Its been awhile, but It feels good!

It has been awhile since my last post and I have had worm to remind me of that for the last couple months. It like he starts to disown you and think less of you if you don't keep you blog updated on regular basis. So I have finally got to it.

The funny thing about my blog it kind of directly follows the pattern of my life from the last year or so since I have been back in tally. It is sporadic and with no regularity of anything. I have spent some time searching for a major, my previous success in school and riding, and just plain joy. Cyclists are weird in general and you kind of never stop being one even if you’re not riding. For me I see a culvert or a grass berm on the side of the road as I drive and can almost feel the way gravity will pull or that feeling when you hit that sweet spot in the berm and you can feel the way the bike pulls out of the corner. So it’s not that I ever lost that desire to ride or race, it just took time for me to realize that is who I am and you can't fix that. I don't know if it was that I was just burnt out of racing or what, but ever since the red bug challenge my life is back to what it use to be before durango, alcohol, and craziness.

Since red bug challenge, I have routinely rode at least 6 days a week except for when I moved back in with the parentals. I haven't rode six days in a week except for maybe a handful of times probably in the last three years. Man can I tell the difference! My body has seemed to have liked it but I have to admit I probably have overdone it some but I am trying to make up for what I feel like is lost time. I know the fitness is improving and I am skinny as hell again. Mom thinks I am to skinny but I eat a ton. Just ask Jimbo Slade. I can out eat him on a regular basis. I am still lacking some consistency and recovery ability but the speed isn't far off.

School has been just like the blog and my riding very unpredictable. I feel like I have changed my mind on what I wanted my major to be like a million times and it stresses my parents like you can't imagine. Car business is picking up so it is not as bad as it use to be haha. After some talking to the wrecking ball and the mom they have both seemed to have found what I will stick with and plan to achieve. I plan on attending FAMU Architecture School this fall. I never noticed till recently that I got a passion for it and I kind of got that vision like I do for those berms and culverts on the side of the road. As I am typing I can visually picture a handful of house that I saw on the side of the rode coming back from Birmingham last night. It’s kind like me remembering people bikes and there every component on their bike and their cars. So I can finally relax and know what I will be doing this fall and into the future.

So now to what everyone one really wants to hear about: BUMP.
Bump has kind of been a cursed race for me the last couple year and a letdown for me the last couple of years. It also has been the reason people have nagged me about DNFs. I hate that. This race was thankfully not that way. I had a crumby week and a half of riding before the race so I was really nervous coming into the weekend. I spent the whole week over thinking stuff, but tried to think positive. Saturday’s pre ride was long hot and surprisingly good. I rode really stiff and tense early on and thought it was going to be a long weekend but it came together. It clicked when we got to the long climb. I rode blood rock without looking the first time and made it pass the spot I flatted last year and I felt like a monkey had been lifted off my bike. After that point I had a flawless pre ride for the most part. After eating the most wonderful pizza of all time at California pizza kitchen and a night tossing and turning, Sunday came. I was nervous and anxious to get the race started. It was a combination of knowing that I have been riding my ass off hoping that I was ready but as well as that feeling in your stomach like it was the very first race I have ever done. I tried to so desperately hard to show no nervousness especially in front of Jimbo, because I kind of was afraid he was going to crack before his race started.. Come the start of the race, there were 18 people in my class which reminded of the old 90s days, but also knew that I was going to have to ride smart. I know the race was going to start off really fast and people were going to be itchin to go. The mingo time trials have really kind of helped me and I knew that I had recently been going out way to hard and screwing up. So going into the woods, I was dead last. I hung back with a guy from tenn and I liked his chill steady pace, so I hung with him and let the group fight each other. We get to the first road, and I think I might have passed one person before that but still was with the main group. I stayed steady and picked off maybe two more as people were already bonking or had crashed. We come to the long climb road and I decided it was game time. I put in a bigger gear and started to pick up my effort. The legs felt good I was able to keep a big gear going and I was picking people off left and right. I climb the whole climb in the big ring except for the final pitch before the trail follows the ridge. It was by far the fastest I have ever climbed the mtn. I went from about dead last to what I am guessing to be fifth. It also made me really happy to know I pulled back Brent who has been winning the state expert races, so I knew I was riding good. I make it down blood rock a little sketchy and said "wow wrong line" really loud and about thirty people busted out laughing as they watched me make through the section ok but definitely not my normal line. After that I settled into a steady pace and was riding good. I had picked off a rider who had passed me after the climb and was setting my sites on Brent again when we made it to the new section of trail. For those who weren't there it was kind of like loblolly but a little tighter, rockier, like 5 big logs which made me happy, since no trails have logs on them anymore, and it had the those new trail bumps from roots and trees. I make it to the finish line where Julie is there to feed me and I greatly appreciated her help. She is awesome. Come the second lap I had to climb the pavement road back up to where the end of the blood rock downhill crosses and goes back into the road. I had kind of fallen apart at the end of the lap and gotten passed by two I believe, but was able to a get a steady pace again after the road. I catch Brent in the new section with a flat but unfortunately get passed by the guy who I used to pace me in the beginning of the race and some hispanic dude. That is how I would finish and I couldn't really be happier. I rode a smart race and was competitive in my mind. It is only been the second or third mtb race with gears in 1.5 years. And the first one completely sober in awhile. So I am supper happy about how it went and look forward to keeping the training going. I don't want to have to say its been awhile in a long time.

Random Trip Facts Not Mentioned:

1. Darien called Andy Johnston, who won my class, a bleeping sandbagger or something on those lines within 5 feet of him pretty loud. Julie freaked out lol
2. I think keith brought along his daughter’s boyfriend just so he could take him on his first mtb ride and kill him. Poor guy looked like he had been to hell and back and was about to blow chunks when we saw him on the pre ride.
3. Darien has the quietest baby of all time.
4. California Pizza Kitchen is the best thing ever!
5. Jimbo has a few twitches while he drives and while he is talking on the phone but I never called him out on. I like the hand walk on the center console one the best.
6. Darien flatted every time he rode his bike almost.
7. Lil mingo was always there when I felt like crap yelling at me!
8. Jim and I spent 20$ on food at taco bell. and didn't crap ourselves on the way home.
9. Jim posed like 7 different times with his metal plaque and wanted pictures every time.
10. Mark has been training in the morning with Eldon Baker aka Rick Carmicals former trainer and has been trying to keep it hush hush. Nothing to do with my blog, but I had to mention it.