With only a few days left of 2014 I thought I would take some time to look back at the year and see where I have come from and where I want to go. The season had an amazing start. My friend Dalton was graduating and had this epic grand tour of the US planned as a last hurrah before he started work. He would hit all the Meccas of mountain biking and he was looking for friends to share the journey with. My friend Andy and I immediately jumped at the opportunity and decided to join him for the first 2 weeks. Houghton was still snowed in at the end of April so no riding was to be had here. I loaded up the car after final exams and headed back home. After the long drive home I met up with Andy who lives just down the road from me. We set our sights west and started to drive. We had an amazing time and met lots of new and old friends along the way. There isn't a day where I don't look back on those 2 weeks.
Photo: Justin Barber
The trip really jump started my season both physically and mentally. I was on a big slow bike and out of shape. Andy and Dalton were much better pedalers and on much more pedal friendly bikes. I got beat up to say the least. After getting back into Houghton I started working back at the local bike shop Rhythm and riding consistently after work. I was getting faster. I could feel it. The first race of the season rolled around and I brought my A game. The Miner's Revenge race is known for its gnarly technical XC course and flatout DH course. I raced the short XC and the DH. DH was up first. Practice was solid and I did the things I needed to do to feel comfortable at speed. I ended up finishing 4th. I was dreading the XC race as I was pretty spent after the DH race. The course was wet, slippery, and deadly, so I decided to go really hard at the start and stay ahead of the shit show that would quickly develop behind me. I was 3rd off the line then picked off the 2 leaders on the first climb. Behind me were 3 really fast guys. We got to top of the first hill with a huge lead and we all stopped for a breather as the pace was pretty insane. We all looked at each other for a second then continued I dropped back to 4th and held on. I slipped back to 6th by the end of the race. I am really proud of these results.
Photo: Christopher Schmidt
After Miner's Revenge my friend Noah and I started to film a promotional video for our cycling club. He managed to capture one of my hardest crashes in glorious HD. He is planning on releasing the video in 2015 sometime.
Then I managed to bruise the end of my femur in a small fall which almost took me out for the rest of the season!
Photo: The X-ray tech with the mustache at Portage Health
The summer came to a close with the Bell's Beer Trails Festival in Copper Harbor! This race was the focus of my season. I wanted to put everything I had out on the table and try to hang with the fast guys. I chose to focus on the long enduro which was 4 stages long. I had a few small mistakes here and there and didn't have the legs for one of the longer stages. I managed to finished 11th out of 49 competitors. After the enduro was the Dan Wissman Memorial Dock Jump which has been a long time favorite of mine. The water temp was 51 and the air temp was 56. I volunteered to go first. I started way back in the parking lot and came sprinting around the corner and down the dock. I leaned my head back and watched the world slowly turn upside down. The water was violently cold. I surfaced and immediately saw stars as I gasped for breath. After getting out and warming up a bit I hopped on the bike for round number two. I went for the classic superman seatgrab. None of this would have been possible without my trusty socks and sandals.
Photo: Hayden Henderson
With school ramping up in intensity and the weather quickly changing I was able to sneak a few more fun times in before the snow hit. The Copper Harbor Trails Club created a photo contest titled Capture the Keweenaw. I recruited my friend Eric to take some pictures. The joy was short lived as the snow quickly blanketed the ground soon after.
Photo: Eric Issacs
Photo: Eric Issacs
2014 has treated me well. I have learned a lot about myself through the highs and the lows of the year. I've gotten leaner, more aggressive, and focused. I have big plans for 2015. I won't be spilling the beans yet though. Stay tuned. Once the snow melts it's on.
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