The Story starts two weeks before this race, and I am sorry to get this one off so late. Last year when I knew I was going to be serious about riding and racing, I purchased two new bikes. A road bike for training and a mountain bike for racing. This mountain bike that I purchased was more of a downhill bike than a racing mountain bike. I come to find out that I am the only one on the team with a full suspension bike. But looking into the future and with me hitting 40, I was looking for comfort. Of course the thought process, 'I was not going to be purchasing a new bike for years after what I had spent'. Well that thought had changed and I had started riding a test bike a couple of times before the WORS #7 race. I felt very comfortable on it and it was much faster, still full suspension but different geometry. So what is the stupidest thing to do. Yes and I did it. I brought to a race after four rides on it and to a course I had never been to before. It was also going to be my first race in the Comp category, one up from what I had been racing. It was not a good day and the first ever mountain bike race I did not finish. It was very demoralizing and I had a very difficult time with it.

As with any race, bike set-up is very important, depending on the course. With a full suspension mountain bike add on air pressure in the shocks, rebound, sag, and then how soft or firm are you going to ride and/or lockout. I had not done a very good job with this at the #7 race, along with taking a spill on the first lap, throwing the chain off on a climb, dropping my food on another climb, stopping to adjust the suspension twice(second time was fatal), and not mentally being there. So what did I do, caulked it up as a bad day.

The night before the race I am going over my bike and then decide to see if this test bike was really worth purchasing. So I set it up with 50lbs less in the rear and 30lbs less in the front shocks. Of course I am second guessing every thing I do because I am not that fimiliar with it yet. Greg Heck and I drive up together to this race and as we are talking about racing up in Comp class and this bike, he asks, 'So you have something to prove?' And I guess he was right. I had to prove to myself that I could compete in the Comp class and on this bike.

This was going to be a fast race. Not much single track, mostly on the open fields of the ski resort, switch backing up and down. Greg and I check out the course as much as we could before the race and got a couple of practice starts to see what gear would be the best to start with. I am ready.

The flight that I am starting in is just behind the pros and experts, so that leaves and open course for us which is great because we should not run into any traffic except our own. The annoucer states four laps and the a GGGGGGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO and we are off. The sprint for the first turns and I am in good position. We ride the front of the ski resort to string it out before the first climb and the single track. I settle into a pace to see how things will be for the first lap. I want to see how much I can make up on the down hills. So I conserve energy for the surges at the top of the hills, that way no one will be infront of me on the downhill. This is where the full suspension really comes into play. I give the hard tails and fully rigid guys/gals alot of credit for taking that abuse, but thats not for me. So the first downhill from the highest point in the ski resort, can be a screamer. I make up time on the guys infront of me and by the bottom I have to slow down because we are coming into a tight section. I sit four wheel and am feeling good after the long downhill. I want to be in front of them before the the next downhill, this one on the open slope with switchback and large berms. I move up and just before the top of the hill I catch the last guys. With excitement and the downhill coming up I shift and stand up to start the sprint downhill. I felt like I was in a road race and could not wait to hit the turns. And that is what I did. Do you want to know what a Crit turn looks like in a mountain bike race? Right leg stiff and left arm locked.

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So here I am picking grass out of hydraulic brakes, rear derailleur, putting my chain back on and straigthen my bars.

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Nice looking bike yeah. Thanks to the camera men asking each other, hey did you get that? I dropped a number of positions and spent the whole next lap catching up, making the moves at the top and bombing the downhills. When I had seen the last guy I passed before the crash from Guinness Racing, I told him i am trying to catch him. Not really knowing where I was now for position. I had finally caught up to with him and another, but only stayed for a little while before they started to pull away and I had nothing left so I kept my pace, I would regret this later. Thanks to Keith Ortiz, a 5th place in the single speed sport, for a much need water bottle exchange. You are a life saver. After another lap I started feeling better and had reeled an other rider and want to work together to catch the two, but but he was hurting like I was the last lap. So by myself I rode. And a 3rd clean lap out of four (no crashes). As I came into the finishing shoot, there was no one there and wondered if I had another lap. Then I see them, the two I let go, Greg Jones from Hayes Dics Brakes, and Jeff Seifert from Guinness. And what is the first thing they tell me? You lost the race on the first lap. That fall cost you the race.

Oh well live and learn. You have to ride clean to win. But I was happy because I did prove to myself that my fitness was there and I could compete in the Comp class. Finishing 2nd in my age group, 3rd in the flight and 12th overall. A respectable finish for the xXx Racing. Thanks again to Greg, Keith and Ken for the support. You don't kow how much that helps me. And for those of you wondering, my old (1yr) mountain bike is gone, sold it on ebay and that test bike is no longer at the bike shop. It is hanging in my garage.