Knoxville, TN (a Tennesse state series race)

My plan was to do the Norba national this weekend at Snowshoe, Virginia. Unfortunately I ran out of funds to go to West Virginia. With my minimal budget I was going to attempt to attend the National on my way home to Finland. I tried my best. Instead of travelling the modern way from Flagstaff to Kentucky, I used the old fashion way of travelling. Yes, you heard me right! Greyhound or the bus in other words.

Man it was a long stretch! The entire bustrip from Flagstaff to my destination in Columbia, KY took approximately 35 hours! It was about 1700miles and the longest, by far, bus trip I have ever made. Actually to my surprise it wasn't that bad. I think I was lucky in the sense that there was quite a bit of room on most of the way and I got to sleep (rest) enough.

Instead of going to Snowshoe I ended going to a Tennessee state race with my friend Kevin. It was going to be much more affordable then going to a National, and I was hoping for a good result. After all I had gotten in some good quality training and I was delighted about the change in humidity. I was hoping I wouldn't experience the lungproblems I had suffered at the last race I did in Flagstaff.

The startline wasn't as packed as an AZ race but there seemed to be quite a few fast competitors. I hadn't pre-ridden the course but seen the first 0,5km, and I knew the course was going to suit me well. It was very thight and most of it was singletrack.

I got a good start again, and headed into the forest in first position. I felt incredible smooth on the trail today and I was very surprised I didn't make any errors since it was my first time on this trail.

I opened up a gap almost from the very start and increased it bit by bit. At the end I found myself crossing the finnish line first, and was naturally delighted by my effort. Allthough the paycheck was rather slim, I was still happy about it. It sure would come handy in my next travel stretch to Finland.

The next race I am looking to do will be the Scandinavian Championships in Finland. Hopefully I will get the chance to attend other local races as well. I am going to work and save some money too, so I will have to see how the schedule matches with my work schedule.

Untill next time,

Thomas

P.S I will try to get the Result online as soon as I can get hold of them.