Self-fulfilling Prophecy

On Saturday June 9th I ventured out with Teammate Jeremy Arnold to Morristown, TN to race my first 12 hour race, solo. The 12 Hours of Panthers Creek turned out to be much harder than I expected. However, I'm not sure if the problem was in my mind or in my legs. I had spent several weeks training and the whole week before the race figuring out every last detail that could possibly make a difference. I set up my bike, I figured out exactly what I should eat, what I should wear, what I should carry and even what music I should listen to during the ride. Approximately 3 hours into the race, none of this mattered. The one thing I couldn't control was the weather and in the end that's what controlled me. Since my move from Charlotte to the Mountains I have found myself saying more times than I can count "I don't perform well in the heat". Turns out, this was a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Here's how it went; Lap 1-I decided to take it easy to keep from burning out (no pun intended) before the end of the race (Set my sights on my first 100 mile off road ride and a top 5 finish). Lap 2-I picked up the pace and realized once again, how much I love my new Vassago (100 miles still felt possible). Lap 3-Legs continued to feel good but I started to feel like the heat was getting to me (I could still get top 5 with 83 miles, right)? Laps 4-6 legs began to lose their edge (got so hot I began to think the slogan on my new Vassago Jersey should just say ride in hell instead of ridelikethedevil.com). Lap 7-Things started to cool off a little and legs were feeling a little stronger (75 miles would be more than I've ever ridden off road in a day). Lap 8-The heat was gone and so was my negative attitude (fastest lap time). Lap 9/final lap-Realized my back, hands and feet still felt great (Gotta love a steel frame and 29 inch wheels). In the end-I completed 9 laps, rode 74 miles in 8 hours and 46 minutes and finished in 7th place (not bad for my first 12 hour solo race). My bike performed flawlessly! Thanks to Vassago Cycles, Bike 29, WTB, Cane Creek and White Brothers. Pics to come...

The Bikes We Ride...

I was once told that "five years from now you will be the same person with the exception of 2 things, the people you meet and the books you read". Vassago Cycles has inspired me to add a 3rd thing to this list. The bikes we ride! Actually, I'm not shallow enough to believe that the bike's we ride can make us a different person, but it sure as hell can make us ride like one. Who do you want to ride like? Choose Wisely......