So yesterday was a rough day of racing.



I didn't feel stellar during my warmup.  I think we went too hard the day before the race.  At the start line I met the guy who I expected to be the odds on favorite.  We joked around a little and then were off. 



On the first climb I went a bit too hard.  I expected to be able to recover at the top where 2N10 does quite a lot of rolling hills, but had a bobble around 25 minutes into the race.  Not a bobble with my bike though, I dropped my freaking gel flask!  I had just passed my wife who had a 2 minute head start and was having a fantastic day (she was right behind the Pro women).  According to my feed schedule I took a shot of gel and then was trying to put the flask back into the holder and fumbled it.  Allison later told me I should have just left it, but I was afraid of not having any calories for the rest of the race so I skidded to a stop and ran back to get it.  By the time I picked up my bike I had dropped a position (from a close second to third or fourth).



So then the chase was on.  I did my best to control the negativity that was circulating in my head.  Soon we were onto the descent and I let it fly.  I opened it up and passed a couple of people on the short single track section.  Once back onto the fire road I tried to keep the hammer down and did my feeds at the right time (thanks to picking up my gel flask). 



At the top of the last big climb I wasn't far behind second so I shifted to my big ring and attacked on the descent.  I caught second and passed him after being forced to follow him down some single track.  I was now back in second with only descent between me and the finish line so I decided to let it all hang out and try to catch first.  I was blazing down the fire road, drifting the corners all the way to the berm on the outside.  I passed several riders and then was on the last single track section.  I passed three more riders on the single track and was just going balls out, full speed, no brakes.



Then it happened.  Coming out of a left hander there was a big rut.  I unloaded over the rut before I noticed what was after it.  A big dip and then a huge tree root maybe 6" high across the trail.  I did my best to soak up the impact of the root but it wasn't enough.  I DOUBLE FLATTED.  I only had one tube so with about two miles left I just rode on two flats to the finish.  I lost one spot and dropped to third for the day.



I waited around for a long time expecting to see Allison come through...  but she didn't.  I got really worried and started asking girls that I knew were behind her if they saw her.  Finally one girl said that she saw her with a flat (whew!  flat is WAY better than a crash).  I guess a big nail went through her rear tire and she had some difficulty fixing it.  In true Mann style she finished the race even though she was dead last.  I am so proud of her.  She could have DNF'd but she stuck it out and finished.  Before her flat she had gapped all the Expert Women and was right behind the Pro Women.  Sometimes luck plays a big part in racing.  Better luck to both of us next time!

Today I got the best customer service at Intense.  I had an issue with my Socom frame that they dealt with in the most professional and customer friendly manner.  I am not a sponsored rider, nor do I get any sort of factory deal, but they gave me great customer service!!!  I will definitely continue to spend my hard earned money on Intense bike frames.



Thanks Intense Cycles!!!

One to go!  I won the race this past weekend.  From now on I will be racing in Expert DH.  My times aren't too far off the podium times for the Expert guys so I shouldn't be in the way on race day, but we will see.  Those guys are FAST!



It looks like I will have to retire my DH bike.  Fortunately, it looks like the crack/buckle was a product of a manufacturing error.  I have my fingers crossed that I will get hooked up.  If not, I will have to steal Allison's Demo 7 to race on!



This coming weekend I will be racing XC.  It should be interesting to see what happens.  I know somewhere on the course I will be wondering why a DH racer is out there suffering with a bunch of skinny roadie types!  With any luck I will have some fun out there in between all the climbing (the course can't all be up, right?).

No post.  The summer has flown by.  Funny how that works.  It seems like only yesterday that we were anxiously anticipating the time change so that we could ride after work, yet strangely enough at the same time it seems like Vision Quest was a lifetime ago.

When Allison and I laid out our race calendar for the year the summer months had almost no races in them.  Unfortunately most of the summer races occur quite far from the sun scorched land that we live in.  It takes a lot of money to travel to races and we decided to conserve a bit in that regard.  We had a couple of good trips that certainly helped the summer fly by (Colorado is just such a magical place), and we really put in some heavy riding.

All of the miles/hours of riding have left me in top physical condition.  I can say without hesitation that I am currently in the best shape of my life.  As a test of fitness we traveled up to Rim Nordic for the last race in their series and although the intensity was a bit of a shock to the system I did pretty well.  Allison tore it up and I was very proud of her and her efforts.

The month of September has a couple of races in it again.  First up is a DH race, then an XC race.  I have really neglected DH this summer, both my bike and my skills.  Hopefully I can do well at the finals and win the jersey.  With any luck my bike will stay in one piece, it is now cracked pretty badly.  The XC race is going to be interesting.  I will give it my all and see what happens.  My fitness is good and my new frame/fork/cranks have been awesome.

This fall/winter I will be racing some more XC races including the Socal Triple Crown series.  The only other DH race for the year will be the Fontana Annual.  I will also be training with Allison as she will be working hard toward her goals for next year.  We don’t yet know exactly what races we will be doing, but at this point it looks like next year we will be traveling to more races.  If things keep going the way they are now it looks like our winter training will be pretty intense!

Stay tuned, things are heating up for sure!