Sol Vista

After a few days in Vail we headed over to Sol Vista for the USA National Championships. 9000 ft above sea level. We got there nice and early and stopped by our condo to find out that it hadnt been cleaned. After a few hours hanging out at the venue the cleaning lady showed up and did a bit of cleaning for us. My parents and sister were all headed up so it was going to be a nice weekend.

On Friday I set out for some early morning preriding. I did a couple of laps on the hardtail, and decided that even with all the climbing, the course was just too bumpy. A couple of laps on the dually confirmed that it was going to be the faster/more fun choice.

XC: I had a good callup in the mid twenties and was hoping to maintain this for the first few laps. It was not too be. I didnt want to go out too hard on the first huge climb but it quickly became apparent that my not too hard was slow. I picked it up a bit and passed some guys back but as they say, I was "flat". I had one speed, and it wasnt fast enough. I was catching guys on the downhill and relatively flat sections, but losing ground on the climbs. The course was good though and I managed to get by a few guys on the last lap for 40th.

Short Track: After waiting around all day for a 30 minute race and then long drive home I was ready to get it over with. Another good callup in the early twenties. The gun went off and I had a great start. The inside line down the first straight opened up and through the first turn I was able to get by some more guys and was probably sitting just outside the top 10. I know I was in a good spot because I was perfectly positioned directly behind Ryan Trebon when he decided to crash in the next turn and take Barry Wicks with him. So I am standing behind two humongous Kona bikes and riders, as others make their way around. Finally get going again much further back in the pack. At the start of the climb on the next lap I round the corner and the guy inside of me slide out, forcing me off the course, into the loose rocky stuff. I stay up, lose a bunch more spots. Two laps in and ive had way more bad luck than I can recover from in a short track. After a few more laps I get pulled and we head for home. 46th. Its pretty amazing that I followed Trebon around for a few laps after the crash and yet he still managed to ride through the entire field to finish 6th.

Did I mention that Todd Wells lapped all but 6 riders. That is ridiculous.