Alafia Classic - 6 Hour

    Another 6 hour race behind me and I am very happy with my results. My dad, brother and I decided that we would race the Alafia Classic as a family team. We entered the Hard Course Advanced Team under the name "Two Boys and a Neanderthal". First time that we have ever raced together as a team and it was tons of fun!

   We decided that I would go out the first two laps hard and set our pace for the race. The first lap I stayed on the wheel of the leader, Jim MacPherson. Going into the second lap I was on the the wheel of Jim's teammate, Bill Renninger. Stayed on Bill's wheel and feeling good up until the point I got a little too close, tapped his wheel and endo'd over my handlebars. And so the gap was started. Coming through scoring I quickly exchanged baton's with my dad and he took off like a rocket. Unfortunately, that gap that Bill made when I endo'd just got bigger when he handed off to Aussie Jim! But we were sitting nicely in 2nd place. My dad hammered it on his lap with a handoff to my brother, Morgan. Morgan got a great start but during his lap was forced to stop to pull a large amount of moss out of his chainring. This allowed the 3rd and 4th place teams to scoot by him and gain a lead. 

     We continued to hammer it at a pretty fast pace trying to at least make it back into the top three teams. Unfortunately, the 3rd place team had about a 2 minute lead on us. My dad put it all out there on his final lap and I knew that I would have to race as fast as I ever have if I was to close the gap between us and the 3rd place team. I was determined and had tunnel vision trying to better our position. Try as I might, we were about 20 seconds behind the 3rd place team at the end of my final lap. I knew I pedaled my heart out and I had a feeling that I may have beat some of my personal goals. When the scores were finally posted I was excited to have raced the fastest lap out of all of the racers for the entire race! Pulled out a 35 minute 12 second lap (laps were just shy of 8.5 miles) on my 4th and final lap! And I managed to get 6 KOM's!!! 

     This was probably one of my best race days because I was able to spend it racing on a team with my dad and my brother. Working as a team with friends is one thing, but doing it with your family means a whole lot more! My dad and Morgan kicked butt today! We may not have gotten on the podium but it was a great day! Hoping we can do this again in the future. My goal (other than getting on the podium) was to have the fastest lap time...I accomplished this and then some. I am pretty darn stoked! 

     Thanks to my family for racing with me and always supporting me in every way possible! Mom, thanks for reminding me that sometimes you need to not get on the podium to become a better racer and competitor. It puts things into perspective and is a humbling experience. Thank you to Bents Cycling and Fitness for their continued support! As always, Muscle Milk, you Give Me Strength to push myself to my limit and then continue past that!! Looking forward to future races. Coming up:  SERC #4 in Windor, GA!!

MUSCLE MILK

     Thank you Muscle Milk for having the confidence in me to provide for my training and racing nutritional needs. Athletes need more than training to maintain top performance; they also need a nutritional plan that includes supplemental nutrition. Muscle Milk provides the right about of vitamins, minerals, and protein that my body needs to stay at peak performance. It's good for me and comes in a variety of great tasting flavors. My favorite is chocolate. Try some and I guarantee you will not be disappointed!

Muscle Milk gives me strength to train hard and perform harder!

#GiveMeStrength

#MuscleMilkOrl

SERC #2 - CONYERS, GA

Silas Moorefield 1st Place, Sam Connell 2nd Place, Cody Burnett 3rd Place
Cat 1 Junior Expert

     I was so excited to race Conyers because it was the US Olympic course back in the 1990's. I had ridden this course once before during a tsunami-type situation with the trails flooded like crazy. Georgia and the surrounding states had already gotten tons of rain and I weather prior to the race wasn't looking too good. Race day called for clear skies with strong winds, but there was rain in the forecast for the days leading up to the race. The trip was along one, 8 hours from our home in Lakeland. We made it up by Saturday afternoon and the skies were gray but the course looked relatively okay. Some areas of mud, but nothing that was out of control. I was feeling stoked about riding my new Specialized Stump Jumper Marathon - first race with this baby! Pre-ride with my teammates was uneventful and I felt good. The trails rode well and I was feeling optimistic. 

     Race day was cold and windy. Wind gusts were up to 30mph and I was so glad I listened to my mom and brought my cold-weather gear. I was excited to be racing once again alongside the pros and some Juniors I hadn't raced with in some time. Cat 1 Junior Experts was taking off with the pros again and I was going to try to maintain their pace for as long as possible. 

I had a feeling that it would be tough hanging with the pros and extremely hard given the first climb was super difficult, especially for a Florida rider. When the whistle blew the pace was ridiculous off the line. It was much faster than the first SERC at the Vortex. We were flying through the trails and I noticed that the pros and I were opening a gap over the other Junior Experts. As we got about half-way through the first lap we hit the first climb. I dropped my chain down to the little ring and went as hard as I could. Sadly, it wasn't hard enough. The pros kept a crazy intense pace up that climb and I found it was hard to keep up. Toward the end of the first lap I noticed another Junior Expert rider had caught up to me.  Silas Moorefield, a junior from North Carolina, was hot on my wheel. 

    The second and third lap was a battle between myself and Silas. Silas was super strong up the climbs and it really benefitted him. He was able to take the lead and keep it about half-way through the fourth lap. Silas made it through the finish line roughly a minute before me. I was satisfied with my performance on a course with two extreme climbs. Silas was riding strong and I realized that I will need to work harder on my climbs. Not too bad for a Florida boy! Congrats to Silas for his first place finish...well deserved. I felt great about my second place finish. 

  Thank you Muscle Milk for providing my nutrition during my training and before/after races. I understand that getting stronger doesn't just take training, it takes the proper nutrition...and that's what Muscle Milk gives me. Thanks to Bents Cycling and Fitness for their support and encouragement! And to my parents - the money, time, and energy you put into my racing is really appreciated!! Looking forward to racing Windor, GA in a few weeks!!!

SERC #1 - SANTOS - "VORTEX"

     The first race of the SERC series was bound to be a good one! Racing at Santos in the Vortex is one of my favorite venues. It has plenty of technical portions, as well as smooth, windy trails. It's the best of both worlds! Going into this race I wanted to start strong and maintain a pace with the pros. Got to the Vortex the day before with my dad and set up camp. The weather was perfect and the course was riding nice. My pre-ride consisted of an easy lap followed by a harder, faster paced one. I met up with my teammates and we hung together on the trails. I was feeling good about this race and very excited to race Cat 1 Junior Expert. 

     Race day and my legs were feeling awesome and mentally I was totally there. Did a warm up with my teammate, Alex Meucci, and the excitement was mounting. Great thing about racing Cat 1 Junior Expert is that GoneRiding allows us to take off with the pros. This is a plus for me because it gives me the opportunity to push myself even further. At the lineup there were only two of us in the Junior Expert class; but fortunately there were a ton of pros racing. My goal was to keep up with the pros for as long as I possibly could. 

     The horn blew and we were off. I was fifth going into the woods behind the legendary Thomas Turner of Team Jamis. We flew through the trails and I was feeling so strong. Surprisingly, I felt really comfortably at the pace the pros were holding. I knew that without any mechanicals/crashes it would be tough, but possible, to hang with them my entire three laps. As luck may have it going down a long technical descent my front wheel clipped a rock and endo'd me over the handlebars. I lay there watching the pros fly out of my sight. I tried to quickly hop back on my back but the area I crashed in made it impossible to just jump back on it and climb an immediate steep climb. That being said, I did what any mountain biker would do...I ran it up the hill. That's when I realized that all it takes is a split second and pro racers will leave you in the dust! Hanging with them is one thing...closing a gap on them is another! I pushed hard to close as much of the gap as I could but my wrist was killing me. 

     Coming through the end of the first lap the pro leaders had about a 30 second gap on me. I continued to push hard on the second lap and wasn't really getting anywhere as far as keeping up with the pros was concerned. I continued to have a few spills and then mechanicals. It was not turning out to be the race I had hoped for. Long story short, fitness-wise I felt amazing; but my bike and I just didn't have our usual connection. Regardless how I was feeling I still managed to pull off a first place finish. I felt a bit down on myself initially, but my parents reminded me that not every race is going to be your best race. Even the pros crash and have mechanicals. Sometimes being taken down a notch or two is what you need in order to become better at what you do. 

  As always, thank you Bents Cycling and Fitness for all you do for me! Your support is invaluable. Thank you to my sponsors and most of all to my parents for giving me everything I need to be the best racer I can possibly be. 

     

2013 FLORIDA STATE CHAMPION!

CAT 2 JUNIOR SPORT

1st Place Sam Connell, 2nd Place Tyler Mayer, 3rd Place Cody Burnett

Final race of the season was held at Santos Mountain Bike Park in Ocala - one of my favorites to race! I was really excited to end the season here and anxious to ride the course. The day of pre-ride I headed out with my teammates where we encountered a course filled with a lot of technical trails, as well as some flowy single track. I was feeling good after the pre-ride, buy understood that I needed to race hard, but safe. There were so many areas that could physical and mechanically take a rider down. Knowing that I had a significant first place lead going into this race, I knew I only needed to finish the race and I could maintain my first place win. But it's so hard to hold back when you are in a race. The race was going to be interesting for the other racers in my class because of the tie for second place. I knew I only needed to race smart and all would be good. 

Race day came quickly and the entire family was excited and ready to go. My brother was racing for a second place season finish in his class and like me he had a big gap that he just needed ride a nice, safe race. The weather was great and the atmosphere was charged! At the start line I was ready to get the hole shot...unfortunately, it didn't happen this race and I ended up third going into the woods. I stayed in 3rd for a while until the more technical sections where I decided it was best to make my move to the front of the pack. Knowing how potentially dangerous these technical sections were, I wanted to get in front and stay out of the way in case other racers had problems. It is these kind of areas that can cause a racer to lose precious time and maybe even a win. On the second lap I decided I needed to attack hard so that I could open an even bigger gap. My goal was to decrease my second lap time by one and a half minutes and I was able to do just that. This gave me an even more comfortable lead over 2nd place. Toward the third lap I started getting caught in race traffic in the technical sections which slowed down my lap time. I was able to come through scoring on mine final lap with an almost 3 minute gap over 2nd place. My goal this season was to push myself and I am proud to say that I did and I became the 2013 Florida State Champion - Cat 2 Juniors! 

My brother Morgan racing on the Tom Brown Trail

Once the race was over the real fun started at the GoneRiding 2013 Banquet! Dave and Terry Berger do a great job all season and the banquet was icing on top of the cake! We all had a great time hanging out and cheering on the racers as they received their racing awards. I was really surprised when I also received the Most Improved Junior award. Team Bents made a phenomenal showing this year with multiple state champions and podium finishes, as well as the 1st Place Team Award for Team Bents Sleepers! 

I want to thank everyone that has given me so much support and encouragement! Especially my parents for their coaching and financial support, Bents Cycling & Fitness, Mose Howard and Dwayne Allgire, all of my sponsors: Bents Cycling & Fitness, Twin6, Rolf Wheels, SockGuy, Cycleography, RxEquipped, Beljum Budder and SpyOptics, and my Bents family. To everyone who supported me,

Me and Adam Cohen laying down the hammers on Tom Brown Trail

 gave me words of wisdom, and checked out my blog - a big sincere THANK YOU! Looking forward to next season!!!

FSC #8 - ALVA

     Can't believe the race season is almost at an end. Just a couple more races then the FSC is over....sad to see it happen. Was excited about racing Alva because the trails are so flowy with some technical sections. I knew my road bike skills would definitely come in handy here because of all the open flat areas. The day of pre-ride I made sure to only do 1 1/2 laps so that I didn't overdo it. This race was different than the others; one lap was 10 miles so Cat 2 racers were doing 2 laps instead of 3. While that doesn't sound different, when you are out there racing those 10 miles seem endless. The course was pretty cool and one of my favorite sections was in the mangroves and there was a lot of ducking so that you didn't get whacked by the branches. My bike handling skills really came in handy here. After the pre-ride we all went back to the campground and hung out. Got my pre-race haircut, too!!

Pre-race haircut by Mose Howard

Waiting to start

     Race day I was ready to go! I was determined to get a good start and ended up getting the Hole Shot. I pulled the group really hard through the first long, flat open section that had a lot of turns. I made sure in this course to tap my brakes as little as possible so that I could carry my corner speed. Once we got into the technical sections and looking back I could see a gap that was opening up. I came through scoring with a 2 minute gap and felt really strong. That second lap found me by myself in a few areas and it made it

tough to push myself. A couple of times I felt bored. I looked down and saw that my heart rate was much lower than I needed it to be. Those two long laps just got to me.That was what made me get out of my temporary lull and get hammerin' again. The gap was closed on me toward the end but I managed to finish 1st with about a 30 second lead on the 2nd place racer. 

Got the Hole Shot!

1st Place Sam, 2nd Place Cody Burnett, 3rd Place Adam Cohen

     As always, sending out the love to all my sponsors: Bents Cycling & Fitness, TwinSix, Rolf Prima Wheel Systems, SPYoptics, Beljum Budder, RxEquipped, and Cycleography!

FSC #7 - LAKELAND

SHORT TRACK

     It's always exciting to race your home course! I live about 10 minutes away from Carter Road Park and ride this trail as much as I can. You can say that I know the lines like the back of my hand. I had heard from several people that the course was going to be run partly forward and partly backward. This was cool because after pre-riding I realized that it was way faster than running completely forward. So I was super stoked to get this race going!

     The trails had been really sandy lately, but thanks to a cold front on Saturday that packed down the trails they were running super fast. Pre-ride was uneventful and I was looking forward to the Short Track that afternoon. After pre-ride I went home to eat lunch and rest so that I was ready for this fast-paced race. When we arrived it was drizzling off and on which cooled things off nicely. I got my gear on, warmed up, and went to the start line. The entire White Wave was going to be let loose all at once...wasn't sure how that was going to work out. We would see. I made sure to get into the front row of the starting line....and so did everyone else. There were about 55 of us packed tightly together, all ready to take off. When Dave blew the whistle I shot off the line, but sadly didn't get a good start. There were way to many people crowded together and we constantly bumping elbows. I saw that some of the other Juniors got a better start and knew that somehow I had to catch them. I knew passing would be difficult in the single track - it was way too dangerous with the tight turns and so many roots. I knew that I would have to make my move once we got into the open area. And this is exactly what I did. 

     I caught the group at the end of the first lap and immediately hopped up front to lead the entire White Wave. We were told to ride for 10 minutes and when the leader came through finish and the whistle was blown we would have one lap left to go. One of my good buddies, Troy Davis, was on my wheel the entire short track. We started opening a small gap on the other racers and I continued to pull. 

When the whistle blew for the last lap I gave it all I had. But I couldn't shake Troy...that kid is fast! As we hit the flat section toward the finish Troy and I sprinted it out. 

Unfortunately, I took the turn into scoring a little too wide and gave Troy the opportunity to slide right past me for a 1st place win. I came in 2nd for the White Wave and 1st for my class. If I had to rethink this race, I guess would have let Troy do some of the pulling...didn't really think it through at the time. But couldn't be happier for one of my friends to come in 1st! 

Me, Troy Davis, his dad, and my brother Morgan

Race Day

     The next day I was so excited to hit the trails! I was a little tired from pulling during the Short Track, but I knew once I got spinning I would be okay. Right off the line I went into the woods in 3rd behind Adam Cohen and Tyler Mayer. My strategy was to ride their wheel until an open area in the trail and then attack. I followed through with my plan and opened up a small gap. Sadly, my legs didn't have it in me and I couldn't open the gap any more. I dropped back and decided I would just ride behind them until the last lap where I would give it all I had. We were cruising through the trails talking and joking with each other. As we came through scoring after the second lap I attacked as hard as I could 

and tried to maintain it. 

Thankfully, my legs were feeling better and I was able to keep up this fast pace. I had about a 2 minute gap on 2nd and 3rd as I came off the clay road to hit the paved sidewalk and sprint to scoring. And that's when all heck broke loose! I was hammering it down the sidewalk (which was the designated area) at 25 mph when a car turned right in front of me! I literally didn't know what hit me! The bike and I flew (still clipped in) over the hood of the car and landed about 5 ft away. I sat up a little dazed and confused and saw blood running down my leg. I got up, unaware of anything going on around me, and noticed my chain was off. I put my chain back on my bike and saw my parents running toward me. I looked at them and hopped back on my bike and took off toward scoring. With the good Lord as my co-pilot, I made it through scoring and still managed to win my race! Afterward, I went back to where my parents were and laid on the ground realizing what had happened. The paramedics checked me over, and even though I was sore on my right hip, right ribs, and right shoulder, I was okay. I want to thank all my biking friends and their families for their help and concern. Things could have turned out much worse for me. This race turned out to have a lot of carnage in it. My bike shop sponsor ended up in the ICU with multiple fractures and a collapsed lung and other racers endured lacerations and broken bones. But we all know that this is part of racing and we try to race smart and be safe. On behalf of all cyclists, road and mountain, please watch for us when you are driving. 

1st Place Sam, 2nd Place Adam Cohen, 3rd Place Tyler Mayer

     Giving the love to my sponsors: Bents Cycling & Fitness, Rolf Prima Wheel Systems, SockGuy, SPYoptics, TwinSix,Beljum Budder, Cycleography,and RXEquipped. You all rock. Special shout out to my teammates...Team Bents...for all their support and encouragement!!

     To view more race pics go to:

     www.cycleography.zenfolio.com