This weekend, the Tennessee State Championship Cross country race visits the Stanky Creek trails in Memphis. The State Championship XC jersey is on my short list (along with the Criterium and Track Championships) of jerseys I need to collect. So, I’m hoping to kick some butt this weekend. My recovery is still a little weird right now, so time will tell if I can hold off any of the horsepower that comes over from the rest of Tennessee. One thing working in my favor is the course- Stank is a choppy, twisty trail that was built back in the heyday of 26 inch bikes with little to no suspension. They couldn’t roll as fast over the vast array of roots, which meant that the alternating pattern of  “on the gas & carving through trees/all over the brakes in order to make a 90 degree turn” wasn’t as big of a deal at the time.

In other words, I’m glad I’ve got a home-field advantage.

The Jet9 is rebuilt and ready to go- now with XX1 and non-squeaky derailleur housing (I was using gorgeous/creaky Nokon before). The rooty-ness of Stank makes the course very friendly to a full-suspension bike, and is actually the only trail in town where I prefer my Jet over the Air9 RDO hardtail. The only thing missing from the bike is my rear Industry 9 Trail 24 wheel, which I dented the bejeezus out of during stage 7 at TSE. In its place, I’ll be on a Hope/Crest wheel that also required a rebuild following the TSE Enduro stage. Some day I’ll learn to put some pressure in my tires and ride with a little more finesse instead of pretending that I’m piloting a monster truck.

My legs aside, one thing I’m really stoked on seeing this year leading up to the Stanky Creek XC race is the multitude of local riders who are catting up. Matt decided to make the jump from 2 to 1 after being on the fence for a hot minute (deciding factor- I reminded him that he had the skills and fitness to finish 12th overall at Syllamo and probably beat a large number of cat 1 racers in the process). Others on that train include Fullface Kenny and Carter Chappell. I’ve also seen a good amount of banter about who is racing Cat 2 this year instead of 3. It’s always fun to see people challenging themselves.

My take? Look ahead at your goals. If you know that, at some point, you definitely want to race in a certain category, then, when your fitness/skill/training make your current category the slightest bit questionable, then you should get moving to the next rung of the ladder. Intimidation and fear of failure is normal. Don’t let it get to you, though.

If you’re regional and reading this, I’d also like to bring up that this year’s race will be an equal payout race between women’s and men’s categories. Tell all your friends- especially the ones in Arkansas whose weekend XC race inside the state lines includes a women’s cat 1 race that is only billed at 2 laps while the cat 1 men race 3 laps.