NW Cup Finals

After some time at home riding and taking it easy I headed up to Stevens Pass for the NW Cup finals. We were racing anew course which I was happy about since we had been on the same the past 3 years. The park did an excellent job constructing this trail, leaving most sections untouched. This made for an ever changing trail throughout the weekend and kept it interesting. All three days of riding were perfect fall weather. Just enough sun to keep the cold temps at bay.

By Saturdays seeding run the track had many deep ruts and holes that would suck your tires off track if you weren't careful. I felt I could lay down a heater and was excited to see where my speed was at. Unfortunately I went down within the first minute of track. Pushed the front tire over a corner and my run was done.

Waking up Sunday I was super sore from my fall the day before but loosened up after I got warm. I still felt I could put together a decent run, I just had to hold it wide! My race run was a little timid but I stayed smooth and didn't have any catastrophes. I ended the day with a top ten in 8th place. A good way to end the series!

Windham and Snowshoe Pro GRT

After watching all of the boys kill it up at Mont Sain Anne we headed down to ride Mountain Creek for a few days. The bike park there is rad with everything from flowy jump lines to technical rock gardens.

We then headed up to Windham New York where the next Pro GRT was being held. They decided to run us on the World Cup track from last year. The bottom grass was taped differently but everything else was pretty much the same. This was by far the best track we had raced all year, challenging and steep.

The track stayed pretty wet for most of the weekend due to the daily thunderstorms that came throught every evening but usually dried up througout the day. On Saturday we had a pretty bad storm come across the mountain that took out multiple pits and ripped the awning right off of our van. I had a decent qualifying result putting me into 16th but I knew I would need to push a lot harder for Sundays final to hang onto that top 20.

Sundays mornings practice felt great and I was ready throwdown! It was supposed to rain right before we all dropped. Luckily it held out and was only just drizzling when the last man was coming down the hill. I felt really good about my run with only one small mistake up top. That run put me into 15th. My first top 20 result at a National!

From Windham we headed straight to Snowshoe where we pedaled some laps and made a little edit with trail bikes. The mountain there is unique because instead of the village being at the bottom of the mountain it is at the top. You ride down into the valley where there is nothing then catch the lift back up. The track was pretty long with some grass turns up top and long rock gardens down lower.

This was another race with lots of rain in the forcast. The first day of practice was pretty dry as was Saturdays practice and qualifying. The damper in my fork decided to blow on the first lap on Friday leaving me scrambling to get it sorted. I tried a lap on the trail bike and quickly realized that wasn't going to happen. Luckily I was able to track down an entire right side stanchion assembly that I could run for the weekend.

Saturdays qualies went great for me as I placed 9th and had lots more to improve on in finals. It was supossed to rain most of the night and all the way through Sunday, and it did. The track was pretty much a river when we dropped in for practice and only became more sloppy as the day went on. My race run was feeling great until I smashed a wheel in some of the up rocks ending the run way to early.

First mechanicle of the season so I guess I can't complain too much! I'm now headed back west for a few more races before the season comes to an end. I have learned so much from these past weeks out east here riding lots of new and different terrain. Huge thanks to Joy Ride Bikes for making all of this possible, wouldn't have been able to do it without the shops support!!

Killington Vermont Pro GRT

After nationals at Mammoth we started making our way over to the East coast. We had a couple weeks before the next race so decided to ride a few spots on the way. We spent a few days in Dillon, CO riding the Keystone bike park and some of the other trails in that area. After a few days in CO we continued East, riding a few smaller spots in between there and Killington. We got to Killington a few days early and did lots of pedal laps in the bike park.

This is the first year that Killington has had a Pro GRT stop at their venue. For this  race they had built a new fresh track for us to burn in. The terrain was rad with lots of it being raw. Lots of roots and rocks were under the this top layer of loam. The only thing to be desired in the track was a steeper grade. It was too hard to carry speed through it all but it was pretty flat for a race track.

Fridays practice went great, the track was damp and lines forming as the course was ridden in. By the time Saturdays practice rolled around the course had become much drier and even dusty in some spots making it faster. Qualifying went well as I ended up 26th with a couple things to improve on. Sundays track was going to be completely different due to the large amount of rain predicted in the forecast.

We woke up to a steady drizzle that was on and off all day long making some sections slower but most lines were still the same. I felt good on track, being from northwest I was used to wet track conditions. It was running My run had a couple bigger mistakes but managed to stay upright and came across the line with a 22nd in finals. Improving a couple spots from qualies. Thanks to Joy Ride Bikes for keeping me going and keeping the dream alive!

Another two week break then we head to Windham. Going to be getting lots of laps in on the DH bike between then and stoked to watch the World Cup at MSA.

USA Nationals Mammoth, California

After a solid result at Mt. Hood I headed down to Mammoth, California for National Champs. The track and terrain were completely different from anything I had ridden in the past. There was not dirt, it was all rock ranging in size from pea gravel to larger boulders. The small loose rock caused constant changes on course making it tough to trust. The larger rock gardens stayed the same but were just as hard to figure out.

Once I got used to the track conditions I felt I could start to pick up some speed figure out where to push. The first two days of practice went great. Friday we had a short practice before seeding. I had a pretty bad crash in the upper rock garden that left me scrambling to get the bike fixed before seeding. That crash left me a little nervous but it was just seeding and I didn't have to push to qualify. My seeding run went well until I had another big crash further down the course that put me into 52nd place. 

I came into race day feeling very soar and not super confident. I took two slow laps to build my confidence back up during practice that morning and started feeling at pace again. Having such a bad seeding the day before I was one of the first to drop. My run was much better than the day before and got myself moved up 19 places into 33rd. I still felt a little conservative in my race run but made it out of the weekend in one piece and I am pumped for the next GRT. 

NW Cup #5

From Angel Fire I had a few weeks at home and then headed down to Mt. Hood for the fifth round of the NW Cup at Ski Bowl. This is always a race I look forward to with the track being so fast all the way down. The weather was very wet and cool for July. It rained all of Friday night and then much of Saturday and Sunday too. The dirt up there handled the moisture well making the only muddy part through the lower woods. 

Muddy!!

I seeded 5th on Sunday morning and was gunning for 5th or better in finals to make my first pro podium! My finals run was going well until a little mistake in the woods cost me some valuable time. I ended the race with a 10th place finish, not quite what I was looking for but knew I had the speed to make it happen. 

Now it was time to pack up for 8 weeks on the road, headed to Nationals, Mammoth, California and then over East for the remainder of the Pro GRT’s. Thanks to Joy Ride Bikes and Fly Racing for keeping my bike and gear in tip-top shape!

NW Cup #5

From Angel Fire I had a few weeks at home and then headed down to Mt. Hood for the fifth round of the NW Cup at Ski Bowl. This is always a race I look forward to with the track being so fast all the way down. The weather was very wet and cool for July. It rained all of Friday night and then much of Saturday and Sunday too. The dirt up there handled the moisture well making the only muddy part through the lower woods. 

Muddy!!

I seeded 5th on Sunday morning and was gunning for 5th or better in finals to make my first pro podium! My finals run was going well until a little mistake in the woods cost me some valuable time. I ended the race with a 10th place finish, not quite what I was looking for but knew I had the speed to make it happen. 

Now it was time to pack up for 8 weeks on the road, headed to Nationals, Mammoth, California and then over East for the remainder of the Pro GRT’s. Thanks to Joy Ride Bikes and Fly Racing for keeping my bike and gear in tip-top shape!

Pro GRT #3 Angel Fire, New Mexico

For the third stop of the Pro GRT series we headed down to Angel Fire, New Mexico. Its located about an hour North of Taos. The base of the resort is at 8,000 feet with the top of the course being at 10,600. Needless to say it was quite the change coming from sea level. We flew in on Wednesday and got everything set up and the course walked on Thursday. There were a few changes to the course since I had last raced it and they all looked like they were for the better.

View from the plane just out of Sea-Tac

I made the most of practice on both Friday and Saturday with the lift being shut down for most of our allotted practice times due to lightening. I was struggling to get up to the pace that I knew I should have been at. Being a lighter weight rider on the semi flat/high speed track it was not as easy for me to carry speed through sections. With only one lap on Saturday I wasn't able to get my lines sorted the way I wanted so decided to try I few new one during qualifying. Unfortunately most of the new lines didn't work out, putting me in the back of the pack and qualifying 39th. 

Sunday forecasted even worse weather than what Saturdays had been with some heavy storms rolling in around 1:00 PM, right when our practice and race was supposed to start. During the riders meeting on Saturday the event organizers decided to give everyone open practice earlier on Sunday to ensure that everyone was able to practice that day.

Saturday's sunset

During Sundays practice I was able to work on a few areas where I was struggling but still wasn't feeling like I had the speed.  Just as the forecast had predicted, a big storm rolled right when the pro practiced started. There was a good hour of heavy rain and hail and then another hour of lighter rain as the cloud passed above. We sat around for a couple hours until the officials made the call to get everyone up the hill at once during a break in the storm. Race run would be the  first time anyone would ride the track in the mud.

I finished the race in 32nd, seven places better than qualies and a second faster with the track running a bit slower than the day before. Huge thanks to Joy Ride Bikes for helping me get down here! Excited to get back for a round of the NW Cup down at Mt Hood and then it is off to National Champs in Mammoth California.

The End