Manitoc MTB race recap

For nearly a solid week leading up to the Manitoc race it was bone dry and sunny. Probably the only week ALL year with no rain. But that of course was too good to be true. The night before it rained about 1/2" and it was cooler and overcast at the start of the race. Lap one was pretty decent and I rode with Lorson and Cochran as we watched Clark and Adams disappear into the abyss never to be seen again.
Coming into the final climb on lap one I gave it some gas and had a little gap so I kept cruising, figuring I would get reeled in. It started raining(big shocker), and the trail became downright treacherous in areas. I tried my best to keep steady and not slide off the trail. I had the Nevagals set with 24psi which turned out to be perfect.
By lap three all hell broke loose on that trail. Staying upright was priority #1, and I ran more that day than I have in the last decade. I ended up third, with 2:28 and some change, a long slog for sure. Clark and Adams apparently stayed together for a sprint finish way ahead of me. So fast in fact that they destroyed everyone except for The Jedi(Dave Walker). Me thinks we will need a 46+ Expert class in the near future!
It was also good to see The Chopper(Jeff Pendleberry) come back to the dirt for a day to donate some blood again.







I miss that DRY Florida Singletrack!
















































The Chopper proved that too much road racing is bad for you.