Date: September 17, 2000
Event: Terror of Teaberry XC 2000
Class: Junior
Category: Beginner
Length: 13
Time: 1:29:55
Conditions: Sunny - 70 degrees
Bike: 99 Giant xtc se1
Tires: wtb primal raptor in the back rotating the wrong direction and a velociraptor 2.1 in the front.

Did you do anything special (apart from the whole training lifestyle) to prepare for this race?

Yeah, as a rule when you ride at Michaux you know you are going to be in for a rocky sloppy mess and this was no exception. So I switched to some bigger, grippier tires and I ran about 60 psi to avoid the pinch flats that plagued a lot of riders

Were you strong from start to finish?

I was second into the single track portion of the course, but I pulled back around the 3 mile mark to save myself for the "hike a bike" sections that I knew would be long enough for me to make up ground if I could just shoulder the bike and run them all the way through.

When did you put the hammer down?

Once we hit the fire road section I knew there was only a few miles left so I just started to hammer and spin big ring as much as possible. I wanted to use that as my chance to break away if you will.

Did you have any unusual problems?

I had a little trouble with the rear derailer. At one point I had to unclip my right leg and give it a little kick to make sure it would drop.

How would you rate the course?

I really liked the course it was great. The conditions made some sections a little more interesting than they would have been. In some sections the markings were kind of "iffy" I know a lot of guys took wrong turns.

Were you happy with the way the race was run?

Yeah, I thought they did a good job overall. They always seem to do a good job up there with the Michaux races. The great riding helps.

If you could do the race again, would you do anything differently?

I think that overall I hit everything I wanted to. I might have put some more tension in my pedals for some of the nasty rock sections.

Anything you'd like to add?

I would like to thank all the sponsors of the race for putting on a good show and for the great prizes. I would also like to thank all the volunteers that helped throughout the day.

Thank you Keith Keller for the interview!