After the first Pro GRT in Port Angeles I got lots of laps in on the DH bike and worked on suspension setup. I felt more comfortable and like I really had a good base tune. I carried this into my next race which was at Mountain Creek, New Jersey, right outside of Vernon, NJ. I decided to help my friend Nate who is one of the E*thirteen North American riders drive across as he had to carry the their pit space. This option was also more cost effective for myself. The drive took two days with no stops along the way, the van we were driving had a bed in the back so that whoever was not at the wheel would take their turn sleeping.
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| A small break to view a Minnesota sunset while in the middle of a down pour. Weird weather. |
Our drive was luckily uneventful and I was stoked to get to see so much of the country but also very glad to arrive late Tuesday night. Since we showed up a day early Nate and I took a day to chill and aclimate to the 85 degrees with 90% humidity. I spent most of the day lying down as I had come down with a cold and wasn't feeling so good.
We got to the pits Wednesday night after picking up two more of our buddies from airport. Thursday was spent setting up the pits, a quick track walk, and trying to recuperate my body from the cold which had only seemed to have gotten worse. We were camping in the pits which meant no showers but the lodge had a pool that was easy enough to poach and was a great alternative to a shower every night.
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| Gold. |
Friday we finally got to ride! This was a new track for myself so it took a while to figure everything out and get up to speed. A lot more rock than we are used to here in the Olympia area! It ended being much shorter than I thought it would have been from the track walk so I kept getting caught off guard coming into certain sections. As the day went on and the lines burnt in I began to get comfortable. The suspension tune I had done the previous week on my bike seemed to be working great!
There was rain in the forecast for Saturday but aside from a short closure of the lift for lightning the weather didn't effect the track. I was still feeling ill and had a qualifying run that was far from perfect. I still managed to make it into finals with a 37th place. I knew I had a lot more to deliver come race run.
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| Navigating rocks. |
Sunday's morning practice allowed me to figure out a couple of lines that I wasn't sure on and from then on I felt confident. The weather was holding off for us which I was happy for as we had only ridden a dry track. My race run was very smooth and I only had one very small mistake towards the bottom that didn't cost much time. I came across the line with a 2:14:86 which was a little over 3 seconds faster than my qualifying run. This time put me into the top half with a 30th place! A result that I am happy with and can keep building on. Huge thanks to Joy Ride Bikes for making this trip possible and keeping the bike running smoothly.
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| ....never stopped |
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| The road.... |
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| Viewing Monday and Tuesdays agenda. |
We packed up the tents and started the drive home that night The next two days were spent the same as the first two. The drive back always seems longer tho. We made it back Tuesday evening. It was time to fully recover from my cold, get some schooling done and work harder for the next race!
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