, there was a lake where I could do one of my other favorite things--fishing.

Saturday night, we went to watch a road bike race in Athens. Holy cow, were those guys (and girls) fast!!! The announcer kept saying the men were going around the corner at 40 miles per hour, and every time they passed us they were nothing but colorful blurs.We heard that there were some wrecks, but we didn't see them. All we saw were some racers with bloody legs and elbows at the end of the race. And people think mountain biking is dangerous....!

Race day was beautiful on Sunday. The kids' races started at 8:30 with my group, the 9-11 year old boys. The course was part of the adult trail and it was one of the more challenging ones we've ridden in this series.

Paul and Anthony got out to early leads, but I managed to chase them down and bring home another win.

Kyley raced in the girls class against Trent's sister, Lily, and a few other girls. Lily came in first and Kyley came in second, so that was fun to watch. Trent's mom sent me out to coach Lily to keep going, but I cheered for both of them to keep it fair.

Click on the video below to see footage of the kids races.



I also raced in the Juniors 11-14 class. We had 12 riders this week, and even though there was a Junior Sport class for the SERC, where the super-fast kids like Dustin ride, in the Georgia series there isn't one, so I had to race against those same type of super-fast kids (including Dustin). I raced hard and did pretty well with a sixth place finish. I thought I had 5th and a chance for a podium, so I was disappointed to find out I missed it by one spot. Trent came in behind me in 7th. So far this series, I beat him twice and he beat me twice.

To see footage of the actual 10 mile course, go to MTBMike.com and watch my dad's video of his race. 

This coming Saturday is the Hammer Head 100/50/25 endurance race. I'm planning on doing the 25 mile race and so is my mom. Dad is thinking about doing the 50 mile race. It should be a great time!