This trip started a little earlier then some, especially considering it's one of the closer rounds at about 12 or 13 hours. The plan was to stop at a piece of property in South Carolina that my parents were interested in buying so Noah and I loaded up the new Ford Transit van (my first time using it since we did the inside) Thursday during the day and set off Thursday night! I started off driving and got us about 5 hours in before my dad took the wheel. Now the new van has us in pretty close quarters, there isn't a ton of sleeping room yet and the fact that the passenger seat doesn't have an armrest makes it kinda annoying to sleep in. I ended up laying on the back bench and made Noah sleep in the chair since he's mini sized, but somehow in a daze I ended up on the floor at some point or another. I woke up a few times on the trip down, still dazed, bouncing around the van looking to get my sea legs but we ended up stopping to sleep while we waited out traffic around Charlotte. From here we made Noah drive, shocking I know. Stopping at breakfast, we all loaded up on sugar while we were waiting to call the realtor about the property. Bob Evans has some great chocolate chip whole wheat pancakes if anyone is curious, especially if you take a little of the whipped cream off of the blueberry covered french toast creation that both Noah and my dad ordered. Just as we finished breakfast my mom called, apparently the property went under contract that morning. How crazy is it that this is like the 4th time that this has happened to them when they've been looking at places? Anyway, with that off the to-do list we trucked straight over to our hotel in Madison, Georgia to finally get out of the van.
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| He drives?? |
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| Always fun to cross borders |
We get to Madison, which is about 30 mins past the enduro on Friday around 3:30 and check into the hotel, fairly typical but boy is it hot! Between the cool weather and rain up north, the upper 80s feels like a humid furnace but it's great to finally see the sun. Eventually we head into town to the same restaurant we ate at last year in downtown Madison. It's a really cool, classic southern town center with lamps and weeping willows and the food is good. Everyone's in a good mood but tired from driving so I have 2 beers during dinner to loosen up, well call me a lightweight, I was sufficiently tipsy. Since I was half in the bag off 2 Michelob Ultras I convinced us (it wasn't that hard) to stop at Dairy Queen and take a page out of Stu Baylor's playbook and get an ice cream cone on the way back to the hotel. On a side note this might actually work (foreshadowing). We all headed to bed looking forward to signing up and getting ready the next day.
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| Thanks to Noah for screenshotting this gem |
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| my double tan lines, idiot |
It's race day! The forecast hasn't changed and it's still about One million degrees except today is much more humid, the grass is soaked from dew; it was going to be a slippery morning. We roll into the race and find a tree to park next to and Tommy pulls in next to us. We unload the sprinter and run the bikes through the field to try and check jetting and I snap a few pictures of my bike with all new plastics and graphics. I'm riding the TC250 instead of my TX version, Georgia isn't exactly technical and it's pretty fast so I chose the TC because of how light and snappy it is. We all gear up, vented gear is a must and we're all wearing camelbaks. I've actually never worn a drink system at a NEPG race because I see my dad between each test but it's so hot and we won't see my dad between test 2 and 3. I'm on 30A because after missing round 3 I slipped back in points and Noah and Tom are on minute 24.
Section 1:
There's no transfer to section 1, right out of the gate you're thrown into a piece. Last year I struggled in sections 1 and 2 but my day got better and better as it went on. Well it seems that 2017 was going to mirror 2016. I had some arm pump, the trail was slippery, the roots and little bridges everywhere were wet and I had a local AA rider on my minute that wasn't going to let me settle in. Piece 1 is a mix of some tight trail and some open stuff, usually I thrive in tighter trail but for some reason this piece has thrown me for a loop both times I've raced it. My bike was too stiff and the back was riding high and I just could find a flow. 6 miles later we were out of the test and I could try to work out some arm pump. I wasn't happy with how I rode but we made some suspension changes, pretty much the same thing I changed last year and ventured out to test 2. Later on I found that test 1 was my slowest of the day, I was 28th fastest in the test.
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| Dropping into one of GA's many ravines (Darrin Chapman Photo) |
Section 2:
Test 2 is the tightest and most technical of the day, like 2016 I struggled in it. I don't know what it is about these first two pieces, whether it's the big roots in the tight trees or the fact I'm still getting used to the dirt but I felt off again in test 2. Luckily this test was pretty short too, at just 6 miles, because no matter how hard I tried I couldn't get away from the other kid on my minute. Derek Gravitt was his name and he could really ride the tight stuff. It'd be tight and he'd be right on my butt then it'd open up for a few corners and I couldn't hear him and then literally like 3 corners into a tight section he'd be right back on me! Hats off the Derek for a good ride getting 3rd in A250, luckily I wouldn't hear him behind me much after this test. Test 2 is filled with gnarly off cambers and lots of little hills and Georgia has a ton of G-outs that creep up on you so you really have to keep your head up. I ended me with 26th overall fastest, a few spots better then the first test but I knew the tide was about to turn. I was looking forward to the rest of the day as this is when I really started riding well last year.
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| (Darrin Chapman Photo) |
Section 3:
This test was mentally difficult for me, there was no visiting the truck between 2 and 3. I couldn't get cold water or sit down, no fresh goggles, no fresh gloves, no real suspension adjustments we just baked in the woods for 15-20 minutes waiting to take off. I stashed some rags in my drink system so I was drying goggles and wiping sweat away talking to people and the general consensus was everyone was hot, so that made me a little happier. Test 3 was fun! There was still a little tight stuff at the beginning but the test was 12 miles long and it opened up into some really fast, slick 2 track style cart roads. It was funny because the difference between how wet it was in the woods to how dry it was where the sun hit was a huge difference. I really started to find the flow in this test, yet Thad Duvall blew my doors off about 4 miles in but luckily I was able to stick with him this time for a bit which really helped me up my aggression and show me just how far I could push the dirt. That's a big factor here I think, the clay can bite you especially when its mixed with heavy roots but running that pace and seeing it really shows you just how fast you can go. Next by was Stu Baylor, both these guys passed me in every test which is defeating but they were heads above everyone on the day so I don't feel too bad now! 21st fastest in this section!
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| Noah finding some traction! (Darrin Chapman Photo) |
Section 4:
In test 4 the race changed its tune for me, I felt phenomenal other than my hands were starting to go away. Between being off the bike for so long and the heat and sweat my hands were soft and with the roots and rough trail I was having a hard time holding on. Test 4 was a winding maze of fast open trail through big green bushes and then a bunch of really cool flowy trail next to a river that ran through a bunch of the property. I ended up passing my cousin Tommy and didn't even realize it until I got to the truck after the test. The test was 12.5 miles long I think but it flew by as we ripped 5th gear down old dirt roads and a few clearings. I think the most memorable thing about the test was that clouds rolled in and the woods turned pitch black, we were riding 5th wide open down these roads and clearings and then would plunge into super dense woods and the transition was a lot to handle! There were a bunch of instances where my eyes hadn't adjusted and all I could see was shadowy outlines of trees and just aimed for between them and couldn't see the trail at all. Test 4 was good scoring 18th fastest.
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| Test 4! (Ken King Photo) |
After test 4 we had like 13+ miles of road to get to the start of test 5 where we sat at our nearly 40 min break between pieces. Like I mentioned it clouded up heavy while we were riding and riding roads to the penultimate test we were cruising into the storm, cue Jaws sound track. So much for 4pm, it was only 1:30?! These weather guys really need to get better at their jobs. As I sat at the truck and ate my super secret lunch, and drank my super secret drink, rain drops started bouncing off my noggin. The temperature was plummeting and even though I'm not a big mud guy my mood was good and I was excited for pieces 5 and 6. Tommy and Noah headed off as I did some finally goggle prep. This piece was 12 miles again and I layered on 8 laminated tear offs on my Scott goggles in hopes it wouldn't start pouring.
Section 5:
We took off of test 5 in a light drizzle but on the already damp trail it was definitely going away quick. I remembered test 5 from last year because its pretty unique; you start out taking some nice flowy trail to some more of the cart roads they've been running and then you cross a big plank bridge and ride a few miles of a hillside that's been half cleared. The section is super treacherous, filled with stumps and roots and downed trees you can't get off the trail or its gonna end badly. With that being said the rain wasn't making it easy to stay on the trail or carry a lot of speed, I rode pretty conservatively because of the slick dirt and the fact last year here I crashed like 6 times. Both Thad and Stu went by but I wasn't even focused on them, I pulled over quickly and kept my own race going, After 4 miles of the clear cut you cross back through the river and ride dirt roads and fields most of the way back. You finish off with 2 miles of fun flowy trail and the end of test 5 is literally 100 yards from the start. Apparently riding within myself and using a mix of caution and precision payed off because I was able to nab 17th fastest time in the piece even riding like I did.
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| Sliding on one of the bridges in Test 5 (Ken King photo) |
After a good test 5 we had to ride 6+ miles of road to the start of test 6, by this point it was raining pretty hard but it couldn't dampen my mood. The rain had cooled me off and the day was getting better. The whole ride to the test I was signing "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" under the helmet and carrying on. I was confident, I was enjoying the trail, and even the dirt seemed good even though I'm pretty sure everyone else thought otherwise.
We had a pretty good break before test 6 so I was under an umbrella goofing around with everyone. Noah wasn't really in a good mood, his day started really good but was going a little off pace. This is one reason I don't like checking my times throughout the day, I'm always going to go as fast as I can and that's it, I feel like if you're doing good or bad it can affect your mood. Tommy rolled in a few minutes after me with a pretty bad burn on his hand, apparently Duvall made a mistake trying to pass Tom and the two went down and he landed on Thad's exhaust. Bummer.
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| Tommy's burn after getting together with Duvall |
Section 6:
My Scott goggles Film System came out in test 6! I waited until the last minute to put my goggles on and head to the start. As we took off I was pretty confident in myself and used it to my advantage but my hands cramped up almost immediately. I took my hand off the bars and tried to stretch my fingers but it was locking up for some reason which is never a good feeling. I managed to get it good enough to pull the clutch it and managed it throughout the test. Piece 6 has a few rocks and a big rock slab we ride over which is cool. It has and some roots and it's not crazy fast but full of switchbacks and a I actually got stuck on a rooty uphill for a few seconds. The rain was coming down now but I was hooking up. This piece reminds me alot of Delaware enduro, most of the trail is about 4 feet wide with one rut and you can just rip if you keep your body square and try to ride smooth. Test 6 was a bit of a blur, maybe because my goggles were wet! Test 6 ended and I was super pleased, unfortunately my transponder didn't read for whatever reason so I had to go to the truck to find out my time and position.
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| Scott Goggles stayed on all day (Ken King Photo) |
After a 12 mile road ride back to the pits we all got undressed in the rain. Our wet gear and wet bikes got loaded up and we cleaned up as quick as possible. Tommy took the homemade bandage off his arm, yuck, that burn was bad. Noah was checking his phone and my results still hadn't been entered so we had to go to the Semi. Noah ended up 4th in A200, he was super happy because he had his best overall ride at 49th overall and 20th A rider and was the closest he'd been to the leader all season. Tom had a rough day with the heat and rain and burn but he's still kickin and will be back for more at the next one. After going to the truck we found out I was 15th overall fastest in the last test. This score put me in 5th AA/Expect class and 18th Overall. The top 20 overall get overall points and this was my first time getting overall series points so I was over the moon, paired with my first Top 5 its a big step in the right direction!
Georgia treated us well again this year and we're super excited that the next round is our "home" race, the Rattlesnake in Pennsylvania. Of course none of this would be possible without the help of our sponsors; Town & Country Cycle Center, The Tricon Group, FinalMoto Mx Training, Answer Racing, Scott Goggles, Bel-Ray Lubricants, Motive Dezign, and 139 Designs. Also a huge shoutout to my Dad and Tommy's wife Katie for all the help and standing in the rain all day and all they do for us as well as our friends and family. I personally have to thank Sunstar Sprockets, Braking Brakes, and EVS sports for their help while Noah has to thank Sidi Boots and Pro Taper!
Thanks for stopping by the blog and look out for the next one, in the mean time keep the throttle back and the rubber side down!
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