NW Cup #7 Finals

Coming off of two top tens, one in the enduro and the other at the last NW Cup, I was feeling good about this final race at Stevens Pass. The mountain had gotten some rain and the Stevens pass trail crew had done a great job at repairing the track from the summers riding. The track was running fast. Having raced the same track here so much there wasn't much for me to dial in as far as lines.  The track was running faster so it did take me a bit of time to figure out the new speeds through different sections.

Saturday evening was seeding. I put down a smooth run up top but then had a mechanical towards the bottom that resulted in a dropped chain. Without being able to sprint the finish strip I came over the line in the 20th spot. Times were relatively close and felt like I had a pretty good pace set coming into Sundays finals.

Sundays race was opposite of Saturday. I had a sloppy top section with a couple mistakes but a killer bottom section. I ended up a second faster than Saturday and in 18th place. Not a bad way to end my first professional downhill season. My overall result in the series was 11th. I had an injury free year and I learned so much that I will be applying to the off season and next years races. I'd like to thank everyone who has supported me through this years adventures: Gravity Components, Bell, Giro, my parents, and Joy Ride Bikes. Also look out for a more reports from some enduros I have planned!

Skipping through the rocks.

Kellog, Idaho NW Cup #6 and an Enduro

Even though I had a bummer of a race the weekend before during the Canadian Open I felt really good coming into this race. Riding whistler trails and getting a dozen or so runs in a day helped boost my confidence on the bike.

I was looking forward to this race mainly because it was a new venue and I had only heard great things about the place. The course was a shorter one, just over two and a half minutes. It was a loose wide open top section with the bottom dropping into some tighter tree, and corner after corner. Like many of the races this year, it was loose. Like six inch deep moon dust mixed with golfball sized rocks loose. For how dry it was the course held its shape very well over the three days.

I felt good on track all weekend and was loving the riding. My seeding run on Saturday put me into 10th or 11th place and I felt really good about it except a mistake up top. I was able to sort that out pretty quick Sunday morning. My race run was wide open up top and then as I got towards the bottom I held back just a touch as to not throw it all away. It seemed to work out. Came across in 8th! My best Pro finish yet.

Doing it.

Next on my schedule was the Capitol Forest Classic enduro that partnered with Cascadia Dirt Cup for the fifth race in there series. This is my home forest so I had these trails pretty figured out for the most part. I pre-rode once about 3 weeks before just to jog my memory.

When I pre-rode it was dry. It decided to rain the two days before and then during the race. If you have ridden Capitol Forest trails in the wet then you know just how slick it can get. We have a mainly clay based soil around the woods that turns everything it touches a dull orange red. I also hadn't ridden in the mud, except for Canadian Open, for a good couple of months. I wasn't too sure how hard to push it or where the limit was for traction.

Making our way up to stage one.

I found the limit in stage one with a stumble through a corner and a derailed chain. This run seemed to set a standard for the rest of the stages. I rode stage 2,3 and 5 clean but had a couple high speed dismounts on both 4 and 6 that cost a decent amount of time. There weren't many that day made it through all six without becoming victim to the red clay once or twice. Even with the mishaps I ended the day in 7th for my first enduro of the season. A result that I am happy with given the circumstances.

NW Cup #4, NW Cup #5 and Canadian Open

NW Cup #4

For the fourth stop of the series we headed back to Mt. Hood. This time the track was even more blown out than last race. We still hadn't gotten any rain. I decided to run a Maxxis shorty, a mud tire, up front in order to help the front track through corners and grip while braking. It threatened to rain once or twice but the clouds never let loose for us. The key to this race was staying loose and trusting the bike underneath of you. I had a decent seeding run and a mediocre race run. This put me in the top two-thirds with a 17th, same as the race prior.

A picture of me with my bike in front if a rad van and the e*thirteen
(Team Furbee)

Next I headed off to race Stevens Pass. This course has always been a challenge for me. Its got a mellow grade to it with many small holes and square edges to get hung up on. I spent the week before this over in Sun Valley, Idaho and put a lot of miles onto my trail bike and felt really good coming into this one. Conditions where same as they had been all year, dry, hot and very dusty.

Practice went well. I was able to seed into 14th spot, my best so far and went into Sunday confident that I could do much better. My run Sunday wasn't exactly what I was looking for though. I made up about a second on my final from seeding and landed the same 14th spot. Still best finish of the year and almost breaking through to the top half.

Skimming over a few of the square edge hits.

I was feeling really good after Stevens Pass race and decided to sign up for the Canadian Open during Crankworx Whistler. This is a race that I have always wanted to compete in since I first started racing, so getting the chance to finally compete in it was very exciting. Fridays practice went well, I took it easy and spent lots of time checking the track out. This was probably the most technical track I have raced yet. It was both fun and and exhilarating. Looking at the forecast on Friday I noticed that there was a high chance of rain the next few days but I didn't think much of it. 

Come Saturday's practice, the moisture had changed things up a lot. after first run down I knew that there were a couple lines I needed to change in order to compensate for the lack of traction. My seeding run later on that day involved a tumble down the track and mechanical that didn't allow me to complete my run. Once I got everything fixed on the bike, I went up and got a few more things dialed on track for Sunday. 

By the time Sundays afternoon racing had started the track substantially drier than the past day and morning. I felt solid and smooth thru the top half but washed out in a corner down towards the bottom costing me lots of time. On the bright side I had a great time and learned a whole lot about the bike and myself. I was happy to come out unscathed and ready for more racing.