2013 SERC #5...or A River Runs Through It (5/19/13)

After 3 weeks off the bike and a month of no racing, I was super anxious to line up again for SERC #5. I had my last doctor visit the Thursday before the race and was told that I could go back to my regular training and racing routine and I was stoked.

The pre-ride on Saturday went well, but on Sunday morning, the storms rolled in and it poured for most of the first wave. By the time my wave went off at 11:30, some parts of the course were an inch deep in water, and a lot of places were slick with peanut butter mud and wet roots. Dave Berger shortened the course by about a couple of miles, taking out the granite section for safety reasons. It made the race shorter, less than 50 minutes, but it was still a good workout.

Even though we had to deal with crummy course conditions, this was one of the most fun races I've had in a while. Carter Anderson and I swapped positions at least 10 times and Silas stayed close. There was so much mud flying around that almost everybody had the same color jersey (brown/orange) and my prescription glasses got so caked in mud that I had to take them off and ride blind. Seriously--my vision is like 20/200 without glasses. I'm not usually one who rides wheels on the mountain bike, but for some sections of the trail I was actually relieved when Carter got in front because then I could just follow his lines until we got back out into the open.


 At the very end of the last lap, Silas, who was in third, got around me when I got sucked into some rutty mud and I just didn't have the legs to attack back. He and Carter finished a super close first and second, with me coming in right behind in third.

 I really wanted to come back and win after my broken wrist healed, but I can't complain. I was pretty happy with my race. I rode hard and consistent and finished with a spot on the podium. The competition in the Cat 2 this year is very good, so any podium finish is a great finish. So far for the series, a different person has won every race. I hope to be the first to get a second win when I take on my nemesis course at Dauset next weekend.

Check out the video of the race below.

2013 US Cup East SERC #5 Cat2 15 to 18 from MTBMike on Vimeo.