SERC/US Cup #7--Chattanooga, Tennessee (6/12/11)

Raccoon Mountain trails in Chattanooga, Tennessee were quite challenging to race on this week. First of all, it was the first race we've done so far this year where the temperature was just plain HOT. Then, the course was very rocky and technical, and made us do a lot of climbing. The downhills were extremely FAST, and on one section of single-track, I looked down at my speedometer during the pre-ride and it was reading 30 miles per hour!!

My poor mom had a terrible time on the pre-ride. She got really sick and overheated, and her asthma made it very hard for her to breathe (she forgot her inhaler). On the technical parts, she actually did pretty well, but a little root on one of the flat sections caught her tire and her bike slid out from under her. Mom hit the ground pretty hard. She said Raccoon Mountain kicked her butt, and my dad said he got the photographic evidence of the footprint. (My mom didn't think that was very funny, but we did.) She ended up with some scrapes and bruises, but got back on her bike and finished the course.


Raccoon Mountain's footprint--LOL




The start of the 9-11 year old's race


On Sunday, we got to the trailhead early for a quick warm-up before the kids' races. Unfortunately for me, there were only two of us in the 9-11 class, so the race wasn't as exciting as when there are several kids. However, the kids' trail was actually pretty difficult and a lot of kids had trouble riding it without crashing.

The Junior's race had a lot more racers, with 8 of us starting on the line. The start was kind of cool. We started on the asphalt and did a loop around a big field, came through the finish line, went down a paved path, and then made a hard left turn into the single-track. I was in fourth place behind my friend Trent when we hit the woods. Once we got past the first 3 miles of major rocks, I passed Trent and took third place. Later on, the boy in second missed a turn and I passed him, too, to take second, but that didn't last long, because then I missed a turn and he passed me back. I never caught up to him again. Near the end of the race, Trent caught up to me and we had a finish-line sprint for third.

Coming out of the woods for the finish. My dad is in the background yelling.



I did my best to block him from passing me, but when I thought he was going to try to pass on the inside, he surprised me by going to the outside, and passed me just before the finish line to take third away. I was disappointed, but it was definitely a very exciting finish.

I was totally exhausted after 11.5 miles of hard racing.

After the disaster at Dauset, I couldn't be too upset with a 4th place finish. A little later on, Trent and I did some goofing around for the camera.

Before we knew it, it was awards time and both of us were excited to be getting up on the podium again.





I can hardly wait for the next race!!

**Mountain Bike Mike would like to thank Mrs. Donovan for some of the photos "borrowed" for this week's blog.