The first loop did not go well. I was fine until I got into the single track - there the beginner men (doing one loop) caught me and I spent a lot of time allowing faster riders to pass. My legs were definitely wondering what I was doing - hadn't I just done a brick on wednesday? This was the first race I've trained through (no taper) and it definitely showed on that first loop. I decided I hated mountain biking. I hated elevation, that no matter how hard I train I will never feel fast or strong. And that I totally suck at this and every other sport.

It was quite the pity party. As an aside, I never have pity partys while going down hill or on the flats, hmmmm.... Finally I made it to some down hills not littered with huge boulders and got on and actually rode my bike. I passed a girl. I started feeling better. I climbed a toxic little hill and then flew downhill to the end of loop one. I was feeling far better and decided that even though I had let the entire field blow past me days ago, I could still race myself and endevored to do the second loop faster than the first. I held my line better, I rode through more stuff. I didn't have to keep giving up my line for faster riders. I finally passed the guy who had been holding me off for the entire loop. I blew him away in the down hill.

Check my tire pressure (way too much in the front wheel made my descent unneccesarily sketchy)

Got off my bike. Wanted a Dr Pepper!


I am just not strong on the mountain bike. I don't know if its the fact that I seem to only race at elevation, or if I go out too fast, or if the cadence gets out of hand. But I never feel fast on my mountain bike. I always get on it and immediatly wonder if I have trained at all!


All mountain bike races seem to adjourn to bars. All bars chosen for this purpose seem to be ridiculously small for the number of people. There was cheap beer and free pizza. What else is really necessary?

However the awards were the most brilliant I have yet seen. Absolute bikes who put this race on, recycled used bike parts (primarily pedals, derailers, cranks and gear sets), painted them the appropriate color (gold, silver or bronze) and then nailed them to a little stand of wood cut off a tree limb. They were terrific! They even affixed little cards with the race, date and place. They were the best on-the-cheap awards I've ever seen. Mountain bike race organizers know how to do awards on the cheap! And they were great. I love my little bronze cogset on a piece of pine!