Dusty and Hot- Deer Valley 08

Another year at deer valley over- one of my favorite courses, since after 4 years i have memorized the course- which helps me quite a bit- as you can tell, not preriding at all is not good for me. knowing the course so well lets me adjust my efforts- which equals better races for me- usually...

i got in thursday evening to park city where my DH teammate Kimber (who wasnt racing due to her crash on barnie rubble i think it was called, which would later be taken out of the DH course since it was too dangerous.. she's so hard core) and her boyfriend live in a great house about 20 minutes outside of the venue- so nice to have a place that i can bring Casey to- he and i had some catching up to do- i feel bad sometimes that i leave him with friends every time i go race- this time he's with me! yeah!

i got up friday, wasted some time at the venue chatting it up with everyone, and about 2 hours later becca and i were preriding the course- yep, the same as last year. i can turn my brain off and just ride. afterward i drove by the whole foods (yeah i was hungry- bad idea) and spent $50 on a salad, slice of pizza, yogurt and cereal. how does that happen?
later that day my new wheel came in the mail at kimbers place replacing the one i had bent the week before- those Stans wheels are wicked light! i had alex rush me a new set just in time- thanks Alex! so i spent the afternoon sealing up tires, replacing bent rotors and doing other random prerace bike fixes- sort of a mental escape from thinking about the actual race itself...
i have no idea why, but i was really nervous for the xc- i think since i wanted to do really well- i got my bike checked over and started warming up- felt good, did 3/4 of a lap on the course and i was ready- the start wasn't good, again. i slipped out on some gravel and couldn't get going again on the first climb- i was laughing. not good. once i got going, i started passing girls ok- but got caught behind some traffic on the descents on the first lap, but once i got going on the 2nd i was good to go- i felt good- kept picking girls off- i got them in sight, and reeled them in. one by one. by the middle of the 2nd lap i was top 20, and then it happened- mechanical! my chain got stuck between my cassette and my spokes- i yanked it hard and couldnt get it out- i ran down the climb i had just mostly completed and shep was there in the tech zone- i got it out but by that time i had gotten passed by 6 girls. dang. so, started picking them off again. back up to 21st or so, then it happened again. i was really frustrated- i should have had the limits fixed but i was so anxious to get going again i wasnt thinking clear- i ended up 23rd. sigh. there's always next year...
i was determined to have a good short track on sunday- i have done a few of the boulder ST races and i felt better about it than i have in the past- i warmed up for about 1.5 hours, harder than i ever have for a ST, and i think thats what i needed. i felt great! i got stuck behind some traffic on the start, but then kept moving up through the race- i ended up 15th or so which i am happy about- i think i might be getting better at this ST thing...
i stayed to watch the guys battle it out and suffer on the hot dusty course- then it was off to clean up, pack and grab Casey to head back to boulderville. back home. i love racing my bike, but i have to admit, i do love coming home. to my house. my bed. a few days to rest (i mean, work) and think about the next race-the circus continues...