Chainbuster Racing’s Shake and Brake Gravel Race, Piedmont, AL

The rumors of me being concussed were exaggerated. Despite going down at mile 8 at the turn onto 540 to the tune of being in the market for a new helmet, I had an absolutely great time at Shake and Brake.

I rolled in Friday morning to set up camp at Coleman Lake Rec Area, and then headed to Piedmont to help set up. The drive in was gorgeous with all of the mountain roads and leaves changing color. I pitched in a little bit with the setup, and the crew had dinner together at Shell’s downtown.

When I got back to camp, it had gotten dark, but there was a huge white full moon lighting up everything. It was still mid 60s when I fell asleep bathed in moon light. I woke up around 2 when the temps dropped and had to rearrange some gear, but overall, I slept great and it was so peaceful.

Saturday morning, I told myself I was going to wake up at 5 and make breakfast, but I waited to get out of my sleeping bag until the temperature was a little more civilized. It was fun driving some of the course in from camp on the way to the race. Once I got there, I was able to whip a frenzy of breakfast, coffee and gear prep, and made it to the start with time to kill.

The Place Downtown was a great location for a race venue. It was the perfect spot for packet pickup and race announcements with the starting arch right out front.

My race started out well. I let my heart rate get a little higher than I like climbing Duggar Mountain, so a walked a little near the top to get back to breathing. Once we were starting to come down from the top, I was finally feeling warmed up. I was descending in the left tire path, and there was a guy in the right I was catching up on. He slid out and ended up in my lane, forcing me into the ditch. Somehow, I was able to ride out of it and get my grip back on the road.

At the bottom of the descent, we turned onto pavement, and then took a quick left onto 540. I was starting to feel good and could see the folks I had been pacing with, but I way overcooked that turn. There were fresh leaves on top of golf ball gravel once you made the left turn. I started sliding out to the right in the loose gravel, and was able to correct my balance, but over corrected and fish tailed out the left side. This brought me down sharply on the back corner of my helmet and right shoulder and banged the derailleur up a little.

The folks riding near me stopped and asked if I was okay and seeing my helmet if I felt concussed. I asked for a second to slowly see if I felt like getting up. Once I did, I asked if anyone had cell service as I didn’t, before telling them to go. They didn’t, but one of the riders walked to the house whose corner we were on, and got the homeowners to call me in. I told the others I was good and to go have a good race. The homeowners came out and brought me a chair and some ice water to wait for sag. They were the nicest folks, and we chatted for a while. They offered up their yard and satellite service, if our race could use it next year.

I spent the next 45 minutes waiting for Adin to pick me up, so I stood on the corner warning the other racers of loose gravel and got some pics of the racers. Adin was worried that I was concussed, so I told him I would stick around until the end, and we’d see how I felt then. He brought me back and patched me up, and I am so grateful for his recent classes in first aid. He did a great job!

I spent some time helping Jason with logistics and ended up at the finish line in time to see Zac Threatt cross the line to win the long course open. I love seeing my Bham peeps show up to our events and kick ass. As always at our events, I get to see so many different sets of friends. Almost every weekend I ride in different locations with different people, and the best part of our events for me is seeing them all come together and introducing them to each other.

The Place Downtown provided the perfect venue for that. The award ceremony and after race vibe were perfect and made for an awesome day.

I stuck around to see the last thing get put in the trailer, granted I mostly supervised. I had been doing a great job of managing my pain throughout the day. And I knew now, 8 hours after my crash, that I was not concussed. I took the 40-minute drive back over the course to camp, and by the time I got there, decided I was feeling good enough to break camp and sleep in my own bed.

I am happy to say that I woke up today feeling better than yesterday and know that I will be ready to race this weekend for Standard Deluxe.

Thank you to everyone that came out and raced and contributed to this amazing social gravel party scene. Double thanks to the Chainbuster Family that put on an incredible event in Piedmont yesterday. Triple thanks to Dave and Shell for the hospitality, great food, music and patience. Last shout out goes to POC helmets. After the hit this one took, and keeping me from getting concussed I can’t wait to get my next one. https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/ng54g44bub41giyiq5vzj/AEam8e_0RZOXzxYSYKoYWWk?rlkey=jwk641rswor5qfgwldte4vroj&dl=0