2009 Winter Park Series Finale
We're the lucky ones - we do it because we love it.
In preparing for this final series race I'd mocked up every points scenario imaginable on paper in the final race for the podium...
Tipperary Creek Classic
26 miles, 4000ft climbing
1:45:53
One of the things I like most about racing mountain bikes is the genuine camraderie. Kind of like that movie, Fight Club. The scene where the 2 guys are beating the living hell out of each other but when the fight's over, they're all hugs and high-5's. It's like a drug - like a euphoric, life-changing experience....
Racing in my realm is a little like that, but without the violence. We do our best to drag each other through the dirt and mud, occassionally breaking bikes and bones, burying ourselves to unfathomable exhaustion, but we're the best of friends afterwards. There's an unwritten law about the quality person a mountain bike racer must be...
We're the lucky ones - we do it because we love it.
In preparing for this final series race I'd mocked up every points scenario imaginable on paper in the final race for the podium...
It's so easy to sit up and just "get through" a final race, thinking, "I did well enough this season." But when you see your podium chances pass you by halfway through, man, you better get up and fight for it.
From it's beginnings in mid-April until nearly Labor Day we've fought for each place, through several race series'; fought for for each point. The overall series is something I strive for all year long - from January to July.
I took a so-so 14th place at the final Tipperary Creek Classic amidst the who's-who of regional Colorado pro's, but there's a lot to be said for season-long consistency. I dug deep enough to earn 3rd place in Winter Park's 2009 series competition. ................Solid...
To be in the top 3 on the Pro podium is rare enough as it is, for me. But when it does happen, for those fleeting moments you're up there with your arms raised, you do your best to slow down time and emblazen your mind with the view...............now you can sit up and take it easy...
Memories of these moments serve as the motivation during those cold, dark winter months...
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..............Think I'm done and you'll have nothing left to read all year? Naahhh - I've got a coupla' more races here and there, a fall vacation comin' up, and the bike has been begging me to do an interview. Soooo needy.....
2 comments:
I could not be prouder of you Matty -- not only of your great finish and your podium appearance with other pros, but even more, I'm prould of how well you understand the challenge and motivation of the sport. Oh, and thirdly, how well you communicate it and help us understand what's really going on inside that head of yours. Congratulations. DJ
matt
as a fellow blogger I have to say that even tho I know NOTHING about bikes and/or racing...I enjoy your blogs a lot.
did you take a majority of the pictures on your blog? They are amazing and make me remember the feel and smell of all things colorado.....thank you!
Heather Love (formerly Heather Guenther)
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