Good to have the first race out of the way, tough weekend all around. Hitting the road Friday morning it was great to be back in the camper with familiar faces and friends. Weather was great friday, pretty good on saturday and there were enough black fly to literally drive you insane. It was at the point where wearing goggles was necessary to keep them out of your eyes, even when you were hauling ass down the trail. The course was tough. Technical, flat and techical in many spots, you really had to work to keep your speed as a small slip up could cost you seconds. Sharp rocks, roots, it was bumpy. It certainly took names as there were constantly ambulances coming and going from Highland. Pro practice ran for 4 hours a day and I estimate a good third of that total time the course was closed due to injured riders being removed. (This resulted in many pros poaching the Cat 2 and 3 practice time.) Unfortunately our team mate Sam was one of these who has suffered a broken fibular and shredded ligaments in his left leg. He underwent surgery yesterday so everyone send healing vibes his way; the first half of the season will certainly not be the same without him - in fact by my calculations (all things considered equal) it will suck approximately 30% more.
- Real tough for a first race, I was certainly battling the cobwebs this first weekend dealing with general riding confidence issues and feeling like a passenger on my bike. Add many spectators, photographers and a stacked 65 person pro class of the best national riders around for a very challenging weekend. Then add pissing rain all Saturday night and downpours all Sunday to top it off. I finally took a knarley over the bars wreck in a wet rock garden late Saturday afternoon - it wasn't until this that I actually got it together and started riding better. Due to course closes and changing weather it took right up until Sunday am before seeding run for me to get my lines together. Took seeding as a serious practice run riding smooth and consistent by my standards with no pedaling in order to save it for the race. By the time race run came around it was nearing 3pm and freezing with constant hard rain. This certainly was a hit to many racers moral, many of which simply wanted to get it over with. I had a decent run, kept it upright, a couple costly mistakes killing my speed in the flats and blew my beet off the pedals in a rock garden. Indifferent emotions for my 45th place with a time of 2:50. Had I eliminated a couple crucial botches, 5 or 6 seconds faster would have seen me around 30th place. Can't get too aggravated as I left the weekend void of injury and mechanicals and managed to keep it upright for both seeding and the race. On we go to Plattekill for the next Progurt, Looking forward to this a ton as all team members except for Sammy will be in attendance for an excellent course at a mountain we all love. Hoping to enter this race with far more comfort, confidence and a refreshed sense of focus.
Good to have the first race out of the way, tough weekend all around. Hitting the road Friday morning it was great to be back in the camper with familiar faces and friends. Weather was great friday, pretty good on saturday and there were enough black fly to literally drive you insane. It was at the point where wearing goggles was necessary to keep them out of your eyes, even when you were hauling ass down the trail. The course was tough. Technical, flat and techical in many spots, you really had to work to keep your speed as a small slip up could cost you seconds. Sharp rocks, roots, it was bumpy. It certainly took names as there were constantly ambulances coming and going from Highland. Pro practice ran for 4 hours a day and I estimate a good third of that total time the course was closed due to injured riders being removed. (This resulted in many pros poaching the Cat 2 and 3 practice time.) Unfortunately our team mate Sam was one of these who has suffered a broken fibular and shredded ligaments in his left leg. He underwent surgery yesterday so everyone send healing vibes his way; the first half of the season will certainly not be the same without him - in fact by my calculations (all things considered equal) it will suck approximately 30% more.
