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Off Season?
December is upon us, and most of the members of the mountain bike team are focused on final exams this week and their plans for winter break. Team members are not required to ride during the off season, in fact, they are encouraged to pursue other interests. Some riders have joined the ultimate frisbee team, others are swimming or rowing, many more are simply spending more time doing school work or socializing. Even so, some team members just can't ride their bikes enough.
Recently, Matt Williams, Pat Hurley, Hanna Waldman, and Alexis Decosimo drove west to Johnson City, TN for the fifth stop in the Mud, Sweat, and Gears Cyclocross series. The course featured the traditional barriers and close to a dozen 180 turns. Matt, in his first cyclocross race ever, piloted his mountain bike to first place in the Men's CX 4 category. He was followed closely by Pat, who made up for a slow start and finished fourth. In the Women's CX 4 event Hanna and Alexis rode their singlespeeds to third and fifth respectively. That race was supposed to be followed by a trip to Cyclocross Nationals in Kansas, but a combination of injuries, weather, and end-of-the-term fatigue kept the Wilson riders home. Hopefully we'll go next year.
Hearing that Cyclocross Nationals were a no go, Coach Art Shuster said he would lead a ride in nearby Pisgah National Forest. Team members Matt, Alexis, and recently crowned national champ Kylie Krauss joined Art for a three hour ride that featured tough climbs, exciting descents, and plenty of rocks and roots.
Assistant coach Phil Shaw came along too.
Pisgah is a beautiful place to ride a bike.
It is also home to some very technical and fun trails. Here, Art shows how it's done over the roots.
Alexis said no thanks.
Kylie Krauss took advantage of a snack break to talk about "trail ethics."
Phil brought out his long-travel bike for this ride, a choice that made it impossible for me to get in front of him on descents (and take his picture). He said he's hike back up for this one, but, alas, he went too fast for my camera.
-Matt Williams (Dec. 16, 2007)