This weekend was my first race of the season. It was a Mountain States cup race in Colorado Springs at Cheyenne Mountain State park. This is the same venue as the previous US Pro Cup races. Saturday was a time trial, and Sunday was the cross country race. Saturday went pretty well. I put in a good effort and was pretty smooth through most of the technical stuff, with a quick dismount and remount through one section. Kelli Emmett caught me a little earlier than I would’ve liked and ended up beating me by about a minute. All in all, not spectacular but not too bad either.

Sunday was not my best day. I opted not to pre-ride the course due to weather and lack of motivation, and in hindsight, wish I would have. There were quite a few technical sections which were probably ridable with the appropriate amount of skill, strength, and line-selection. When the gun went off I was in way too hard of a gear, couldn’t clip in, and ended up the last person off the line. I made my way up to 3rd by the time we hit the first little rock garden, where I promptly turned into an uncoordinated spaz and had to unclip and let the more talented riders go by. After the first lap, I was having some pretty serious low-back pain which significantly reduced my core strength and ability to maneuver my bike like I wanted to. Ultimately, I couldn’t get out of my own way and my bike wouldn’t go where I wanted it to. Each lap, I ended up crashing, cursing, and carrying my bike at least once. It was one of those days where you just wanted to call it and head home. But I didn’t. Kudos to me. What did I learn from this experience? My back, which has been a nagging soreness for weeks, is now an issue that I need to get taken care of. I am not a quitter. And, hopefully there’s no where to go but up for the rest of the season!