US Cups

From Bromont Keith, Kika, and I headed to Mount Snow Vermont. We had a great ride at the kingdom trails on the way. I stayed in a bed and breakfast called the Grey Ghost, which was good, but it had maybe 40 seniors living there, who would have sermons and play bridge (in a very serious way) all day, so I felt a bit like I was in an old folks home. Luckily mid week Sandra came and bailed me out and we got a different place.

After Bromont I had completly worn through my brand new pads, and half way through the back plate of the brake pads, so I replaced them, and somehow in the process I got some air in the system. So I took my bike to the shop there in Mt Snow, and the mechanic worked on them for a bit, then said he didn't have the right syringe, took my bike off the stand, said he couldn't fix it and he squeezed the back brake...SQUIRT!!! A massive jet of fluid shot out and coated my pads and rotor... 3hrs later and a few calls to sram he figured out that he had opened the wrong screw, and broken a seal. Eventually he bled my brake, and it seemed fine, but the next day during the race I got air in it again.

So, my race kind of sucked, I had to pump the brake maybe 15times to get any stopping power, and then keep it dragging to maintain that force. I finished well back in the field.

Post race Peter Glassford and I went to hang out with a good buddy of mine, Ben Moody, in Plymouth NH. Ben used to race xc, but now places top 3 at some of the US DH races. We rode amazing trails at Bens, and had a great time, until I got sick with fod poising. It started at 3am with stomach cramps, and I thought, "oh why did I eat so much" then I went to the bathroom and had explosive direaha, annd at that point figured out that there was more to the situation than met the eye. Another 2hrs of trips to the bathroom, and then finally I puked a few times, and by 6am I was ready for bed. The next day was miserable, Peter drove me 5hrs to Windham NY, and I just sat there with my eyes closed and head in hand not saying much for the whole drive. I think I ate a banana by mid afternoon.

Fortunately I recovered fairly well, and was ready to race 2 days later. I had a good race and steadily moved up through the pack, 2 riders/lap to finish 14th. I rode really well, and had a lot of fun, so I was happy to finish off the last important race of my season this way.
Catherine fed me for this race, and I think she bonked, got heat stroke, and sun burn doing it, so thanks for feeding me! Also, Adam and Sara were there cheering like crazy, so that was good too.