Battle at the Boneyard

You might be asking, "Why does Alex need yet another blog?" The truth is that I started the Bog Dogs Race Report to record the Mountain Bike racing experiences of my brother and myself. It has since become a successful commercial enterprise that serve the needs of Florida's BMX Racing community. Don't get me wrong, I'm very happy about its success but the change left me without a personal blog.

I'm quite aware that there isn't much of an audience for the racing ramblings of an amateur 30+ BMXer. However, I'm still a writer. I have that constant itch to express, describe and explain. While my victories and defeats are minor in the minds of others, they are meaningful to me and perhaps a few other older wanna be athletes.

This brings us to the Boneyard. High Springs BMX was my first race back after one month of saving money for my upcoming wedding. After having missed the Okeeheelee Qualifiers I knew my position as #1 rider in the 36-40 Intermediate class was soon to be challenged. With the SSA season half over I only have a few chances left to maximize my points and High Springs will be one of them.

I got in 8 laps at practice and was relieved to see that they were still running the Olympic points system. This meant I'd get in four race laps and earn a finishing place at the end. Unfortunately I ended up in a group of Expert men including Profile Racing's big John Pringle. There was no way to challenge these guys for the win. The best I could do for the day was try to keep up. In the end I got smoked and walked away with 4th place. Even so, the guys were great, the track was fun and my riding skills felt top notch. I still have two weekends before the High Springs Qualifier and I'm feeling confident that I could make a dent against the right competition.

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