Sunday was the first race of the Winter Short Track Series hosted by Charlotte Sports Cycling. Everyone was fearing cold weather but somehow Neal ordered a beautiful January day.

My race was at 12 but I arrived early to set up the Cool Breeze/Trek Bike Store Team tent with Sarah. My first race of the day was the Sport 40+ class. I lined up on the 2nd row feeling confident that I could get a good start. I was joking with my buddy Wayne when the race started. I usually don't have a problem getting clicked in but missed my pedal but managed to keep my momentum and eventually get clicked in before the first turn.

I entered the turn 1 and used some of my road experience to pass 4 or 5 guys. I took a small risk and entered the woods in about 5th place. The first lap was uneventful and I did my best to keep my heart rate under control.

Yesterday was the last race of the Charlotte Winter Short Track Series.  5 straight weekends of mountain bike racing with basically one trainer ride a week (on Tuesdays).  Once again, I was hoping for a good day on the bike after a long day of officiating the day before. On Saturady, I officiated 3 Division II lacrosse games and woke up on Sunday pretty sore because I don’t run much anymore – well never run anymore. 
 
I arrived at the race about an hour before the start and adjusted my handlebars from the previous weeks crash.  Yeah, I kind of forgot about the mountain bike for a week.  Saw my friend David, talked to him for awhile and then went to registration.  After registration I went to see how my friends from the Trek Bike store did.  Spoke to them for awhile and George tried to hook up his helmet cam for my race.  Well, needless to say, he couldn’t get it to work and I warmed up for about 10 minutes. 

I was hoping for a good day on the bike after last weeks successful race.  The racers were sure that the course was going to be a wreck as it rained pretty much all of Friday and most of Saturday morning.

I was able to get to the course a little earlier than normal and actually get about 25 minute warm up with some sprints to get the legs going.  They were a little sore because I reffed two lacrosse games in Chapel Hill on Saturday.  But I did feel good in the warm up.

Sunday was a good day on the bike. The weather finally turned and I was able to race without arm or knee warmers. It felt good to feel the sun on our skins and actually work up a sweat.

The race started off fast and I went into the woods in about 5th place. I tried to take it a little easier on the first lap and try to get warmed up without going into the ‘red zone’. The first couple of laps went smoothly, with no issues and I was rolling along in 3rd place. I could see the two guys in 1st and 2nd place going through the start/finish line.

This past Sunday was the second race of the Charlotte Mountain Bike Winter Series. I was hoping for a better result than I had the  previous weekend. The weather was colder but it was dry (finally) all week. I got to the course around 10 to watch Lexi (Jasen Taylor’s  little girl) while he raced. Watching them race got me a little excited to get going and the good news is that the riders were staying  dry and mud free.

Hard to believe that the 2011 season has started. Even more scary is that I have no miles on my legs this year. I adopted a puppy (Ryder) in November and then the temps went south – WAY south. It’s been 10-15 degrees below normal here in Charlotte, NC. So needless to say, before Sunday’s mountain bike race, I had only two days on the road and a few cyclocross races in December for training.

Posted with Permission from Mark Odendahl

Pictures and Newpaper Article

Friends and Family,

As you know, I completed the Leadville Trail 100 mountain bike race this past weekend. I have been asked by several people to report on how it went, so here goes. I apologize in advance for the length! :