Racing in the trees

Hey guys,

I haven't written for a while, but the racing continues. Tanner and I raced at Sundance yesterday and it was spectacular. The race course is nearly all classic Utah single track with great views of Timp. 23 miles, 3200 vertical and dead legs made it a challenge. However, I hung in there and road a solid last lap to finish 5th in a tough field of 40 + experts. I was very spent and had to spin the last climbs to keep from cramping. I've finally ridden my MTB enough to feel comfortable letting it fly on the downhill again. Railing corners at speed on a MTB is more fun than you should be allowed to have. The only bad thing about the course is that it is very difficult to pass because of all the single track. For some reason, they started the women pros in front of our group. We caught them about 5 minutes in and had a hard time getting around them. It caused some gaps that shouldn't have happened. In the end, it probably didn't change the outcome.

Tanner did well and made it around the course in an hour (he did 1 lap, the experts did 3). He was 5th out of 6 in the 13 - 15 beginner. There are a couple of young guys in his group that motor. Tanner beat 2 of the 3 16 - 18 year old beginners and many of the adult beginners. He's having fun and getting better each race.

Last week's MTB race at Thanksgiving Point was not much fun. It was 10 miles of winding single track in flat open fields. It was cold and very windy. It was more like a road TT than a MTB race. It was really strange racing around in a field by the freeway. Probably don't have to do this race again in the future.

The night before, I raced a road race at the new Larry Miller Motorsports Park. It was a blast riding on the new 4.5 mile loop built for motorcycles and cars. The race was fast and fun and I ended up 14th in the 40 + group. It came down to a group sprint and I wasn't aggressive enough in the last corner.

Thanks for the picture of your house Bub. Looks good. One of these days, I'll put up some race pictures.

Not sure if I'll race this week, we'll see how the legs feel. I've raced a bunch the last 2 months and need a break soon. The White Rim Trail with my Teachers and Priests is coming in 3 weeks. Adam, I might need to borrow your MTB. Also, I put a really cool small MTB back together with some new wheels. It is a 13" S-works hardtail that Tanner used to ride. After the White Rim Trail, I'm going to sell it to pay for the wheels. Let me know if anyone is interested. It is a very cool kid's or women's MTB for very little money.

Later,

Daren