Race #1 of the Southern Classic Mountain Bike Series – The Knot in Wedgefield, SC. It was cold and rained a lot of my race.
I had a good start, entering the woods (really a long fire road) in third, and we opened a gap. But I was killing myself to stay with them and let them go and settled into 5th as the single track started. I rode the first lap (just over an hour) in 5th with a guy right on my wheel. Passed an Armadillo (have not seen one in the wild in a while) and started lap #2 (not that I wanted to) made that guy go around me and rode another hour plus, catching some back markers from other fields, but not catching anyone I needed to and not being caught. It was a long race – I suffered, last year I finished 2nd in this race, this year, really lucky to hold onto 6th. I hate being a Cat 2 racer…. 20 plus mile races and I am not fast enough to do them in less than 2 hours.
But I love the trails at Poinsett State Park, fun and flow-ly. More climbing than you expect and the park is beautiful!