Tsali

Back in the fall, Dave and I discussed our racing plans for 2008 and a race at the Tsali trail system in North Carolina came up as a possibility. I had visited Asheville a couple times in 2007 and was falling in love with the place, so the idea of riding the Tsali trails at top speed was deeply appealing. All we needed was a couple more bodies in the car to split the now exorbitant fuel prices. We recruited Mesa sport riders Zach and Drew and the plans were set.

We left the shop Friday night and drove to Nashville, where an Ikea centric Red Roof Inn awaited us with a pair of full beds for the four of us. We are all a little closer as teammates after that night's sleep. Breakfast at Huddle House the next morning put us on the road for the remainder of the drive to the Smokies. The final leg of our drive took us through the Smokies on US129, a road known as "the Snake" and one that is a world renowned destination for motorcycles. This road featured amazing beauty and further reinforced my new found love for the Appalachians. As the road banked and twisted through the mountains, it was hard not to think of the possibilities a road bike would offer...

We arrived at our modest cabin late in the afternoon and immediately suited up to spin the legs out and get them prepped for the following days race. The rain, which had been drizzling since we entered North Carolina, was now coming down heavily. We rode to Tsali to check out the start area and first section of singletrack. Somewhat surprised, we found the trail to be in fairly solid shape and definitely was not the swamp I was expecting. We turned around and after a few efforts up the climb out of the park, we motored back to the cabin and headed off in to town to stock up at the local IGA. After a mountain of pasta and a screening of "Attack of the Clones", I tried to sleep on the pull out couch my coin toss with Drew had relegated me to. The sleep was not as sound as I would have liked, but then again it never is anymore.

We dropped Drew and Zach off for their race in the morning and went back to the cabin to try and relax before our start. Dave, being the ball of nerves that he is, had to sequester himself in his room in preparation for the big show. I sat outside and looked at the mountains and thought about the ride I was about to experience. Eventually, we made it over to Tsali and tried to warm up. We got to the line way early, thus canceling out any warm up we may have had. I wasn't really nervous due to the fact that I had no expectations for the race and was more excited about the trail than the competition. Mountain bike races always seem to shake out how they're supposed to and I usually just hope my fitness is where it should be.

The race started on a fire road before dipping in to the singletrack. My poor starting skills put me in the back third of the pack going into the singletrack. Once we started climbing, I picked off a few riders, but a week of allergies had my head feeling like it was set to explode. I tried to ride steady and put thoughts of quitting out of my mind. A couple riders passed me by laps end. Heading into the next lap, Drew and Zach were working the cowbell and screaming for me so I found a new batch of energy. Each climb on the second lap allowed me to pick off more racers and move up in the placings. I felt much better than lap one and really enjoyed every bit of that fifteen miles. The descents were so fast and flowing and there was rarely a time when leaving the 44 was necessary. It was unbelievably fun and the warm spring sun together with the flowers lining the course and the wiffs of campfire in the air made it all the more amazing. Toward the end of the lap, I caught one more rider and passed him after he bobbled a creek crossing. I gassed it a bit on the following climb and never saw him again. The possibility of his return, and the cheerpack I downed before the final five miles, kept me motivated and in the big ring until the finish.

Eventually, I finished 12th in my field and am very pleased to perform so well at a national caliber event with a big field. Thirty five miles is by far the longest race I've done and I'm pleased I was able to finish and not feel crippled. More than anything, I'm elated over the three hour ride in the Smokies. Ridiculous though a twenty hour round trip may be, the fact that we did it and it proved to be worthwhile is highly satisfying. The team performed admirably with Zach and Drew taking fourth and eighth in their respective races and Dave placing a phenomenal second in his race.

To hop in the car after such an effort and drive ten hours home was not really the best thing for the legs, but sunset through the Smokies and milkshakes at midnight made it all worthwhile. I hit the bed around four am and thoughts of the trail stayed with me as the birds began chirping outside until I finally drifted to sleep. Until next time...