We spent Memorial Day weekend down in Georgia visiting Joscelyn’s family. On Saturday we went to their cabin and relaxed, ate good food and did some mountain biking on the Pinhoti trail. Sunday was church and then off to go rock climbing with Debra, Norman and Brittany. Brittany, Debra and Joscelyn climbed a 5.6 and then J(with the help of Norman holding Joscelyn the ground) climbed a 5.7 and of course Joscelyn could not be out done so she did the 5.7 as well. For all you people out there that read this(which I am sure is millions) climbing routes go from a 5.4 being the easiest to a 5.15 being the hardest. I think we sparked Brittany’s and Debra’s interest as they are looking at taking a climbing class sometime soon.
I went out to compete in my first XC race of the season today. It was called the Monkey Grinder XC Race at Montgomery Bell State Park in White Bluff, TN (Just west of Nashville). My biggest fan, Joscelyn, came out to support me. We arrived at 10:30 am to watch the other division kill themselves on the crazy course. I had to kill 2 1/2 hours before my start time. I paced back and forth with anxiety while Joscelyn studied in the sun.
Once the race director called my division to the starting line, I was ready to go. I looked the other 3 guys up and down to see who I could beat. One guy stuck out at me. The gun went off and we were sprinting through the woods. I stayed at the back of the pack until we hit the hills. That’s when I dropped the guy I thought I could beat. The two other guys quickly dropped me. I settled for third place and got a water bottle, patch kit, and some lubricant for the podium finish. At least I’ll be ready for my next race on June 8th!!
