MBAA State Finales.

I have to be honest, I was pretty reluctant to get up to the state finales this year in Flagstaff. It's been a long season starting back in December and know in June I was burned out. I felt so great at the last race in Payson, it felt like I had hit my stride and was coming into forum for the last few races. Like most well planed out things the plan went down quick when I got sick last month. I don’t think I fully realized how much it all took out of me until this weekend though.The wife and I stayed at a cabin with my friend Glen, AKA the best bike mechanic ever. The week before the race he rebuilt the wheel I had dented at the first race and now before the race he ran through everything to make sure it was working right.

Unfortunately my legs couldn’t match the expert tuning he had given the bike. I knew I was in trouble within the first 20 minutes, there was just nothing there but I pushed on through and tried to put up a good fight.

The curse went up and over mount Elden 2x for a total of 6000 feet of climbing and around 46 miles. (That's Eldon on the right in the picture above.) The first time up I felt alright, not good but alright. The second time up I tried to push it again but once I reached the top I was completely blown. So blown in fact that I walked the technical section at the top called hobbit forest, a downhill section with large boulders and trees. You couldn’t ask for better riding but I was so spent I just couldn’t hold a line.

Once at the bottom it was all I could do to keep the peddles turning, but I finished, the finish was far back though. I came in 13th out of 26 so right in the middle. It’s very aggravating though top have felt like I was coming into great forum and then to go back to square one. O well though, it was good enough of a finish to keep me in the top five for the overall series. 4th sounds better then last so I will take it.

Thanks should go out to Absolute Bikes in Flagstaff for getting us on such great trails to race. It was apparently quite a work to make it happen with all the tree hugging hippies in Flag who hate bikes and really hate bike racing. Hopefully we can get back there next year.

After waiting for freaking ever for the overall podium Sarah and I crashed back at the cabin with glen, Gail and Gail’s son Jay. Jay and I where on the same team this year at Old Pueblo so it was cool catching up with them and enjoying some nice mountain air.

By the end of the race my legs where so depleted that when I sat down they started shacking uncontrollably. You have to watch the video for a few seconds for them to start up again but it’s funny when they do.