CCORS Race #1

The first race of the Coastal Carolina Off-Road Series (CCORS) is officially in the books.  Let me start off by saying that just because the race is down east and close to the coast doesn't mean it will be flat and fast.  The race took place in Havelock at the Piranha Pit on Cherry Point.  The course was a six mile loop that was very deceiving.  It was a great day for racing with the weather at sixty degrees and the start time of 2pm couldn't ask for better conditions.
I arrived about an hour before the race, got registered in the Single Speed Category and started prepping for the race.  Once I was finally dressed in the Twin Six Metal race kit it was time to warm-up the engine for the eighteen miles ahead of me.  Hooked up with a few guys from the Raleigh area and we rode about 2.5 miles of the course to get a feel for it since I had never been out there before.  It was time for the racer's meeting to go over the rules and a general overview of what to look forward to in the course.

We finally get the race underway and it starts on a dirt road for about a quarter mile that we are riding down to sort of get everyone spaced out which didn't happen once we hit the woods.  Just because some people think they are fast on the dirt road section doesn't transfer over well to the singletrack.  The first 3 miles of the course was fairly flat and fast.  Only thing slowing you down was the pinestraw that littered the ground which made taking the turns at times feel a little squirrelly.  Then we got to the backside of the course that was along the river.  This is where every momentum stopping root popped up at least every 10-20 yards or so it felt that way.  If the roots were not on the way down the short hills they were definitely on the way up the hills.  A few times it was like climbing stairs going up hill.  Some of the drops going downhill were a good foot and a half to two feet that went into a turn and yes there were skid marks going off the trail where someone went in hot on the turn and over shot it.  Once out of the rooty section it was fairly flat and then you popped out onto the dirtroad to ride the quarter mile up to the start/finish line and turn around to go back into woods.  It was a good place to get some energy gel into you and some liquid. 

I ended up coming across the finish line in 1:45:00 and grabbing the 3rd place finish in the single speed category.  Great race and a great course that was not boring and kept me on my toes.  Not to bad for the first race of the season since I have not been on the bike much in the last couple months because of the nasty weather we have been having.