2022 is here and so are we!

Finally racing across Florida has been back in action for over a year now and we're excited to kick off our 2022 campaign, kicking off the year with Endurance races. Our main target is a return to Oramm in Old Fort, NC, (Whiskey Off-Road in Prescott, Az) and we'll be using some of Florida's toughest Endurance events to prepare!

2022 kickoff at the Bad Habit

Eric here and a week ago we kicked off at the Bad Habit 4 Hour race at Markham Park. Normally beautiful Florida January conditions were swapped out for chilly 50s, wind and overcast skies for the entire day. I targeted the race for early season fitness and wasn't too disappointed. My racing skills on the otherhand were a bit rusty. A nearly immediate pileup had my lane completely blocked and quickly passed by the large mass start group. 15 minutes of bottlenecks later, the course cleared enough to get on my pace. and ride a mostly otherwise uneventful race. My single lap pace wasn't bad, but overall I'm not ready to challenge in the Sport 40+ age group yet in these long events. Had a great time getting back out and seeing old friends though and even had the family show up and cheer me on which is great motivation!

Nothing like a family
fan club to push you!

Now that we've started, I'm happy to say that Alex and Eric Norris are back and will join in the adventures once again! We've got the 12 Hours of Santos (3 hour distance) and San Felasco Endurance race in the early season calendar, but the big target is a return to the Whiskey Off-Road in April! Had such a great experience in 2019 I immediately said I'd return (Update) ORAMM and looks like 2022 is the year to make it happen!

Can't kick off a season without support and am excited to have continued support from our old friends. in no particular order, here are some of those that are helping us this season so far!

ESI Grips - What can I say about them? They're simply the best grip out there. Durable, GRIPPY and FUN due to the variety of sizes and colors. What's really been great about them is dealing with the family. After many years of partnering with them we took a step back due to our lack of racing, but when I reached out Anastasia she was more than welcome to extend support for 2022 again. 

Rudy Project - Have loved wearing and representing Rudy Project for over 10 years and have  always love their style and fit. Their glasses and helmets can be seen all over the Pro Peloton and Mountain Bike fields, and you'll see them once again on us!

Twin Six - Twin Six has been a personal supporter since 2014 and I simply love them. They bring fun an funky, American Made cycling apparel that's simply awesome to wear. There's many big brands out there, but Twin Six is family run from the USA and it's a pleasure to represent the brand. We may have team kits at some point this year, but Twin Six gear will be with us along the way.  

GoPro - A recent addition to our supporter list and I don't think there's enough I can say about them. True pioneers in the action cam industry, GoPro has mostly led the industry since day one. I've personally used them for many years with various models, and the current Hero 10 Black is truly the best they've put out. With amazing quality and image stabilization, great battery life and a mobile app that makes footage easy to process and publish, the Hero really has become a product thats easy and FUN to use. Will be seeing plenty of footage from us using our GoPros!

That's it for now. The training is in full swing and looking forward to Santos in a few weeks! Thanks for following along another year!

Where does the time go?? Whiskey Off Road Report!!

Don't take anything from the HUGE delay in getting a race report up, the Whiskey Off Road was unbelievable! Lots to write so I'll get right to it!

After what felt like talking and preparing for the Whiskey forever, the weekend finally arrived. The Town of Prescott, Arizona was 100% on board in support of the event. Upon arriving I could see the tell tale signs of mountain bikers present. Sweet bikes all around, Team and Industry Vehicles, and awesome personal transport options all over town! Along the town main street was the Bike Expo with many vendors including our friends and supporters ESI Grips! It was great seeing them again!

Arriving early Thursday, we were happy to see my bike again after having shipped it a week earlier. Had some lunch at the pleasant St Michael Hotel Bistro, and then got to building up the bike. Everything assembled nicely so I'd be ready to preride in the morning. Jump to the next day and I mapped out about a 14 mile loop to shake down the bike, get familiar with the trails and wake up the legs a bit. Managed to make a quick vid on the shakedown ride so check it out below.

Friday night arrived and as much as I wanted to just rest, the Pros were in action for a Fat Tire Crit, so we grabbed a beer and enjoyed the show. Got a few nice shots from there as well. Action was non stop and ultimately won by Keegan Swenson and Chloe Woodruff.

Race morning arrived and I was set. The 8:30 start was perfect to take the chill out of the morning as we set off. The route started straight off into about an 8 mile climb, mostly road, some gravel, before topping off into steep and choppy section. The sawtooth profile meant that everything that went up, would go DOWN! Off I went on the first long descent and my smile was ear to ear. The open terrain allowed me to get a good look ahead and get comfortable quickly and actually letting it rip. My experiences at Oramm were a little hesitant as I wasn't comfortable with limited sight around the lush corners, but picking good lines on the new (to me) terrain wasn't a problem. The route carried on with another climb and descent until the first rest stop. Made it out of the rest stop refreshed and ready to tackle the longest, highest climb of the day.




Off I went and found my climbing rhythm, but about half way though that climb, well it was mostly lights out. Exposed climb, temps and elevation rising, my heart rate going up and my power going down. I had to dismount and walk several times. I crossed the bail out point on the way up, but that seemed to give me a little kick and I continued to push. Reached the top, Took a breather and a picture to remember the long Skull Valley climb and carried on knowing it was only 20 miles mostly undulating downhill to go. In hindsight the elevation probably sapped my power a bit and I just didn't know how to handle it.

Once I came around the high point, we hit another rest stop and pointed it down the most rewarding downhill runs I've ever done! Again with clear lines and lush trails and double track. 20+ Minutes of descending would lead us to the last notable challenge of the day, Cramp Hill. Sure enough, after not pedaling for 20 minutes the sudden short, but steep, climb instantly threw cramps my way. Knowing better I decided not to waste any more time and just walked up a few minutes.

Once past Cramp Hill the worst was over. I'd ridden some of the final sections the day before and got my final wind once I knew where I was at. I pinned it through town to the finish line, and while I looked miserable, it was still one of the most enjoyable rides I've ever done. I met my wife at the finish and took some time to recover. After coming out of my haze, I took my free beer ticket and enjoyed the most refreshing beer I'd ever had and we sat back to enjoy the post race concerts!

As a whole the Epic Rides Organization puts on what has to be the premier events in America. Great, supportive towns, excellent event organization, family friendly atmosphere and SICK RIDING. I've talked about it so much so that I may have talked the rest of the Eclipse Racing crew into attending Epic Rides' Grand Junction Off Road!

2020 is a ways away, so first up is our Coconut Cup series. Enjoy the event pics below and come back for more stories!

2019 in Progress!

If you've been following along on with us on Facebook you'll know 2019's major goal is the Whiskey Off Road in Arizona! 50 miles in the beautiful Arizona desert terrain with close to 7000 feet of climbing? Sounds like a dream to me!

When the decision was made in December, we had to get right to business adding the Santos 12 Hour event to the calendar. The February timing was perfect as would have a few weeks to start preparing. Having ridden the trails but never been to the event, I heard it was half race and half party. We'd be camping out at the venue and only racing the 6 Hour event so we'd definiltey have plenty of time for shenanigans.

The race started off LeMans style with a 300m dash to our bikes. I managed to find a well placed and firm vine to prop my bike up, but it was a bit further down the row. Alex would set up his bike in a perfect spot a the start of the bike drop. Who's strategy would win out?? The run started straight up an incline so I didn't have any reason to go all out, but I did manage to ultimately hop on the bike in front of Alex, but only by two riders! We settled into the madness of a mass start and tried to stay out of trouble.

After a short opening loop, the 9 mile course would break up into a technical section with short punchy climbs that would simply kill the legs, then fast and flowy for a few miles, followed by a milder technical and choppy section into the finish area. A flaming boost jump is traditionally added for fun along the pit row by spectators, adding a final challenge at the finish line. It's completely optional, but race time bravery often gets people out of their comfort zone. The jump is quite simple and small by MTB standards, but it's still known to catch a tired rider out with silly crashes. Gotta pay to play sometimes, right? Luckily I survived each attempt unscathed. My modest jump style drew courtesy applause, but they definitely weren't going to remember me.

Fast forward to 3 hours in. I was cooked. Legs didn't really have the miles for the event and started cramping. I went out to start a 4th lap and nearly stalled going up two power climbs at the beginning of the loop. At this point it wasn't safe and I called it a day. Alex had shown up just for the fun and riding so he wrapped up slightly earlier in the day. Fun was had. Solid training on the day and came out unscathed. Time for camping, cooking and recovery beer!

We enjoyed the event and will definitely come with more focus again next year. Took a few pics and vids, not a ton, but enough to get a vibe for the great event. Up next is the Amelia 60 in March. Training has been progressing so expecting better results out of this one! Come back soon for more updates.