The dental office goes Mountain Bike racing...

 So we decided to enter a 6 hour Mountain Bike race...
Our friend and patient Bucky was going to race with me. He ended up having work obligations/got sick right before, so Amanda decided to "replace" him.
This meant two things: We were changing class (from Duo to Co-ed duo) and half of the team's training was going to consist primarily of Zumba dance sessions :)
This was going to be an interesting fitness experiment. I mainly trained by surfing. My mountain bike sessions being limited to twice a week. Amanda trained by doing Zumba and only got to ride MTB once per week.
Our premise was that we wanted to do this race without having to ride on the road or get on a stationary trainer. We wanted the "training" portion to be fun.
Race day came and it was a perfect day! 60 degrees and sunny. The trail was a mix of flowy singletrack , rockgardens and some doubletrack, with some roots sprinkled throughout.
There were about 100 racers. Our class had 5 duos. We ended up in 2nd place and most importantly, had an amazing time! I don't think this will be our last endurance race... Official results, lap times and photos below.

http://results.active.com/pages/displayNonGru.jsp?rsID=121095

DUO CO-ED RESULTS

Place Bib   Firstname         Lastname          Laps Time    
===== ===== ================= ================= ==== ======= 
    1    68 DENA              ALI                 10 5:53:01   1:   33:34   33:34
                                                               2:   38:18 1:11:52
                                                               3:   30:41 1:42:32
                                                               4:   36:33 2:19:05
                                                               5:   31:42 2:50:46
                                                               6:   36:57 3:27:43
                                                               7:   34:03 4:01:46
                                                               8:   37:41 4:39:26
                                                               9:   34:33 5:13:59
                                                              10:   39:03 5:53:01 
    2   134 AMANDA DAN        CERQUEIRA            8 5:59:16   1:   40:48   40:48
                                                               2:   35:36 1:16:23
                                                               3:   55:04 2:11:27
                                                               4:   57:47 3:09:13
                                                               5:   35:38 3:44:50
                                                               6:   41:26 4:26:15
                                                               7:   53:21 5:19:36
                                                               8:   39:41 5:59:16 
    3    47 DAN AND BETH      INGRAM/ BALL AND     7 5:28:08   1:   46:17   46:17
                                                               2:   57:53 1:44:09
                                                               3:   37:21 2:21:30
                                                               4:   56:22 3:17:52
                                                               5:   37:13 3:55:04
                                                               6:   57:24 4:52:27
                                                               7:   35:41 5:28:08 
    4    75 MATT              JENKINS/COOK         7 5:58:26   1:   58:28   58:28
                                                               2:   47:00 1:45:28
                                                               3:   49:22 2:34:49
                                                               4:   52:36 3:27:25
                                                               5:   51:38 4:19:02
                                                               6:   48:54 5:07:56
                                                               7:   50:30 5:58:26 
    5   145 SARWAT PARTNER    KHATTAX              4 3:19:02   1:   46:48   46:48
                                                               2:   49:57 1:36:45
                                                               3:   46:48 2:23:33
                                                               4:   55:30 3:19:02

The team

Our number

The race starts on pavement and funnels into singletrack

The pit area

Passing through a checkpoint, lap #6, or 7? Or 8? Not sure at this point...

Amanda, on the fire road about to enter the singletrack

Crossing the finish line right before the 6 hour mark

Cooling down

Hello fall!

This is the beginning of the trail we rode today. This drop sets the tone for the whole ride. If you're not into natural roller coaster sections and lots of rocks and roots this trail may not be your best option. Weather was perfect and trail conditions as good as it gets!

Another roller coaster section. The picture does not show how high this was and how fast our patient and friend Bucky Mercado is going.

Bucky again, flowing.

Crossing a creek, trying to stay dry. I found that the best way to get across these was to wheelie through them at a pretty good speed...this parted the waters and kept my shoes dry.

Bucky, up and over. This is a fun rock to stop at and play a bit.

Wheelie dropping into a gulley.

Bucky, railing this wooden berm. The secret here is to stay off the brakes.

One great day of riding!

Killer colors!

Goodbye summer

What a fun summer we had!
Worked a lot and played a lot. So sad it's over!
Here are some pics from our summer excursions. Above was a fun day at Sunskipper. Thanks Jimmy Keith for making me an amazing surfboard and Robbie Johnson at Surf Carolina Magazine for risking being run over :)
Below are some of our Mountain Bike trips to The White Water Center trails in Charlote.
With the water and weather cooling off, we'll be using these memories to keep us motivated to get outside and enjoy what is probably our favorite season. Fall brings great surf and perfect trail riding conditions. No ticks, snakes and heat strokes mountain biking. Good, powerful ground swells in the water.
Again, we are so thankful God has given us health and allowed us to live in such a wonderful place!

This amazing trail flows around a man made whitewater course in Charlotte, NC. The singletrack is twisty and superfun, with some rocks and jumps thrown in at just the right places.  A purpose built mountain Bike trail in the middle of a big city.

What about this sign? Often times Mountain Bikers are told what they can not do and where they can not ride. Finally a sign warning others to watch out for bikes...kind of funny but a needed sign, as speeds at this trail get pretty high, over 25mph over hardpacked, flowy singletrack. Add the occasional blind corner and you have a recipe for disaster if hikers don' t pay attention.

I think this was the last time I surfed without some kind of neoprene on my body this year :(
Fall chilly weather and colder water temperatures had me reaching for a wetsuit top the day after this picture was taken.
We hope our patients had a great summer as well! Enjoy your fall and don't let the colder temperatures keep you inside!