Brasstown Bald...Conquered.

Yesterday I was dealt some pretty harsh conditions, but was determined to ride the sixth stage of the 2008 Tour De Georgia. On the drive to Blairsville there were crazy gusts of 30mph, and on and off flurries. The temp was around -5C. I was prepared for this though with some midzero tights and my amazing Cannondale L.E. winter coat.

We arrived at the Blairsville chamber of commerce, got some maps, and my mom figured out how to kill three hours before heading to the summit of Brasstown to pick me up. Oh ya.. we drove to the top to see if it was open first, and it was with only a thin coating of snow near the top. On the drive up was just saying "holy shit" the whole way up. I had never seen a road so steep for so long. I was pumped. I would compare the final 5km of the climb to doing Wolverton Rd. 5 times in a row with almost no recovery, and 200m of 25% thrown in to make it extra fun. On the way down it was obvious where it was 25% as our truck skidded and my mom nearly lost control on the sanded/rocky pitch.

So I suited up in Blairsville and then headed south towards the first big climb, Hogpen Gap. I cut out the big loop around the lake that they did in the TDG to save time, but it was fairly flat anyway. The wind blew me all the way to Hogpen, and I got there much sooner than expected. I was probably half way up by the time I realized I was climbing it, and that's when it got hard. I admitted defeat to going up in 39x24, and shifted to my 27t. My 27t was supposed to be Brasstown only, but this climb caught me by surprise. Near the top I had to climb into the wind and it was crazy tough for a km or so, but I made it over and began the most fun decent of my life. This descent seemed to last forever, had plenty of turns you could take brake less, and was steep enough to hit 75km/h just coasting. After this descent, things got tough as I turned into the wind to head up 75.

With a slight uphill and crazy winds in my face, it was very hard to hold 20km/h and it seemed to take forever to make it to the next climb; Unicoi Gap. This was easier than Hogpen, but near the top the wind again forced me into my 27t. I could have done it faster, but I had to save my legs for Brasstown. Unicoi was another fun descent, but not so fast with the headwind. I had some flats at the bottom, then turned on 180 to begin the ascent up Brasstown. In the TDG they went up Owl Creek Rd., but the 180 was the same climb only closer. This road would take me to the steep road that went up BB, but it was only 3% or so for about 8km.

The road to BB (also called 180) came fast, but I was ready for it. After only 100m I looked down at the road I just came up, and laughed at how high above it I already was. This climb is 5km long and the first 2km are not too bad. My mom passed me after km 2, and I said "its not that bad!" and she continued up to the top to wait for me there. We timed it perfectly, allowing me 3.5hrs to ride. Km 3 and 4 were much tougher. You can't really see the steep pitches coming, but you sure know when you hit them. I had hardly any "out of the saddle" climbing so far, but hoped to use it up the 25% pitch. This was not possible. As soon as I stood, my rear tire slipped on the dirty road, so I sat back down and put more weight on the rear end. Then I did a wheelie. Man was it steep. I had to center my weight perfectly, and just keep the cranks turning as smoothly as I could. I was only moving 5km/h up this pitch, but most of the climb was around 12km/h. I was very thankful to have a 27t for this climb, and would say it would be impossible with a smaller cog. On a clean road, a 25t would have been fine, tough as hell, but possible. The last km was lightly snow covered from that morning, but I still had good traction and didn't slip at all. Unfortunately, the road from the parking lot to the summit was snowcoverd and closed, so I couldn't climb the last 100 or 200m. After some stretching and spinning in the parking lot, we packed up and then headed back to Dawsonville.

Today I am going to do a long easier ride around Dawsonville, but I've got something crazy planned for Saturday. We are heading part way back home Saturday Aft, so its my last chance to climb the big hills. What I want to do is get dropped off in Helen, climb Hogpen from the backside, descend what I climbed, then turn and climb and descend it again. From there I will head up 75, go over Unicoi, then up Brasstown Bald. I hope to climb it twice, right from the base at the 75, but that depends on time. I may also check out Tray Mtn. Its right beside Brasstown, and maps show a neat road climbing up it. We'll see. Weather looks perfect Saturday, sunny, calm winds and a high of 48F in the mountains.

Hopefully I will have room for a camera on Saturday, but there's so much gear I have to haul around with me already....

All for now
Later

Georgia/Tennessee Update

So I am now in Dawson Georgia located in the Foothills of the North Georgia mountains. I went out for a 75km recovery ride here yesterday following a route recommended by a local bike shop. The route was beautiful and entirely on quiet country roads. Every road has rolling hills here and twists and turns constantly through valleys and along ridges. Its always interesting.
Monday I did a 110km ride starting in Gatlinburg Tennessee. It rained the night before, so the roads were wet, and the parkway up Newfound Gap was closed due to snow and ice (I wanted to finish my ride on top of the 1500m summit). I did a loop called Cades Cove that is the ultimate road for cycling and is actually closed to cars in during summer mornings so cyclists can take it all in. The road followed a creek through a valley and had huge cliffs and rocks on both sides. You have to climb 400-500m in 5km to get over the first hill, then it was all downhill for 20km. From there it was all uphill to Cades Cove for 20km. I felt up my bottles then turned back hoping the Parkway would be open so I could finish atop the gap. My speed was between 40-50km/h on the down hills and 20-30km/h on the up hills. When I got back down to the entrance of Smokey Mountains National Park and saw that the parkway was open, I called my dad to say I was meeting him at the top rather than at our hotel in Pigeon Forge. We planned to go this way to Georgia anyways, so it worked out perfectly.

The climb was about 20km long averaging between 4-5% gradient. I did it the day before and averaged 20km/h up it. I found it pretty easy because it never got steep and had short flats for recovery, but I was still hurting all over from the effort. I was thinking it would be harder to breath near the top being 1500m high (only 300m lower than Mont Ventoux), but that was not the case at all. I hammered up the last pitch breathing calmly and felling relaxed. The decent was not fun at all because the roads were wet and salty and I was freezing. I had to pull over about 5 times to stop shivering. Had it been warmer and dry, I would have easily coasted down at 60km/h for the full 20km. It didn't seem much colder at the top, but you could tell it was by how much snow there was up there. Half way up the snow banks appeared, and by the top the were about 4ft high.

I was happy to not have to descend the mountain again on Monday. With about 1000m of climbing in the legs already I knew I would not be averaging 20km/h up it, but I didn't allow myself to use my 27t cog and made it up in 1hr 15mins with an average speed of 16km/h. I was pretty cooked halfway up, but I new what was coming, told myself it was easy and just powered along. this road was busy and had no shoulder, but motorists were great and passed safely. Some even cheered me on, and a bunch of people congratulated me at the top. It was a good feeling. My parents arrived a few minutes after I got to the top, we snapped some flicks then headed packed my bike to head to Georgia. The top of this Gap was the state line between Tennessee and North Carolina. There is a road that goes along the line to the top of Clingmans Dome (2050m), but it is closed in the winter, so unfortunately I could not climb it.

Some pics from the top

Today I wanted to drive up to Blairsville and ride the final stage of the 2008 Tour De Georgia, which finished atop Brasstown Bald. With snow in the forecast for the higher elevations, I am postponing this ride a day and riding around here again instead. I hope to do that route twice while here because Brasstown Bald is an intense climb with an average Gradient of 9% and two pitches at 25%. You also have to get over Hogpen Gap along the way; another steep one. Its chilly today, tomorrow looks to be the same but sunny, then Its supposed to warm up into the 50's for the weekend.

Not much happening...

The past few days I have not been doing much in terms of training. Just taking an extended route into work to make it last over an hour. Yesterday I rode to NOTL to cruise along some country roads, and felt great. It was windy, but I was flying through the headwind and repeated the same road just to ride into the wind again. It was a cool feeling.

This morning I was really tired, but felt like I would benefit from an upper body and core workout. I pressed some coffee, drank it, then I was no longer tired and got in a great short and sweet workout. It was nice and snowy out so I figured I'd check out my park to see if there were good cross conditions. It was sweet! I rode multiple laps to pack down a loop, and then rode it for another half hour or so before heading to work. I went back after work for some more and lasted another 20 minutes before heading home for dinner. I had a blast though and plan to go back tomorrow morning. It's great technical practice and requires perfect weight distribution to stay upright.

I leave for Georgia Saturday morning, so I have been getting my stuff ready, and tuned up my road bike. A new Ultegra chain has it shifting better than ever, and it is near spotless clean. It's gonna feel so fast after riding a cross bike all winter. Can't wait!

I'm bring my computer and cammy there so I will likely post some pictures and training updates.

Later friends

May Have been Her Last Breath....

Yesterday was another day on the MTB for me. I wanted to go to the Hood again...so I did. Might have been a bad idea, or a really good one? Two days prior the snow made it very tough just to keep moving, and there were inches more yesterday. Let me tell you; it was tough. I barely made it up anything that had an incline to it, and even dabbed on the flats multiple times. The first half had the best conditions, so I rode it three times, the rest of the course, just once was more than enough. I didn't really crash, but then again I was moving less than 10km/h most of the time. As frustrating as it was at times, I kept thinking what a great full body workout it was. My arms and core where exhausted long before my legs even got going. Also, When I was moving I was getting amazing technical practice as you had to pick the perfect line, and stay right on it or you stopped dead. I think the reason it was so tough was because the new snow wouldn't allow my tires bite into the packed snow beneath. Imagine a loose 3 inch trail with a half foot of deep mud on each side. That's what it was like, except snow. I installed the new tires I won at Frostbike before the ride (Hutchinson Mosquito's). They were super easy to seal tubeless, and the tread was great in the snow. I will keep them on for the spring, then use them all next winter.

Here she is after some MTV style pimping. (new tires and bike lusting)

So here's the bad news, week or so ago I found what appears to be crack on the top of the seat stay weld :( See it?

I stripped the frame down last night so that it can be on its way to Kona this week. I will most likely come out with a 2010 frame, but we'll see. My Stumpy is getting ordered tomorrow, so I should have it going when I get back from Georgia. Can't wit to ride it!!

On to today's ride now:
Check out Justin's post here, it pretty much sums it up. It was just over 100km for me and about 4hrs ride time. 4 laps of the Niagara classic were on the menu, served with 4 climbs up Saylor's. I felt great on the climb, even with the headwind; a good sign for my fitness. Justin rode well too despite his hour run earlier in the day, but I could tell it hurt his climbing. On my way up Holland I got moo'd at by a cow, he could probably smell the prime rib I ate the night before. Sorry cows, but your just so delicious. I finished the ride pretty cooked, but the wind helped me keep my speed high right to my front door.

It was a big weekend for me with over 15 hours pedal time. The next four days I will be recovering by doing short rides before work. I'm off to Georgia Saturday, so I've got to rest up for that.

werd

Revenge On The Circle Route

This epic day started at 7:30 for me with a big French Press. I mow'd a bowl of cereal, some toast with PB and jam then chilled and got high on caffeine. When my dad woke up he made pancakes and I had to put one of those down too. I was a little nervous about snapping my chain on the ride because when I took it off to clean it yesterday, I had to re-use a master pin to put it back on. It went in fine, but the lip that keeps it locked in was worn off from the prior installation and extraction. Before embarking on this 100+km day I had to get some more pins or a quick link for security, which I did.

I was out the door by 9am, and at Justins just before 10:30. I pounded a Powerade and was educated about fishing by his dad, while Justin got ready. We were off to Port Colbourne before 11, and zig zagged through various roads to avoid traffic and the snowy canal path. We ended up at the tip of the island separating the old and new canals, and to save time we crossed an ice bridge to get to the canal path near the hood. I made sure the ice was solid by throwing some big rocks on it. They bounced, so it was solid enough for me.

Riding through the snow on the other side was very tough, but we made it to lock 8 park in good time and crossed the canal to head over to Concession 2 road. Con. 2, then Bertie road were great country roads that I will have to ride again. We didn't see a single car for a while and there was some cool scenery. Highway 3 was next, and we stopped at the first Timmys we found in Fort Erie. I was a little sore before the stop, but was surprised how good I felt when I got back on the bike. We passed under the Peace Bridge, then began the long stretch down the Parkway. The wind was in our face, so we worked together to keep our speed up, and get some shelter. It worked great and we were both fresh every pull.

It was a relief to see Niagara Falls, as it always is on this route, and we climbed Clifton Hill to get more food form the Timmy's up top. We were flying after that stop and killed the hills along the parkway. So that Justin cold get back to Welland before dark, we cut out some of the parkway and took Queenston road back to St. Catharines. We split after crossing the Hommer bridge, and I was home about 15 minutes later. Although we cut out a bit of the full circle, that total distance was over 130kms. The fact that we were on cross bikes, with nobbies, and rode through some snow made this the most epic ride we have ever done. Total time was just shy of 6 hours pedal time, and since I didn't have my computer I don't know our average speed, but it had to have been just under 25km/h.

I was happy with how I was riding and finished quite strong considering the ride time. I didn't have much punch, but felt like I cold steadily put out a highish wattage. Justin was riding well also and seemed strong when we split.

So I got my revenge on the circle route, on a slower bike and in similarly tough conditions. Take that!

Recovery meal: Chicken Curry with a Keith's White


Ingredients: 3 large chicken breasts, red pepper, yellow pepper, 2 potatoes, two onions, garlic, 2 cans coconut milk, red and yellow curry spice, and two cups of rice. Serves 4 hungry men. Very yummy. Crap....I forgot to put mushrooms in. Oh well, next time.

Later

Chillin In Da Hood Yo

Today was an intense training day in the Hood for Justin and Myself. I wanted to get 5 Frostbike laps in, if conditions allowed, but they did not. There was about 2 inches of fresh snow and only a couple tracks through it here and there prior to ours. Most climbs were not rideable, and it was even hard to make it to the climbs in some cases. My worn out Specialized "The Captain" tires did not help, and I would say that they made the course much more challenging than on my Schwalbe Rocket Rons. Still super fun though.

Second lap was much better with our tracks, and minus my booties that would pack with snow snow every time I dismounted. Made some climbs that I didn't think were possible the first time around, and felt more comfy technically. Legs were great all day but felt strongest this lap.

Third lap we went in reverse to see the trails form another perspective, and bomb down all those descents that we had to hike up in previous laps. More was rideable this way, and it was nice to not dab as much. I slid out a couple times and had some close calls, but kept it upright for the most part. Justin was practicing various crash types for and even invented some new ones. He will be the toughest guy at races so watch out for him. We finished with exhausted upper bodies, and very hungry. My core is feeling great though and I would have to say that all those planks and deadlifts are paying off. Good to know I'm doing something right.

Tomorrow we're planning 100km on road with cross bikes, Sunday I want to MTB again somewhere and Monday I'm thinking hill reps if I feel strong enough.

Only 4 more days of work till I head to Georgia!! Can't wait! Hope it warms up though because my dad said it got below zero and snowed last week while he was there. Still warmer than here though.

Peace

More Carbon!

I am soon have one of these StumpJumper Carbon comps on its way to me. I will be buying it mainly for the frame, and hope to sell most of the parts in their new condition. Reason for selling parts is because I have and XTR drivetrain on my Kona as well as two wheels sets, and would prefer to swap it over. All I want to keep are the brakes, saddle and handlebar, but if you offer me the right price I will let them go. I will sell stuff cheap! here is the parts spec......

FORK

Fox Float F90 RL, 90mm travel, air spring, compression and rebound adj. w/ LO, alloy steerer

STEM

3D forged alloy, adjustable rise, 31.8mm clamp

HANDLEBARS

Specialized XC low rise bar, 7050 butted alloy, 31.8mm, 660mm wide, 8 degree back sweep, 6 degree up

GRIPS

Specialized waffle lock on grip (15.5/17) Specialized Thick lock on grip (others)

FRONT BRAKE

Custom Avid Elixir R SL, alloy backed organic pads, S/M: 160mm rotor

REAR BRAKE

Custom Avid Elixir R SL, alloy backed organic pads, 15.5/17: 140mm, other sizes: 160mm rotor

BRAKE LEVERS

Custom Avid Elixir R SL Hydraulic, tool-less adj. reach

FRONT DERAILLEUR

Shimano M660 SLX, DMD, top swing, dual pull

REAR DERAILLEUR

SRAM X-9, 9-speed, mid cage

SHIFT LEVERS

SRAM X-7, aluminum trigger

CASSETTE

Shimano HG61, 9-speed, 11-34t

CHAIN

SRAM PC-971, 9-speed w/Power Link

CRANKSET

Custom Shimano FC-M542, 15.5: 170mm, others: 175mm

CHAINRINGS

44A x 32A x 22S, 4-bolt, 104/64mm

RIMS

Custom DT Swiss X420SL, 24mm w/ eyelets, 28h/32h

FRONT HUB

Specialized Hi Lo disc, CNC flange, sealed cartridge bearing, 9mm DT RWS, alloy QR, 28h

REAR HUB

Custom Shimano M525 SL, alloy QR, 32h

SPOKES

DT Swiss 1.8mm stainless

FRONT TIRE

S-Works The Captain, 26x2.0", 120 TPI, tubeless ready aramid bead, dual compound

REAR TIRE

S-Works Fast Trak LK, 26x2.0", 120 TPI, tubeless ready aramid bead, dual compound

SADDLE

Specialized Phenom, hollow Cr-Mo rails, thin foam, S/M: 130mm, L/XL: 143mm

SEATPOST

2014 butted alloy, single bolt setback, 30.9mm

If you are interested in any of these parts, contact me (email on your right) to make an offer. I will post the length of the forks steer tube as soon as I get the bike. Don't be afraid to throw some low balls at me, I will not be offended and may like your price! Please tell your friends.

Recent Training:

Monday: recovery from race. Didn't even ride in to work because my left knee was sore from a crash in the frostbike. Work was quite physical though for a solid seven hours.

Tuesday: 1/2 hour strength workout at home. I did every excise I could think of that I felt was helping my riding. Body weight squats and jumping jacks (not many because they hurt my knee a little) worked great for a warm-up. I did wall sits, planks, pull-ups, push ups, deadlifts, swings, sit ups an calf stuff all in no particular order. Just whatever I felt like doing I did, and I left very little recovery between. I may have invented a new very effective calf workout. What I do is stand on a step with the palm of one foot, and hold a 25lb dumbbell in the matching hand, holding it for two minutes. The first minute is easy, but after that the burning is intense, an the last 30 seconds is very painful. I did each foot twice. I came up with this because I wanted to do to my calves what wall sits do to my quads; make them burn! Also, snowboarding creates a serious burn in your calves when you ride your toe edge for a long time, and I wanted to mock that. Doing partial raises or bouncing on that foot may make this even more effective. Try it.......

After that workout, I rode into work adding in an extra loop with two climbs up the escarpment. Took about one hour.

Wednesday: 1 and a 1/4 hour snowy jog. I ran on flats for 50 mins and spent about 25 mins seshing the lock 3 stair set. Went up it about ten times with a straight sprint the last time. Legs felt lite and springy so I was happy. Calves where a little sore, as expected. I spun into work after for about 1/2 hour.

I have a lot of riding planed for the rest of the week and over the long weekend. Hood on Friday, Hill reps one day and a really long road ride if the weather is decent. Gonna be fun, I can't wait to go back to the hood!

Peace and love

Frostbike Race Report

This epic day began no late than 6am for me. I wanted to sleep till 7:30, but when you wake up stoked to race on a sick course its hard to chill and get more rest. So I got up and mow'd down a PB and Banana sandwich on "Viking" bread (Rye and sourdough), then laid on the couch and watched some Comedy Now. I got up at 8, pressed some coffee to fill a thermos, got my shit together and ate some yogurt, more bread and an apple then went outside to wait for Derek M to pick pick me up. He arrived 3 minutes later than he said he would, and then we were off to pick up JC R.

We got to the venue with plenty of time to register, change and warm up. I headed towards the course with Derek for a little pre-ride action, but he peeled off and I ended up riding most of the course alone. I made it back to the start area just after the rider briefing started, then I lined up with Justin H and Brandon E to start the race.

My original plan was to hold back on my first lap (each counted separate) and hammer on the second, where I would feel better mentally and physically. That plan changed when I saw I had a gap on my challengers early in the race. I upped my effort and kept it as smooth as possible from there. I was taking the corners easy, and punching it out of them as fast as I could. I made sure I had a good punch ready for all the short, techy climbs, and I almost rode them all. I crashed a few times, but they were nothing that a run and CX style remount couldn't fix. I finished strong and ready to go out for a second lap. Brandon finished a minute or two after, and unfortunately for Justin he snapped his chain and got a DNF for that race. I will teach him how to dial his derailleurs so that doesn't happen again.

I ate a banana, a hammer gel and drank some Gatorade, then I was off for my second lap. I doubted I could put down a faster time, but if the course was faster, and/or I avoided the crashes I had lap one, you never know what could happen. That was not the case. I found some new places to crash and flatted my front tire when trying to turn out of a rut. Stan the man and a Co2 cartridge took care of it, but after that I decided to just enjoy the lap, and have fun on my new favorite trails. The trails were a lot more challenging on lap two with all the ruts and the softer conditions from then sun beating down on them. Still wicked fun though. If anyone could beat my 37 minute lap in those conditions, they would really deserved the win, and I would have to be a bike handling superstar. Brandon could not do it, nor could Justin who was at a disadvantage riding a big wheel bike with no gears.

Me squeezing by the rock

The Après race party at the Funky Monkey was just as fun as the race itself. I drank about seven too many beers, enjoyed some fine chilly and an order of nachos with JC, Derek and Justin. A race win, and being surrounded by so many great people calls for celebration like such. I won a year membership at Premier Fitness (can't wait to activate that) for my win, and a set of Hutchinson Mosquito's as a draw price. Great prizes...thanks so much everyone!!!!

I scaled myself up before my shower and I was shocked to see that I am down to 145lbs! That's over 10lbs lighter than I was when I came back from Canmore, and I had a belly full of beer and pizza! I think I will easily come back down to 140lbs before my race season begins as I ramp up my mileage and spend 18 days down south. That's right 18 days! I am spending the last week of February just north of Atlanta Georgia, then I come home for ten days before going south again for the OCA camp. Can't wait to get down there, but I have some more strength training to get done first, as well as many more base miles.

Thanks so much Shorthills Cycling club, and sponsors for the epic event. This was one of my favourite races ever, on what I would have to say was my favourite course. Also, thanks Winter for the nice snow coverage, sun and bearably cold temps.

It was an epic day I will never forget!!!

Oh, and I found out whats good about football. Its so boring that it doesn't distract you at all while your trying to type. Even if you love football, there is so much "nothing happenings time"/commercial time, that you can get so much done.

All for now, and thanks again everyone who made today happen!

My Performance Enhancer Of Choice

These are some lightly used Dura-Ace C-50 Tubulars that I picked up today. The stickers were swapped for the smaller C-24 ones once the original ones began to peel, making them look more stealthy. They had cross tubies glued on prior, and I just finished picking off the old glue. I will most likely buy the Continental Competition tubulars to glue on, and only use these wheels for road racing, and maybe the odd training ride. Can't wait to ride them! They look soooo fast. Thanks for the sweet deal Joe.

Today I got to tear up the Hood with Justin Henry. I had never seen these trails prior to today, and I regret not getting to them sooner. They are sick! So fun, flowy and tight. Much more O cup like than any other trails in Niagara. I am going to have to make it there as much as possible. Jeff K was bang on when he said the current trail conditions were like Ganaraska in the summer. The snow rides like sand, and your tires will wash out easily if you don't distribute your weight perfectly. There was very little ice visible and easy lines around it. I had a couple crashes, but they were nothing like the ones Justin was having. I was just sliding out here and there, but Justin on the other hand was getting some air time and trying to show the trees who's boss. We left in one piece, ready to go back tomorrow and time trial the course. It's gonna be a damn fun race!

Thanks for all the work on the course Shorthills crew!!

Accepted

Yesterday was kinda exciting for me because it was the day that I received my acceptance letter for college. I am now officially going to school for construction engineering and Architecture at Niagara College. Construction and Architecture have been a passion of mine since early in elementary school, so I think I will enjoy the course very much and hopefully land myself a cool job later down the road. I made sure that the course had summers off so that I can work at Liberty! part time, and push myself as far as I can with racing. To be able to race full time after school, before starting a career, is the goal that I am working towards.

I already had some scary thoughts about having to use pencils, binders and textbooks again, but that was expected since I have been out of school for two full years. I know that I have learned way more in the last two years than I did in my whole life though. To learn about what really matters and whats best for you, you just have to live. That shit cannot be taught.

On to training now:

Monday- rest day. Easy commute to and from work, just over 20km.

Today- 20 min strength and core workout followed by 1hr jog/agility. Spent 10 minutes on the lock 3 stair set doing double taps switching between leading legs. I felt worked after and was sure to spin easy on my commute into work.

As of yesterday I am now signed up to race the first ever "Frostbike" happening this weekend. That means no hill repeats this weekend, and a fun race instead. I hope to preride on Saturday because I have never riddin these trails before and hear there pretty technical. I waited till now to register because I don't have studded tires and the last thing I want to do is hurt myself trying to race on an icy course. There has been a little snow to cover most ice, and more is expected so it should be good for rubber. I'll find out soon enough.

Other good news for me is that I got into the OCA spring camp in South Carolina. That goes from March 11-21st and is road and MTB. So stoked for it and can't wait to go. It'll be a great experience and will be very beneficial to my riding.

See ya at the Frostbike.