2008 Collegiate Mountain Bike Nationals Part 1 (Friday and Saturday morning)

Its Friday morning! The long awaited weekend of the 2008 collegiate mountain bike nationals has finally arrived. It was a cold, rainy morning that made for brutal conditions on the XC course that only the tough, brave souls would want to endure. Part of me wished I was included in the group, and another part of me was glad to be on the side lines cheering in my big warm coat. I took photos and cheered my teammates on, while racing the downhill course over and over in my head, preparing for the afternoon qualifying.

The weather conditions intensified and I could feel the change as I felt the cold rain sting my face. I was on top of sugar and could faintly see the trail ahead of me due to the fog. I was on hoping to get some practice in before qualifying later that afternoon. Although I was curious at the absence of riders, I shrugged my shoulders and did a run. Once I finally reached the bottom, I was cold, covered in mud, and slightly frightened. At the bottom I also found out that qualifying was canceled due to the extreme weather conditions. I was happy to get a practice run in the harsh conditions because I knew that it could likely be that way during the race.

Saturday morning I cheered on my team as they raced the home short track course. It was a versatile course, with a good climb and challenging downhill section; a loop offering different tests of strength. Lees-McRae did well in the short track. Carla Swart destroyed the womans field. It wasn’t even a race, it was total domination from the very beginning. Brad Parley, who we call lobster, took second place after a long battle.  After short track I went back to make sure my downhill machine was ready and ate a famous logis (made by my dad) for race fuel.

Some cross country and short track photos….

{Part 2 of mnt bike nationals (downhill and dual slalom) coming soon!}