Mountain states cup, Nathrop, CO

I had heard bad things about this race- super sandy, not a fun course, not worth the drive, etc. but hey, i figured it would be more fun than crashing in the Gila, so i chose the mtb race. i drove down with the spot girlz again- megan m. and jen g. which made the trip worth it, even if the race did end up sucking. i got up saturday morning, picked up the girlz and we headed down to nathrop. i didn't even know where it was- if you don't know either, its right by buena vista and about 20 min north of salida, where i would be staying-
so the xc for us started around 2pm, with the guys going off about 15 minutes before us- well, then it got delayed an hour- so we went off at 3pm instead, which allowed for an hour of socializing which was fine by me. until the race actually started, and then i was in the hurt box- i should have warmed up better- we went from zero to supersonic off the gun, and i was pretty much at the back. the race was almost like a road race- long, flat open sections that had mini-t0rnados (no joke). it was sooooo windy. so having a wheel to suck was important- good thing i didn't for 2 of the 4 laps. so on lap one, i was in the back. sweet. and didn't preride and crashed hard on the loose descent. supa sweet. but jen g. had a bad start too, and thankfully she pulled me up to the next group (i know, weird hearing that about a mtb race, but i am telling you, it was a road race) and got in with megan m. and lisa. the 3 of us duked it out for the next 2 laps, and finally on the 4th lap my legs came around and i surged passed lisa and was able to ride the technical section alone, which was nice since i was faster that way. i ended up 6th, coming in behind jen g. i was pretty happy about, since i had had such a rough start. so hopefully the fitness is coming around- i just need to warm up better i guess.
sunday was the short track, and i woke up in Salida to a beautiful sunny morning. i went down to the local coffee shop (beside absolut bikes) and enjoyed a very tasty breakfast burrito with chicken, eggs, potatoes, cheese, avocado and red peppers. i sat with a coffee and listened to the river behind the shop for a good hour, reading the sunday paper. i love salida. i could definitely live there-
back to the race. so my legs were really tired from the xc, but figured once i spin i would be fine. the course was pretty fun, it had part of the dual slalom in it so a few tall rollers that broke it up. overall though most of the course had one good line while the sides were thick sand which stopped the bike quick- i had a bad start again, and got stuck behind a line of girls that weren't going very fast- i gave up halfway through the race for a few laps waiting for it to be over. but then i figured i paid $40 for it, and i needed a workout, so i should start going. so i did, and passed a few girls in the last few laps. i ended up 9th. oh well.
overall the weekend was fun, with a reasonable finish for the xc, and as always great company- the next race is the Norba in CA- another fast rolling course. i had an ok race there last year, racing with teammate Barb but she won't be there this year unfortunately- sigh. but it should still be a good one, so i will let you know how that goes-