A Little Down Time With Scotty

Dec 4, 20242 min read

With minimal racing going in November between Pan Ams and US Nationals I went to Nash Dash and Hendersonville C2 weekends to stay sharp and continue the build for the 2nd half of the season. Nash Dash took place south of Atlanta on a pedal heavy yet flowy grass circuit. I finished 2nd both days with Kerry having a little more in the tank during the final few laps both days. Spent the mid week at the Van Kempen house in North Carolina. Got some good rides with Jules and a little more volume than normal since I didn’t have to work. On Friday we picked up Kaya and Chris in route to Hendersonville. I was really impressed with the track. Lots of elevation and several challenging off camber sections. Saturday was not the best day for me. The opening two laps were pack racing before Eric, Kerry, Caleb and myself were able to establish a lead group. I got gapped off Eric and Kerry mid way through the race and was dangling 5 seconds behind them. Exiting a turn my pedal came unthreaded from the crank and was the end of my pursuit of the leaders. I struggled to get the pedal threaded back in and lost over two minutes by the time I made it to the pits. I continued in the race to get a workout and was able to move up and turn some consistently fast lap times in the second part of the race. Sunday's race played out similarly. Eric, Kerry and myself separated from the group after a few laps but again I got distanced about halfway through the race. For over a lap I chased hard and was able to reattach when they let off the pace briefly. I immediately went to the front so I could control the tempo. I rode the front until the last half a lap when Kerry and then Eric were able to get by me. The off cambers leading into the finish made it difficult to come around at the end so we finished in the order we came onto the finish straight but with only a few bike lengths between the three of us. Hoped I could have picked up a win at either Nash Dash or Hendersonville but it seems like I am in a solid position leading towards nationals.