Performance is the Name of the Game.

Covington Comic by Chris Scarff

Click the images below for the full size image. Looks like these guys are having fun to me!

Canal Crown Time Trial Race #3

We had a record turnout for the CCTT3 on Thursday night! There were a few new riders in the Expert and Sport class, the beginner class increased substantially, and we had our first female competitor! Here are a few highlights from the evening. As usual JT dominated in the Expert class with a new Counter-Clockwise course record of 11 minutes & 4 seconds (I'm still waiting on some local racers to come out and give it a shot...yes you've been called out). I think we need to put some trail police out there to make sure he's not cutting the course! My boy dgaddis shook things up this time by putting down the stopwatch and picking up the bike. He was able to knock Brian and Ross off the Expert podium with his 3rd place finish. Best of all, he didn't puke doing it!
Dustin's boss, Mark M, came out for the race and ended up with first place in the Sport class. Not bad for not knowing the trail and pretty much being new to mtb'ing. Big Jim Culpepper made his race debut with a third place finish. Must have been that pre-race Red Bull! I swear you could feel the Earth shaking when he came down the stairs. Philip "J is for Genius" Roberson also made his debut and shattered his personal record! Becca Phelan represented things for the girls in the Sport class. She was able to beat out five other male racers times! On top of that, I think she wrecked like 3 times doing it!

Jimmy C blows up the trail with his aggressive riding style!!

The Beginner class was awesome as it more than doubled in participation. Matt Kogel's dad, Bob, was another person making their race debut. He shredded up the trail landing the number one spot! And right behind him was another first timer, Ethan St. Martin. The original plan was for Ethan to race my single speed. No gears, no shocks, nothing to mess up. Wrong. Ethan took a couple test laps and right before his start time realized the front tire was flat. Cross Boss Ross stepped up to the plate and sacrificed his bike and shoes. This was probably a blessing in disguise as Ethan had already over-done it on his test runs and was going to need all the help he could get. Surprisingly enough less than 15 minutes later he found himself in second place in the Beginner class. Must have been that Anthem X...

So there were lots of first timers, lots of familiar faces, and lots of fun. This whole thing is going even better than dg and I had thought. I can't believe there's only one race to go in the series. If you haven't made it out, mark your calendar for August 27. Come out, kick up some dirt, and have fun!

ESM after his first warm up lap...

ESM minutes before staging. Even the lil Victor boy was worried about him...

ESM, mid-race and mid-dehydration...

ESM minutes after his race...