2019 turned out to be a pretty good year on the bike for me, except for maybe one race. I competed in 8 events with one of them being the 5 day Pisgah Stage Race as well as one or two other non-race events. So it was a little bit less than I did in 2018 but still a pretty good amount of racing considering the two real young kids. I’m pretty lucky to have good support from the family to keep on doing some of the things that are more for me. I love riding my bike, the competition, pushing myself physically, and it’s kind of a short term escape from all the things that life throws at you. Riding and racing my bike does a good job of keeping me sane and grounded in regular life. In a year that came with a couple pretty significant family events anything helps.

Of all the races in 2019 I raced the single speed in all but two of them. I managed to stand on at least my class podium in all but one of the races. Once again ORAMM was my nemesis but more about that in a bit. I was able to put some more work into my fueling strategies and keeping my stomach happy and energy consistent, thanks CarboRocket. All that along with all kinds of fun at almost every event and I would say it was a pretty good year of racing and riding bikes.

I kicked the year off with a western North Carolina winter Classic. The Icycle, an actual XC race at Fontana Village. It’s in the winter, conditions were questionable at best this year, but it’s still a race with some good folks. Thomas Turner showed up with his single speed and won the event outright so…I managed to hold on to the 2nd SS spot and put in some hard efforts in January. This was also the first time I’d ridden out at Fontana and while the loops were short, it was an awful lot of fun. A lot of the trail felt like old school mountain biking with some new style trail mixed in.

Next up was Southern Cross, a gravel event in North Georgia that I keep coming back to. I went back to the single speed this year after a year with the geared bike. The conditions were a little soft at times but I still felt pretty good for most of the day. This event solidified why I carry a little extra food in my pocket during races, at the last aid station they couldn’t find my drop bag with my mixed bottle in it. Lucky for me though I did have an extra bar in my pocket that would be enough to get me home without coming apart.

I rode in my first Assault on the Carolina’s this year, well the short version. For various reason’s this made sense. It was more fun than I anticipated and kind of makes me want to get back to the full version this year and maybe even on a proper road bike (maybe). We’ll see though, I still like riding in the woods a lot more.

The Assault led right into the Pisgah Stage Race. Such an amazing event, great competition and fun all week long. Once I again I was the 2nd Singlespeed each day and this year I managed to keep my bike in one piece so I could hold on to the 2nd SS spot overall. I had some good days and some tougher days, but all and all it was a pretty good week.

The last event of the “Early Season” was PMBAR, one of the 2 races I work hard to make sure get on the schedule every year. Andy was back this year and we had a great time battling for the top SS spot, which we eventually lost to a pretty fast couple of guys. All day long though we were back and forth and having fun riding bikes in the woods. We held on to a top 10 spot and the 2nd SS spot in a pretty strong field. We also had a blast once again. Thanks Pisgah Productions for this great event every year.

I had a little break after PMBAR, with no events on the schedule for 6-7 weeks. I had planned on doing the Iron Mtn 100k in Demascus but they ended up canceling that due to lack of interest. So I ended up teaming up with Wes for the 12 hours of Tsali event. My first “lap” endurance race in a long time. It ended up getting cut short due to extreme weather and trail conditions. However it was not before we managed to build up a good lead and take the win.

That was followed by another fairly long break before ORAMM where once again I fell flat. There’s something about this course that just doesn’t seem to get along with me at that time of year. On it’s face it seems like an event I should be good at, however in two attempts that has not been the case. I’ve struggled here and not just poor results, but I’ve felt terrible both times I’ve ridden it. One of these days I’ll get my preparation right and “enjoy” the day here. I hope….

The end of the year was pretty light this year. I was lucky enough to have the chance to ride MonsterCross, the Gravel Gambler, and Swank. 3 events in about 2 months, which was a decent balance. I had a pretty good day at Monstercross, just barely hanging onto the top SS spot, but also having a lot of fun. The Gravel Gambler is a great “fun” event from the guys at Sycamore where everyone ends up a winner. And finally, Swank, possibly the most fun single day “race” in Pisgah. The new course this year was really good, the weather was great, and so many friends. It didn’t hurt that I had a pretty good day on the bike.

All and all 2019 was a pretty good “season” I don’t know what next year holds yet. I’d like to mix in an event or two that I haven’t done yet or at least haven’t done in a while. I also kind of want to travel to something totally different. That last part makes things a little more difficult with the family and kids so we’ll see. Regardless of how things go I’m looking forward to another year and working on some of the areas that I have struggled with in the past.