Looking forward by looking back. I’m not always great at looking in the
rearview mirror. When there’s so much on
the road ahead, who cares what’s behind you?
Well, in the case of my last year, I find it important to sum it up,
learn from it, embrace it, be thankful for it, and use that to move
forward. When I look back at all the
amazing things I was able to do in one short year, from the people I met and
relationships built, to the journeys took, to the physical feats accomplished,
it puts a smile on my face.
The year started with me just having been upgraded to Pro by
USA Cycling and obtaining my pro cycling license. I knew it would be a growing year on many
fronts. I decided to race in as many
different events, from XC to Ultra-endurance, in both singlespeed and geared,
as I could get my hands on.
March
After months of cold weather in Boulder, I had an intense
desire for some warm weather riding.
Somewhere along the way I discovered Utah’s ICUP race series, which
holds early season races in St. George.
On extremely short notice, I threw my stuff in the car and made the
10-hour drive to St. George (through a nasty nighttime blizzard in the
mountains). There is no other feeling in
the world like stepping out into warm, dry, sunny, 80degree weather in
March. I was in heaven instantly. The ICUP race was a blast, and I surprised
myself with my level of fitness that early in the year. I spent the next 3 days camping and riding in
the warm sunny desert, and came back to Boulder recharged.
April
This was the biggest and most journey-filled month of my
year. I completed a month-long road trip; something I had been dreaming about doing for years. The goal/reason: to mountain bike in as many
new and cool places as I could find in warm weather while Colorado was enduring
a late winter. Through the warm and
sunny desert southwest, to southern California, up the coast to Norcal and
through the Sierras; it was a trip of a lifetime. I still look back on that one month and can’t
believe how many amazing places I went, unforgettable rides I had, and people I
met. Oh ya, I also did 3 XC races along
the way.
Spring 2013 | My new trip on Spring 2013
May
The start of my “official” season. I had already competed in 4 races, but all
were looked at as training, experience, and to see where I stood. In the middle of May was my first singlespeed
race of the season at the Firebird 40, then 2 weeks later the Gunnison Growler 64 in which everything seemed to come together.
June/July
100-milers-a-too-many.
Only 5 days after the Gunnison Growler I was in Ohio getting ready to
race my first ever 100-mile race, the Mohican 100. It was a great experience. Being my first ultra-endurance race, I
undoubtedly had a lot to learn, and mistakes were made, but I left feeling
overwhelmed by what I had accomplished.
I didn’t get the result I had wanted, but it was a great growing
experience. And hey, 15th
place overall on singlespeed for my first 100-miler ain’t bad. Two weeks after that I was in Michigan for
the Lumberjack 100. This was when things
fell apart. I think my body and mind had
had too much from months of travelling, working, racing, training, etc. and it
wasn’t my day. This was actually a
turning point in my summer, when I decided to enjoy riding more and forget
about training for a little while. Two
weeks later I was back at it at the RME Snake River race at Keystone Ski
Resort. The race was “only” 54 miles,
but with a ridiculous amount of climbing (~9500). I finally got the win that I needed to boost
my morale and get back on track. Two
weeks after Keystone was the big one that I had been looking forward to all
year, the Breckenridge 100.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t my day.
It was the hardest race I've ever done, breaking me down both mentally and physically. That was the end of my string of ultra endurance races for the
year. Because of financial reasons I
decided to forego the Park City Point to Point. In these two months of racing I learned
invaluable lessons that will hopefully help me in the future.
September
The Boulder/Front Range floods changed everything for
cyclists on the Front Range. The epic
flooding left ALL of the roads in the Boulder foothills damaged badly or
completely destroyed. Trail riding
options were little to none. Basically
all of my training and riding was literally washed away. September is usually a month when I plan on
getting out for all those pleasure rides, high country adventures, and daily
rides without a training plan in mind, after a long season of racing. It also turns out to be a hugely productive
time when I can normally get stronger after a summer of wearing myself
down. Unfortunately this year I spent
much of the autumn inside with no riding options available. It was a hard time, but not nearly as hard as
losing your home and belongings. Like
those that lost everything I was intent on rebuilding and coming out stronger.
In Retrospect
2013 was definitely a learning year. Sometimes I learned from the pain, and other
times from success. I learned that I
love the 50-60 mile distance, where I can exploit some XC-racing speed along
with some endurance, and struggle with 100-milers. I learned that too much travel, especially
without any support financially or from a team, will wear you down mentally and
physically. I learned that relationships
inside and outside of this sport are the key to happiness and success. I am fortunate to have met some amazing
people inside the sport in my short stint as a mountain bike racer, and will
hopefully use these relationships to better myself and give back to those that
have helped me get here. I am also very
lucky to have a group of friends and family that, although sometimes not
understanding why I do it, give me their support regardless. The most important thing I learned from an
entire year of racing, riding, traveling, working, training, stressing,
winning, losing, hurting? I am more
motivated to ride my bike and dream about it now more than ever. My love and passion for mountain biking
continues to grow so big, and I’m going to use that to make 2014 the best year
yet. Cheers.
amen!
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