And our GPS file with some more pictures as well.Cross season didn't turn out like I planned. It started decent, I felt like I was missing some top end, but figured I could race into shape and build towards the end of the season. I hurt my back in early September and took a few days off to let it get better, but my line of work is physically demanding, so it never really got healed up.The season started and it was awesome to see everyone again. My back wasn't perfect but it seemed to be getting better. Or at least tolerable.After a few weeks it wasn't better at all, so I headed to Amy Lewis of Legacy Chiropractic and discussed my options. I didn't want to stop riding, but realized I wasn't doing myself any favors by continuing. I had some CX travel planned for the first two weeks of November, so I told her if she could get me to that point I would consider dialing it back for a few weeks.The first weekend of November I headed to the east coast for the Shimano NEPCX series event, Cycle-Smart International in North Hampton, MA. I got one of my camp friends to come out with me and be my pit man, we stayed at another camp guys place in Belchertown, MA about 30 minutes away. The weekend ended up being a 50/50 ratio of racing and hanging out, but it was just as much fun that way. My back was still tight, and I started two rows from the back, so I didn't expect much in the results column. I did finish on the lead lap on day 2, so I was pretty happy with that.The next weekend was Ruts and Guts in Broken Arrow(Tulsa, OK). They know how to do bike racing! The same spirit from Tulsa Tough Crit events was out there all three days. Excellent tough course, many different elements, and a very professional feel.Friday my upper back seized up and it became painful to take a deep breath, much less move. I got on the bike so see if I could still race, after an easy lap my back was opening up a little bit. I got out there and raced, but about 30 minutes in my lower back was locked up again. It was all I could do to finish Friday and Saturday's races. I skipped Sunday's race and decided it was time to call it for a few weeks.I've been off the bike for a while, and my back is feeling better; not exactly 100%, but much better. Last weekend I was needing to get back on the bike so I joined some friends for an early morning lap at Northshore Trail on Thanksgiving. On Sunday, Ben Thornton asked me to join him for some exploring on the Fat Bike.We headed up to Tioga on 377, and started out exploring the shore of Ray Roberts lake. The water is down so there was plenty of shoreline to ride. Most of the terrain was sand/beach type with a few spots of rock/tree technical sections.
It was a blast, just strolling along, we passed a beaver dam, some catfish skulls, abandoned truck chassis, rolled through some questionable mud, but the fatbikes kept us moving as long as we didn't stop pedaling. We came across a few folks duck hunting, but otherwise didn't see any other people. We rode for about 4 hours and did almost 20 miles on the shore line, and came out less than 3 miles from where we started. All in all I think it has me hooked. It was fun breaking out of the traditional road or even mountain bike ride and seeing something completely different. Check out the quick video of the landscape
Lake Ray Roberts, Tioga TX
