U of M MTB Team goes to Clear Creek

Oh yeah- I forgot to mention- I’m the faculty sponsor/coach of the budding University of Memphis MTB Team. We’ve got 5 of the 10 members needed to be an official U of M club, so if you’re reading this, you ride a bike, and you’re a University of Memphis student, then you should join (even if you don’t want to race).

Anyway… yesterday Matt, Carter, and I made a road trip down to the Clear Creek Trail in Oxford, MS in preparation for the XC race that’s out there next Sunday (not sure how that’s gonna go for me since I’ll be racing in the Raid the Rock Adventure Race on Saturday).

That trail is pretty amazing! In 10 miles, it’s got a little bit of everything- swoopy roller-coaster stuff, technical turns/tree-dodging, flat spots, rocks, roots, steep switchbacks, and a nice power climb. We met Richard (regular Brickhouse reader/commenter) about halfway though the first lap and finished it out with his guidance. Unfortunately, it started raining- the last mile or so of trail is somewhat new, and started to soften up. I didn’t want to be “those a-holes from Memphis who came down and tore up the trail” so we rode nearly half of a second lap and before calling it a day. The race should be a blast!

Once we arrived back in Memphis, Matt called it a day, but Carter and I were still itching for some trail. So, we headed out to Stanky Creek. I needed to get in a run, so I figured I’d run a lap while he rode a couple. However, I was about halfway through when I heard some cussing in the woods not too far from me… followed by a phone call from Carter saying that he’d broken his chain. He was on a borrowed bike, and a repair was of questionable usefulness because the chain seemed pretty old, so he just walked it out and we called it a day.

After a quick clean-up, Ryan (who had been working on his CX bikes most of the day) joined us to get some sushi at a new Japanese Buffet called “Eat Well.” It was pretty freakin awesome, and a great meal to have after surviving on powerbars and the like for most of the day.

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