Fact: I still get nervous before every single race. A 16-year veteran to the mountain bike racing scene, counting down every minute until that moment comes crashing like a fist at the door instills nothing less than an instinctual urge to pee, like, twelve times.
The nervousness - that dry-mouth-knotted-up-stomach feeling - is such a primitive form of survival. And during a mountain bike race one gets an uncanny sense that they are racing to survive.
The day I stop getting nervous is the day I quit racing. Because, in a sense, I will have already quit.
When your average heart rate for a full hour is 178bpm, you can pretty much guarantee you've got it pinned. And for the final Sand Creek race of the series I definitely had it pinned.
So with the systems redlined and the front tire cutting like a blade through the twisty singletrack...
I fought hard to a 3rd place finish in the Pro division. Saweeeet. 4th place in the series. Niiice.
By the way - pure irony struck recently in what can only be described as the purest form of Murphy's Law when the two components that contribute to this blog the most - my bike and my camera - got into a fist-fight on my top tube leaving a most unfortunate scab....dammit. Peace and love, people, peace and love...
By the way, by the way, click the link, then click the first picture. Recognize anyone?
4 comments:
you do more for pro cycling than anyone. Did you catch that guy in the 4th pic? You go boyyyyyyy!
Jan Wejak?
Jan Weijak? Ja?!
I did catch that guy in the 4th pic. But I didn't the week before!
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