Subaru Cup and other stuff

Where to begin...
Getting to Mt. Morris on Friday morning was a fiasco. Long story that will bore you to death... even more boring than the drive from Oak Forest to Nordic Mtn. Ugh.
Anyway, we were up there with plenty of time to spare for the pre-ride.
Per usual I felt like crap on the pre-ride. I fumbled over every rock and felt like a total newb. The switchbacks for the pro/cat 1 were so awesome! I flubbed the turn right before they started. I was totally unprepared for the Trek firelane drops but still no issues. When I finished I decided to do the last section over again starting from the bridge. I'm glad I did, what a difference. Then I headed over to the start and redid that singletrack and felt on track again. I felt a lot better about things after that. Knowing that I won't finish near the top, I must at least have fun while racing and after that I knew I would.
I was looking forward to racing with no Comps.
Fast forward to Saturday morning we headed out early to get Ryan to the course.
Shortly after I got ready. Did a little warm up, headed to the start line and Don said go.
Ugh. I hate starts. I know most people don't like them... as I'm racing I think to myself you should at least work on starts so maybe they are less painful. But I never do.
Once we started heading back down I couldn't believe the back up. It was like being in the back of the sport class years ago. Back ups, people falling all over, etc.
I was breathing louder than I have in a long time once we started climbing, or I just noticed it because I wasn't wearing headphones. I really like the climbing at mt. morris. For the most part it's singletrack. It's twisty. It's just fun. It hurts but at least I feel sort of rewarded working my way around roots and rocks.
Still being behind people I wasn't able to let loose on the downhill but I knew on the second lap the gals would either push ahead of me or I'd pass them and ride by myself.
Coming to the Pro/Cat 1 switchback I could hear all the yelling and cheering.
What an awesome crowd. I'll admit to being nervous... it sucks to mess up in a section like that. I think on my first lap I put my foot down to avoid ramming a rider in front of me, but both times I was back I cleaned everything.


Which brings me to my other picture. I don't know why, but I never think about eating and wehre the best place is. So on this course I opened my gel on the open area right before the water, stuck it in my mouth, climbed that little short climb and then ate it. Which worked out well, but totally not pro.


I haven't had that much fun on a race course in a long time. Granted it was a super short race for Cat 1 and I'm sure that had a lot to do with it, but I was almost wishing for another lap.
My results were typical of me. And I'm happy with them for the type of riding I do. I know that if I want to finish any better I have to sacrifice my play time for some intervals or something.
John said he felt good but said he was mentally deflated after a crash at the start took him out. That sucks, especially when you are looking forward to something. He said he still had fun though.
I'd also like to show my appreciation for the riders of WORS. While starting my 3rd lap the Cat 1 men started to come through. I was bumped, thrown off my line and was just rudely spoken to by a number of riders- ALL OF WHOM HAD DAY OF NUMBERS. WORS racing is fun because even though it's competitive, I think most everyone is out there for fun and respects everybody else's races out there. So thank you.
Next race is Eau Claire. It's a haul but my parents will be up there vacationing with our kids so it'll work out well. I like the Border Battle course better, but Eau Claire is super fun too.
My frame may be here next week. I'm not getting my hopes up as there's a good chance it'll be the following week, which won't matter because I'll be on vacation. Still though, fingers crossed. Wheels should be in hand very soon too. Holly has my Superfly so no 29er riding for me.
No rain for 4 days in a row here. This hasn't happened since April. FUCKING APRIL!
The forecast still looks good so I'm looking forward to getting some riding in like every day. But first I have to go clean the sidewalk due to the lawn bag exploding.