Day 1- The Penny
Saturday, we started our trip out to Moab, Utah for a much needed spring break. I was so glad to get away from the snow covered Summit County. After a long car ride we sought out our usual campsite under the Elephant Foot.
I am not much of a superstitious person, but when I saw a penny heads up, I was ecstatic! I pronounced it my lucky penny and put it under my bed. My dad and I headed out for a ride on Slickrock finishing with a faster time than ever! When we got back I taped the penny into my helmet.
Some lucky penny!
Day 2- Pineapples and Milk?
Monday I was eager to ride my favorite trail- Porcupine Rim. With my penny snug in my helmet we rode the climb to the lookout. I felt great and realised all the early season training had paid off. As we started the descent, we caught a group of riders, boosting my competitive side so much that I was flying. It's amazing how much faster I go when people are around. My dad and I got to a section with various drops across the trail.
Of course, I didn't think twice about launching myself off the biggest one. I landed and a second too late noticed the large rock in the middle of my path. There was no way my wheel would make it over. I've crashed many a time while riding, but this had to be the slowest endo I have ever experienced. A string of thoughts crossed my mind... as my back wheel began to lift off the ground "Oh crap", my bike became vertical "wow this will hurt", looking at the rock my face was headed for "Please don't get hurt", and the final impact "Damn that penny". I was okay, my shoulder hurt and I had a scraped up chin. I still finished the ride, a little slower of course :)
This kind of crash deserved a milkshake in town... Pineapple? It was actually quite good!
Some lucky penny!
Day 3- Slickrock Squared
After a rough nights sleep I wasn't feeling up to a ride with my parents. I slept, walked around and decided to go ride Slickrock. I only was able to complete the short loop due to my shoulder.
Later we went to town, picked out stickers for Matthias and Katrine, and went out to dinner. The food was great and enjoyable with a live band playing. That night was the biggest, most insane windstorm ever. Sleep was not possible and I thought the camper would blow away with us in it!
Some lucky penny!
Day 4- Like a little headwind?
Wednesday morning we popped down the camper and drove to Fruita, Colorado. Unfortunately the windstorm followed us. My dad and I went out to ride the course battling the headwind all the way on the rim trail. I still felt great, and we did the whole ride in two hours- much faster than my race time last year!
Popping up was cold and windy, while the remains of Moab dust were swept away from camp. While playing with my parents, I got a Yahtzee in one roll.... but I had already crossed it off.
Some lucky penny!
Day 5- What do you mean changed?
Kevin's instructions said take a day off... so sleeping in and relaxing was all that was on my mind. After the parents left however, boredom reached a new high. I never realised how boring it would be without Kevin there. I played Yahtzee with myself, drew random objects and at one point I sat at the table, staring at the ceiling for about an hour. I thought I would go insane! Finally my parents returned from their ride... with some bad news. The race was unable to get a permit for the rim section of the course. They ended up changing it so it was now 28 miles and completely different. So much for a day off- I headed out with my dad in the car. We drove as far as possible and then proceeded to ride the new course.
Now when I say the course was epic, I mean it was an EPIC ride. The scenery was amazing, and apart from the 70% of road, it was fun. I just couldn't imagine it being a race. It was just... crazy! The ride took over 3 hours, but in the end, I still felt strong.
I was okay with the new course but I still liked the old one better.
Some lucky penny!
Day 6- Cyclist Shaving
With one day left to rest and prep for my first race, my dad and I rode a quick lap on the time trial course. It was the first day I actually was tired. We rode it slow, and it took over 30 minutes to complete.
I was happy when my mom, dad and I went to the town of Fruita. The local park had washing machines and showers- finally a clean feeling! I only had 4 minutes of shower time, so saving time, I ended up shaving my legs in the bathroom sink. What a sight it would be for a tourist to find a girl in spandex sitting on the sink shaving her legs...haha :)
Later we found out that Summit had be receiving massive amounts of snow in our absence. Lynn Bush, Tough Girl and team creator, was supposed to bring my new kits, but she was stuck at home. I wouldn't have my new kits for the next day's race.
Some lucky penny!
Day 7- Three Seconds
My race didn't start until 11:15 so I had time to sleep and time to get really nervous. I warmed up with Ellen, Ellie, and Wesley from Tokyo Joes. (Jill was also stuck in the blizzard) I was so glad to see them I really didn't care about how I did.
My dad came up and asked my preference on start order. I said I would like to go in the middle or last, but not first. We looked at the start sheet.... guess who was first?
The climb was awful, but once I got to the top I felt great. Alicia caught me on the road back to the finish, but I didn't care. In the end, my time was 22 minutes- 8 minutes faster than last year, so I was pretty happy. Alicia was first, Wesley was second, and I was third. Wesley beat me by three seconds.... ha ha... oh well, maybe next time I'll get her!
Jill made it down in time to race and had to get my permission to race- stupid officials make a big deal out of everything- It's not like I would have said no she can't race. Jill ended up having a great race, bumping Wesley to third and I was fourth. I was glad but I still had the XC to worry about the next day.
The good news was Lynn made it down and I picked up my 2009 kit. Christmas in April! Green and pink cables and housing were probably the product that I was bouncing off the walls about... But the kits are amazing!
Some lucky penny!
Day 8- Five or higher
So much for sleep- this race had me shaking in my shoes. I don't know why I was so nervous! I got ready about 3 hours early and tried to calm myself by some pre-race sleeping.
I warmed up, and went to the start. I had to face it one way or another. The Cat 1 group ended up being about 50 riders so our start was intense. I got caught up in the moment and had a great start. When we hit the sand, I don't know what happened... I just sort of fell off and started riding in the riverbed. By the time I got back in a position, all I could think was how far back I was. All of the girls started passing me and my fighting didn't seem to do any good. Every climb we came to, the pack would pull further and further away. We got to the first descent and I blew down it. There was a drop halfway through- it was easy, but I felt a burning pain in my shoulder afterwords. It began to worsen, but I just kept telling myself to suck it up. Its the worse feeling when you know you can't finish. The pack was long gone by this point, and getting to the climb I was mentally and physically exhausted. My shoulder throbbed, but I wouldn't let myself go. My mind was telling me how much I sucked, how far back I was, how I was slow, and how people would think I just wasn't good. I pushed through it until I got to my dad. He told me I was 14 minutes back and I just mentally gave up. I couldn't do it.
I got a ride back and went to the ambulance about my shoulder. I told them my pain was a four without moving it and a 7 with moving it. The guy said if it had been 5 or higher they would have rushed me to the hospital right away- what a wierdo. They put a glove filled with ice on it... don't you just love that? After I was released, I had to walk through the finish back to camp. That was the worst- having to face your peers on the peak of defeat.
Currently my shoulder is healing, I don't need any kind of surgery! I'm glad it's not worse and I'm ready to get riding again!
Some lucky penny... I think I'm throwing it away :)
