Sol Vista and Snowmass

so SOL VISTA!
Sol vista was a really awesome course! racing multiple laps on a shorter course was a bit new for me, but it was very enjoyable! the course started out with hell climb, but thankfully it was rather short. the fire road narrowed down to some nice single track pretty quickly. from there the course climbed pretty steadily to the top, where the almost constant descent started! the descent was a little intimidating, since the majority was newly built trail. this means really soft dirt that got really rutted out even before the race started, thanks to the many pre-riders. the trail wound down to a pretty steep loose section with a sharp left hand turn at the bottom. Thanks to the expertise and words of wisdom from our coaches, and repeated attempts at cleaning this bit, it went very smoothly during my race after that, the course continued to descend until it came to a short wood-chip climb. it didn’t take to long to get to the top, and after that the course was fun and pretty smooth switch backs to the bottom. the last couple switch backs before the start-finish were kind of tricky, but the numerous pre-rides definitely helped me feel more confident in the race!

OUr race stared out with about 15 girls, easily the most we have started with in the Junior Women Cat 1 Field! The race started off, and my start was really good! i was in the lead for the first hill, but as soon as it kicked up again i started slipping back. by the time we were to the single track i was back in 4th place, but i was able to hold that through the first lap. on my second lap, i wasn’t feeling quite as good. ellen passed me through the start finish, and jill (who had flatted on the descent) had caught back up by the top of the first hill. by then i was in about 5th or 6th place, but i was able to hold it to the top. the first half of the descent went smoothly. i was able to hold my position and clean the more difficult sections. just before the wood-chip climb started, my front break was making all kinds of bad noises, so part way up that hill i slowed down to try and see what was going on. the pin that held my break pads in the caliper had come out, and was long gone, as well as the spring that keeps the pads apart. the break pads were still in though, so i though i would be fine to finish me second and third laps. i made it down some more of the descent, but i was riding very carefully and dropped back a few more places. my break pads kept slipping out, so i would have to stop and push them back in in order to keep riding.  by the last switch backs, my pads would no stay in, so i gave up on that and shoved them in my pocket. i knew i couldn’t do the entire descent again with no front break, so i decided to end my race a lap early. i was pretty disappointed that i couldn’t finish the race, but mechanicals are just another pice of bike racing

SNOWMASS!!
the snowmass course was very similar to the previous years. it started at the bottom of the village, climbed very consistently to the top of the area where is then traversed the mountain along some technical rollers until i began to descend. the descent was super fun! not exactly smooth, but it was nice twisty single track, with a few hard, short, steep climbs thrown in. the course than split into the short and long laps. Cat 1 Junior Women only race 1 long lap, so from the split, the long course wound down some awesome single track which cut through several large meadows of 3 foot tall shrubbery. the course then went down the infamous Anaerobic Nightmare, a very bumpy, semi-twisy, steep descent. after that, the race traversed back across the mountain along some nice mellow rollers before popping onto a road. the road was short and took you up to more trail which you descended back to he base and the start finish of the race!

My race wasn’t my best, but i wouldn’t say it was bad either. the start was a bit rough, and do to the mobs of Lance Armstrong fans, warm up was a bit difficult. after a nice long sit in the staging area, the two other girls (Linnea Dixson and Meghan Kane) in my category started the race along with all of the Cat 2 women, and just behind all of the Cat 2 men. this meant a lot of passing and a lot of near collisions with various bushes and trees the entire way up the climb! my start wasn’t that great, so i was in second going into the single track. this was the position i held for the entire race. the descent was bumpy, but i cleaned everything (except a large rock drop we had to go up, not down…) i was afraid that Meghan would catch me on the descent, so i wasn’t being the most cautious, but it ended with out any mechanicals or crashes, so i was very pleased!

hope thats long enough for ya! my hands are cramping….

Ellie