25 Jul
2007
Well, the season continues. I haven't been very motivated to write
lately as I have had a rollercoaster season. Not a whole lot of good
things to talk about. I left off last time just before BUMP & Grind.
I had a terrible race down there. Just couldn't find my legs. I
tried to at least make myself feel better by taking a crazy line
through the technical section known as "Blood Rock." There are
always a lot of rowdy spectators there and I was hoping to at least
get some cheers. I took a super risky line and pulled it off and all
I heard was dead silence. There were 50 people standing there and no
cheers, no claps, nothing. Just crickets chirping. After that race I
had to evaluate my training. I think I have been doing too many
speed workouts and not enough endurance rides. That's why I haven't
made it out to the crit series in Nashvegas. I've been concentrating
on some long slow rides during the week. And it has seemed to help.
The SERC series is now over. I had a great run at the Fontana, NC
race and finished 6th. The course there was brutal. It was 6 miles
long with more than 2,000ft of climbing per lap. We were scheduled
for 4 laps, but they decided to cut us to 3 and still we almost
didn't finish. I cramped pretty bad coming into the finish line
which was on a steep uphill. I almost fell over right before the
line. Several people did. Whoever decided to put the finish at the
top of the hill was just plain mean. Fontana also hosts a Downhill
race. I won it last year so I raced it again to defend me title.
This time some top Pros showed up and I finished 4th. I was 7
seconds off the win and 2 second off 2nd. We went nearly 30 seconds
faster than I did last year on the same course which took just over
3 minutes to run. Chris Herndon was the winner and he took the win
at last weekend's Dual Slalom National Championship and finished
third in the Downhill National Championship, so he is very fast
indeed. It was great to get to ride with guys like him. They make me
step it up because I know I have to go really fast to have a shot at
beating them. I still have a lot to learn if I want to win a Pro
Downhill race. The weekend also featured a short track race under
the lights on Saturday night. I wore my blinking red glasses again
which made me the fan favorite. The race is serious, but it's also
kind of a freak show. We all dress up and goof around during
practice. I rode for a while in a Darth Vader mask. There were 200
spectators on the course when the race started and it got me a
little too excited. I broke away on the first lap and blew up by the
halfway point. My heart rate hit 205 when I got caught. I haven't
seen numbers that high in several years.
Darth Returns!
I was holding third place in the SERC series until the Clemson, SC
race. I got the stomach virus a few days before and I was really
weak in the race. I was lucky to even finish. To top things off, I
caught some kind of respiratory crap while I was there and ended up
with bronchitis a week later. The last SERC race was at Anniston,
AL. I was 2 points out of third and I really wanted to get on that
series podium. I was doing what I needed to do until the last lap.
Robert Marion was the one ahead of me on points and we were together
beginning the last lap. It looked like it was going to come down to
a sprint finish. We had a lot of trouble with slower riders
that we were lapping and both of us ended up crashing while trying
to pass a singlespeeder. Robert got up first and dropped me on the
final climb. So for about the fifteenth time this year, I missed the
podium by one spot.
Due to my up and down results, my team decided not to go to Mount
Snow and not to fund my trip. It was outrageous how much it cost to
ride up there, so I ended up missing the National Championships last
weekend. It is very frustrating because I am feeling good for the
first time this year and the weather up there was horrible. It
rained like a screeching monkey for three days leaving the course
more ominous than that Franklin crit course from a few years back.
It was all about skills and not so much fitness. Mud is my
specialty. I may have just missed a great opportunity to get one of
the stars and stripes jerseys. I raced Lock 4 instead and got a win.
It was pretty tough to lose considering I was the only one there.
The payout was $500 for the Pros, yet no one showed up. I just can't
figure out what the guys are thinking missing this race. I was
hoping to break the course record again, but two flats on the first
lap ruined my day. Still I have the TBRA points lead again, so maybe
I can get the jersey again this year.
This weekend is the big race up in North Carolina. The National
Series is coming to Sugar Mountain again this week. I hate the XC
course, but I'm trying to think positive thoughts. I don't feel like
I'm racing on this course. I'm just surviving the 30 min. climb just
so I can come down the 5 minute descent. I have to do that 4 times.
I'll be racing the XC, Short Track and Super D, so I'll be pretty
busy. I'm excited about the Super D and really think I can get close
to the podium if not on it. We'll see. Thanks for reading. I'm going
to eat a few bowls of Captain Crunch now, because we all know that
Captain Crunch doesn't hurt the roof of Chuck Norris' mouth.
Dustin