It’s finally spring in Colorado and training has been going accordinglywell. Last weekend, I contested the “Battle at the Bear” cross-country in
Bear Creek, CO. Despite the less-than-ideal race conditions created by
hundreds of people of all abilities on the course at once, the race was a
blast. In retrospect, all of the traffic added a unique tactical element
to the race. After crashing early on when I lost my front wheel in a rut,
I worked back up to leader Matt Beaton. We stayed together for a bit,
riding easy while behind people in single-track sections and then punching
it hard to get around them. Eventually, I got a gap that I was able to
hold for the win. Riding at the front of a race—no matter local or
national—is exhilarating, and hopefully I can retain some of that feeling
going into bigger races like the Triple Crown Race in Nathrop, CO this
weekend. My challenge now is to stay on the XC bike racer
straight-and-narrow while most of my friends revel in graduation
festivities. I bet I’ll be the only guy at graduation parties with
compression socks on under my pants.
