Collegiate mnt bike nationals part 2

Many people tell me that I am foolish for continuing to ride after breaking my neck at the beginning of summer. Some think that I am brave and admire me for getting back on the bike. I’m not sure if I think it is courage or stupidity when I attach the race number to the handle bars of the machine. I had this intense feeling inside of me that I wasn’t meant to quit, the passion I have for the sport cannot be silenced and shouted inside my head all summer as I struggled with my handicap.

I was allowed to ride trails again on October 1. After almost three months of inactivity I was finally back on the bike. I didn’t think that my coach would allow me to ride since I would only have three weeks to train for nationals. I asked him anyways, expecting to be let down. To my surprise he told me if I qualified for downhill and dual slalom I could race. With the two races left before nationals I qualified.

 

Because of extreme weather conditions, qualifying and downhill practice were canceled. After watching the cross country race on Friday I went up to Sugar Mountain to do a practice run despite the dangerous conditions. The wind was strong and pierced my face as I went down the mountain. Stubborn, angry rains begin to pour down with great strength as if to protest the presence of the few riders who ventured onto the course. After one run, I was done…the race would be one shot, no practice and no qualifying.

There were about thirty two female racers in the D1 division. I had tough competition in the downhill from the Colorado gravity riders and although I really wanted to place in the top 5, I did not expect too. The course was still extremely muddy and slick from the rains on Thursday and Friday. My run went well though, and I rode all the parts I was worried about–these consisted of the technical section up top, the 30ft rock face, and the river gap towards the end of the race. Despite the conditions, I rode these three sections smoothly. I would like to say I had a clean run, but I washed out on a section of the course that was unexpected. I flew into the tape that was marking the course and it wrapped around my helmet. I feel sorry for the man standing near me watching because I’m pretty sure I wasn’t shouting very nice words as I struggled to unwrap the tap that was docking seconds off of my time. Finally I was able to get back on my bike and rode into the river gap (only a few girls jumped it) and sprinted into the finish. I ended up getting a spot on the podium with a fourth place finish.

Sunday morning was dual slalom, one of my favorite types of racing. We built the slalom course on our campus with the help from the 2007 national champion and Team America rider Chris Herndon. It was a challenging course with lots of sharp burm turns and lots of sprinting. I qualified with the second fastest time and was hoping for a spot in the top three. I advanced to the semi-finals and my next competitor was a strong Colorado rider who won slalom last year. I beat her on the first run, but she got me on the second one. Our time difference was about a third of a second but she knocked me out and advanced to the final rounds. I finished with a sixth place. Wasn’t as well as I hoped but I had a lot of fun and it was great to be racing again.

What happens before, between, and after the bike racing is one of the elements that makes the collegiate mountain bike nationals race such a spectacular event. After all, it is over fifty college teams gathering in one place to ride bikes. The weekend was full of partying, racing, pain, work, mud fights, food, laughter, and excitement. I was lucky to have my dad come for the weekend. He was great company and helped me with race preparation, making me food and fixing my bike.