McWillaiams Warp....MBAA final race of 2011 was scheduled to take place in Williams, AZ last weekend. Williams is situated around 7000ft elevation and so is generally much cooler than Phoenix. Unfortunately the Arizona wildfires closed all state forests just days before our race...officials were forced to find a new venue for our final race. Ironically they choose McDowell Mountain Park which was the location of our first race of the season as well!With temps of around 110 predicted we were forced to start at sunrise around 530am. This ensure the survival of all.
I had been training hard for this race and was feeling good the morning of. I like this course and also enjoy racing in the heat so things were looking pretty good. I knew I just needed to finish in order to clinch the state championship but I really wanted a podium spot as well.
Wavering on my race strategy I decided last minute to just "go for it" and race as hard as possible.
There were some really fast guys on the line and once we were off and racing I found myself in second place of the 4 leaders.
Slowly but surely our pace increased and my handling started to get sloppy, I was going all out as we swapped positions over and over again the first lap.
We all slid out or slipped up on the fast, slick, sandy trails and made our own mistakes. Unfortunately mine was rather costly as I was forced to make a quick repair to the bike on trail near the end of lap 1. I lost contact with the other guys and continued to chase them for the rest of the day. Racing in the desert provided an opportunity to see the guys I was chasing even as they were nearly one minute ahead. This helped me to keep the pace high and push as hard as possible....hard enough to crash out a few more times and ruin my chances at a podium spot. I was reminded once again that sometimes you go faster by going a little slower and finally rolled in less than a minute from my podium spot in 4th place.
At some point I brushed an evil Cholla cactus and the spines went deep into my calf. It was extremely painful in a "charlie horse" kinda way whenever I would coast on the downhills but there was nothing that could be done without a pair of pliers. These are also known as "jumping cactus" as they seeming jump onto you as you pass by.
The good news is that I finished in position to take the 2011 Pro Men Arizona State Championship Title! This was pretty exciting for me as it was my goal when I arrived here 6 months ago and only my second state championship title of my cycling career!
So as I was competing in my final Arizona Series XC race my rock star girlfriend L-A was competing in her first bike race in Arizona and of 2011. I was stoked to see her back in action and reunited with the podium again! She is quickly earning a reputation on and off the bike in the local cycling scene!
After the racing was over and my spines were removed by the medics I got to hang with all of our new cycling friends, old cycling friends, new/old cycling friends and my girlfriend. (she is such a bad ass)Looking back on the season I was impressed by the number of talented cyclists of all skill levels who I see at races and out on the trails. Phoenix has a very large and varied cycling scene and it's been my dream for some time to live in a place like this! The turn outs for some of the races were surprisingly large and others surprisingly small. The race courses were varied and fun but lacked technical terrain for the most part. There is a very large group of junior racers which is promising. The race entry fees were among the highest I have seen anywhere and the cash paybacks were among the lowest. Switching to a hardtail mid-season was very difficult for me. Getting used to a new riding style, bike, pedaling cadence was like learning to ride again but kept things interesting in a way I had never considered. In the long run it was a great decision...not because I prefer a hardtail but because my bike and I needed something "fresh" in our relationship.
A big I O U goes out to Bob Myers and Trek Bicycle for keeping me on the best racing bikes and products available. I absolutely could not have done this without the help of Trek and my other sponsors: Dales Bike Shop in Oberlin Ohio and Bontrager clothing and components.
Next up I think I may show my face at an Ohio race or two and then venture into the world of ultra endurance mtb, and maybe some road or cyclocross races this fall.
