Class: 200 B
Date: 9/7/08
Race: BMER in Wilkes-Barre, PA
Series: PA State Harescramble Series
Finish: 1/7 Overall: B Class Overall
Tires: Millville Sticky Front, Carlsbad Rear

After spending the last two months on the couch due to breaking my wrist at the last GNCC round in July, I was finally racing again.  I was nervous, but at the same time anxious to be back in the saddle and racing competitively.  For the entire Saturday before the race it rained because of a tropical storm passing over the area.  This race is held right along side the Susquehanna River and therefore knew that it was going to be muddy and slick.

When I pulled up to the starting line I was faced with riders that I had not raced in a long time, but knew that they could be a challenge.  As the green flag waved my bike fired up on the first kick and I pulled the holeshot by what seemed to be a mile.  The back tire grabbed a load of traction on the slick morning grass and before I knew it I was gapping the rest of the competition.  Not too long after the start I was faced with the task of weaving my way through slower riders that started ahead of me.  As I finally past all of the slower riders I came through the scoring area in first place.  The race was far from over and I was cautious not to use too much energy in the muddy conditions.  I rode almost the entire race flawlessly which surprised me considering the short amount of seat time I had on the bike since my injury.  Lap after lap, I was crossing the scoring area in first place with no one in my class near by.  The second place rider continued to fall further behind and I settled into a groove that let me run my own race.  At the finish of the event I was exhausted but at the same time was relieved that I had won my first race back after not riding for two months.

The extreme mud conditions required a lot of set up changes on the bike including the tires.  I decided to run a Millville Sticky on the front since it is a soft compound and grabs great in loamy soil as well as mud.  After mounting the tire I ran the air pressure at a low 8 psi.  This gave the tire the maximum amount of surface area to contact the dirt and it definitely was effective.  On the back wheel I ran a Carlsbad because the dirt was muddy but at the same time had many fine pebbles throughout the soil.  I knew that the Carlsbad could give me traction but also withstand the pebbles for the two hour race.  I ran the rear tire at 10 psi which was also a good choice because it worked great.  The tires did not disappoint at all and I felt confident during the race knowing that I could trust my tires.  Both are in good enough shape to run another race.  This coming up weekend the GNCC season enters the second half the series where I hope to continue my winning streak after suffering from a broken wrist.