'Nooooooooo, not again!' is what was screaming through my head as I felt my rear wheel rim slamming against the rocks under my deflated tire. Uggghhh…… as much as I love mountain bike racing it is SUPER frustrating when a mechanical prevents you from obtaining your aspirations. I'm sure about every other mountain bike racer can relate to how I have felt after my past two cross country national races. At the national race in Sonoma, California I felt pretty good and was maintaining a good position when a pssssssttttttt sound came rotating through a gash in my tire. Since this was my first flat in a race I was frantic about changing it. As I ripped open my seat pack all my tire levers and CO2 cartridge went flying into knee high weeds. Sweat poured down my face as I searched for my missing tools, eventually I found them and was able to gather some sort of control so that I could at least get down the hill. I knew I had to be in last place and wasn't sure if I should even continue to race. I decided to continue. 'I didn't travel all this way to DNF' I thought to myself. I had flash backs from racing in Madrid, just trying to catch as many women as I could.
During the three weeks in between Sonoma and Brian Head, I rode with friends on new trails that wound around, up and over the high San Juan Mountains. I absolutely love riding in the high country. Other than feeling dizzy due to lack of oxygen, the wildflowers are absolutely beautiful. The air (what is up there) is so clean and fresh and the trails are tacky and fast. What more could a person ask for? Along with exploring new trails, I participated in a regional road race located in Salida, Colorado. I had a great time competing in the three day stage race. I felt awesome and it was a perfect training tool for my up coming NORBA races (Brian Head NORBA and Snowmass NORBA).
