Short track Sunday. No call up, no worries. Sucked through the middle, diverted the brake checks, two inside out efforts and I'm sitting top twenty. The window closed before I felt the breeze. No mans land for three. 13th on the day. Peaceful end to a rickety week.
Great start, great position, great course. Possibly a mental struggle, maybe a bit of fatigue from seven hard weekends of racing in a row. I popped, let myself down and DNF'd for no reason. Embarrassing to say the least. Tomorrows another day... another day of short track!
Spent some time spinning around today. Had a chance to spectate the U23 races. TJ's girlfriend CHLOE killed the field as she did the year prior. An unfortunate turn in the mens U23 had past champ and favorite Sam JUREKOVIC bloody and trailing after lap one. It was rough witnessing his condition as he screamed in agony on the tech descent eventually resulting in a DNF. If there is any doubt that the East coast courses are brutal search no further then MARKO's fork. His switchblade met it's match as it appears to have cracked near the crown. Thanks to the boys at FISHER and the TBS crew his over nighted fork is already installed and pre ridden. While the situation has me a bit nervous I'm sure it will all go away once we're let loose. After all, everything appeared to be working properly last SUNDAY.
My condo mates who raced SNOW in the past advised me that the course has changed from previous trips. "Dumbed" down if you will. I've enjoyed it despite my uncertainty over gear ratios or my sore back. I'm contributing my back issues to the climbing and constant bar end torque. I'm sure the rocky descents play a part but that's part of racing. 34:21 should do the trick on the climbs as long as I maximize the 29er rolling capacity. 36:16 will suit the short track as long as my legs do. The countdown is on...
1100 feet of climbing per lap left Marko and I searching for loaner chain rings. Thanks to a couple fine folks we were able to ground our anticipation and gear accordingly as NMBS #5 approached. With a back row start nearly 70 competitors deep we had our work cut out for us. The start was a dust ball of chaos as I plugged every hole up the twenty five minute climb. The move was smooth as we worked into the top fifteen before pointing home for the quick descent down. A bit delirious from the ear popping climb I dropped off the service road into the burmed single track blind from the previous racers dust. I ran the bank high, burped my tire, and lost some psi in the process. It was evident that I was a bit low as I began to bottom out resulting in slicing the belt of my DRY X. Showered by stans I quickly dismounted, big aired, and eventually cursed at my luck. Game over.
My expectations for SUNDAY were stagnant due to my lack luster xc performance. The back row call up was deja vu as I looked nine rows ahead to the front row all stars. The start may have been ripping fast but I didn't get a chance to scorch my lungs as I was trapped behind the sound of rubber on rubber and unclipping. I figured it couldn't get any worse back here so I kicked it into over drive and took every chance I could. The outside line seemed to get me places despite the washboard terrain. One lap is all it took to propel myself into the top fifteen, three is all it took to pass JHK and Wicks before snagging a top ten just ahead of Toulouse who won the xc the day prior.
Recovery was in order as BENDER, TJ, MARKO, and I headed out for what was supposed to be a quick spin. Three hours later we rolled back into Windham looking like a band of hungry zombies. So long for recovery.
*Props to the Wisco crew for some stellar finishes and thanks to the Peariso's for the warm hospitality.
Onward and upward to Mt. Snow.
Day one of our East coast romp brought a couple firsts. The first time I've stayed in Jamestown, the first time I drove with the gas light on for 43 miles and the first time I ate the mystery jerky from the counter of a wayside gas station. We briefly cruised through Pennsylvania which wasn't a first. Some of you might recall my last trip to the keystone state where my LUCK on the bike was pretty good. Hopefully go-kart racing isn't a NORBA requirement...
