Mountain Bike Mike: FSC #2--Fernandina Beach, Florida (9/16/12)

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

FSC #2--Fernandina Beach, Florida (9/16/12)

Mike the Merman (Thanks Lily and Kyley)

Last weekend we went to one of my favorite places to race, Fernandina Beach. I wish I could say it's my favorite course to race on, but that wouldn't be true. The reason FSC #2 is my favorite is because of the beach. I love the beach!! For this race, we were just a boardwalk away and I spent as much time as I could in the water (when I wasn't being buried in the sand).

But on to racing....

The course at Ft. Clinch State Park is a bit different than most we do. It starts on the asphalt in the parking lot, with all of us following a pace vehicle (Austin on the little motorcycle) for about a 1/2 mile to the woods and the start of the single-track. We pop out onto the road a couple of times during the race, including the 1/2 mile back up to the finish for scoring and then back down to the first section of single-track again. So, this course requires both off-road and road skills.

This week, I got to the woods first and Troy was third. It didn't take him long to pass Eric though, and before I knew it, he was right on my wheel and we were running a tight one and two through the course.

At the road up to scoring, Troy took the lead and I followed. I should've let him just keep it until we got closer to the single-track again, but I am the type of person who can't stand riding behind others. I passed him back and picked up the pace a bit. That was a big mistake, and I knew it when I was doing it, but couldn't help it and we rode on.

When we popped out of the woods for the road section before the last section of trail, I took a drink and let my guard down. Troy decided to attack and took off. I went after him, and stayed right behind him for a while, but had nothing left in the gas tank to run him down with when he started to gap me. I had used it all up earlier. Troy got his first-ever win and I came in a few seconds later.

Even though I didn't win, it was a great race. I went all out and left it all on the course. Maybe I could've raced smarter, but I couldn't have raced any harder. I think Troy and I are going to be pushing each other to the limit all season and I look forward to the challenge.